William Mallars Fitz Austen

(circa 3 January 1829 - 27 October 1905)
Father-AssmdDaniel Austen1 (say 1800 - )
Mother-AssmdCaroline Mallars1 (Apr 1809 - )
Relationship2nd great-grandfather of Lorna Henderson

BMDB data

     William Mallars Fitz Austen was born cir. 3 Jan 1829 New Cut, Lambeth, SRY, ENG, if the railway records are indeed William, then 67 and 7/12 counted back from 3 Aug 1896 is 3 Jan 1829.
Which fits with the only other indicators I have for William's birth, ie his marriage showing him as 'full age' in Feb 1853, and a few months later, his Jul 1853 emigration at age 24.2,3,4,1 It is possible that William Mallars Fitzaustin was baptized on 11 Jan 1835 Lambeth, Par. of St Mary, SRY, ENG, entry shows William Mallars as son of Daniel, laborer, and Caroline FITZAUSTEN, resid. New Cut.
For this to fit, however well the names work with census and certificate data, it would have to be a late baptism as census data places William Mallars Fitz AUSTEN as born Lambeth around 1829.
There is no birth date given on the baptism entry.1
     William Austin married Emma Clinton, daughter of William Clinton and Jemima Parker, on 6 Feb 1853 St Martin in the Field, London, MDX, ENG, the cert (Folio#155) shows, for the Registration district of Westminster, 1853, Parish of St Martin in the Field, County of Middlesex. Groom: William Austin, full age, bachelor, Porter, resident of Snow Hill, Father's name and profession blank. Bride: Emma Clinton, full age, spinster, no profession, residence at time of marriage Snow Hill. Father William Clinton, 'Carrier or Currier'. Married in the Parish church according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Established Church after Banns by Minister: S Flood Jones, Curate. Witnessed by H Clinton (assumed to be Emma's brother Henry), S Crossman (might be Emma's half cousin Sarah, dtr of Amey Tyrell?, or a friend, or possibly Emma's elder sister Sarah?). (There is no mention of this marriage on Emma's death cert.)5,6,7
     William Austen married Sarah Biggs on 7 Aug 1869 Reg. Office, Whitechapel, MDX, ENG, cert. shows William AUSTEN as 40 widower, railway porter, s/o Robert AUSTIN, solicitor, dec'd; Sarah as 39 widow, d/o Edward BLAKE, engraver; Both signed, Wiliam as AUSTEN, both resid. 52 Mansell St, Whitechapel. Wit. Ernest Augustine ?C?omber, William Walter ELLIS, Geo Thos ADAMS Superintendent Registrar. Certificate before me N EDWARDS, Registrar;
cert. excerpts reported: William Mallars Fitz s/o Robert (solicitor dec'd) AUSTEN; Sarah Jane BIGGS formerly BLAKE.8,9,10
     William Austin died on 27 Oct 1905 Hackney Union Infirmary, Homerton, Hackney, MDX, ENG; cert. shows William AUSTIN as 74, railway goods porter "of 62 Crozier Tce, Homerton". Died of senile decay, chronic bronchitis; Informant J W Oliver, Assistant Superintendent, Hackney Union Infirmary, Homerton; Reg, 3 Nov 1905.11,12
     I would love to hear from anyone with further information on this chap as he is one of my more mysterious ancestors, of whom I should be able to know more, given how relatively recent he was.
However ...13

I have hereby decided that William Austin, porter, marrying Emma CLINTON in 1853 (St Martin in the Fields) and the William Mallars Fitz Austin (WMFA), railway porter, marrying Sarah Jane BIGGS formerly BLAKE in 1869 (Whitechapel) are one and the same person. Never mind that the 1853 one had emigrated to Australia in 1853.

