The “John Lee was a convict” theory disproved

This is a cautionary tale about believing what other researchers, no matter how experienced, may tell you about the family without seeking your own confirmation of the facts. It’s not one of those cautionary tales where someone suffers a gruesome and unusual fate, though. It finishes with me doing the genea-happy dance. If that is considered gruesome, I will have to re-think my dance moves.

When I first started researching my family tree another researcher told me that our common ancestor, John Lee, had come to Australia as a convict.

It was an interesting story. I had not been aware that any convicts were sent to what is now know as Victoria, Australia. However, some were sent as ‘Exiles’ – a group of convicts given useful training while in prison and then pardoned on arrival, on condition that they never return home again. John Lee, he said, was among these.

As well as being interesting, the story was amusingly at odds with the family tale that he had been a ship’s officer. This piece of information was listed on his death certificate – more than 50 years after the time when he was supposed to be on a ship. It was also told to me by my grandfather, who was born six years after his grandfather John Lee died. What a story John Lee must have spun to hide his convict past, I thought!

I wasn’t so naive as to accept the “he was a convict” version of events without any verification at all. I asked the other researcher for more and he directed me to the appropriate passenger list. Sure enough, there was John Lee. The name was right. The year of arrival in Australia was right enough. The age was… rightish. Sort of. However there was little else about the convict’s history or fate to go on.

How did he know this John Lee was OUR John Lee? It bothered me, but I accepted the information and made a note of it in my tree.

I tried from time to time to confirm that this was the same person. Could I find more information about the convict? Not much. Were there other John Lee’s arriving at the same time? Plenty! But none who looked as much like our John Lee as the exile.

Over time, as I filled out more family details, the ships’ officer theory began to look more and more appealing. His father Joseph Lee, it turned out, was a mariner. His brother also named Joseph Lee was a mariner. When I discovered his sister Elizabeth Lee I found that her husband was … you guessed it, a mariner. The family was not short of mariners.

In early 2011 (while writing up an Australia Day post) I made a discovery – John Lee was listed in 1841 census as an apprentice shipwright! It wasn’t proof that he was a mariner in 1847, but it was a step in the right direction.

The mariner theory was looking better and better. Still, I had nothing that proved the mariner theory or that disproved the convict theory. I couldn’t find anything that confirmed he had actually become a mariner. I found his brother in the Masters and Mates collection on Ancestry.com, but no John. That collection didn’t cover the when John would have been sailing. I also could not find anything that showed he was actually somewhere else when he was supposed to be in prison.

I had also looked at the Merchant Seamen records on FindMyPast.com.au before, with no luck. I guess I just didn’t look hard enough because a few weeks ago I decided to look on FindMyPast again, and there he was. Right name, right birthdate (to the day, not just the year), right birthplace and best of all the records finish in the right year – 1846 – with a notation about Geelong which just happens to be my John Lee’s first known residence in Victoria.

Cue genea-happy dance.

ANZAC Day: Aircraftman Leonard John Couper Lee

My ancestors didn’t serve in Australia (or New Zealand's) military forces. My grandparents were of an age where they were too young for the first world war, too old for the second. I know of many people in my broader family tree who served, but none who lost their lives. My family seems to be remarkably fortunate in that its young men came home.

This doesn't mean that they, or their families, did not suffer hardship or were unaffected by the war. Let me tell you what I have learned about Uncle Jack.

Aircraftman Leonard John Couper Lee

Leonard John Couper “Jack” Lee was my grandfather’s younger brother. Having years earlier been rejected for service (“undersized”) he enlisted with the R.A.A.F as a trainee electrician on 29 November 1940 for “the duration of the War and a period of 12 months thereafter”. Training started two weeks later, on 16 December 1940. He passed his final course on 22 August 1941 and was listed as an Electrical Fitter. His course assessment noted that he was a "Good type - young and well mannered - good appearance and speaks well."

Uncle Jack left Perth for Malaya on 10 October 1941, arriving on 20 October 1941 in the role of ground crew for R.A.A.F. No. 1 Squadron. He would have barely had time to find his feet in a Unit where it was acknowledged that efficiency and training had slipped, due to an outbreak of dysentery, before the Pacific War began.

