Mostly Coombe – Migrants - James Coombe, Jane Lean & family: Cornwall to Australia
Research into
the Coombe family descended from James Coombe (Coumbe, born 1810) and Jane
(nee Lean, born 1811) who migrated to South Australia from Cornwall.
 The author welcomes corrections, contributions
and links to the research of others.
Is your ancestor
mentioned here? Is there anything you can add to help build the family
history - a letter, a photo? See Contact information below.
Topics on this
page (scroll down):
·
James Coombe, Jane Lean and
Family Migrate
·
Descendancy Chart of James
COOMBE and Jane LEAN
Main topics on
linked pages:
·
Coumbe of North Hill, Cornwall
·
Henry Coumbe, Margery Northey
and 3 generations
·
The Coombe Brothers
·
Migration of Jame’s sister,
Ann Coumbe and Jacob Bowden 1838
James Coombe,
Jane Lean and Family Migrate
James Coumbe
and Jane Lean married in Altarnun, Cornwall, England in 1833. Although Jane (and her father) were then living
in that parish, Jane was born in Egloshayle, Cornwall. James was from the parish of
North Hill where he was born in Trebartha Village.
More on James Coombe’s
origins may be found on another page: Coumbe of North Hill,
Cornwall.
James Coombe’s ancestry is documented on another page: Henry Coumbe,
Margery Northey and 3 generations
(Details of Jane Lean's ancestry and family can be found on Robert J Lean's web
site and follow the links to Lean Genealogies | Robert Lean & Mary
Warne 1759.)
James' father and
paternal grandfather were both masons. As a second son, James would likely
have looked away from home for his future. Lostwithiel's attraction was the Restormel
Royal Iron Mine which had opened in 1829. It brought increasing employment
and, for a mason, a growing need for family dwellings. Between the 1821 and
1831 censuses the parish population increased by 66%. (Source: Lostwithiel
Past and Present, Nov 2004, Gillian Parsons.) By the time of the 1841 census
James and Jane had moved to Lostwithiel, where James' mother (Mary Philp) had
been born. The 1844 Pigot & Co.'s city directory records Coumbe & Philp,
stone masons - his partner being John Philp / John Phelp (spelling varies), b.c.
1817. There is a good likelihood that the partners were related, though the
connection has not yet been found. "John (Philp) and his father were
contracted by the local council in 1848 to repair the Church Tower and to lay granite
kerbstones in Fore Street, North Street and Queen Street. In 1878/9 it was John's firm of builders who
acquired the contract to renovate St Batholomew's Church, its last main
renovation." (Source: Lostwithiel Past and Present, Nov 2004, Gillian
Parsons.) For some more on Lostwithiel, see A Cornish Miscellany.
But the Lostwithiel
mining boom was relatively short-lived and the grammar school closed in 1842.
James would have known of the migration experience of his sister
Ann. James Coombe, his wife Jane and 6 children left Cornwall England
for Australia , arriving in Port Adelaide on the ‘Posthumous’ on 20th June
1849. The children were aged between 2 and 10 years old when they left.
Ellen was the eldest, then Jane, Ann, John, James and Thomas who had his
second birthday just before they left. Jane was two months pregnant when they
sailed.
They left
behind a daughter's grave. In St Bartholomew's church yard is the headstone: Sacred
to the Memory of Mary Ann the Daughter of James and Jane Coumbe, who died Septr
28th 1843: Aged 7 Years.
The 390 ton
barque Posthumous, departed London on 13th March and the Coombe family probably
boarded when the ship stopped at Plymouth, in south-west England. The ship took just over three
months to sail to the recently established (1836-7) settlement of South Australia. Fatal diseases such
as smallpox and cholera were common and the passengers and crew would have
had to stay on board for a couple of weeks - quarantined until cleared
by the colony’s medical officer.
In the year
the Coombe family arrived, South Australia’s population increased from 39,000 to 53,000
- an increase of one-third. The new colony was developing rapidly.
Jane and James
had three more children in Australia: Eliza, Henry and Edward but Henry died at 18 days and
Edward at three years of age. So most of the time it seems there were seven
children in the house. The family lived in several houses in Norwood (Adelaide): (the) Parade (1854),
Queen
Street
(1855) and George
Street
(from at least 1877 until James’ death at home in 1881). In the 1854 South
Australian Directory, James' occupation was given as mason. Jane lived only 2
= years longer than James, dieing at her daughter Jane’s house in Glenelg.
