How did John Ebbott acquire this wealth of Mining knowledge?

John migrated to Australia when he was 11 years old and although his father may have dabbled as a Mine Manger on the side, essentially he was a farmer.  John eventually became a successful mine manager well respected amongst his peers and it would seem his reputation was known well enough that he was even able to secure a position later in life in India as a Mine manager for a couple of years.

So the question is how did he acquire this wealth of knowledge?  It would seem that his management style was adventurous, from reading the papers it seems that when he took charge of a mine things began to move, he would start to develop the mine, call for tenders, build a large water wheel he never seemed to shy away from the challenge.  So how did he learn the art of being a mine manager?

The possibilities:

• School of mines
• The Mine Managers Association
• Mechanics institute
• Learning from his father in law, John Thomas, who was a professional mine manager from Cornwall
• Learning from Michael Thomas (brother of his wife Margaret) who also sits on various mine boards and is himself the son of a mine manager

We know that John thought that getting a qualification was important because he ensured that his son went off and got his technical certificate of mine managing from the School of Mines. His son is listed amongst the successful candidates for first class mining managers' certificates was" Mr. J. Ebbott. junr.. son of Mr. J. Ebbott, manager of the Forest Creek Gold Reefs mine, Castlemaine" 1905 'THE HIGH COMMISSIONER BILL.', Bendigo Advertiser(Vic. : 1855 - 1918), 10 November, p. 4, viewed 21 February, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article89534286. I have found no record of John getting a similar qualification, this could have been because the first school of mines was not established until after he was established as a mine manager.

My understanding also is that the mine managers association wasn't established early enough to give any initial grounding to John.  The Bendigo Mine Managers Association, a different entity, was a significant distance away from Chewton and didn't start till much later.. 

Post & Telegraph Offices & Mechanics Institute, Castlemaine Date(s): [1862] http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/primo_library/libweb/action/dlDisplay.do?vid=MAIN&reset_config=true&docId=SLV_VOYAGER1684514 

If he did any independent learning it was probably through the local Mechanics institute.  The importance of the  Mechanics Institute to the family can be seen by the later involvement of his younger brother Frederick who sat on the Board of California Gully Mechanics Institute (1890 'THE SCHOOL OF MINES AND THE DIRECTOR.', Bendigo Advertiser (Vic. : 1855 - 1918), 21 April, p. 2, viewed 21 February, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article88983392).   There must have been prior involvement to Frederick sitting on the Board, he was nominated for a position in 1888, Michael Thomas was also a member at this time(1888 'EAGLEHAWK.', Bendigo Advertiser (Vic. : 1855 - 1918), 21 January, p. 5, viewed 21 February, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article88544286)  The mechanics institute ran talks and seminars on topics of interest to the locals, this may have well have include various mining topics as this was a major gold-mining area.

His most likely source of professional support was from family and friends, networking as we know it today.  I found one reference to his father being a mine manager, but I believe that calling oneself a mining manager was common place and his father was probably predominately a farmer and as such most likely had no real contribution to his career.  On the other hand both his father in law and brother in law were successful mine managers.  

An interesting podcast on the history Mechanics Institutes in Australia  archived on  Local ABC radio 

Understanding John Ebbott's foray in the world of mining

Poster - Chronological Tree of Victorian History, James McKain Meek, Melbourne, 1873
 © Museum Victoria and 
Curriculum Corporation 
2008 

In 1870 John's world looked very different to what it would look today if he were still alive, speculative activity was the norm and anyone with cash could easily be involved as companies looks for cash to fund their operations.  Initially mining companies on the Goldfields would issue a few shares of high value which only needed to be partly paid for.

“The ability of gold mining companies to make calls was particularly useful given the nature of quartz mining with its continual exploration and development costs. In the gold mining industry, very few mines were continuously profitable as deep leads changed course, ran into a neighbouring lease or yields fell, possibly rising again at greater depth. When a rich ore body was found, this generated speculative activity in the share market. Calls on shares would be made by companies that owned the mines where ore bodies were discovered”(Melbourne University Law Review Vol 31 p. 814 ff A HISTORY OF COMPANY LAW IN COLONIAL AUSTRALIA: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND LEGAL EVOLUTION PHILLIP LIPTON IV THE TRANSPLANTING OF THE COMPANIES ACT 1862, 25 & 26 VICT, C 89)

