Until last week, when I was made aware of a Rootschat post by Dan BRITTON, I was unable to trace the ancestry of my husband’s great-great-great-grandfather, Captain John BRITTEN. Dan knew of the origins of his Captain John BRITTON, but did not know his future. We knew of our Captain’s future but not his origins. Despite the difference in the spelling of the surname, there is little doubt we are speaking of the same man. Our Captain must surely be the Hartland born son of John BRITTON and Elizabeth LANE, and the older brother of James BRITTON who died at sea with his two sons in the Clovelly disaster of 1838.
In 1851, our Captain John BRITTEN’s son, John, was living in Toxteth Park, Liverpool, with his wife and family:
James BRITTON of the Clovelly disaster had a daughter, Sarah Anne who was born at Clovelly 11 September 1825. She would be the servant in the BRITTEN house at Liverpool. A small disparity in age is common in census records. If our theory is correct, then she would be a first cousin of John the landing waiter, thus explaining her presence in the house, and also proving that the Welsh BRITTEN and North Devon BRITTON families are connected.
Here is the story of our branch of the family tree:
Captain John BRITTON married Sarah THOMAS in Swansea, Glamorgan, South Wales in 1809. Two children were born in Taibach and/or Margam, Glamorgan. They were Sarah BRITAIN 1811, and John BRITTEN 1813. By 1817, the family had moved to Llanelli [1], Carmarthenshire, on the south coast of Wales. Further children were born there; James 1817, Elizabeth circa 1821, Thomas 1821, and Anthony 1823. Note how the Christian names match up with the North Devon BRITTONS. Note also the variations in the spelling of the surname.
In September 1823, (fifteen years before the Clovelly disaster) the Captain set off for Hayle in his sloop, Maria. He was never seen again.
This notice appeared in the Cambrian, 8 November 1823:
“Not the shadow of a hope now remains of the safety of the Sloop Maria, Captain John Britten, of Llanelly, from whence the vessel sailed for Hayle, in the middle of September, and which has not since been heard of. Some fragments of a wreck having been seen near Lundy Island, it is supposed she foundered near that place.”
And this notice appeared in the British Press, London, Middlesex, November 11 1823. Note, again, the variation in the spelling of the surname:
“The Maria, Britton, of Llanelly, sailed from that port the middle of September, for Hoyle, and it is feared has been lost near Lundy Island, as she has not since been heard of.”
A verse on a memorial stone in Llanelli commemorates the death of the Captain:
“That day the sun had crossed the equinox.
Night drew earth’s shadow o’er the harvest moon.
The raging billows dash against the rocks
Consigning mortals to their watery tomb”
The Captain’s widow, Sarah, was the landlady of the Inn, Ship and Castle, Llanelli, in 1830. It is not known how long she had held this role. Sarah died from liver disease 18 March 1839 and her death certificate noted that she was the widow of John BRITTEN, Master Mariner.
The eldest daughter, Sarah (1811), has not been found as an adult on any records, but there is little doubt that she was the mother of Sarah Anne (1834) and William Chambers WILLIAMS (1835). In 1851, Sarah Anne WILLIAMS was living at the Ship and Castle with Elizabeth LLEWELLYN (nee BRITTEN) and was recorded as a niece.
Opposite the Ship and Castle, Francis McKIERNIN was the proprietor of the tavern, Ty Melyn. Apparently Sarah Anne had caught the eye of Francis’ son, William Henry. He was a land surveyor and road builder who emmigrated to Australia and built up a successful business in Warrnambool on the south coast of Victoria. In 1858, William wrote to Sarah Anne’s family in Llanelli, asking permission to marry her. He paid for her passage to Australia, travelling as one of only ten cabin passengers aboard the Planter. The other 360 passengers travelled intermediate and steerage. William Henry and Sarah Anne married 23 January 1858, only eleven days after her arrival.
On the marriage certificate, Sarah Anne stated that her parents were Sarah BRITTON and William WILLIAMS. Note the name of her father; she stated different parentage on her next marriage certificate. Also note that BRITTON was spelt with ‘O’ on both occasions.
William H McKIERNIN built a substantial bluestone house called Pencoed on his farm. It was situated on the top of a hill, overlooking the newly forming town of Warrnambool; much of the population were still living in tents. Servants were employed to assist with the housework, and later, with the care of the children.