Of the
couple's children, Ellen and Ann married Birt brothers and had children;
Eliza married a Beevor and had children; Jane married later in life (about 37
years old) and had no children. The surviving three brothers - John,
James and Thomas - all married and had children. At least 50
grandchildren are recorded. For more of the brothers' story, see The Coombe Brothers.
Why Migrate?
We may never
know the exact reasons why this stonemason and his family migrated from Cornwall to South
Australia. David Thomson's
England in the Nineteenth Century explains that
the urge for emigration in "the years around 1848 was that of famine in Ireland and hardship in England and Scotland. The 'push' was always more important
than the 'pull'".
James' sister Ann preceded him to South Australia
in 1838 and this would likely have been a significant "pull
factor". The following explanation may also be pertinent. "In 1840
slate suitable for roofing and paving was discovered in the foothills near
Willunga.... The slate quarries encouraged immigrants from Cornwall and Wales, among whom were masons and carpenters,
whose skills were so necessary in the construction work associated with
mining. They produced many interesting cottages which still remain."
Although James did not work in mining areas, the demand for masons may have
been significant in his migration. Source: "Pioneer Building Techniques in South Australia", D.W.Berry and S.H.Gilbert, Publisher: North Adelaide : Gilbert-Partners, 1981. ISBN 0959416005
Contact
I welcome
corrections, comments and contributions from others regarding these families,
their origins, destinations and lives. I am happy to provide greater detail
and additional information to relatives and researchers.
To add,
contribute, comment, contact David Coombe
Descendancy
Chart of James COOMBE and Jane LEAN
The following
abbreviations are used: ? = more uncertain, Adel = Adelaide (SA), Kat. =
Katanning (WA), Tam. = Tambellup (WA), []=buried, NI = no issue, ... indicates
known descendants.
James COOMBE,
b. 17 Mar
1811
North Hill CON, d. 10 Dec 1881 Adelaide SA (Adel)
+ Jane LEAN, b. 25 Nov 1810 Egloshayle CON, m. 5 Apr 1833 Altarnun, d. 22 May 1884
Adel.
├── Mary Ann COOMBE, b.c.
1837, d. 1843, buried Lostwithiel Church
├── Ellen COOMBE, b. 1
Dec 1838 Lostwithiel, d. 1922, [Tam]
│ + George Howard BIRT, b. 12 Jun 1839 Biggleswade BED, m. 1862 Adel, d. 1916
[Tam] Obituary
│ ├── Edward Peter Howard BIRT, b. 30 Oct 1863
Euston NSW, d. 1930 [Tam]
│ │ + Marie Frederica ABERNETHY nee BESSEN, b. 1878
Freeling SA (NI)
│ ├── Mary Ellen BIRT, b. 1864 Wentworth NSW,
d. 1949 [Albany WA]
│ │ + Alfred Edward BRADSHAW, b.1856 Black Lead VIC,
m.1886 Silverton NSW, d.1944 [Tam]
│ │ ├── Frederick Robert BRADSHAW,
b. 1887 Payneham SA, d. 1963 Albany WA
│ │ ├── Frances Helen BRADSHAW, b.
1888 Silverton NSW, d. 1962 Kat.
│ │ │ + Fredrick Arthur STACY, b. 1878 St
Peters SA, m. 1911 Kat., d. 1944 WA
│ │ ├── Dorothy Jean Lillimur
BRADSHAW, b. 1891 Silverton NSW, d. 1984 Bull Ck
│ │ │ + Elworthy Luke FLANAGAN, b. 1893
Albany WA, m. 1927 Kat, d. 1964 Kat ...
│ │ ├── Murray Wells BRADSHAW, b.
1892 Murray Bridge SA, d. 1984 Albany WA [Tam]
│ │ │ + Olive Rose BOWMAN, b. 1902 Perth
WA, m. 1928 Kat., d. 1978 ...
│ │ ├── Alfred Edward BRADSHAW, b.
1895 Broken Hill NSW, d. 1915 Gallipoli (NI)
│ │ ├── George Harry BRADSHAW, b.
