My Sixteen – George Chambers
My last Orcadian ancestor
George Chambers was the last of my Orcadian ancestors, born on Orkney, a group of over 70 islands northeast of Scotland.
I was told a few family stories about George by his granddaughter, my maternal grandmother. She said he was from Scotland, a sailor, the captain of the ship he came to Australia on, a lighthouse keeper and a night watchman for the railways.The original records for George Chambers have conflicting information about his place of birth and age even when he is the informant! I will try to piece it together.
George Chambers and Frances Nalder were married on 10 July 1865 at 105 Princes Street, Sydney, Australia according to the rights of the Presbyterian Church.1 George and Frances provided their information for the marriage certificate. The marriage certificate lists George’s place of birth as London, England. This is false as George was Scottish according to his granddaughter, however if they had asked him where he came from, he may have answered London as it was likely his last port of call. George said he was a mariner, 30 years of age and his usual place of residence was Clarence Street, Sydney. His father’s name was George Chambers, a mariner and his mother’s name was Elizabeth Owen (the original name, Omen, has been crossed out in an amendment in 1902 which added birthplace, age, father’s/mother’s names, and father’s occupation from the church register).
They were married by Reverend John Reid who lived at 105 Princes Street, Sydney (renumbered to 115 Princes Street in the 1880s) and was the Minister for the interdenominational Mariner’s Church in George Street, Sydney.2 Reid frequently married people in his own home. Reid’s son George Houston Reid became Australia’s fourth Prime Minister in 1903.3
I have now established that George was a mariner when he married, and he was born in 1835 or 1836.
George and Frances’ first child, Anne Elizabeth Chambers was born on 11 October 1866 and baptised on 4 November 1866 at St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney. George is listed as a mariner, and they lived in Kent Street.4
Their second child, Frances Jane Chambers, was born on 8 April 1869 at “Hawks Nest Myall”. On the birth certificate, George, the informant, says he was born at Stromness, Shetland Islands.5 He says he is 39 years old and a Labourer. There is no Stromness on Shetland. It is the second largest town on the Orkney Mainland. George stated this birthplace several times. Perhaps they didn’t understand his accent when he said Orkney so he said Shetland, or he may have been based at Shetland before he came to Australia. According to this birth certificate, George would have been born in 1830 or 1831. At least he is Scottish now!
Frances Jane’s birth certificate indicates they were living at the settlement of Hawks Nest on the right bank of the Myall River on the northern side of Port Stephens, north of Sydney. The certificate states that there was no accoucheur, that is, no Doctor or midwife however, Mrs Buckman witnessed the birth.6 Jabez Buckman, his sons Jabez Jnr and James, had a licence to cut timber on Crown Land in the district of Port Stephens from 1862-1868.7 Jabez’s wife was Mary A. Albury.8
It is likely that George Chambers worked as a labourer in or around Hawks Nest, perhaps on the punts used to bring the timber down the Myall River. He does not appear to have been at the Port Stephens lighthouse which was across the Port Stephens harbour and opened in 1862.9
The Chambers were back in Sydney by 29 June 1870 when Frances Jane was baptised at St Andrew’s Cathedral.10 George, was recorded as a mariner and they were living in Kent Street. Their third daughter, Isabella Sarah Chambers was born on 12 August 1870 and was baptised on 21 September 1870 at St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney.11 George was still a mariner, and they lived in Kent Street, Sydney.
Their fourth daughter, Margaret, and first son, Thomas James were born in 1872 and 1874 respectively, in the district of Wollongong, down the coast from Sydney. I do not have their birth certificates yet, but they should tell me what occupation George had at the time. This may have been where George was a lighthouse keeper.
On the birth certificate of their second son, George Hendrie Chambers, who was born on 3 January 1876, Frances was the informant and said George was born in the Shetland Islands, was 49 years old and a labourer.12 That would make George’s birth 1827 or 1828. They were living at Wellington Terrace, off Parramatta Street, Sydney near Central Railway Station.
