Skip to main content

A record breakthrough?

As a result of receiving one of my favourite Christmas presents last year (my daughter and son in law gave me money for a birth, death or marriage certificate) I believe that I have made another family record search breakthrough.  My 4th Great Grandmother Catherine Rhall had a relationship with a convict named John Glithero/Glitherow and together they had at least three known children Sarah Glitherow who also was known as Sarah Baxter and Sarah Casey, William Glitherow and Richard Glitherow who was known as Richard Worldon.  Searching the Victorian birth, death and marriage indexes I came across this entry in the birth indexes and allowing for illiteracy and accents I believe that it is highly likely to be Sarah's baptism record.

CLITTHEROW
Given namesSarah
EventBirth
Father's name / Spouse's family nameJohn
Mother's maiden name / Spouse's given nameCatherine (Rehill)
Reg. year1840
Reg. no35931

Source: Victorian Baptism record for Sarah Clittherow. Received from https://online.justice.vic.gov.au/bdm


The Victorian Birth Indexes also have records that I will eventually get for her brother William.

GLITHERON
Given namesWilliam
EventBirth
Father's name / Spouse's family nameJohn
Mother's maiden name / Spouse's given nameCatherine
Reg. year1843
Reg. no13431

Further support for this being him can be found at the Family Search website which has the following baptism record for him:

Australia Births and Baptisms

Name William Glitherow
Gender Male
Christening Date 19 Sep 1843
Christening Place ST. JAMES, MELBOURNE, NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA
Birth Date 16 Jan 1843
Father's Name John Glitherow
Mother's Name Catherine

Source:"Australia Births and Baptisms, 1792-1981," database, FamilySearch 
William Glitherow, 19 Sep 1843; citing ; FHL microfilm 993,954.


NSW BDM Birth Indexes have the following information:

NSW BDM Birth Index


GLITHEROW  WILLIAM 3122/1843 V18433122 27A JOHN CATHERINE
GLITHEROW  RICHARD 1933/1845 V18451933 67 JOHN CATHERINE

Source: NSW BDM Birth Index https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au


Looking on Ancestry I found the following information on these children:

Australia, Birth Index, 1788-1922

Name: Sarah Clittherow
Birth Date: Abt 1840
Birth Place: Melbourne, Victoria
Registration Year: 1840
Registration Place: Victoria, Australia
Father: John Clittherow
Mother: Catherine Rehill
Registration Number: 35931

Name: William Glitherow
Birth Date: 1843
Birth Place: New South Wales
Registration Year: 1843
Registration Place: Melbourne, New South Wales, Australia
Father: John Glitherow
Mother: Catherine
Volume Number: V18433122 27A

Name: William Glitheron
Birth Date: Abt 1843
Birth Place: Marabool, Victoria
Registration Year: 1843
Registration Place: Victoria, Australia
Father: John Glitheron
Mother: Catherine
Registration Number: 13431

Name: Richard Glitherow
Birth Date: 1845
Birth Place: New South Wales
Registration Year: 1845
Registration Place: Yass, New South Wales, Australia
Father: John Glitherow
Mother: Catherine
Volume Number: V18451933 67

Source: Ancestry Australia Birth Index 1788-1922 listings. Retrieved from http://search.ancestry.com.au/


John Glitherow/Glithero was a convict who came to Australia in 1833 on board the ship Mangles. He was granted a ticket of leave in the Berrima district in 1837 and this is likely where he met Catherine Rhall.  Catherine had come free to Australia with her family on board the ship 'Hooghly'/ 'Hooghley' in 1828. Her father Christopher Rhall was a member of the Royal New South Wales Veterans Regiment and when his unit was disbanded he had elected to take up a land grant in Bong Bong, New South Wales.  Christopher was murdered in 1832 and her mother married a convict named Michael Reynolds in 1833.  In 1835 fifteen year old Catherine married twenty seven year old former convict named John Casey. Of interest is that a John Casey was a witness in the murder trial for the men accused of killing Christopher Rhall.  In an article dated 1st September 1832 a John Casey testified the following:

'John Casey-I am an assigned servant to Michael
McDonough, at Stonequarry ; I knew the deceased,
and recollect the day of his death ; I slept at his
house the night before ; I got up before day to look
for some cattle, and returned about eight o'clock ; I
saw McNally and Kelly there; the children were
getting up, and I was dressing them ; during this
time, Kelly told me that Rall had fallen out of bed,
that he lifted him into bed again, but was afraid he
would not get over it.'