1902 Broken Hill NSW, d. 1975 Albany [Tam]
│ │ │ + Flora May MCDONALD, b. 1906, m.
1934 Kat., d. 1995 Albany [Tam] ...
│ │ └── Margaret Howard BRADSHAW,
b. 1907 Tam., d. 1985 Sth. Perth WA
│ │ + Harold Walter SHOTTER, b. 1903, m.
1936 Perth WA, d. 1983
│ ├── Robert Gibson BIRT, b. 1866 Wentworth
NSW, d. Brighton SA 1938 Obituary
│ │ + Alice Edith EVANS, m. 1895 Norwood SA, d. 1959
...
│ ├── Margaret Coombe BIRT, b. 1867 Wentworth
NSW, midwife, d. 1927 WA
│ ├── Frances Edith J BIRT, b. 1868 Wentworth
NSW, d. 1944 Albany WA
│ │ + Frederick Thomas BRADSHAW, b. 1861 Carisbrook
VIC, m. 1910 Kat, d. 1943 Albany WA
│ ├── George Howard BIRT, b. 1871, d. 1950 WA
│ │ + Elizabeth CUNNINGHAM, b. 1875, m. 1908
Kat., d. 1926 Subiaco WA
│ ├── Jane Sarah McDonald "Jean"
BIRT, b. 1872 Wentworth NSW, d. 1964 Perth WA (NI)
│ ├── Grace BIRT, b. 1873 Wentworth NSW, d.
1958 Tam.
│ │ + Herbert Edwin BILNEY, b.c. 1877, m. 1909 Katanning WA , d. 1959 Tam.
│ ├── James Coombe BIRT, b. 1875 Wentworth NSW,
d. 1918 Beaurevoir, France [Gouy] (NI)
│ ├── Thomas Harry Howard BIRT, b. 1876
Wentworth NSW, d. 1900 WA
│ ├── Alice Maud BIRT, b. 1877 Wentworth NSW,
d. 1896 Adel (NI)
│ ├── Andrew Trevenen BIRT, b. 1879 Wentworth
NSW, d. 1958 [Tam]
│ │ + Augusta Amelia Clare BESSEN, b. 1885 Baroota
SA, m. 1910 Kat, d. 1964 [Tam]
│ └── Charles William Howard BIRT, b. 20 Nov
1881 Adel, d. 1960 [Tam]
│ + Rosalind Lucy BLOTT, b. 1892 Wellingborough
ENG,
│ m. 1919 Oxford ENG,
d. 1984 Bentley WA
├── Jane Lean COOMBE,
b. c. 1840, d. 28 Sep 1926 Adel (NI)
│ + William HUBBLE, b. c. 1825, m. 16 Jan 1878 Adel, d. 01 Apr
1903 Adel. Coachbuilder. Obituary
├── Ann Lean COOMBE,
b. c. 1842, d. 19 Jan 1898 Adel
│ + William Howard BIRT, b. c. 1837, m. 25 Jan 1865 Norwood SA,
d. 1915 Wentworth NSW Obituary
│ ├── Annie Frances Margaret BIRT, b. 15 Nov
1865 Norwood, d. 1866 Wentworth NSW
│ ├── Sarah E BIRT, b. 1867 Wentworth, NSW, d.
1895 Wattle Flat SA
│ ├── Edith Margaret Howard BIRT, b. 1868
Wentworth, NSW, d. 1886 Norwood SA
│ ├── Gertrude C BIRT, b. 1870 Wentworth, NSW,
d. 1890 Norwood SA
│ ├── William Howard BIRT, b. 1872 Wentworth,
NSW, d. 1890 Norwood SA
│ ├── Constance Jane BIRT, b. 1874 Wentworth,
NSW, d. 1969 Bentley WA
│ │ + William SHANNON, m. 1905 Adel ...
│ ├── Alice Mary BIRT, b. 1876 Adel, d. 1962
Adel
│ │ + Albert Theodor PASCHKE, b. 1872 Mt Gambier, m.
1899 & d. 1946 Dimboola VIC ...
│ ├── Charles Edward BIRT, b. 1878 Wentworth,
NSW, d. 1879 Jamestown SA
│ ├── George Edward Howard BIRT, b. 1879
Jamestown SA, d. 1955 Perth WA
│ │ + Genevieve ?, b.c. 1879, d. 1959 Perth WA
│ └── Milroy Coombe BIRT, b. Jul 1885 Adel, d.
