Talking to Ghosts

Every family historian has their brick walls.  We collect certificates, search newspapers, pore over DNA matches and build theories from fragments of evidence.  Yet there are some questions that only the people themselves could answer.

If I could speak to ghosts, there are three ancestors in particular I would love to spend an evening with.

Roseana Jones (1872- 1915)

My first question would be simple:  "Who is your father?"

My paternal great grandmother, Roseana Jones (nee Atkins) was born in Dunolly, Victoria in 1872 to unmarried Eliza Atkins.  No father was recorded on Roseana's birth certificate.  When she married, her father was recorded as Robert Atkins, a man I have never been able to identify.  When she died, her father was recorded as John Blain, her stepfather.

More than 150 years later, the mystery remains unsolved.

Family stories suggest her unknown father may have been Aboriginal, but there is no evidence to prove this.  DNA testing has not provided any clear answers either.

If I could sit down with Roseana, I would ask whether she knew who her father was, what her mother told her, and whether the stories are even close to the truth.  More than that, I would want to know about life and her childhood.

My grandmother denied that there was aboriginal heritage.  

Samuel Francis Drayton (c1814-1901)

Samuel's story spans continents and raises even more questions.

It is believed that my maternal 3X Great Grandfather was born in Philadelphia around 1814 but I cannot locate a birth record.  He worked as a steward on the whaling schooner, Sophia, out of Nantucket and travelled around the world for more than a decade, before disembarking in Australia in 1851.

But who was he before that?

DNA evidence has hinted at connections to the prominent Drayton family, as well as West African and African American ancestry from the southeastern United stqates.  This has led to speculation that Samuel may have been the son of an enslaved women and fathered by a member of the Drayton family.  Whether that theory is correct remains unknown.

If I could speak with Samuel, I would ask about his mother and his origins.  I would want to know how he learned to be a tailor, what life was like aboard a whaling vessel and why he chose to leave America and settle in Australia.

Most of all, I would like to know which parts of his story, we've guessed correctly.

It is believed that this is Richard Foy and Charlotte Drayton c1886  
We believe that Charlotte has 25% African American ancestry.

Richard Foy (1848 - 1898)

My maternal great great grandfather, Richard Foy, presents a different mystery.

He was likely born in Tuam, County Galway, in late 1848, while Ireland was experiencing the Great Famine.  At some point his family appears to have moved to Lancashire, England, before Richard emigrated to Australia in the 1870s.

Unfortunately, records of his arrival (in Brisbane) seem to have been lost, leaving gaps in his story.

But I would like to know more about the man himself.

After arriving in Australia, Richard formed a relationship with Charlotte, a woman whose husband had deserted her and left her to raise a young son alone.  Richard helped support both Charlotte and her child, Samuel.  Together they had three children, Agnes, May and John before eventually marrying in October 1893.   

Tragically, their young son died of "Asphyxia Congestion of the Lungs" in July 1893, which is about the same time that Charlotte was diagnosed with tuberculosis.  She died less than five month later, in December 1893, which was two months after their marriage.

Did Richard marry Charlotte knowing she was dying, wanting to provide security for her and their remaining children?  What was life like for them before they married?  

Then only three years later Richard married Charlotte's sister Virginia.  Was Virginia already helping care for the children who had lost their mother?  Was their marriage born from affection, necessity, family loyalty, or perhaps all three?

More tragedy followed.  Virginia gave birth to their son Percy on 19 September 1897.  Four days later, both Virginia and baby Percy were dead.  Virginia's death certificate records pneumonia and heart failure after a short illness, while Percy died from lack of sustenance.  By May 1898, Richard himself had also died from pneumonia and typhoid, while returning from Western Australia to Victoria.

If I could talk to Richard, I would ask about his family origins, Ireland, England and the voyage to Australia.  But I would also ask about Charlotte, Virginia and the children.  How did he find the strength to endure the loss of two children and two wives?   Why did he leave the children with their grandparents in Victoria while he went to Western Australia?

Questions without answers

Family history is full of gaps. Some questions refuse to be answered.

There are many ancestors I would love the opportunity to speak with, each carrying stories and answers that have been lost with time.  But if I could choose just three ghosts for a conversation, these are the three I would seek out.

I would ask Roseana Jones "Who was your father?"

I would ask Samuel Drayton about his mother, his ancestry, his years aboard the Sophia, and why he chose to begin a new life in Australia.

And I would ask Richard Foy about Ireland, the journey that brought him to Australia, and the tragedies and hardships he endured along the way.

Then I would simply listen.  Because sometimes the greatest family history mysteries are not about names and dates.  They are about people.

I would love to be able to speak with ghosts!

This post was inspired by Sepia Saturday.