Person Page - 12

     Grace was born at 2 Little Bank Street, South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on 31 July 1898.¹ Her father Benjamin Hill did not register her birth until some 6 weeks later on 9 September. The entry in Victorian Birth index lists him as the father although the certificate is in the name of Grace Christina McDowall.
Grace and her brother Benjamin did not know until they were both adults. that their parents were unmarried at the date of their birth. It was a cause of great embarrasment to them both throughout their lives. Other members of the family were obviously well aware of the situation because these two older children were not listed on their mother's death certificate.² They witnessed Christina Elizabeth McDowall's death at Fire Station Heidelberg Rd, Ivanhoe, Victoria, Australia, on 6 September 1914.³

She married James Albert Victor Whitaker at Ivanhoe, Victoria, Australia, on 15 March 1924. As of 15 March 1924,her married name was Whitaker.

Grace died on 16 August 1978 at Eltham, Victoria, Australia, at age 80. Her body was interred on 30 August 1978 at Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia.⁴ Her estate was probated in 1983.

     Hannah died. Hannah was born at Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, in 1865.¹

     Harrison was born at Holywell Row, Finsbury, London, England, on 15 October 1851.¹ He was baptized at St Leonard's, Shoreditch, London, Middlesex, England, on 23 November 1851. .² Benjamin, Harrison, Caroline and Eliza was a relative of immigrant Joseph Hill on 23 April 1855 at Geelong, Victoria, Australia.^3,4 He married Isabel McGregor Collins (Hill) in 1872. Reg. No. 1056 born London. He married Frances Pennington in 1880. Have no proof of this connection.
Reg. No. 173
born London.. Harrison died in 1935 at Northcote, Victoria, Australia.⁵

     A Harrison Hill married Cath Hewart 1914/6584. Harrison was born in 1881. Reg. No. 1139. Harrison died in 1950 at Heidelberg, Victoria. Parents-Harrison Hill/ Frances Pennington.¹

     Harrison was born at Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, in 1869.¹ Harrison died in 1870 at Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. Age 17 months.²

     Harry was born at Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, in 1880.¹ Harry died.

     Harry was born at Warnambool, Victoria, Australia, in 1904.¹ Harry died in 1966 at Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Index confirmed parents..²

     Helena Annie only lived for 13 hours. Helena died on 13 April 1884 at Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia. Both parents are named in the index..^1,2 Helena was born at Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia, on 13 April 1884. Her body was interred on 14 April 1884 at Carlton, Victoria, Australia, at Melbourne General Cemetery. Cemetry listing for Ellen A Hill..²

     Herbert was born at Caversham, Dunedin, New Zealand, on 29 July 1887. Herbert died on 2 April 1975 at age 87.

     Herbert died. Herbert was born at Port Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, in 1905.

     Hilda died in 1882 at Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. 1882 Reg. No. 10691.. Hilda was born at Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, in 1882. 1882 Reg. No. 6817.

     Isabella was born at Caversham, Dunedin, New Zealand, on 3 January 1877. Isabella died on 20 August 1896 at Caversham, Dunedin, New Zealand, at age 19.

     Jane was born at Caversham, Dunedin, New Zealand, on 16 June 1902. Jane died in 1986 at Caversham, Dunedin, New Zealand.

     John was born at Collingwood, Victoria, Australia, in 1861.¹ John died in 1863 at Collingwood, Victoria, Australia. Age 14 months.²

     He married an unknown person . Jonas died. Jonas was born at Collingwood, Victoria, Australia, in 1874.¹

     Jonas died in 1871 at Collingwood, Victoria, Australia.¹ Jonas was born at Collingwood, Victoria, Australia, in 1871.²

     Jonas was born at Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, in 1860.¹ Jonas died in 1861 at Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. Age 1 year.²

     Joseph was born at Limerick, Ireland, on 2 September 1810.^1,2 He was baptized in the church of at St John at Limerick, Ireland, on 7 September 1810. The parish register records Richard Hill and Elizabeth Lee as the parents.² The family appears to have remained at Limerick, Ireland, in 1818, when the baptism of the last child was registered.

