Find Ancestors

My GF's sister Elizabeth Newton, born 5 Feb 1864 in Donington, Lincs, married a John Clarke Miller bc 1861, at St John's Gainsborough, Lincs on 1 Jun 1885. According to the marriage cert he is a gentleman and an Australian British Subject. His father was Robert Clarke Miller a chemist bc 1840 place of birth unknown. John Clarke Miller was living at 8 Patrick Rd, West Bridgford, Notts for the 1891 census age 30. He died 10 Sep 1898 at West Bridgford, Notts. I have contacted the GRO for a copy of his birth certificate and they have looked 1 year either side of 1 Jan 1861 but been unable to produce a certificate. Can anybody help me further with this person or give me advice as how to find his earlier details and his family. The earliest record of John Clarke Miller is 1871 census where he was a boarderer at Clough House, New Hereford St, Clough Lane, Sheffield, Yorks age 10.

ROBERT CLARK MILLER
Pedigree
Male

Event(s):
Birth:
Christening:
23 MAR 1831 Worksop, Nottingham, England
Death:
Burial:

Parents:
Father: JOHN MILLER
Family
Mother: MARY

Australia Birth Index, 1788-1922 about John Clarke Miller
Name: John Clarke Miller
Father's Name: Robert Clarke Miller
Mother's Name: Amella Mcewen
Birth Place: Castlemaine, Victoria
Registration Year: 1861
Registration Place: Victoria
Registration Number: 4307

Run-on sentence narratives are so hard for unrelated people to follow ...

I can't find the 1871 census. Could you just reproduce it for us? What does it say for his place of birth in particular?

"Australian British subject" would normally indicate that he was born in Australia but although born abroad was a British subject (i.e. born to a British father).

In that case there would of course be no birth registered in England.

Lindsey -- submitted or extracted record? (re 1831 baptism of father)

There ya go, as I was typing, Lindsey was confirming my hypothesis. ;)

Hi Lindsey,
Thank you for that. I had seen the Robert C Miller in the 1851 census age 20 who was a coal merchants son living at Bridge St, Worksop. At the time he was unmarried. Is this the same family as the middle name of Clark has an [e] on the end according to the marriage and death certs?

Hi James.

If John Clarke MILLER was an "Australian British Subject", then its possible he was born here in Aussie.


From the state of Victoria bdm's

Registered birth:

MILLER, John Clarke CB 1426838 Birth
Father: Robert Clarke
Mother: Mcewen Amelia
Event Place: C'Maine
Reg Year: 1861
Reg State: Victoria
Ref Number: 4307


C'Maine is ( Castlemaine ) country Victoria.



Tony ( Victoria Australia )

Australia Marriage Index, 1788-1949 about Robert Clarke Miller
Name: Robert Clarke Miller
Spouse Name: Amelia McEwen
Marriage Place: Victoria
Registration Place: Victoria
Registration Year: 1860
Registration Number: 2700

Thank you Lindsey, TonyOz and JaneyCanuk,
The info you have sent is brilliant and seems spot on. As John Clarke Miller returned to England do you have any record of what happened to his mother and father. Did they remain in Oz?

James, it was 1831. People didn't know how to read or write, let alone spell their names. ;)

The answer to my question is that the baptism record for Robert is extracted -- taken directly from parish records by a Mormon team, not submitted by an anonymous Mormon or other person.

The batch number is C008622. If you search at

http://www.familysearch.org/eng/search/igi/search_igi.asp

for births/baptisms with surname Millier and parents John and Mary in that batch you'll see a total of I think 6 baptisms (the search also produces results with similar surnames, e.g. Mellars) who are possibly siblings of Robert.

Sorry Janey I was bumbling about on ozzie trees, extracted record

oz trees give Elizabeth Thom as mother, so I could be wrong, not the first time !

1851 household in Worksop (it really is best to give full details, e.g. names of parents, not just occupation of father ...)

John Miller 65
Elizabeth Miller 63
Elizabeth Miller 22
Robert C Miller 20
Ann Smith 60 - sister-in-law, unmarried
Ann Grant 21
Jane Wakings 18

1841, same household

John Miller 50 - malster (maltster)
Elizabeth Miller 50
Robert Miller 10
Elizabeth Hogg 15
Elizabeth Sarginson 15

- living next door to Thomas Clarkson, 60, Coal Merchant - maybe father-in-law?