Source: Supreme Court. (1832, September 1). The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842), p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2208341


I have so far not been able to determine what happened between John Casey and Catherine, whether he died, or they mutually decided to part ways, or if in fact he left her or she left him and I have not been able to find any children from this marriage.  I do know that Catherine has a child with John Glithero/Glitherow in 1840 so her relationship with Casey had finished before then.  


UK, Prison Hulk Registers and Letter Books, 1802-1849

Name: John Glitherow
Age: 18
Estimated birth year: abt 1814
Date Received: 26 Oct 1832
Ship: Justitia
Place Moored: Woolwich
Date Convicted: 17 Oct 1832
Place Convicted: Ely

Source: Ancestry listing for John Glitherow in UK, Prison Hulk Registers and Letter Books, 1802-1849. Retrieved from http://search.ancestry.com/

New South Wales, Australia Convict Ship Muster Rolls and Related Records, 1790-1849

Name: John Glitherow
Vessel: Mangles
Arrival Year: 1833
Date of Conviction: 17 Oct 1832

Source: Ancestry Listing for John Glitherow in the New South Wales, Australia Convict Ship Muster Rolls and Related Records, 1790-1849. Retrieved from http://search.ancestry.com/

New South Wales, Australia, Convict Indents, 1788-1842 for John Glitherow

Standing No. of Convict - 33-765
Indent No. - 11
Name - John Glitherow
Age - 19
Read & Write - None
Religion - Protestant
Single, Married or Widowed - Single
Children - None
Native Place - Cambridgeshire
Trade or Calling - Bargeman and carter
Offense - Breaking warehouse
Tried Where - Cambridge (Isle of Ely) Quarter Sessions
Tried When - 17 October 1832

Source: Ancestry listing for John Glitherow in New South Wales, Australia, Convict Indents, 1788-1842. Retrieved from http://search.ancestry.com/

NSW State Records Convict Records

GLITHEROW John
Mangles 1833
37/994 Ticket of Leave
[4/4112; Reel 927] District: Berrima; Tried: Cambridge QS

GLITHEROW John
Mangles 1833
38/2102 Ticket of Leave
[4/4125; Reel 931] District: Berrima; Tried: Cambridge QS

GLITHEROW John
Mangles 1833
40/0939 2 Jun 1840 Certificate of Freedom
[4/4358; Reel 1006] TL 38/2102

Source: Convict Records NSW State Records.  Retrieved from http://indexes.records.nsw.gov.au/


New South Wales Certificate of Freedom

Name: John Glitherow
Age: 26
Birth Year: 1814
Native Place: Cambridgeshire, England
Arrival Year: 1833
Vessel: Mangles
Certificate Date: 2 Jun 1840

Certificate of Freedom

Berrima
No. 40/939
Date - 2nd June 1840
Prisoners No. 33/765
Name - John Glitherow
Ship - Mangles 6
Master - Carr
Year - 1833
Native Place - Cambridgeshire
Trade or Calling - Labour
Offense - 
Place of Trial - Cambridge Quarter Session
Date of Trial - 17 October 1832
Sentence - Seven Years
Year of Birth - 1814
Height - 5 feet 4 and one half inches
Complexion - Ruddy Freckles
Hair - Brown
Eyes - Chestnut
General Remarks - C W B I and several other letters inside lower left arm. Woman and half moon on upper. Sun, Anchor, Mermaid, and several other letters inside lower right arm.  Held Ticket Leave No. 38/2102 dated 10 December 1838

Source: Ancestry listing for John Glitherow in New South Wales Certificate of Freedom. Retrieved from http://search.ancestry.com/


Some years ago another researcher was kind enough to provide me with a copy of what we believe to be John Glithero's Death Certificate (see below) which placed his death at Sandhurst, Victoria in 1889.  Apparently Bendigo was known as Bendigo, then the name changed officially to Sandhurst and then it was reverted back to Bendigo again in 1891.  Through the work of other researchers it is believed that his parents were William Glitherow and Sarah Ann Baxter from Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire, England, which would account for him using the alias of Baxter and his daughters use of this surname at times.