Inspectors from the Sydney City and Suburban Sewage and Health Board visited residences in Sydney in 1875 and 1876 to “inquire into and report upon the best means of disposing of the sewage of the City of Sydney and its suburbs, as well as of protecting the health of the inhabitants thereof”.13 They visited Wellington Terrace where the Chambers lived on 19 January 1876.14
We next visited Green’s lane, which contains one house on the right-hand side and seven on the left, named Wellington Terrace, built of brick and belonging to the estate of Raynes, Treeve & Co. These houses contain four rooms each and are let at 8s. a week; they are close and unhealthy; no opening in the back wall; the yard, which is in front, is partitioned off to each house, every one of which has a closet, a common cesspit, on its own ground, occupying a prominent position in front; the stench of these places is sickening. The tenant of the house we examined—a very intelligent woman—has succeeded in training a lot of vines over the window. She said that although they excluded the light they mitigated the nuisance of the closet, and she preferred darkness to stench. This woman has a family of six children, and she believed that to be about the average to each house; some of them, however, are always ill. When asked if she sent her children to school, she said “Yes, she had done so up to Christmas time. They had been to a Church of England school, and she had had to pay 5½d. a week for each child, which was more than she could now afford, her husband’s wages being only 35s. a week.”15
This “very intelligent woman” may have been Frances Chambers. She had just had her sixth child two weeks before the inspection. It is a graphic description of the conditions they lived in. Their daughter Margaret R. Chambers, aged 6 died in 1878 and the living conditions at Wellington Terrace may have contributed to her death.16
Wellington Terrace was like this photograph of ‘Rear of Alderson Street, Sydney’ except in the Wellington Terrace, the toilets (closets) were in the front yard and there was no backyard. I would like to say that diligent research uncovered the Sydney City Health Board Report. However, I just googled “Wellington Terrace” “Parramatta Street” Sydney and it came up! The Health Inspectors took photographs of some of the streets they visited but not “Green’s Lane”. The photographs are online at the State Library of NSW under Sydney City and Suburban Sewage and Health Board.17
George and Frances had two more children, John Oliver born in 1880 in the district of Redfern and Harriet Elsie Mary born in 1884 in the district of Waterloo.18 They may have still been living in Wellington Terrace when John Oliver was born as the suburb of Redfern is close by. Waterloo is further away.
George Chambers, a watchman and old age pensioner, died on 24 June 1908, aged 78 at Tramway Street, North Botany, a suburb of Sydney. His son, George Hendrie Chambers, was the informant on the death certificate and states George’s parents were George Chambers and Betsy Ohman and that he was from the Orkney Islands and had been in New South Wales for about 50 years.19 That would make George’s birth 1830 or 1831.
One death notice for George Chambers mentions he was late of the Railways Department.20 Coupled with his son’s description of his occupation at death as watchman, this could confirm that he worked for the Railways as a night watchman. I need to find his Railways Employee Card if it exists.
George’s year of birth now ranges from 1827-1836 and we’re looking for a birthplace of Stromness, Orkney.
Let’s look for him in the 1851 Scotland Census.21
Address: Main Street, Stromness, Orkney
Name, Relation, Gender, Age, Marital Status, Occupation, Birthplace
George Chambers, Head, M, 62, Married, Fisherman, Deerness
Elizabeth Chambers, Wife, F, 48, Married, -, Deerness
Elizabeth Chambers, Dau, F, 25, Single, Employed in Domestic Duties, Deerness
George Chambers, Son, M, 23, Single, Seaman, Deerness
James Chambers, Son, M, 21, Single, Seaman, Deerness
Jane Chambers, Dau, F, 15, Single, -. Orphir
Thomas Chambers, Son, M, 8, Single, Scholar, Orphir
According to the 1851 Scotland Census, George was born in Deerness. I have not found a baptism for George Chambers in Deerness or anywhere else on Orkney. The Census provides the order of birth of the children. His younger brother James was baptised on 1 March 1830 at Deerness, Orkney, the son of George Chambers and Elizabeth Oman.22 It does not indicate when he was born but it may have been from a few days to months beforehand. George had to have been born before June 1829. The 1851 Census, which has the most accurate of the census ages, was taken on 30/31 March 1851, George is 23 and therefore his date of birth was after 31 March 1828.
Now for the 1841 Scotland Census.23
Address: Mirland, Deerness, Orkney
Name, Gender, Age, Occupation, Birthplace
George Chambers, M, 50, Farmer, Orkney
Elizabeth Chambers, F, 35, -, Orkney
Elizabeth Chambers, F, 15, -, Orkney
George Chambers, M, 13, -, Orkney
James Chambers, M, 11, -, Orkney
Margaret Chambers, F, 8, -, Orkney
Jean Chambers, F, 5, -, Orkney
Ann Chambers, F, 3 months, -, Orkney
The 1841 Census for Scotland was taken on 6 June 1841. George is 13 which, if correct, puts his birth after 7 June 1828. It is unknown, how accurately his parents knew the date of birth of their children, but it appears they knew better than George himself. The most accurate date for George’s birth can now be calculated to be between June 1828 and June 1829 and born at Deerness, Orkney.