In the early days John didn't seem to be himself, the stable and well respected citizen that is evident in the records, his behaviour almost seems erratic or at the very least irresponsible. He was probably one of the “inexperienced shareholders who started with inflated hopes of enormous returns and immediate dividends become disheartened and forfeit their shares by refusing to pay calls” (GETTING GOLD A PRACTICAL TREATISE FOR PROSPECTORS, MINERS, AND STUDENTS. By J. C. F. Johnson, F. G. S., Member of the Aust. Inst. of Mining Engineers; Author of "Practical Mining," "The Genesiology of Gold," etc. (1896)accessed atg http://web.nickshanks.com/books/getting-gold.html 14/2/2013)

He brought and forfeited shares frequently, and it wasn't just John but it was also his brother Philip and once even his mother. The gold rush was a heady time for opportunity and, its flip side of disaster, was everywhere. Everyone wanted the possible profits but no-one want the losses. This notion of the inexperience investor and company owners may help us to understand John’s behaviour as directors were appointed not 

“because of any special knowledge of mining they may possess, but as a rule simply because they are large shareholders or prominent men whose names look well in a prospectus.” (GETTING GOLD A PRACTICAL TREATISE FOR PROSPECTORS, MINERS, AND STUDENTS. By J. C. F. Johnson, F. G. S., Member of the Aust. Inst. of Mining Engineers; Author of "Practical Mining," "The Genesiology of Gold," etc. (1896)accessed atg http://web.nickshanks.com/books/getting-gold.html 14/2/2013)

Because of the difficulty of raising initial funds for a potential mining venture the industries response

“was to include provisions in the memorandum of association that enabled the forfeiture of shares on non-payment of a call. The forfeited shares could then either be purchased by existing shareholders or sold at auction.” (Melbourne University Law Review Vol 31 p. 814 ff A HISTORY OF COMPANY LAW IN COLONIAL AUSTRALIA: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND LEGAL EVOLUTION PHILLIP LIPTON IV THE TRANSPLANTING OF THE COMPANIES ACT 1862, 25 & 26 VICT, C 89)

But let’s consider all this in the context of John Ebbott who arrived in goldfield the son of a farmer in an area where there were no schools (yet) and who grew up during his teen years on an unsuccessful cattle farm. He could read and write well his learning however was most likely limited to the bible, religious publications and the weekly delivered newspapers that didn't always arrive. At around 26 he falls in love with the girl next door and suddenly the door of opportunity opens, his father-in-law is an experienced mine engineer/manager from Cornwall, consequently John’s world view begins to change, but he has no experience although many contacts mostly of Cornish origin through the Wesleyan church.

John was a frugal man he didn't drink, he was a member of the Temperance movement, he didn't gamble and although life was very expensive on Goldfields he didn't want for much, with the support of his mother and father in law he began to dabble in speculative market of gold mining shares, which is where his future occupation of Mine Manager was beginning to be forged.

Position in the Family

John was the eldest in the family, one of five, it was almost as if his parents had a family in two parts. The first portion of the family had been born in Cornwall and had come across to Australia on a ship and was made up of the three eldest children John, Philip & Emma.  The second portion had been born in Australia and began with Frederick who was 19 years Johns junior closely followed two years later by the youngest member of the family Helen Harriet.  Helen was turning 8 when her brother John had his first child.
The boys, John, Philip and Frederick, were close in spite of their age difference.  John worked closely with Frederick in the Francis Ormond Mine (1881 'EXPLOSION OF LITHOFRACTEUR AT CALIFORNIA GULLY.', Bendigo Advertiser (Vic. : 1855 - 1918), 11 July, p. 2, viewed 12 February, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article88635406). All the boys had learnt a trade as they were growing up, John had learnt butchering, Philip had learnt carpentry and Frederick had learnt engine driving. With these trades they could join the world of work anywhere in Australia. Later when John changed his profession and become a well established mine manager in the area. Even after John became a well regarded mining manager in the community himself, he insisted like his father had done, that his own son become qualified in his profession 

“Amongst the successful candidates for first class mining managers' certificates was Mr. J. Ebbott. junr.. son of Mr. J. Ebbott, manager of the Forest Creek Gold Reefs mine, Castlemaine.” (1905 'THE HIGH COMMISSIONER BILL.', Bendigo Advertiser (Vic. : 1855 - 1918), 10 November, p. 4, viewed 12 February, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article89534286)