Sarah Anne’s brother, William Chambers WILLIAMS had served as an Officer in the Royal Navy and was at Sebastopol when the forts blew up. Later, he immigrated to Australia. In January 1861 he was attempting to supervise the building of roads near Ararat in Victoria, but had trouble interpreting the plans and became so upset that he took a bridle from a stable and used it to hang himself.
In December 1862, William H McKIERNIN was killed after a fall from his horse. It was a little over a month after the birth of their third child. He sustained a head injury which was treated with the shaving and blistering of his head, intensive purging, medications which caused severe cystitis, and mustard plasters on his feet and calves. Perhaps he would have survived if he had not been admitted to hospital – or at least had a less agonising death!
In his Will, William H McKIERNIN named William CHAMBERS as a trustee to oversee the sale of his properties in Wales. William CHAMBERS was an aristocrat who lived with his father, (also William CHAMBERS) in the mansion, Llanelly House in Llanelli. William CHAMBERS senior was the illegitimate son of Sir John STEPNEY, a notorious rake who did not marry but had several illegitimate children.
After the death of her husband, Sarah Anne was left with substantial wealth. She planned to immigrate back to Wales, but changed her mind after developing a relationship with a fellow Welshman, John Russell EVANS. He was a road contractor who had great entrepreneurial ambitions. A short, rotund, cheerful and enthusiastic man, he took part in every aspect of pioneering life in Warrnambool, including being instrumental in starting up the cricket and horse racing clubs, both of which are still in existence today. He held central roles in the formation of many and varied companies as well as building bridges and other essential structures in and around Warrnambool.
Sarah Anne married John Russell EVANS 26 January 1865. On this marriage certificate, she recorded her parents as Sarah BRITTON and William CHAMBERS. On her first marriage certificate she had stated that her father was William WILLIAMS.
It is much more likely that Sarah Anne and her brother were the illegitimate children of William CHAMBERS and not William WILLIAMS as originally believed. It explains why we have been unable to find the children’s birth records and why we have been unable to find William WILLIAMS and his wife Sarah. It explains why William has Chambers as his middle name, and why William Henry McKIERNIN was able to ask William CHAMBERS to act as a trustee of his Will. It was not uncommon at that time for illegitimate children to use the Christian name of the father as a surname. Also it was not uncommon for the illegitimate sons of the aristocracy to be put into the armed forces. It also explains the family lore that ‘Grandma EVANS came from a good family’.
The same year that William Chambers WILLIAMS was born to Sarah BRITTEN, his father married Joanna Trant PAYNE. William and Joanna CHAMBERS went on to have twelve children who were educated firstly in France, then Eton, and finally Oxford or Cambridge.
Sarah Anne and John Russell EVANS stayed in Warrnambool and lived in the McKIERNIN built house Pencoed, where Sarah Anne gave birth to six more children.
One after the other, John Russell’s projects failed; a bridge was washed away, a woollen mill burnt down, a meat processing plant became insolvent, the setting up of a sugar beet processing plant was stymied by an unexpected surge in tax on imported machinery, the leasing of an island for obtaining guano and seal skins created problems for the local fishermen. These failures and the ensuing bankruptcy took a toll on John Russell’s emotional health. He left the family in Warrnambool and went to work for the railways in Melbourne. Prolonged heavy drinking from alcoholism led to his death in 1882. Sarah Anne was left with nine children, the youngest only six years old.
Sarah Anne moved 250 kms (160 miles) east to Melbourne, where she lived in various suburbs, with and/or close to one or other of her children. She died 29 August 1919 and was buried in the Box Hill Cemetery. Her death certificate stated that she was 80 years of age, but Sarah Anne made herself a little younger each time her age was recorded. Her real age would have been closer to 85.
The youngest of Sarah Anne and John Russell EVANS’ children was William Tudor EVANS. He changed his middle name to Trevor and was known as Trevor. Trevor named his son Trevor and that Trevor named his son Trevor. That Trevor is my husband and the great-great-great-grandson of Captain John BRITTON/BRITTEN.
[1] The spelling of Llanelly was changed to Llanelli