Before 1830 Joseph migrated to England. Conditions in Ireland --- ? When he married Eleanor in 1830 he gave his home parish as Bristol, which would have been the port of entry from Ireland. It appears that other family members also left Ireland. His younger brother Richard followed Joseph to London and eventually to Australia. Descendants of Maria Hill now living in Australia believe that she was a sister of Richard and Joseph and also emigrated to Australia with her husband.

On 21 February 1830 Joseph and Eleanor Hewitt (Hill) were married at the parish church of St Mary at St Mary, Newington, Middlesex, England, following the reading of banns. Because Eleanor was only 17 the consent of parents or guardian would have been required but this was not specifically noted. The witnesses were Benjamin Hewitt (possibly her father) and James Hewett.³

Following their marriage Joseph and Eleanor lived at least until 1841 in Rotherhithe, an inner suburb in the dockland area south of the river. Children born during this time were all baptised at the parish church of St Mary in Rotherhithe but the family had moved house a number of times within a small radius. This was not unusual, particularly for poorer families living in big cities. (Talk about the plight of the Irish in London). The first two children, Eleanor and Joseph were baptized at the same ceremony on 25 August 1833. At this time the family were living in Elephant Lane.⁴ In June 1837 when Elizabeth was baptized, Joseph had moved his family to Band Street at Rotherhithe, London, Middlesex, England.⁵ Before 13 March 1839 when Richard was born the family had changed home again. Their address was given as Paradise Street, Rotherhithe, only two streets from Elephant Lane.

A national census was taken on the night of 6 June 1841. Joseph was listed as head of household now residing at Ship and Mermaid Row Southwalk, at Rotherhithe, London, Middlesex, England. Living with him were his wife Eleanor 25, and children Eleanor 10, Joseph 8, Ann 6, Elizabeth 4, Richard 2 and Mary 1 month. The children had all been born in Surrey. Three weeks later on 20 June 1841 they had again moved and were living in Upper Queen Street.⁴

On census night 30 March 1851 Joseph was listed as head of household at 134 Holywell Row Shoreditch. During the ten years since the previous census, the family had apparently moved to Shoreditch, an inner suburb on the north of the river Thames . Three families totalling 12 persons were living at the same address. The use of Hill as a given name for a member of one of these families could indicate that they were relatives.⁶

At the end of 1854 Joseph and Eleanor were to emigrate. Having lived for at least 24 years in London, they now embarked on a much bigger move. Joseph's younger brother Richard Hill with his wife Elizabeth Mary Beves and their young family had left for Australia in 1849. News of the gold finds in Victoria in 1851 had spread like wild fire and Joseph would have been encouraged to follow Richard and his wife to Australia. A decision was apparently made by several other relatives to go to Australia about the same time. The first of this group to leave England was the eldest son Joseph and his wife Sophia Paton. This couple had paid their own passage and sailed from Southampton on 17 October 1854 on the British Empire. Meanwhile Joseph was granted an assisted passage under the Assisted Immigrant Scheme. When it became time to leave, Joseph sen. with Eleanor and their four youngest children also had to journey from London to Southampton as the port for embarkation. They finally sailed on 27 December 1854 on the Northumberland, a ship of 811 tons. The master was J.W.Gill and there were 305 passengers which included 245 1/2 statute adults. The second son Richard, who was to become the grandfather of Grace Christina Hill, was also travelling on the Northumberland. He had paid his own passage and as a fifteen year old he was berthed with the single males.⁷

On 23 April 1855[ they arrived at Geelong after a voyage of ? days. The family of Richard and Eleanor Hill, the great x 4 grandparents of Robert Whitaker, were the fourth group of his ancestors to arrive in Australia. In return for the assisted passage, Joseph was assigned to work for Mr Tomkins of Moorhead Street (Geelong?) It is not clear as to how long the family may have stayed in Geelong. However Joseph would have expected to be met by his brother and may well have written to tell Richard of the decision to emigrate. There were several letters for both Richard and his wife which were unclaimed at the Post Office indicating they were not there to welcome the new arrivals. On 5 May 1855 Joseph placed an advertisement in the missing friends section of the "Argus" newspaper to try and locate Richard. informing him that his brother Joseph had arrived on the N]orthumberland.^7,8 He resided at Collingwood, Victoria, Australia, in 1869.