Education and a solid education were highly valued and priced in the Ebbott Family.
The youngest Helen who was only 6 when her father died, and had spent those years on the family farm and in the bosom of their tight knit church community.  When Helen & John’s father died thier mother moved the family into town a place that she found an exciting and bustling. A few years after arriving in town when she was 9  her only sister got married, leaving only her mother, Frederick and herself in the house.  Both Frederick & Emma went to school, being much younger than the others they both went to the newly established local school. Their father had thought education very important and had even been involved in setting up the school.(History of Chewton State School SS1054 (Published for Centenary Celebrations Saturday, October 20, 1962))

1853 'MOUNT ALEXANDER.', The Sydney Morning Herald(NSW : 1842 - 1954), 2 February, p. 2 Supplement: Supplement to the Sydney Morning Herald, viewed 13 February, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12943356

A town without structure

 http://nla.gov.au/nla.mus-vn1867458

Ironically although thousands of miles away from their home country the Ebbotts moved to an area in the Victorian countryside that was populated with a large number of Cornish. Together these immigrants formed the basis of a tight knit, but not exclusive, society bringing with them not only their Methodism and cultural identity but also their mining skills. John’s father wasn't a miner but his cultural heritage and involvement in the local church would have helped to solidify his place in the community, his profession would have given him stability when he wasn't inevitably dabbling in the search for gold. His Cornish contacts within the church would have helped point him in the right direction.  

“Those who were most successful at mining in this area were either Cornish people, who had experience at mining, or ex-convicts, who had been taught by the British Government how to use picks and shovels. Both classes of people were physically ready for the strenuous work required for winning the gold. The Bendigo area required dry mining procedures, but some water was still needed even for this. So, the population rose and fell according to the yearly rainfall pattern. Any new discovery of gold in some other district would lead to a new rush., This could cause a greater part of the population in a district suddenly to disappear. So, if even a large community existed in a certain place, very little of it might exist three months later.”(Robert Evans, EARLY EVANGELICAL REVIVALS IN AUSTRALIA A Study of Surviving, Published Materials about Evangelical Revivals in Australia up to 1880 Research in Evangelical Revivals 2007 last accessed 11/2/2013 http://revivals.arkangles.com/docs/EarlyEvangelicalRevivalsInAustralia.pdf)

The landscape was unforgiving, hot, dry and dusty with floods and fire, those that survived were strong, tough and at times fierce.  There was an ebb and flow of population due to the gold fields and the presence of water which made establishing community a little bit harder than it may have been otherwise.  
The importance of churches and schools was not only as the hub of community life but to ensure that fabric of the community was educated and strong.  The church also provided

“about the only recreation for the steady part of the diggings' population, and served to counteract in others, in some degree, the attractions of the dram shop and the dancing and gambling saloons.” (Robert Evans, EARLY EVANGELICAL REVIVALS IN AUSTRALIA A Study of Surviving, Published Materials about Evangelical Revivals in Australia up to 1880 Research in Evangelical Revivals 2007 last accessed 11/2/2013 http://revivals.arkangles.com/docs/EarlyEvangelicalRevivalsInAustralia.pdf)

When the Ebbott’s arrived in area there was already the beginning of the Methodist church community as there were four places

“occupied as Churches on the Creek, two being only tents and other two weatherboard”(W.L. Blamires and John B. Smith, The early story of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Victoria, A jubilee volume. Published 1886 by Wesleyan Book Depot in Melbourne. Accessed 11/2/2013 at http://archive.org/details/earlystoryofwesl00blam)

so work began in earnest to establish a spiritual base which came to fruition in 1856 when a new Church was built of stone at Chapel Hill.  John’s father wasn't just raising and lending money to the church (Accounting Records Wesleyan Church Chapel Hill, Fryers Creek 1856) he was listed on the Wesleyan Preachers' Plan for Castlemaine Circuit 1854 He also worked assiduously as a as local preacher and class leader.  
These activities became a dominating feature of the Ebbott’s family life.  Later both John, and his brother Philip and Frederick all became heavily involved in the ongoing church movement and would later become very influential members, and leaders.  Membership numbers in the church were bolstered by revivals both at a local and state level that swept through the area regularly.

The Move into Town

John’s grandfather left no will, however the land records reveal the land that he bought in 1858 was sold for  “The sum of £100 due and occurring by John Ebbott deceased to the said Joseph Dawe and the sum of £10 to the said John Ebbott party here to”, some land had been sold the previous year in 1866 (Vendors Books, Victoria (Land Victoria(Natural Resources and Environment)), Book 157 Memorial 538),  ten pounds isn't very much to survive the rest of your life on, particularly if you have dependants   But John's grandmother wasn't beaten, she up stakes and moved into the nearby town of California Gully Eaglehawk.  It’s difficult to know what it would have been like during these difficult times, when there was no widow's pension or child support.