No. 1 Squadron was the first to see action in the Pacific, shortly before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour on 8 December 1841. The Squadron was forced to relocate from Kota Bharu, Malaya to Palembang, Sumatra, as Japanese forces advanced along the Malay peninsula, and again to Semplak, Java when Japanese paratroopers landed at Palembang.

Some of the Squadron were able to be evacuated, but 180 members remained.

After weeks of heavy bombing, and exhausting relocations, Uncle Jack was taken with the rest of his unit as a prisoner of war.

The Family’s Perspective

When Uncle Jack went to war, he left behind him parents, siblings, his extended family, and his young wife. What an anxious time it must have been, particularly as news of the treatment of Japanese prisoners of war filtered back to the Australian public.

I don’t know all the information the family may have had access to, but I do know they received the following communications, copied to his R.A.A.F. casualty file.

Reported Missing – new received 13 March 1942

Dear Madam,

This letter is to confirm the telegram from
this Department dated the 13th March, 1942, informing
you that your husband, Aircraftmen Class 1 L.J.Cooper Lee,
has been reported missing as a result of the invasion
of Java by the Japanese.

Although your husband has been reported
missing he is not necessarily killed or wounded and,
in view of this it may be of assistance to you in
your anxiety to know what action is taken to trace
missing members of the Air Force. I am, therefore,
forwarding herewith a leaflet which gives full
information concerning this matter. You will see
from the leaflet that any further information
received will be conveyed to you immediately.

I desire to extend to you the sincere
sympathy of the Department in the anxiety you are
suffering.

Yours faithfully,

(M.C. Langslow)
SECRETARY

Confirmed prisoner of war – news received 27 June 1943

Dear Madam,

I desire to confirm the telegram from this Department
dated 27th June, 1943, informing you that your husband,
Aircraftman Leonard John Cooper Lee, is a prisoner of war in
Japanese hands.

This information was received from the International
Red Cross Committee, Geneva, quoting Tokio information.
It is regretted that at present your husband’s
place of internment as a prisoner of war is not known in this
Department.

I am forwarding herewith a leaflet which has been
issued by the Australian Red Cross Society setting out the
procedure to be followed in sending communications to prisoners
of war in the Far East. Should you desire any further
information regarding the method of communicating with your
husband, it is suggested that you get in touch with the
Australian Red Cross Society, Spring Street, Melbourne, or
with any of its State bureaux.

Yours faithfully,

(M.C. Langslow)
SECRETARY

Location determined – news received around end July 1943

Dear Madam,

I refer to previous communications concerning your husband, Aircraftman Leonard John Cooper Lee, who is a prisoner of war in Japanese hands.

I desire to inform you that information has now been received stating that your husband’s place of internment is in Java.

Yours faithfully,

(M.C. Langslow)
SECRETARY

The above was dated 22 July 1943.

News? Or Propaganda? – News received around end July 1944

Dear Madam,

I refer to previous communications from this
Department concerning your husband, Aircraftman Leonard John
Cooper Lee.

I desire to inform you that your husband’s name
was mentioned in a radio broadcast from Batavia on the 30th
June, 1944.

The enemy radio announcer gave your husbands
correct name and also your address and a letter purporting
to have come from him was transmitted over the radio. The
following is the text of the letter as received in Australia :

“Dear Nora, Well another New Year is here and it finds us still separated, but I am sincerely hoping and trusting that we will be together before the next. I wish you all the very best for your birthday of this month and also send birthday greetings to Beth and Mum. I have not had the good fortune to receive any mail from you since the first lot came in, dated June and July ‘42, but as I know you write regularly I keep hoping and expect one of these days to receive quite a lot. I am still fairly fit and as comfortable as circumstances permit. I am working regularly each day as a ...... and find that this helps to pass the time away, which after all is the main thing. I sincerely hope, sweetheart, that you are keeping well and not worrying about me. I am hoping each day for ...... and try to see the best side of things. I hope all things at home are still running smoothly for you and that you are enjoying the best of health. Please convey my love to Aunt Helen, Joyce and all at home and tell them not to worry as I am doing alright. Remember me to all friends. Trusting that I will soon be home again and sending you all my love, I remain your loving husband, Jack. "