Aug 1885 Adel
├── John Lean COOMBE,
b. 1843 Lostwithiel, d. 23 Mar 1933 Adel
│ + Eliza Ann ANTHONY, b. 10 Nov 1849 Pt Adel, m. 4 Mar 1869 Pt
Adel
│ │ d. 30 Nov 1908 Adel
│ ├── John Anthony COOMBE, b. 6 Feb 1870 Adel,
Accountant, d. 24 Nov 1952 Canberra
│ │ + Charlotte Annie PRATT, b. c. 1868, m. 27 Dec
1897 Adel, d. 19 May 1935 SA
│ │ ├── John Reginald COOMBE, b. 05
Mar 1899 Adel, Compositor, d. 27 Jul 1983 Canberra
│ │ │ + Lucretia Jeanette ALLEN, m. 22
Feb 1936, d. 23 Jan 2000 Canberra ...
│ │ ├── Henry Hector COOMBE, b. 12
Jan 1902 Adel, d. 4 May 1985 SA
│ │ │ + Lillian Katherine SHARMAN, m. 22
Sep 1934, d. 17 Jan 2002 Somerton Park SA ...
│ │ ├── Charles Edward COOMBE, b.
15 Oct 1904 Adel, d. 1917 Black Forest SA (NI)
│ │ └── James Pratt COOMBE, b. 10
Mar 1906 Adel, Public Servant,
│ │ d. 11 Sep 2000 Canberra
│ │ + Annie Pauline BLAND (NI)
│ ├── Lionel George COOMBE, b. 20 Dec 1870
Adel, d. 01 Feb 1947 Melbourne VIC
│ │ + Ethel Christiana ANDREW, b. 21 Dec 1878 Adel,
m. 28 Dec 1900 Launceston TAS
│ │ │ d. 1954 Melbourne VIC
│ │ ├── Lionel Andrew COOMBE, b. 27
Oct 1901 Launceston TAS, Bank Manager,
│ │ │ d. 31 Jan
1985 Wollongong NSW
│ │ │ + Nina JOHNSTON, b. 12 Sep 1898
Orbost, VIC, m. 15 Nov 1924 Orbost, d. 23 Oct 1980
│ │ │ ├── Warwick
Buchanan COOMBE, b. 1931 Melbourne VIC, d. 2002 Sydney NSW ...
│ │ │ └── Robert
Anthony Liddon COOMBE, b. 1935 Gisborne VIC, d. 2007 Wollongong NSW ...
│ │ ├── Elizabeth Mary COOMBE
"Bess", b. c. 1903 ...
│ │ └── Douglas Cecil COOMBE, b. c.
1914, d. 1982 Melbourne VIC
│ │ + Phyllis Beryl WAKEMAN,
m. Jan 1940 Melbourne VIC, d. 1982 Melbourne VIC (NI)
│ ├── Lizzie Liddon COOMBE, b. 09 Jul 1873
Adel, d. 15 Feb 1874 Port Adel
│ ├── Edward COOMBE, b. 15 Feb 1875 Adel, d.
1925 SA. Boer War connection and
photo
│ │ + Hilda Maud MERRETT, b. c. 1884, m. 29 Jun 1906
Adel, d. 1953 SA
│ │ ├── Amy Forest Ianthe Vesta
COOMBE, b. 1907 Black Forest Adel, d. 1988 SA
│ │ │ + Gordon Charles Arthur PYM, m.
1951 SA, d. 1984 SA ...
│ │ ├── Edward James COOMBE, b.
1908 Grassmere, Adel, d. 1909 Adel. NI.
│ │ ├── Thomas Price COOMBE, b.
1909 Adel, d.1909 Adel. NI.
│ │ ├── Cedric Athol COOMBE, b. 1910
VIC, d. 1980 SA
│ │ ├── Ronald Merrett COOMBE, b.
1911 Pt Wakefield SA, d. 1987 SA
│ │ ├── Evelyn Jean Evangeline
COOMBE, b. 1914 Edwardstown SA, d.1915 Adel, NI
│ │ ├── Sydney Austral COOMBE, b.