Sarah would have been dependent on her older children if she was unable to find some source of income to support herself and those of her family still at home including her two youngest children who were only 7 & 8 years of age at the time.  Her 2 eldest boys got married within a year after their father’s death Philip married on the 13 Apr 1868 in Chewton and John married Margaret Thomas 12 Nov 1868 in Sandhurst.  Her eldest daughter Emma married another year after that  on the 24 Nov 1870 in California Gully, Eaglehawk to Andrew Malcom.

Sarah's certificate of title for the land she brought

On 1 Oct 1867 Sarah purchases land in California Gully (Land Title, Volume 238 Folio 12 Jul 1873)   Later she mortgages the property (Land Title, back of Title Vol 238 Folio 47448   Reference 8433) to enable her to invest her money in a local mining company, it is an unusual step for a woman to become involved in the establishment of a local mining company.

Sarah must have been a strong woman, she never remarried indicating that she must have had some sort of independent income to support herself and the remaining children and buy a house and land

The launch of the company is announced in the Victoria Government Gazette 1870 (Gazette 56, Page 1276) the CLARA GOLD MINING COMPANY (REGISTERED).  Those involved in the venture, including Sarah Ebbott with 700 shares, were her two sons -  Phillip Henry Ebbott with 2800 shares and John Ebbott, with 700 shares.
Sarah is one of the few women that I have come across in this period of history to be involved in such a venture, she had to mortgage her house to raise the funds..  Perhaps the move was to help her sons, or to ensure that there was some money coming into the home via dividends.
Acouple of years later the following advertisement comes our in The Bendigo Advertiser (1872 'Advertising.', Bendigo Advertiser (Vic. : 1855 - 1918), 2 November, p. 3, viewed 9 February, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article88246671)

“CHARLES C. WHITE will sell by Public Auction, at half-past two p.m., on Saturday 2nd November, at the Victoria Hotel, the following forfeited Shares, unless the calls due with expenses thereon be paid to me before noon of the day of sale:-
....
S. Ebbott, 500, 14,901 to 15,400
.....
JAMES G. WEDDELL, Manager.
Albion Chambers, Sandhurst, 1st November, 1872” 

Of the original 700 shares she may have only needed to have paid for 200, leaving 500 to be paid at a later date, payment for which is now due.  Sarah didn't sell the family home until 9 July 1873 (Land Title, Back of Land tilte Vol 238 Folio 47488. ) so I'm not sure if was able to pay for the remaining shares or if she had to forfeit them - Obviously more research needed!

Johns marriage to Margaret Thomas

In 1866 it was rumoured that John Ebbott was to engaged to be married to a local girl, she wrote to Aunt to tell her about he happy event but unfortunately something must have happened as the next thing we know John’s father dies in 1867 and in 1868 he is marrying Margaret Thomas The marriage was announced in the Bendigo Advertiser on the 7 Dec 1868

“On the 12th ultimo, in the Wesleyan Church, Forest street, by the Rev William Hill, Mr John Ebbott to Margaret, youngest daughter of Mr John Thomas, all of California Hill”

Margaret Thomas was baptised on the 5 January 1848 in the St Blazey Parish church, Cornwall, the daughter of John Thomas & Margaret Smith. 

Extract for the parish register.

The worlds of John Thomas a miner and Margaret’s eventual father in-law John Ebbott, a Farmer may never have crossed in England, but in Australia things were different, it was a land of possibilities. 
The couple married only 4 years after Margaret arrived in the colony travelling with her mother and older sister Sarah on the “Forest Rights” in 1865, to join their father who had already been in the colony since 1861. By the time they arrived he owned several houses which he was renting out.

When he married John was working as a Mine Manager however a year earlier in 1867 he was a member of the Victorian District Independent Order of Rechabites Cobden Tent No.39 and listed as  John Ebbott aged 27 a butcher with his brother Philip Hy Ebbott aged 24 a carpenter.
Perhaps his marriage to Margaret had resulted in a career change. 

The Mysterious Unclaimed Letter

Post Office, Melbourne [picture] / Thomas Ham. 

