My Sixteen – John William Giles - Part 1
Who was he?
John William Giles was a secret name in our family for nearly forty years, from 1868 to about 1907. His son Larkin Foreman Giles grew up thinking his Stepfather, John Tangelder Gorus, was his biological father. From the time of J. T. Gorus’ marriage to Larkin’s mother, Elizabeth (Foreman) Giles, in 1868, he was known as John (Jack) Foreman Gorus. He had forgotten he was anything else. The truth came out after his mother died and he had a falling out with J. T. Gorus.
Few details were passed down in the family about John William Giles; just a name and a few locations where he lived. This is the story of who this John William Giles was and whether the evidence confirms he is the father of Larkin (Jack) Foreman Giles. Many details have been omitted for brevity but will be discussed in future stories.
John William Giles and Elizabeth Foreman were married in the Parish of Maitland, New South Wales (NSW), Australia on 16 September 1844.[1] Elizabeth’s father, Larkin Foreman had arrived in Australia as a convict from Kent, England in 1827.[2] His wife and two children did not follow until 1843.[3] Larkin Foreman and his wife Elizabeth (Tyman) Foreman did not live together again as Larkin was living with another woman when she arrived! Larkin lived in Maitland and his wife and children lived nearby at Morpeth.
Larkin Foreman, his daughter Elizabeth and her husband, John William Giles, moved to Sofala in central NSW in 1853 during the great exodus to the goldfields. Instead of mining for gold, they supplied the miners by running the Barley Mow hotel and a butcher’s shop.[4] During this period, it is said that Elizabeth ‘lost a lot of babies’.[5]
John William Giles held the Publican’s Licence for the Barley Mow, Sofala from 1854 to 1859.[6] He had to pay £50 and have two sureties who also paid £50 and be a ‘person of good fame and reputation, and fit and proper to be licenced’.[7] Larkin Foreman held the Publican’s Licence for the Barley Mow, Sofala in 1853 and again from 1860 through to 1867.[8]
In December 1859, John William Giles attempted to take his own life by poison at Four-Mile Creek, Sofala.[9] He was unsuccessful. Attempting to commit suicide was a criminal offense. He was arrested and remanded to appear at Sofala and bail was set at £40 from himself and £40 from a surety.[10] He was charged with abandoning his public house and feloniously attempting to take his own life.[11] The case was tried on 27 December 1859, but judgement was postponed until 10 January 1860 when the case was dismissed.[12] There was no explanation for the attempted suicide. John William Giles did not hold a publican’s licence again perhaps because he was no longer considered to be of “good fame and reputation, and fit and proper to be licenced”.
On 11 February 1860, John William Giles signed a Deed of Gift to transfer all his property and goods over to his wife, Elizabeth, ‘in consideration of the love favour and affection’ which he held towards his wife as he was ‘desirous of securing unto his said wife the full benefit of all the property real and personal’. [13] The assets included a house and premises in Sofala known as the Barley Mow, household furniture, a cottage opposite, a cottage in Sofala occupied by Mrs Arthur, 179 acres of purchased land at Warangunipah and Tabrabucca, about 35 cows and calves and about 10 horses at Two Mile Creek. [14]
John William Giles appointed Edward Giles, former Sergeant Major of the Gold Police but no known relative, as trustee. [15] One of the witnesses to the signatures was J. T. Gorus who was to play a greater role in the family’s story. [16] This action by John William Giles suggests that he was not going to be around to provide financial support for Elizabeth. 1860 was the year Larkin Foreman took over the license of the Barley Mow.
On 7 August 1860, John William Giles took John Williams to court in Sofala for the recovery of small debts for beef sold and delivered from August 1858 to January 1859 for £10.[17] It was adjourned to 14 August 1860 and Giles won.[18] This is the last record found for John William Giles in Sofala.