Australia, Death Index, 1787-1985

1Name: John Glithers
[John Glithero] 
Birth Year: abt 1815
Age: 74
Death Place: Sandhurst, Victoria
Registration Year: 1889
Registration Place: Victoria
Registration Number: 4950

Source: Ancestry, Australia, Death Index, 1787-1985. Retreived from http://search.ancestry.com/


Catherine Rhall's relationship with John Glitherow/Glithero also ended, with her having a daughter Elizabeth with another convict James Baker Worldon in 1850.  She also had my 3rd Great Grandfather James Baker Worldon with him in about 1853.  The relationship ended violently when James Baker Worldon beat her to death after finding her with another man in 1855.  This left fifteen year old Sarah and her siblings, including her half brother James Baker Worldon (my 3rd great grandfather) aged about two, motherless at Snake Valley - Beechworth in Victoria with their stepfather/father on trial, found guilty, then jailed for murder until 1856. Members of Catherine Rhall's family were in the Beechworth area around this time so it is possible they may have looked after the children at this time. 

More information on Catherine Rhall and her children Sarah, William and Richard can be found hereherehereherehereherehere and here.

Australia, Birth Index, 1788-1922

Name: Elizabeth Warldon
[Elizabeth Worldon] 
Birth Date: 1850
Birth Place: New South Wales
Registration Year: 1850
Registration Place: Yass, New South Wales, Australia
Father: James B Warldon
Mother: Catherine
Volume Number: V18501934 67

Source: Ancestry, Australia, Birth Index, 1787-1922. Retreived from http://search.ancestry.com/




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Kendall Children.

I started this post a while ago and was going to finally finish and post it yesterday however our four grandchildren came over and I got sidetracked.  Our grandchildren range in age now from six down to one;  they are so full of life (each of them lights up a room when they enter it) and we feel extremely blessed to have them in our lives.  After spending the afternoon researching this post, their arrival made this tragedy even more poignant for me and so I appreciated their company even more than usual and hugged them a bit tighter too!  This morning I woke up to a cold, wet and windy Wagga day and the thought of three little girls out in August weather like this, in light weight dresses with no shoes or jumpers impacted on me even more. Those poor babies! One of the girls was found still clasping her doll that she had carried with her over the whole tragic journey. When my husband and I were looking around the Wagga Wagga Monumental Cemetery some time ago we came across a very sad he

My First Fleet Connection - Mary Turner (aka Mary Wilkes/Wilks)

My 5th Great Grandmother Mary Turner (also known as Mary Wilks/Wilkes) is my earliest known and documented Australian relative.  She was tried at Worcester on  5th March 1785 and sentenced to seven years. Mary arrived on the ship Lady Penrhyn   in 1788.   It seems the 5th of March was not an auspicious trial date for Mary in 1785 or later in 1789!   On the 5th  March 1789 she was tried for stealing six cabbages from the garden of William Parr, she was found guilty and sentenced to 50 lashes.  Later in March 1789 she also was in trouble for her testimony in the trial of  Royal Marines accused of stealing from the government stores  (six of them were found guilty and executed) in which it was believed by some that she had perjured herself.  Mary was sent to Norfolk Island in 1790 on board the ship Sirius .  Apparently she stayed on Norfolk Island until 1793 when she returned to Port Jackson on board the ship Kitty .   Her de facto relationship with David Batty (a Third Fleet convict who

Time for a happy dance! Well kind of .....poor Catherine!

Brickwall knocked down at last!  Catherine Rhall was murdered by her partner James Baker Worldon on the 14th February 1855 at Beechworth.  The Trove articles do involve my 4th Great Grandparents James Baker Worldon and Catherine Rhall!  I guess the family tree book will need updating now ;) I looked up the following record from the Public Record of Victoria and bingo the details match my ancestors records.  Catherine Rhall's fate is now known at last, she was murdered by her partner and he was only sentenced to two years imprisonment for it and by the look of it was released early in 1856!  I also found out he used the alias Milbank, which will give me new avenues for future research. Public Record Office of Victoria Series title: Central Register of Male Prisoners Sub-Item title: Worldon, James; (Milbank); (Jas Baker Worldon): No. 2265 Sub-Item number: Page 199 Date range: 1854 Public access: Open Format: Digital Source: Public Record Office Of Victoria.