On the 31 st July, 1850 at the Melbourne post office there is a letter for a Mr Ebbott waiting for collection[i].  A lone letter sitting uncollected in Melbourne, it’s all very intriguing. I'm not aware of any other Ebbott families coming out to Australia during this time period, could it be that John’s father after recovering from Typhus came out to Australia before returning and bringing his family with him?  He might have wanted to do reconnaissance work, to pave the way for the family, and assure himself that this was the best thing to do, after all, his siblings had gone to America.  Of course I am assuming that no one would write to a person in Australia if they weren’t there(?)

“In the year 1852, accompanied by his wife and children, he reached Adelaide. After a few months' residence there, he removed to the goldfields of Victoria, and settled first at Fryers Creek.”[ii]  Not much is known of this period until 1858 when we find John’s father purchasing land in Fryers in 1858 where he is identified in the documentation as John Ebbott of Glenluce[iii], he must have been living there at the time, and perhaps by adding where he came from it helped to the authorises to identify him from another John Ebbott , his son, who is the centre of this story. It is believed that John’s father John Ebbott (Snr) bought land for farming purposes, the land is sold when his father dies. John Ebbott (Jnr) would have been 18 years of age when the family moved to Fryers.

Somewhere between 1859 and 1861 there was a terrible disaster while “farming on the Kyneton-Bendigo Road just south of Faraday when his farm and all the surrounding countryside was completely burnt out leaving the family with only what they were able to throw down the well. At one stage his cattle were also devoured by plague.” [iiii]

It sounds like a lot of very hard and back breaking work, perhaps the families sustaining religious values helped to keep them together, and strong and got them through these difficult times.

---

[ii] The Wesleyan chronicle. (Publisher/Date: Melbourne : Shaw, Harnett & Co., 1857- ;  Location: Microfiche ; LTMF; Call Number: 131' Volume/Item: 1857:Oct. 1- 1875:Apr. 20;), 1867 page 8 Fiche 30. 

[iii] Vendors Books, Victoria (Land Victoria(Natural Resources and Envirnonment)), Book 184 Memorial 602. 

[iiii] Early families of Shepparton and district : book two - Ebbott family p50-51 (compiled and edited by Eileen Torney, Betty Foster and Brian Emmett from written contributions by the families of our early settlers. [Shepparton, Vic.] Shepparton Family History Group, c2000.) 

[i] Port Phillip (N.S.W. : District)., Port Phillip government gazette (Melbourne, New South Wales: Govt. Printer, 1 (Jan. 2, 1844)-no. 34 (July 9, 1851)), No 32, 7 August 1850, 526 - Page 530 http://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/view.cgi?class=general&state=P&year=1850&page_num=530

All but one Leave Cornwall for greener pastures

Sometime between 1841 and 1852 John’s father suffered from Typhus fever, the family did not think he would survive, the long illness was “very prejudicial to his temporal interests” (The Wesleyan chronicle, 1867 page 8)   so when he migrated to Australia he was in search of new opportunities.   However he did not leave until a year after his father had passed away.  Philip Upton Ebbott died after 17 weeks of illness (Death Certificate Philip Upton Ebbott, 12 May 1851, Reference June Quarter, Launceston District, County Cornwall Devon; Vol 9, Page 111, General Register Office, England), curiously the death wasn't certified in-spite of the length of the illness.
The length of  his grandfather's illness may explain why his Uncle Philip was living next door to his grandparents in the 1851 census, perhaps it was to help his mother manage the farm during this difficult time.   Normally these duties would fall to the eldest son however if John’s father was ill he would have been unable to assist, leaving the responsibility to the next brother to be the head of the extended family.  

By 1861 Uncle Philip has  moved back to own property in Tregune, Warbstow, , Cornwall

1. Philip Ebbott,Head, aged 51, Farmer Of 150 Acres,Tresmeer Cornwall,,Bible Christian Local Preacher
2. Grace Ebbott,Wife, aged 49, Farmer's Wife
3. Philip M Ebbott,Son, aged 13, Farmers Son
4. Grace Ebbott,Dau, aged 10, Farmers Daur
5. John Ebbott, Son, aged 4
6. Agnes Uglow,Serv, aged 18, General Servant

The 1851 census is also the last time we see the John’s grandmother in Cornwall,as she migrated to the US soon to join her eldest daughter Mary Ulgow.  It is thought that John’s grandmother travelled with his uncle William who was still living at home when the 1851 census was taken.  According to William’s  Naturalization Index card  Record he arrived in the US he arrived in Oct 1854 coming into the Port of Detroit, Michigan, it is very possible he was travelling with his mother. (National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.;  Soundex Index to Naturalization Petitions for the United States District and Circuit Courts, Northern District of Illinois and Immigration and Naturalization Service District 9, 1840-1950 (M1285); Microfilm Serial:  M1285; Microfilm Roll:  48.)