1915 Rose Park SA, d. 23 Jul 1975 SA
│ │ ├── Howard Rex COOMBE, b. 1916
Bowden SA, d. 15 Jun 1991 SA
│ │ └── Kathleen Maud COOMBE, b.
1922 Rose Park SA, d. 1999 SA
│ │ + Leslie John PYM, m. 1950 SA, d.
1992 SA ...
│ ├── Lizzie Liddon COOMBE, b. 12 Aug 1876 Port
Pirie SA, d. 25 Mar 1877 Port Pirie (NI)
│ ├── Anthony Lean COOMBE, b. 19 Nov 1882 Port
Pirie SA, d. 1952 SA
│ │ + Ada Muriel FARMER, b. 14 Apr 1882 Edwardstown
SA, m. 13 Apr 1907 Adel, d. ?
│ │ ├── Anthony Laurie COOMBE, b.
1910 Adel, d. 18 Sep 1945 PNG
│ │ │ + Grace Hope BLANCHE, m.
2 Jan 1943 Adel
│ │ ├── Eric Stanton COOMBE, b.
1914 Adel, d. 1991 SA
│ │ │ + Iris Roma BOUQUEY, m.
5 Dec 1952 Adel, d. 2014 ...
│ │ ├── Nelson COOMBE, b. 1917
Adel, d. 1924 (NI)
│ │ └── Jack Liddon COOMBE, b. 1923
Adel, d. 2000 Adel
│ ├── Hector Liddon COOMBE, b. 29 Sep 1885
Adel, d. 7 Jun 1937
│ │ + Ruby Alice LEANE, b. c. 1885, m. 21 Dec 1909
Adel, d. 1948 Black Forest Adel
│ │ ├── Joyce Victoria COOMBE, b.
1910 Adel, d. 9 Jul 1993 SA
│ │ │ + William David EWERS,
m. 1933 Black Forest Adel ...
│ │ ├── Leila Mavis COOMBE, b. 1913
Adel
│ │ ├── Frances Ruby COOMBE, b.
1914 Adel
│ │ ├── Bernard Hector COOMBE, b.
1916 Adel, d. 1931 Adel (NI)
│ │ └── Douglas Leane COOMBE, b.
1925 Adel, d. 1925 Adel
│ ├── Emma Jeannotte Victoria COOMBE, b. 12 Jan
1887 Adel, d. 1976 NSW
│ │ + Peter M CALDER, m. 1911 Waverley NSW, d. 1954
NSW ...
│ └── Tennyson COOMBE, b. 28 Feb 1890 Adel, d.
23 Dec 1890 Adel
│ + Christiana Susanah HUBBLE, b. 10 Jul 1856 Adel, m. 18 Dec
1912 Adel
│ d. 14 May 1932 Adel (NI)
├── James COOMBE, b.
c. 1845, d. 19 Oct 1928 Perth WA, m. 30 Apr 1874 Talunga/Tungkillo SA
│ + Agnes WALKER, b. 1849 Inverbrackie SA, d. 4 Jul 1949 Perth WA
│ ├── James Walker COOMBE, b. 16 Jul 1875 Adel,
d. 06 Apr 1876 Port Pirie SA
│ ├── Gordon Ewing COOMBE, b. 27 Dec 1876
Jamestown SA ...
│ │ + Maude Rhoda TEBAY (nee GREGORY) from VIC, m?
│ │ └── Howard Gordon Gregory
COOMBE, b. 1904 Durban, Natal d. ? England ...
│ ├── Edith Agnes COOMBE, b. 01 Apr 1878
Jamestown SA, d. 1985 Perth WA
│ │ + George Leake BROUN, b. 1873 York WA, m. 1902
Perth WA ...
│ ├── Clarence Walker COOMBE, b. 21 Feb 1880
Adel
│ │ + Emily M ?, m. Sth Africa?
│ │ └── Brian COOMBE
│ ├── Oscar Augusta COOMBE, b. 27 Nov 1881 Port
Augusta SA, d. 1916 Somme, France (NI)
│ ├── Alice Beatrice COOMBE, b. 14 Sep 1884
Adel, d. 1965 Mt Lawley WA (NI)
│ ├── Howard Stanley COOMBE, b. 28 Mar 1887
North Adel, d. 1970 Mt Lawley WA
│ └── Stella Maud COOMBE, b. 11 Mar 1890 Adel,
d. 1984 Perth WA
│ + Percival George TANNER, m. 1921 St Leonards
NSW ...