Pros:
occupations certainly match - both were (Railway) Porters:
my one when he married in 1853
WMFA in the 1871/1881 census and 1869 birth cert. of son William Edward Sinclair Fitz AUSTEN (WESFA).
and his 1869 marr. cert. to Sarah Jane BIGGS formerly BLAKE
but more importantly:
DNA matches are indicating a connection between these two families at a level of shared DNA that "fits" this theory.
My aunts would be half 2nd cousins once removed, myself and my cousins half 3rd cousins to our initial match.
With, Jun 2019, another DNA match, this time between all of the above, and a descendant of WESFA's from another line of descent to the initial match

Cons:
1894 marr, cert. of WESFA shows his father as William Austin, engineer, but that seems not to be based on any evidence found to date

To further prove this, we would love to hear from any descendants who may have DNA tested, or would be interested in doing so.
To rule out confirmation bias, ie results made to prove what I want to prove, we also need to rule out the connection being from Alcie Carter's ancestry rather than WEFSA's.
Contact details in the footer of every page.14

The DNA background to the identification of "my" William as one and the same as William Mallars Fitz Austen:

The match is a maternal match from my aunts' viewpoints, so the connection is somewhere back up either their Rowe/Dawe or Austin/Clinton ancestry.
With no matches to any of the well represented DNA tested Rowe or Dawe descendants, the Austin/Clinton ancestry looks very very likely.

From the match's viewpoint we know it is from her paternal line (as hoped) with, until Jun 2019, no indication as to which line.
And then along came one of her 2nd cousins once removed, who shares William's son from his (assumed) second marriage as a common ancestor (and his wife Alice Carter, who still needs to be elminated from enquiries).

Refer to this blogpost for further info and links to sites with ongoing developments, ie RootsChat, WikiTree and FamilySearch.14

Migration

     William Austin migrated from Plymouth, England 2 May 1853 on the 'Roxburgh Castle' to Port Phillip arriving Melbourne in Jul 1853, William being described as a 24 yr old miner also Jemima Clinton, together with Emma Austin and Henry Clinton.3

Census/Where lived/Occupations

     William Mallars Fitz Austen was not found in the census of 1851 LND, ENG, several possibilities exist, but none were immediately obviously him by occupation or residence or companions.15 He was a porter of Snow Hill, Camden Town, London, ENG, in Feb 1853 when he married Emma.16
     In Feb 1854 William Austin was a ginger beer manufacturer of Little Bourke St West, Melbourne, VIC, AUS, when dtr Caroline Emma born.17
     By Aug 1869 William Austen and Sarah Jane Blake were living Mansell St (52), Whitechapel, MDX, ENG.8 William Mallars Fitz Austen was a porter (when son William born) in Nov 1869.18
     By Nov 1869 William Mallars Fitz Austen and Sarah Jane Austen were living Regent St Sth (16), Mile End Old Town, MDX, ENG.18
     William Austen appeared on the census of 1871 Mile End Old Town, MDX, with Sarah Jane Austen, enumerated as AUSTEN: William 41 railway porter b. Lambeth, SRY; wife Sarah 41 milliner b. Holborn, MDX; Children: William 1, Ada 1 both b. Mile End Old Town, MDX; Julia 7 b. Southwark, SRY; Aunt Hannah MALLARS 66 unm, formerly cook b. Southwark, SRY.19
     William Austen appeared on the census of 1881 Salmen St (10), Mile End Old Town, Stepney, MDX, ENG, with Sarah Jane Austen, enumerated as AUSTEN: William 50 railway servant goods dept b. Lambeth, Surrey; wife Sarah 51 dressmaker b. Holborn, Middlesex; Son William 11 b. Stepney, Middlesex;
(Dtr Ada is with her step sister Sarah THOMPSON.)20
     William Austin appeared on the census of 1891 Donington Rd (43), Hackney, LND, ENG, with Sarah Jane Austen, enumerated as AUSTIN: William 60 porter b. Lambeth, MDX; wife Sarah 61 b. Holborn, MDX; Dtr Ada 21 b. Bow, MDX.21 William Austen was an engineer, when son William married in Oct 1894.22
     William Austin appeared on the census of 1901 Hackney Union Workhouse, Hackney, LND, ENG, enumerated as William (3 ?might be 8?) AUSTIN, pauper 76, railway porter, marr., b. Lambeth, LND; (assumes correct id.)23