It would appear that Aunt Margery has also left Cornwall by 1861 for greener pastures although she cannot be placed until 1880 when she is living with a James Bluett and Greogory Ebbott is living with another Bluett family next door. (Year: 1870; Census Place:  Ottawa,  Waukesha,  Wisconsin; Roll:  M593_1743; Page:  391A; Image:  499; Family History Library Film:  553242)

Much later Uncle Philip would also migrate to New York on the "SS City of Boston" on the 6 May 1868 ,  then onto Palmyra, Wisconsin, USA Shipping Record from the Steamer" City of Boston" (National Archives and Records Administration, Film M237, Reel 294, List 392. Transcribed by Phil Buckley a member of the Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild  5 January 2005 access at http://immigrantships.net/v7/1800v7/bostonco18680506_01.html on 9 Sep 2005).
Travelling on board together were:-
1. Phillip Ebbott, aged  57, Farmer    
2. Grace Ebbott, aged 55, Wife        
3. Philip H Ebbott, aged 21, Farmer      
4. Grace Ebbott, aged 18,  Spinster    
5. John Ebbott, aged 12, Child

The only descendant  with the surname of Ebbott left in Cornwall is Caroline Ebbott, daughter of the divorced couple Gregory Ebbott & Catherine Mathew, she is  working as a servant and living with James and Sally Daw's family. (Cornwall Online Census Project-1851 (Transcript of Piece HO107/1899 (Tresmeer & Tremaine); Enumeration District 3&5; Civil Parish of Tresmeer accessed http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~kayhin/51899a.html#ED3 on Friday 22 July 2005). Caroline goes on to marry Ephraim Gimblett in 1875.

The Ebbott Family in 1851 Census

John’s grandparents had had 10 children, 5 boys and 5 girls, by the 1851 census however the number of aunts and uncles living in the area had begun to diminish, only one of their daughters now lived close by, with the one having gone to the USA with her husband, other 3 had predeceased their parents.

Two sons had also moved away, Henry as a Methodist minister had gone to Canada possibly around 1844 and Gregory had moved to the USA with his new wife, Catherine, although she had returned by 1849 after leaving her husband, but the divorce didn’t officially come through until 1854.  One of his uncles, the youngest, Uncle William was still living at home, and his Uncle Philip had moved back onto the same property bringing his family and widowed mother in-law with him, presumably Philip had taken over the reins on his parents farm as his father had retired.

John’s family in contrast had moved to Launceston, where his father was still engaged in farming, having moved since 1841, he was possibly already preparing for the journey to Australia in 1852.

It is interesting that he chose to live in Launceston as according to historic accounts it was a hot bed for Methodism. 

“About the year 1837 or 1838 (for precise details are difficult to obtain upon the point), some local members of the Wesleyan Methodist Connexion, dissatisfied with the attitude of their ministers on various points of church government, seceded from the parent body, and met for worship in a private house, shortly afterwards engaging the Western Subscription Room for preaching services.  Their numbers so increased that in 1840 the erection of a chapel was commenced in the North Road, the money being raised by shares, which were afterwards sold and given up, the building being settled ona trust in conformity with the rules of the Wesleyan Methodist Association.  In 1850 and 1852 further secessions took place from the original body, additional strengthening the local forces of the Association, which joined the Wesleyan Reformers in 1857 to form the United Methodist Free Churches though the name of "Association Chapel" did not die out for many years.”[i]

 This was obviously the flavor of the family’s religious fervor as Philip Ebbott, I’m not sure whether it was the father or the son, is in the newspaper in 1845 as follows:-

In “The West Briton & Cornwall Advertiser” on the Friday 6 JUNE 1845 the following article appeared

“STATE OF PARISH CLERKS The clerk's salary cannot be removed by law, neither can the church wardens legally make a rate to pay him. The following is a copy of the notice referred to:"HENRY OLVER take Notice that the farmers of Trest[rail] have agreed not to pay you any more Sallery for the clerk's office then Last year therefore you must Look to Morgen (the perpetual curate) for it. " "April ye 11th 1844, Philip Ebbott Churchwarden"The farmers of the parish of Warbstow have also voted not to pay the clerk's salary as well as the sexton's; while the churchwardens of the parishes of Lezant, St. Petherwin, and St. Thomas by Launceston, have given notice to the clerks that they will not pay them any more salaries.[ii]”

 There were obviously changes afoot in the wider community and the Ebbott family were right amongst it.