But the baptism above shows mother Mary. Did father marry twice maybe? So is Elizabeth Hogg in 1841 Elizabeth Miller in 1851, and the wife's daughter from previous marriage maybe?

Yes indeed, John Miller's second marriage -- note wife's surname:

JOHN MILLER
Spouse: ELIZABETH SMITH
Marriage: 27 OCT 1836 Worksop, Nottingham, England
Batch No.: M008622

aha, on the tree with a source it gives the birth I found and then the wrong parents on the tree, no doubt copied from another, why do they do it without checking???

I have to get back to correcting the remaining 30 or so of the 48 trees at Ancestry that have my Cornwall grx4 grandparents (he was the parish clerk, no less!) as the parents of someone who was born, married and died in Tennessee, and whose surname was only vaguely similar anyway ...

They do it because they think once they've paid their money to Ancestry, they will have instant canned family tree! And because they just don't care ...

What I couldn't find before:


1871

Name: Jno C Miller
Age: 10
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1861
Relation: Boarder
Gender: Male
>> Where born: Nk, Australia
Civil parish: Sheffield


It says Australia right there!

I'd guess that his parents were prosperous in Australia and sent the son home to school.

Hi James.

As the town of Castlemaine during the 1860s was a booming Gold mining area, as were many neighbouring towns, its possible ( and i say possible? ) John Clarke Miller's father may have been involved "Shares" in the many Quartz mining reefs in and around Castlemaine.

There is reference to a Robert Miller of "Back Creek" in a Colonial newspaper during 1860 regarding shares in a Quartz Reef...and given that John Clarke Miller birth was registered here.... there is a "Back Creek" in Castlemaine.

So his parents may have been prosperous, and this perhaps is why they could afford to have their son retrurned to the U.K to be educated.( as Janey had found 1871 census )

Newspaper Extract: ( as written )
PROSPECTUS of tho NIGHTINGALE GOLD
MINING and QUARTZ-ORUSHING COM-PANY.
All Nations Roof, Back Creek.
Liabilty Limited t) Amount of Share, undor the
Mining Partneiships Act, 1800.
Capital, £14,000, In 3,603 Shares of £1 Each.
Ten shillings per Bars to bo paid on application, £1
pen share on allotment,.£l per share in two months from the dato of allotment, and no futuro calls to be mado at intervals of less than two months, or to exceed 10s. per share.2,460 shares only aro opon for allotmont, tho romiln
luff 1,050 being reserved for the original pro- prietary.
Alfred Smith, Esq. (Messrs. Ford and Smith), Back Creek.
J. Andrews, Esq., Chairman or the Municipal Council, Back Creek.
Robert Miller, Esq,, Back Creek.
Richard Thorne, Esq, Back Creek

As there were "hundreds" of Robert Miller deaths registered in Victoria alone, between 1861 and 1980s to find a possible death ( thats if he died here? ) and didnt return to the U.K.....we would need to know his parentage to find a possible death registered.

Australian deaths record deceased parents..if known by the informant.

Tony ( Victoria )

Uh oh:

Deaths Dec 1867
Miller Robert Clark 35 Worksop 7b 17

Deaths Mar 1867
Miller Amelia 34 Nottingham 7b 135

Perhaps not so much prosperous as deceased by 1871 ...

The newspaper article was 1860.
I only posted it as a " Possible"

Would need to find incoming passenger reference for the family to the U.K somewhere between 1861-2 and 1867

Hi Tony,
Thank you for your input. I assume from your missive that Miller was as common as surname as it was over here. I will try and find out my end if Robert Clarke Miller did return to UK. I assume he would have come home for the funeral of his son who died 10 Sep 1898 at West Bridgford, or at least to pay his respects, if he knew about it in time. I know air travel had not happened so it would have been a long boat trip, the first Zeppellins were in 1909. Elizabeth his wife had 2 sons John Clarke Miller b1886 and James Clarence Miller b 04 Sep 1887. Whereas James married and was living in UK with his own children in 1911, James appears to have vanished of the English map after 1901. Possible he could have joined his GF in Australia. Once again thank you for all your help my brick wall has started to crumble.