Emma Blewett (1832-1883)
Personal details
Gender:
Female
Relationships
Husband:
Children:
Marriage date:
1 April 1861
Marriage place:
Family
Father:
Mother:
Baptism
Date:
22 October 1832
References:
England & Wales Census 1841
Date:
6 June 1841
England & Wales Census 1851
Date:
30 March 1851
Emigration
Date:
6 July 1859
Notes:
Ruth Blewett (62) and her two youngest children, Emma (28) and Edward (22), embarked on the Saldanha from Liverpool as unassisted immigrants. Departure date: 'Anglo-Victorian Shipping', Geelong Advertiser, 7 September 1859, p.2.
References:
Immigration
Date:
3 October 1859
Notes:
The three month voyage was marred by provisions of bad quality, and Edward Blewett (22) laid information in Melbourne with the Government Immigration Agent against the Master on behalf of the passengers. Arrival date: 'Shipping Intelligence', The Argus, 4 October 1859, p.4.
Sea voyage
Date:
17 July 1860
Notes:
Melbourne to Falmouth (or Liverpool). The Red Jacket stopped in Falmouth, Cornwall, on 15 October 1860 and Emma probably left the ship there. Description of the Red Jacket, 'Advertising', Geelong Advertiser, 4 July 1860, p.1. Cleared out date: 'Shipping Intelligence', The Argus, 17 July 1860, p.4. Departure date: 'Arrival of the Red Jacket', Sheffield Daily Telegraph, 29 October 1860, p.3.
References:
England & Wales Census 1861
Date:
7 April 1861
Place:
Notes:
113 Praed Street was a lodging house.
England & Wales Census 1871
Date:
2 April 1871
England & Wales Census 1881
Date:
3 April 1881
Notes:
By the time of the 1881 census the Redman family were completely separated – all three women living in separate households, with no sign of William. The wording of the Emma's death notice in The Cornish Telegraph indicates that William may still have been alive. What circumstances led to the separation of the family by 1881? Their daughter Emma (16) was listed as a dressmaker and visitor at 43 Queen St, Penzance. Her mother Emma (48) was listed as a servant (occupation given as seamstress) at 4 South Parade, Penzance. Mary (19) was listed as one of four servants at a lodging house at 1, Marine Terrace, Penzance (10 doors down from the former home of her grandparents Gabriel and Ruth Blewett, where her mother Emma grew up and lived until 1859).
Death
Date:
10 October 1883
Notes:
Cause of death - breast cancer. There must have been some doubt about whether Emma's husband was still living. On the death certificate it states that Emma was ‘Wife or widow of…’, with 'Wife or' added as an afterthought. Had William left them seeking work elsewhere perhaps and then disappeared? It is clear that his daughter Emma didn’t know whether her father was dead or alive at this point. The 1881 census indicates that this was the case for at least two years prior to his wife’s death.