---

[i] Launceston, Past and Present by Alfred F Robbins. First published in 1888.

[ii] [From "The Book of St. Austell" by Hammond, originally the Parish clerks, who were voted into office, were allowed, as a salary, to charge 2d. for entering a marriage or baptism in the register. They also were allowed to conduct a service, but this ceased quite soon, as people preferred clergy to conduct the ceremony. By this date, their duties had changed, and the people didn't nominate or vote for them.]

Arriving in Australia

Port Adelaide: South Australian 1867

Young John Ebbott family arrived in Australia on the Gloucester which left Plymouth on the 30 April 1852 and arrived in Adelaide on the 12 August 1852, a big journey for a lad who was only 11 years old at the time.   The Gloucester was 13^th ship from England to arrive in the South Australia with government passengers that year[i]. 

South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) Saturday 14 August 1852 p 2 Article extract

The whole family travelled together

1. John Ebbott was listed as an agricultural labourer aged 43 years
2. Sally, (Sarah) was 36
3. Jno, was 11 years old
4. Philip 8
5. Emma 5
6. William 1 (who was not amongst the passengers to disembark the ship at the end of the journey.)

The trip took 3 and half months in total.

South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) Saturday 14 August 1852 p 2 Article extract

It was a horrendous journey.   “The Gloucester had 25 deaths during this particular journey. .   This was a particularly high number of deaths, as the average voyage death percentage rate was 1.8 for a journey such as this.  It was in the top eight of vessels out of the seventeen vessels that suffered more than 16 deaths at sea, accounting for five per cent of all ships arriving after 1848”[ii].

Even on arrival the journey was not smooth sailing

South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) Wednesday 18 August 1852 p 3 Article

 “FATAL ACCIDENT - On Monday afternoon last, as the ship Gloucester was being towed up the harbour, the ship's boar, containing two men, which was being towed by the ship, was capsized, and one man unfortunately drowned.  Boars were immediately sent to the spot, as also a police-boat with drags; but up to a late hour the body had not been found.”

In all this confusion their William their youngest child at the time, he died of gastro enteritis on the 12 August, the day of arrival.  He is said to have been buried on the banks of the Torrens River. 

When the Gloucester finally arrived 284 people disembarked, including 113 children and infants; these were made up of 277 English, 3 Scots, and 4 Irish.

South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) Saturday 14 August 1852 p 2 Article extract

(Note although the Ebbott family is not listed on the passenger in the newspaper, after consulting the original ship records that is Ebbott family listed and no Elliot family listed, it is likely that the journalist misheard the name and put down Elliot instead of Ebbott.)

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[i] Webpage for the Ship Gloucester on The Shipslist Kindly transcribed and submitted to TheShipsList by Robert Janmaat, Adelaide, from a variety of sources, http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/gloucester1852.shtml accessed 23 August 2012

[ii] Bound for South Australia Births and deaths on government-assisted immigrant ships 1848-1885 Robin Haines, Judith Jeffery, and Greg Slattery ISBN 0 947284 41 9

1841 was a busy time

On Thursday 3rd June 1841 John’s uncle Philip Ebbott married Grace Piper in Warbstow in the local parish church by licence.

St Werburgh's Church, Warbstow photographed by Neil Lewin10 July 2006 

In 2013 the church now lies between two other Canworthy Water Methodist Church built in 1859 and Bethel Methodist Church perhaps indicative of the fervour of Methodism in the area that was gradually building in the 1840s.

The Ebbott and Bone families were close not only because John’s parents had married but because we see Jane Bone, older sister of Sarah Bone, being a witness at the marriage. 

Warbstow was only 2.6 Miles/4.2 Km South East of Tresmeer so it would have been an easy journey for John’s parents, and the extended Ebbott family, to attend the wedding. John, who was only one year old at the time, he probably stayed home with one of the servants, and although the journey was short it would have been tiring for John’s mother in her delicate state (3 months pregnant).

Jane even in her official capacity as a witness to the marriage probably wouldn't have travelled alone, she most likely either travelled to the wedding with her parents. A wedding was always being a fine occasion for celebration and a chance to get out. It is difficult to know however whether Jane was accompanied by both her of parents or just her father. Jane’s mother (John’s maternal grandmother) died only 2 days after the wedding was it from all the excitement, or had she been poorly for some time, unfortunately we may never know as the details have been swallowed up by time.