In 1861, The Crown Lands Alienation Act 1861 was introduced in New South Wales and meant Crown land previously leased had to be purchased. Larkin Foreman purchased Lot 38 where the Barley Mow was located and Lot 68 across the road, both leased by John William Giles and applied for a Release and Declaration of Trust on 25 June 1862 that said although he was purchasing the land in his own name in consideration of the premises and 10s, he was not disclaiming the trust.[19] Larkin Foreman now owned the land but his daughter Elizabeth still owned the building. It is reasonable to assume if John William Giles was still in the area, he would have purchased at least one block of land; however, he made no land purchases.
Elizabeth gave birth to a son, she named Larkin Foreman Giles, on 8 September 1862 at Sofala, NSW and registered the birth herself. She stated that his father was John William Giles, an innkeeper from Surrey, England, aged 43.[20] It is possible that John William Giles was still in the area at this time and just not recorded in any newspapers or known records, but equally, it is possible he had left. The family story passed down is that John William Giles returned to England and died there.[21]
[1] New South Wales Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, NSW Government, Marriage Certificate of John William Giles and Elizabeth Foreman (1844 No. 565).
[2] Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia, Convict Indents, 1788-1842 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: State Archives NSW. Larkin Foreman, Convict Indent for Ship John I; Series: NRS 12188; Item: [4/4013]; Microfiche: 668. http://search.ancestry.com.au/search/db.aspx?dbid=2024.
[3] State Records NSW; Kingswood, New South Wales, Australia; Entitlement certificates of persons on bounty ships; Woodbridge, arrival 8 March, 1842. Archives Resource Kit, Series: 5314; Reel: 1349.
[4] ‘Sofala’, Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, NSW), 18 August 1853, 3.
[5] H. Giles, Conversations, 1974-1984.
[6] State Records NSW; Index to Publicans’ Licenses 1830-61; Ancestry.com. Certificates for publicans’ licences, 1853-1861. John William Giles.
[7] Ancestry.com. Certificates for publicans’ licences, 1853-1861. John William Giles, Licence No. 584.
[8] State Records NSW; Index to Publicans’ Licenses 1830-61; Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia, Certificates for Publicans' Licences, 1830-1849, 1853-1899 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Printed lists of licenses issued, 1866-82, 1895-1900, 1907-10. NRS 14411, reel 1243. State Records Authority of New South Wales, Kingswood, New South Wales, Australia. State Archives NSW; Series: NRS 14411; Item: 7/1514; Reel: 1243. http://search.ancestry.com.au/search/db.aspx?dbid=1792.
[9] ‘Attempt at Suicide’, Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser (Maitland, NSW), 20 December 1859, 3.
[10] Ibid.
[11] State Records NSW; Kingswood, New South Wales, Australia: Judgement Book, Police Magistrate, Sofala Court of Petty Sessions, SN 3375 File 4/5663 part, 27 December 1859, No. 13.
[12] State Records NSW; Judgement Book, Police Magistrate, Sofala Court of Petty Sessions, SN 3375 File 4/5663 part, 27 December 1859, No. 13; State Records NSW; Judgement Book, Police Magistrate, Sofala Court of Petty Sessions, SN 3375 File 4/5663 part, 10 January 1860, No. 4 & 5.
[13] Land and Property Information, Sydney: Deed of Gift, John William Giles to Edward Giles and Elizabeth Giles, 11 February 1860, No. 155, Book 66.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Ibid.
[16] Ibid.
[17] State Records NSW; Kingswood, New South Wales, Australia: Small debts registers, Sofala Court of Petty Sessions, SN 3376 File 4/5563 part, 7 August 1860 No. 1, 14 August 1860 No. 1.
[18] Ibid.
[19] Land and Property Information, Sydney: Release and Declaration of Trust, Larkin Foreman, 25 June 1862, Indenture No. 680 Book 79; ‘Department of Lands: Sydney, 22nd May, 1862’, Bathurst Free Press and Mining Journal (Bathurst, NSW), 4 June 1862, 3.
[20] New South Wales Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Birth Certificate of Larkin Foreman Giles, (1862 No. 13672).
[21] H. Giles, Conversations, 1974-1984.