Joseph died on 6 February 1869 at Little Oxford Street, Collingwood, Victoria, Australia, at age 58. Stated age on D Cert 58 years.⁹ He was buried at the at Melbourne General Cemetery on 8 February 1869 at Carlton, Victoria, Australia. It was the custom for families to use available grave space according to need, and another member of the extended family had already been buried in this grave. Rachel Lee age 48 had died three years earlier on 13 December 1864. Her husband John Lee who died on 15 May 1877, and their son Harrison Lee age 57 who died on 18 January 1908, were also buried in this grave.^1,10

     The use of given names for children appears to link this Joseph to the Hill/Hewitt family. The Benjamin Hewett Hill and Mary Ellen Purnell family has some similar names . Particularly noticeable is the use for both families of the name Osborne and both families spent time in Ballarat and Collingwood but not at the same time. I could check a marriage certificate -Is Joseph the father of both grooms. A death cert could also help.
Joseph was born at Rotherhithe, London, Middlesex, England, on 5 August 1833. He was baptized at St Mary's, Rotherhithe, London, Middlesex, England, on 25 August 1833. .¹ They was listed as a resident in the census report at Shoreditch, London, Middlesex, England, on 30 March 1851.² He married Sophia Paton at London, England, before 17 October 1854. He emigrated, on 17 October 1854. Point of origin: London. Assisted Immigration Books VPRS 7310
Joseph Hill Blacksmith from Surrey, age 21, and wife Sophia, on own account.
The ship carried 197 statute adults. 11 deaths on board.³ On 15 January 1855 Joseph and Sophia arrived in Geelong. During the voyage 11 deaths were reported..³ They was a witness at Richard Hill and Grace Cameron's wedding at St John's Church of England, Latrobe St, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on 7 April 1863.⁴ He witnessed Grace Cameron's death at Henry Street, Collingwood, Victoria, Australia, on 3 November 1879.⁵ Joseph died in 1904 at Collingwood, Victoria, Australia. Index confirmed parents..⁶ Joseph died in 1904 at Collingwood, Victoria, Australia. Index confirms parents..⁷

     Joseph was born at Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, in 1875. Reg. No. 13914.¹ Joseph died in 1879 at Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. Reg. No. 290.²

     Joseph died. Had son Joseph 1895, daughter Ellen Mary d. 1915 age 17 All at Kurumburra. Joseph was born at Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, in 1864.¹

     Joseph died. Joseph was born at Korumburra, Victoria, Australia, in 1895.

     Joseph was born at Collingwood, Victoria, Australia, in 1866.¹ Joseph died in 1943 at Prahran, Victoria, Australia. Index confirms parents..²

     This child appears to have been given a second name from his grandmother - mother of Grace Cameron. Links with child perhaps a twin born in sma eyear? with given name of Cameron. Joseph died in 1893 at Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. Index confirms parents.
Were Joseph Marshall and Benjamin Cameron twins CHECK INDEX for year..¹ Joseph was born at Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, in 1893. He was a twin brother to Benjamin Cameron. Joseph was named for his maternal great grandmother.²

     Joseph was born at Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, in 1896. Look for a birth in index.¹ Joseph died in 1974. 1974 Reg. No. 4294?.

     Julia died. Julia was born at Caversham, Dunedin, New Zealand, on 6 May 1886.

     Lilly was born at Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on 22 February 1886. Lilly died in December 1971 at age 85.¹

     Mary died in 1873 at Collingwood, Victoria, Australia. Age 5 days.¹ Mary was born at Collingwood, Victoria, Australia, in 1873.²

     Mary was born. She married William Miekle. Mary died on 12 October 1953.

     Mary died. Mary was born at Caversham, Dunedin, New Zealand, on 17 November 1913.