It must have been a roller coaster of a year, with events moving from the excitement of the wedding on Thursday to the death of his grandmother two days later on the Saturday, and then to cap off the year his younger brother Julius dies at the age of two weeks, the day after Christmas day so unexpectedly, that there hadn't even been an opportunity for the young infant to be baptised. Sarah his mother was still lying in recovering from the ordeal of childbirth and taking a much needed rest to recuperated. It must have seemed that the good is so very predictably followed by the bad, not that he would have been able to follow all the goings on, but his young mind would have absorbed the unexplained emotion none the less.

It would be a few more years before John would be joined again by another sibling.

Where was your family on the 7th June 1841?

The West Briton  4 JUNE 1841,Friday

“On Monday next, the 7th of June, an attempt will again be made to form a Speculum Britannice, or mirror of the inhabitants as to their condition and locality, when they arise from their slumbers on the morning of that day, to give an exact picture of the then living generation, and to perpetuate a description of it for present and future use. This will be found no easy task, it will require all the assistance which the appointed officers, the local societies, the clergy, and others can give to render it complete as a national work. The institutions at Falmouth, Truro, Tavistock, Plymouth, and elsewhere should be on the alert. A statistical view of eight miles round St. Andrew's church, Plymouth, showing, inter alia, how the population is located, as well on the water as on the land, would be a valuable present to the British Association on their meeting at that beautiful harbour in August.”

For the Ebbott family the 1841 census revealed that most of the extended family were still living nearby each other, except for John’s Aunt Elizabeth who had moved the furthest away after getting married.  All of the families were engaged in some sort farming.

The distance that John's extened family lived away from John's Parents, note the circles  appear at 4km intervals.

John is only one year and living with his parents on the farm, and his mother is pregnant with his brother Julius.  His maternal grandmother, Grace Bone, has just died two before the census was taken, so his paternal grandmother, Mary Ebbott, has left her family to go and visit John Bone and help where ever she can, perhaps to assist with Grace’s funeral arrangements, leaving her husband at home.  Accompanying her is only one servant, Sarah Pearce. After all her own daughter and John's mother Sarah is heavily pregnant with her second child she can hardly be expected to leave her leave her baby behind and is in no fit state to travel.

So much for a quiet country life!

A firm Religious foundation

John Ebbott Jnr was born into a Cornish farming family in Badharlick, Egloskerry.  The eldest male child to John Ebbott Snr and Sarah Bone,  the life he would eventually carve out for himself in Australia would be quite different. He was baptised in 1840 in Launceston, Cornwall as a Wesleyan Methodist, unlike his father and mother who were baptised into the Church of England.


His father was a religious man, and family myth has it that he was one of 3 brothers who left the Wesleyan heartland in Cornwall to take the message further a field, one went to Canada, one to the US and John’s father came out to Australia, with wife and children in tow including John Jnr who was only 12 at the time.

Comparing the Wesleyan population to the church of England in the area of North Cornwall where John Ebbott  was born.  source 1851 Religious Census http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_rate_page.jsp?u_id=10056743&c_id=0&data_theme=T_REL&id=9

The Ebbotts had become Wesleyan Methodists and members of the second largest group of churches after the Church of England.


In an article in The Spectator in 1907, the influence that John’s father had on his life is evident.

"Mr Ebbott, senior, as before mentioned, was connected principally with Chewton.  This brother was conspicuously successful in pioneering work.  Wherever he went, he formed a new Methodist society[sic translation - church or similar), and God prospered his undertakings.  He was a man who experience much worldly misfortune; once the bush-fires swept his farm, leaving him and family homeless; disease took his cattle, and continued ill-health added its distressing influence to his last days, but his faith in God never and he died in 1867, regretted, respected and beloved by all.  His sons Philip and John, followed his example in their attachment to the Methodist cause, and the latter is now a leading man in the Chewton congregation."

 So it is no surprise that we later find him amongst his other endeavours heavily involved in the Methodist movement in Australia as he gets older.

Announcing my "Family History Writing Challenge" Launch Date 1/2/2013

I am pleased to announce that on the Friday 1st February I will be posting my first jottings concerning John Ebbott, I hope you can join me and cheer me along as I wade my way through the world of words trying to bring sense to their meaning.
My plan of attack is not yet clear to me, but as the deadline approaches I'm sure it will have begun to crystallise under the pressure.

Who would have thought 12 months ago I would be beginning "The Family History Writing Challenge"?

Source: waveavenue.com via Ruth on Pinterest