It is recommended that you should exercise some
reserve in accepting the contents of the letter. This may not
be entirely authentic in as much as it emanates from an enemy
source and does not come through the recognised International
channels for the distribution of information concerning
prisoners of war. Furthermore, the letter may have been
altered for propaganda purposes, as it was transmitted in
the course of a Japanese propaganda programme.

Yours faithfully,

(M.C. Langslow)
SECRETARY

Followed by another letter late in November 1944 advising of a similar broadcast. Some of the names mentioned are familiar to me, others not – but I haven’t researched his wife’s family. Norma’s birthday was in January so the letter was broadcast many months later. What would the family have made of this news?

Coming home – News received early October 1945

DESIRE TO ADVISE THAT YOUR HUSBAND A.C.l. LEONARD JOHN COOPER LEE EMBARKED FOR AUSTRALIA BY SEA ON THE TAMAROA ON 29TH SEPTEMBER STOP DETAILS TIME AND PLACE ARRIVAL WILL BE CONVEYED IMMEDIATELY RECEIVED

3/10/45

Four years after he left for Malaya, Uncle Jack came home to his young wife. They raised children who eventually had children of their own. He passed away in 1995. My mother told me, when I was of an age to be learning about such things at school, that he had spent four years as a Japanese prisoner of war but it was something he never spoke about. I hate to imagine what he went through during almost four years of captivity.

So many young men and women didn’t come home.

Lest we forget.

 

Sources:
Australian War Memorial, 1 Squadron RAAF | The Australian War Memorial, Second World War Unit History, accessed 22 April 2011.

NAA: A705, 166/24/623; LEE, Leonard John Cooper - (Sergeant); Service Number - 19824; File type - Casualty - Repatriation; Place - Java, Netherlands East Indies; Date - 8 March 1942

NAA: A9186, 1, images 219 to 227; RAAF Unit History sheets (Form A50) [Operations Record Book - Forms A50 and A51] Number 1 Squadron
Jul 25 - Feb 46

NAA: A9301, 19824; LEE LEONARD JOHN COUPER : Service Number - 19824 : Date of birth - 28 Oct 1912 : Place of birth - OAKLEIGH VIC : Place of enlistment - MELBOURNE : Next of Kin - LEE NORMA

Australia Day 2011: Was my first Ancestor in Australia John Lee?

26 January is Australia Day. In recognition of the day I set myself the following task, and invited anyone who wished to to join in. The task is:

Find the earliest piece of documentation you have about an ancestor in Australia. If you don't have an Australian ancestor, then choose the earliest piece of documentation you have for a relative in Australia.

1. What is the document? 
2. Do you remember the research process that lead you to it? How and where did you find it?
3. Tell us the story(ies) of the document. You may like to consider the nature of the document, the people mentioned, the place and the time. Be as long or short, broad or narrow in your story telling as you like! 

 My responses

 1. What is the document?
The document is an church register showing the marriage of my ancestor, John Lee, to Sarah Thomas at Geelong, Victoria in 1849.

2. Do you remember the research process that lead you to it? How and where did you find it? 
I knew of the marriage early on in my genealogical journey. John Lee's second spouse, Susanna Baker, was my ancestor. Their marriage certificate stated that he was a widower, and gave the date of death for Sarah but no name. His death certificate provided her name, and his age when he married her. 

Although this is a church record I obtained it through the Victorian registry of births, deaths and marriages which has a searchable index and instant download of images, for a fee. When civil registration was introduced in Victoria in 1853, the government asked for early church registers (althought not all were provided). The registers provided have been indexed along with the civil records.