Names

     William Mallars Fitz Austen was also known as William Mallars Fitzaustin (if the potential baptism is the correct one), and also swaps between AustIn and Austen in records. His children do appear in some census records with theirr relations showing as as Fitzaustin.1

External links

     Click here to see William's page on WikiTree, a (free) collaborative on-line tree.24

Family 1

Emma Parker Clinton (Mar 1827 - Jun 1894)
Child
  • Caroline Emma Austin+ (Jan 1854 - Jan 1899); Emma's father's surname varies: on her 1882 mar. cert to Matt Rowe, father's name given as William Austin Gibson; on her 1854 bap. entry it is William Austin; on her 1899 dth cert given as Austin forenames unknown, step-father John Gibson17,25,26

Family 2

Sarah Jane Blake (cir. 1827 - )
Children
  • William Edward Sinclair Fitz Austen18,27 (Nov 1869 - bet. Sep 1955 - Dec 1955)
  • Ada Hannah Louisa Austen28 (Nov 1869 - )
ChartsMy pedigree chart
Maternal ancestors of Lorna
Maternal timeline
PARKER
Last Edited8 Apr 2020

Citations

  1. London Metropolitan Archives: Birth death marriage (filmed originals): , Bap. 11 Jan 1835 William Mallars s/o Daniel (laborer) & Caroline FITZAUSTIN, Lambeth St Mary, SRY, resid. New Cut, extracted Mar 2019.
  2. UK Railway Employment Records, 1833-1956 online at ancestry.com, 3 Aug 1896 William AUSTIN "services not req'd", #7907, aged 67 7/12, stocktaker, 2nd class ins. 21/-, service 34 yrs 6 mths foreman BROAD, extracted Mar 2019.
  3. Letter, Frances RADFORD to Lorna Henderson, Passenger Schedule for the "Roxburgh Castle", 2 May 1853, rcvd Feb 1994.
  4. Letter, Frances RADFORD (3996) to Lorna Henderson, rcvd Mar 1994.
  5. Westminster Archibes: , Marr. 6 Feb 1853 William AUSTIN s/o -- ; Emma d/o William CLINTON, St Martin in the Fields, Westminster, LND, copy d/loaded Apr2020.
  6. Certificate, Emma CLINTON (12) & William AUSTIN (3903) marriage of 06 Feb 1853 Folio #155 1853 P/copy of certified copy dated Feb 1994 from Frances RADFORD held by Lorna Henderson, scanned Mar 2006.
  7. Emma GIBSON nee CLINTON prev. AUSTIN (12), DC GIBSON, Emma (nee CLINTON, previously AUSTIN), 1894, TNK, NZ, Inspection p/copy held by L McIntosh Nov 1993, scanned Mar 2006.
  8. Various, BDM Certified copy, Marr. 7 Aug 1869 William (40 railway porter) s/o Robert AUSTEN (solicitor); Sarah BIGGS d/o Edward BLAKE (engraver), Reg. Office, Whitechapel, MDX, copy rcvd Jun 2019.
  9. RootsChat Msge Board online at http://www.rootschat.com, Marr. 17 Aug 1869 William Mallars Fitz s/o Robert (solicitor dec'd) AUSTEN; Sarah Jane BIGGS formerly BLAKE, Whitechapel, MDX; Vol1c/ pg 778, transcript from Mikehere (https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=602971.0), extracted Mar 2019.
  10. Www FreeBMD ENG online at http://freebmd.rootsweb.com/cgi/search.pl, Marr. 1869 Q3 William AUSTEN & Sarah BIGGS, reg. Whitechapel, LND 1c/778, extracted Mar 2019.
  11. Various, BDM Certified copy, Dth 27 Oct 1905 William AUSTIN, 74, "of 62 Crozier Tce, Hmoerton, d, Hackeny Union Infirmary, Homerton, Hackney, LND, copy d/loaded Jun 2019.
