UNCLAIMED LETTERS
Images courtesy of Pixabay
We take for granted the relative ease of communication that we have today...not so back in 1849. It's hard to imagine that in January alone there were hundreds of unclaimed letters... how many loved ones thought they were forgotten... or missed hearing family news, good or bad? Were there lost inheritances, unclaimed by the date required... were there newborns in the family, who were never acknowledged... were messages sent in the hope of having loved ones 'get home in time'...
Then again, I guess some deliberately avoided collecting mail. That way they could say that they knew nothing of whatever was being sent to them... convenient at times.
These lists are interesting in so many ways... not just for finding a long searched for name, then wondering howe to trace it to a discovery, but for the very vague addresses..not many street numbers, often no streets...
Some were sent to ships ..did Captain Alder of the brig "Julia Percy" ever get his mail I wonder. What about William Barnes, blacksmith... who was needing to contact him?
Maybe James Bradick, wheelwright of Glebe, never did get that order. Someone trying to contact E. Fanning, Esquire, music teacher, might never have found the right note...
Convicts had mail waiting, some with ticket of leave.. one man is listed as formerly of Dublin... there could have been quite a number that fitted that criteria.
In reality, even today, there is always quite a lot of undelivered mail for one reason and another. While researching, I have been able to trace my husband's great grandfather around NSW and Qld, but even that hasn't provided the answer as to where and when he died... I live in hope.
Do let us know in comments if you can claim, or hope to, any of the people listed here. Maybe someone else is searching for the same person... and can fill in some gaps for you, which is the whole reason that I create these posts...
New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900), Friday 9 February 1849 (No.21 National Library of Australia http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230364437
One of the proofs that my ancestor came to Australia and changed his name on arrival is his unclaimed letters in his former name listed in several Victorian Gazettes between 1855 and 1858. This is cross referenced with a family genealogy published in the US in 1859 stating that this person went to Australia but was never heard of again, believed lost at sea. The person kept his unusual forenames, and on his marriage certificate listed his place of birth, father’s forenames and mother’s full maiden name. This information allowed me to identify his birth name, which has since been confirmed by DNA.
ReplyDeleteA great story, thank you for sharing, Jill.. amazing how people presume...
DeleteAre any of these unclaimed letters still in existence please, eg in the Archives? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI have approached the Australia Post Archives and all I got back was that I would need to prove I was a descendant/relative of the person the mail was addressed to and prove their death. Not exactly helpful, when so many times we are looking to prove or disprove a death..
ReplyDeleteA great question, thank you, I wish I could give you a great answer.
Maybe approach the State Archives in the state/territory you are interested in and see if they have any.