3. Tell us the story(ies) of the document.

My first sighting of John Lee (1822-1905) in Australia is his marriage to Sarah Thomas at Geelong on 11 July 1849. The church register provides limited information compared to a post 1853 Victorian birth certificate:

No.90 John Lee of the Parish of Geelong, bachelor and
Sarah Thomas of the Parish of Geelong, spinster were
married in this Church by Banns with consent of Parents
this eleventh day of July in the year 1849
By me S[?] Collins
This marriage was solemnized between us
    John Lee
    Sarah Thomas
In the Presence of Stephen Thomas

There are no ages, occupations, or names identified as parents names. Fortunately, I know this information from other documents.

Sarah Thomas, the daughter of Stephen Thomas (a stonemason) and Anne, was born in about 1831 in Hampshire, England. The Thomas family had arrived at Port Phillip onboard the 'Royal Consort' on 18 February 1844.

John Lee was born in 1822, the son of Joseph Lee, a mariner, and Jane King. His arrival in Australia is less certain than that of his young bride. According to his death certificate, he arrived in Victoria in about 1846. If this is correct, it makes him the first of my ancestors to settle in Australia. 

Family legend has it that John was a ships officer but it is not known why he left the ship. 

An alternative theory, put to me by another researcher many years ago, is that John was an "Exile" - a convict who was pardoned and given a job on arrival in Australia, but could not return to England. The details of the Exile John Lee who arrive on board the 'Joseph Somes' in 1847 almost fits my ancestor John Lee... but I am not convinced. I find the ship's crew (if not officer) theory more convincing given that his father, brother and brother-in-law were all shipwrights or mariners. In checking details for this post, I found (at long last) the 1841 census entry for John 'Lea' where he is listed as an apprentice shipwright.

While the details of his arrival in Victoria are not known, one thing we do know is that John did not come to Australia in pursuit of gold, which wasn't discovered in Victoria until 1851. He and Sarah lived in the south west Victoria area around Geelong, John working as a grocer and storekeeper.

John and Sarah had eight children.

1. Richard Brush Lee (c1851-1865)
2. Stephen Thomas Lee (1851-1916)
3. John Lee (1853-1905)
4. Sarah Anne Lee (1856-?)
5. Joseph Lee (1858-1861)
6. George King Lee (1861-1881)
7. Henry Lee (1863-1943)
8. Frederick Seth Lee (1864-1871)

In 1866 Sarah Thomas died at age 35 of an abscess of the liver. Four years later John was still living in Modewarre, working as a shopkeeper, when he married my ancestor Susanna Baker (1840-1899) - but that is the story of another document.

Information presented is a work in progress. Additions or corrections are appreciated. Source information available on request. 

If you are connected to this family, please get in touch, I would love to hear from you!

Treasure Chest Thursday: Marriage Certificates

I am lucky enough to have access to a real family history treasure chest. Over coming weeks I plan on sharing its contents with you as I rediscover what's inside.

Although I was not experienced in genealogy when I first explored the box, I could definately appreciate the genealogical value of the original marriage certificates inside. As well as my grandparent's own marriage certificate, the box contained marriage certificates for two sets of my great-grandparents. I'm sure there are plenty of people who wish they could have that sort of head start! Don't worry, information on my other branches was much more sparse!

I think that what I didn't appreciate, until now, is the feeling of holding in your own hands an original document that your long-gone ancestors had held before you. Although I love the ability to download digital images of all sorts of things, it's not quite the same as seeing the documents 'in person'.

I've scanned these before, but at a time when computer storage space was at a premium. Now that storage is a bit cheaper, I'm rescanning them in colour to try to capture some of the feeling of the originals, for any family members who want to see them.

Here is the marriage certificate of Arthur Stannus and May Black, in 1908. 

Marriage certificate of Arthur Stannus and May Black, Victoria, Australia, 1908

And the other for Arthur Milne Lee and Jessie Isabella Couper, a little earlier, in 1904.

Marriage certificate of Arthur Milne Lee and Jessie Isabella Couper, Victoria, Australia, 1904

Are you related to these families?  
Sure, you could grab the images and run, but it would be much nicer if you got in touch. Please contact me at the email address on the about page, or leave a comment!