├── Thomas COOMBE, b.
Feb 1847, d. Feb 1925 Perth WA
│ + Sarah BEDDOME, b. 10 Jul 1849 Currency Creek SA, m. 18 Dec
1872 Adel, d. 1911 Perth
│ ├── Sir Thomas Melrose COOMBE, b. 03 Dec 1873
Gladstone SA, d. 1959 London
│ │ + Alice SENIOR, m. 1900 Sydney, NSW, d. 1955
London
│ │ ├── Vera Melrose COOMBE, b.
1900 Perth WA
│ │ ├── Lorna Maie Judy
COOMBE, b. 1902 Perth WA
│ │ │ + m. Alfred H. WHITE 1926 Sydney
NSW ...
│ │ ├── Gwendoline C. A.
"Carol" COOMBE, b. 1908 Perth WA, actress, d. 1966 car accident in Rome
│ │ │ + m.1 Ronald O. L. ARMSTRONG-JONES
1936 London, div. 1959
│ │ │ + m.2 Guiseppe LOPEZ 1959 Chelsea
│ │ └── Hastings George COOMBE, b.
1912
│ │ + Frances Geraldine SMITH, b.c. 1904, m. 1933
Melbourne VIC, d. 1972 Adel
│ ├── Isabel Fanny COOMBE, b. 18 Apr 1875
Gladstone SA, d. 1960 Perth WA
│ │ + James Trussell SHAW, m. 1903 Perth, WA
│ ├── Robert Beddome COOMBE, b. 07 Dec 1876
Port Pirie SA, d. 1961 Sydney NSW
│ │ + Clara HEDGES, m. 1907 Perth WA
│ │ └── Thomas Beddome COOMBE, b.
1912 Perth WA
│ ├── James Lean COOMBE, b. 01 Dec 1878 Port
Pirie SA, d. 24 Aug 1940 Perth WA
│ │ + Rose Edith Matilda MONTEN, b. c. 1870, m. 14
Dec 1907 Adel, d. 3 Sep 1939 Perth WA
│ ├── Sarah Mabel COOMBE, b. 03 Apr 1881 Port
Pirie SA, d. 30 Sep 1886 Adel (NI)
│ ├── Annie Winter COOMBE, b. 15 Apr 1884 Adel
│ │ + Richard G. MILLBANK, m. 1916 Perth WA
│ ├── Gertrude Eliza COOMBE, b. 31 Mar 1886
Adel
│ │ + Richard J. DENNEHY, m. 1916 WA
│ └── Dorothy COOMBE, b.c. 1890 UNK, d. 1963 WA
│ + Cecil Arthur PEAD, m. 1913 Sth Perth, WA ...
│ + Annie Margaret AKHURST, b. c. 1861, m. 1913 Adel, d. 1937
Perth WA
├── Eliza COOMBE, b.
02 Oct 1849 Adel, d. 1916 Glenelg SA (descendants
see Note 1 below)
│ + Edward Glass Holt BEEVOR, b. c. 1848, m. 8 Mar 1876 Adel, d.
1901 Hawthorn Adel
│ ├── Jane Coombe BEEVOR, b. 22 Feb 1877 Wongyarra
SA
│ │ + Frank John DODD, m. 1899 SA
│ ├── Isabel Agnes BEEVOR, b. 1878, married
name DODD, d. 1937
│ ├── Ellen BEEVOR, b. 6 Jun 1879 Jamestown SA,
d. 1880 Jamestown SA
│ ├── Edward Glass Holt BEEVOR, b. 07 Dec 1880
Jamestown SA, d. 1924 SA
│ ├── Horatio Fitzroy BEEVOR, b. 1882
│ └── James Rankin BEEVOR, b. 23 Jun 1888 Quorn
SA, d. 1889 (NI)
├── Henry COOMBE, b.
25 Sep 1851 Adel, d. 13 Oct 1851 Adel
└── Edward COOMBE, b.
13 Nov 1855 Adel, d. 18 Feb 1859 Adel
Note 1: descendants of Edward Glass Holt BEEVOR and Eliza COOMBE are noted in another web site http://jermy.org/gedhtree/oldjermy/gp1306.html
Updated: 21 Mar 2015.
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