There are many George Chambers who arrived in New South Wales in the 1845-1865 period. There are some sailors, however, none of them was the captain of the ship he arrived on. With all the information gathered, I can confidently state that George Chambers, is the George Chambers, able seaman recorded as being from Stromness, aged 31 years, who arrived in Sydney on the Ackbar on 19 April 1861.24
New South Wales Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, NSW Government, Marriage Certificate of George Chambers and Frances Nalder (594/1865).
W. G. McMinn, 'Reid, Sir George Houstoun (1845–1918)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/reid-sir-george-houstoun-8173/text14289; City of Sydney Archives and History Resources, Print - Streetscape and buildings, corner of Essex and Princes Street Millers Point, 1926, https://archives.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/nodes/view/663799.
W. G. McMinn, 'Reid, Sir George Houstoun (1845–1918)', Australian Dictionary of Biography.
Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Anglican Church Diocese of Sydney; Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Baptism, Burial, Confirmation, Marriage and composite registers in the Anglican Church Diocese of Sydney Archives. Sydney, Australia, Anglican Parish Registers, 1818-2011, page 37, No. 475, https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/61177/?redirectFor=db.aspx.
New South Wales Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, NSW Government, Birth Certificate of Frances Jane Chambers (17043/1869).
Ibid.
Timber Licenses, New South Wales Government Gazette, 9 September 1862 (Issue No. 161), p. 1722; Timber Licenses, New South Wales Government Gazette, 11 September 1868 (Issue No. 229, Supplement), p. 3214.
New South Wales Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, NSW Government, Marriage Index Entry for Jabez Buckman and Mary A Albury, 1842 (720/1842 V1842720 26C).
New South Wales Government Gazette, 28 March 1862 (Issue No. 62), Port Stephens’ Light, p. 645.
Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Anglican Church Diocese of Sydney; Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Baptism, Burial, Confirmation, Marriage and composite registers in the Anglican Church Diocese of Sydney Archives. Sydney, Australia, Anglican Parish Registers, 1818-2011, page 127, No. 531, https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/61177/?redirectFor=db.aspx.
Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Anglican Church Diocese of Sydney; Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Baptism, Burial, Confirmation, Marriage and composite registers in the Anglican Church Diocese of Sydney Archives. Sydney, Australia, Anglican Parish Registers, 1818-2011, page 131, No. 589, https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/61177/?redirectFor=db.aspx.
New South Wales Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, NSW Government, Birth Certificate of George Hendrie Chambers (267/1876).
NSW Legislative Assembly, Sydney City and Suburban Sewage and Health Board, Eleventh Progress Report, 1875-76, p. 60. https://www8.austlii.edu.au/au/other/nsw/NSWBCPubInq/1876/6.pdf.
Ibid.
Ibid.
New South Wales Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, NSW Government, Death Index Entry for Margaret R. Chambers (455/1878).
New South Wales Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, NSW Government, Birth Index Entry for John Oliver Chambers (6748/1880); New South Wales Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, NSW Government, Birth Index Entry for Harriet E M Chambers (11055/1884).
New South Wales Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, NSW Government, Death Certificate of George Chambers (7730/1908).
“Deaths”, The Sydney Morning Herald, 24 June 1908, Death notice for George Chambers, p. 8.
Orkney Family History Group, Resources, Census Transcription.1851 Scotland Census. Edinburgh, Scotland: Scotland. General Register Office for Scotland, Reels 1-217. General Register Office for Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland. Parish of Stromness; ED: 1; Page: 28; Line: 11; Roll: CSSCT1851_6; Year: 1851. https://orkneyfhs.org.uk/resources/census/census_rep.php.
Ancestry.com. Scotland, Select Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Scotland, Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013, https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/60143/?redirectFor=db.aspx.
Orkney Family History Group, Resources, Census.1841 Scotland Census. Edinburgh, Scotland: General Register Office for Scotland. Reels 1-151. General Register Office for Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland. Parish of Deerness; ED: 3; Page: 5; Line: 530; Year: 1841. https://orkneyfhs.org.uk/resources/census/census_rep.php.
Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia, Unassisted Immigrant Passenger Lists, 1826-1922 [database on-line]. State Archives and Records Authority of New South Wales; Kingswood, NSW, Australia; Inward passenger lists; Series: 13278; Roll: 409, https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/1210/?redirectFor=db.aspx.
What a complicated history and well done for sorting it out!
Sounds like you have had a lot to untangle in sorting this out.