  12. Birth death marriage index (St Caths), via Ancestry/FMP, Dth 1905 Q4 William AUSTIN, reg. Hackney, age 74, 1b/340, extracted Jun 2019.
  13. "Lorna's Family History Musings", Nov 2005.
  14. "Lorna's Family History Musings", Mar 2019, updated Jun 2019.
  15. 1851 Census images, England & Wales, via Ancestry.com, Nill result, searched Nov 2005.
  16. Certificate, Emma CLINTON (12) & William AUSTIN (3903) marriage of 06 Feb 1853 Folio #155 1853 P/copy of certified copy dated Feb 1994 from Frances RADFORD held by L McIntosh.
  17. Caroline Emma AUSTEN (8), Baptism/birth, 1854 #7211, Inspection p/copy held, Oct 1993 (Bap 8 Feb, birth 14 Jan 1854).
  18. Various, BDM Certified copy, Birth 8 Nov 1869 William Edward Sinclair Fitz s/o William Mallars Fitz (porter) AUSTEN & Sarah Jane BIGGS formerly BLAKE, resid. 16 Regent St Sth, reg. Mile End Old Town, MDX, copy rcvd ex GRO Mar 2019.
  19. 1871 Census images, England & Wales, via Ancestry.com, Mile End Old Town, Par. of Trinity, Borough of Tower Hamlets, LND, RG10; Piece: 561; Folio: 110; Page: 46; Sched. 266; hsehold of William & Sarah AUSTEN, extracted Mar 2019.
  20. 1881 Census images, England & Wales, via Ancestry.com, Civil Par. / Reg. Dist Mile End Old Town, Parl. Borough Tower Hamlets, Ecc. Par. Holy Trinity, Stepney, MDX; RG11; Piece: 485; Folio: 23; Page: 40; Sched. 221; hsehold of William & Sarah AUSTEN, extracted Feb 2019.
  21. 1891 Census images, England & Wales, via Ancestry.com, RG 12/ ED 40; Pg 70; Sched. 380, hsehold of William & Sarah AUSTIN, extracted Jun 2019.
  22. London Metropolitan Archives: Birth death marriage (filmed originals): , Marr. 27 Oct 1894 William Edward s/p William AUSTEN; Alice Maud d/o John CARTER, All Saints, Haggerston, LND, extracted Mar 2019.
  23. 1901 Census transcripts, Scotland, via http://Ancestry.com, Civil Par. St Barnabas Homerton, Sub Dist SE Hackney, Dist Hackney, MDX; RG13; Piece: 235; Folio: 39; Page: 5, Hackney Workhouse, extracted Jun 2019.
  24. WikiTree online at http://WikiTree.com/, Oct 2011.
  25. Certificate, Matthias ROWE (9) & Caroline Emma Austin GIBSON (8) marriage of 04 Feb 1882 1882 Ref 99 Inspection p/copy held, Aug 1993.
  26. Caroline Emma Austin ROWE (8), DC ROWE, Emma nee GIBSON or AUSTIN, Jan 1899 TNK, NZ, Illegible inspection p/copy dated Aug 1993 held, as is a p/copy of a certified copy taken Waitara Dec 1985, rcvd Aug 1993 from Marie C, Edgecombe.
  27. London Metropolitan Archives: Birth death marriage (filmed originals): , Marr. 27 Oct 1894 William Edward s/p William AUSTENl Alice Maud d/o John CARTER, All Saints, Haggerston, LND, extracted Mar 2019.
  28. England/Wales GRO online index by GRO England online at https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/…, Birth 1869 Q4 Ada Hannah Louisa AUSTEN, mother BLAKE, reg. Mile End Old Town (MDX), Vol 01C/ pg 604, extracted Mar 2019.

E. & O. E. Some/most parish records are rather hard to read and names, places hard to interpret, particularly if you are unfamiliar with an area.