Robert Coulter, b abt 1842 Sydney, Australia

Question

Can anyone help please with tracing Robert Coulter born in Sydney, NS Wales, Australia abt 1842 and died in Woolwich, London abt 1883?  I am looking for any information about how he was born in Australia (maybe transported over from England) and why he ended up in Woolwich, anything about his background.  I was told that he played in the 1st cricket match in Australia.

Thanks, Jane

Answer 1

 

Hi Jane,

 

How certain of this approx death date are you ?

There is a Robert John Coulter alive in northern Kent in 1881 who was born in Sydney NSW (see below), BUT strangely, the UK BMD has a death near Maidstone in northern Kent BEFORE this census for an identically named person!

FREE UK BMD (http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/search.pl)

Deaths Q2, 1878

COULTER, Robert John, AaD: 33, RegD: Maidstone, Vol: 2a, Page: 376

 

It appears that this death record is another person but it's a bit weird :-)

 

I hope that the records and links in following comments are useful.

Cheers, Mark.

 

Comments

New South Wales has a great BMD Online...
(http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/Index/IndexingOrder.cgi/search?event=births)
REG NO.            LAST NAME    GIVEN NAMES    FATHER'S GIVEN    MOTHER'S GIVEN
V18434487 47/1843    COULTER        ROBERT J    DAVID        MARY


It would appear that Robert's parents were married in NSW...
(http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/Index/IndexingOrder.cgi/search?event=marriage)
REG NO.            GROOM            BRIDE        DISTRICT
V1841922 75/1841    COULTER, DAVID        MCNEICE, MARY    QC
QC is a reference to the Scots Church (Presbyterian) in Pitt Street, Sydney


To confirm that this is the same person check the extract of the 1881 Census below...
The 1881 census was taken on the night of 3 April 1881 (http://www.findmypast.co.uk)
COULTER, Robert John    Head    Married    M   38    1843    Corporal R M L I    Australia
COULTER, Annie        Wife    Married    F   38    1843    Corporals Wife        Stafford
Piece: 999    Folio: 73    Page: 10    Registration District: Eastry
Civil Parish: Walmer        Address: Cavalry Barracks, Walmer Kent, Walmer
County: Kent


If you get his & Annie's marriage certificate it should confirm the fathers names...
FREE UK BMD (http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/search.pl)
Marriages Sep 1879
COULTER, Robert John  &  EMERY, Annie - RegD: Eastry, Vol: 2a, Page: 1300


Searchable Australian Convict Records are here   http://www.convictrecords.com.au/
but David Coulter doesn't appear to be amongst them.


Don't underestimate the power of Google to help you out.  Simply searching for the following string
  "David Coulter" "Mary McNeice"   provided links to information about Roberts parents...
http://www.glendafae.com/getperson.php?personID=I8996&tree=Glenda
(Apparently David Coulter was a grocer and died in 1876)


Robert's fathers death record tells us that Robert's gfather was a David Coulter too...
(http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/Index/IndexingOrder.cgi/search?event=deaths)
REG NO.        LAST NAME    GIVEN    FATHER'S GIVEN    MOTHER'S GIVEN    DISTRICT
3366/1876    COULTER        DAVID    DAVID        DIED PADDINGTON    PADDINGTON
(unfortunately this record doesn't give us his mother's name)