William Batchelder Draper (abt. 1863)

Husband of Eliza Rebecca (Kennewell) Draper — married 2 Sep 1884 in Gawler SA

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Russell Senior [send private message]

Biography

Wiliiam Batchelder Draper's parents were John Draper and Lucy Charlotte Batchelder, whose marriage was registered in the North Aylesford registration district,^[1] Kent, in the last quarter of 1857.

John and Lucy Draper had three sons whose births were registered in the Dartford registration district,^[2] also in Kent:

• Henry Charles Draper, birth registered in the first quarter of 1859;
• John Henry Draper, birth registered in the first quarter of 1861;
• William Batchelder Draper, birth registered in the last quarter of 1863.

The General Register Office birth index^[3] confirms that for each of these births the mother's maiden surname was Batchelder.

The death Henry Charles Draper was registered in the Dartford district in the last quarter of 1858; the General Register Office death index confirms that he was one year old at death.

John Draper, a 29 year old smith from Kent, his wife Lucy (aged 27) and sons John (aged 4) and William (aged 1) are listed as passengers in the ship Lincoln,^[4] whose arrival at Port Adelaide was reported in The South Australian Advertiser  on 4 December 1865.^[5]

John and Lucy Draper had four children born in South Australia: Elizabeth Lucy (born 1865), Charles (born 1868), Edward Walter (born 1870) and Mary Ellen (born 1863). All the births were registered in the Barossa district.^[6]

William Batchelder Draper married Eliza Rebecca Kennewell in Gawler on 2 September 1884. They had four children:

• William Charles Edward Draper, born 22 January 1885;
• Elsie Lucy May Draper, born 15 October 1886;
• Beatrice Evelyn Mary Draper, born 28 January 1889;
• Lillia S. A. Draper, born 21 July 1890.

The first three of these births were registered in South Australia, in the Port Gawler, Barossa and Crawford districts respectively, and the birth dates are apparently taken from the South Australian birth index.^[7][8] The last birth was registered in the Broken Hill district of New South Wales.^[9]

William Batchelder Draper's mother, Lucy Charlotte, died on 1 March 1891, at Cowan Street, Gawler. She was aged 53, wife of John, and left a husband, two sons, two daughters and five grandchildren.^[10]

Four of Lucy Charlotte's grandchildren were the children of her son William. The other was Irene Maria Alice Draper, daughter of John Henry and Mary Jane Draper, who was born on 17 February 1889, and baptized in St Bede's Anglican Church, Semaphore, South Australia, on 24 April 1897.^[11] It would seem that Irene's parents were not married in South Australia.

Irene Maria Alice Draper had a brother named John William Arthur Draper, who was born on 4 May 1895, and baptized at the same time as Irene.^[12] His birth was registered in South Australia, in the Port Adelaide District. The same parents also had a child named Milo H. W. Draper, who was born in Broken Hill on 3 September 1892^[13] and died in Broken Hill on 14 November 1893.^[14]

It is unclear what became of William Batchelder Draper after 1889. When his wife Eliza Rebecca died, on 1 October 1938, she was the widow of William John Edwards.^[15] We know that Eliza Rebecca was already married to William John Edwards at the time of the death of her father, Thomas Kennewell, since a funeral notice describes Thomas as the father of Mr and Mrs W. J. Edwards^[16] (and Thomas Kennewell only had one daughter who survived childhood).

Sources

1. ↑ North Aylesford registration district: information from UKBMD.
2. ↑ Dartford registration district: information from UKBMD.
3. ↑ General Register Office: birth, death and marriage registrations in England and Wales since July 1837.
4. ↑ Emigrants on board the Lincoln,  Plymouth to Port Adelaide, 1865: State Records of South Australia, GRG 35/48/1, official assisted passage passenger lists, list 12 of 1865, Lincoln (digitised copy, viewed 12 July 2020). See page 2.
5. ↑ Arrival of the Lincoln with 405 government immigrants: The South Australian Advertiser  (Adelaide SA 1858–1889), 4 December 1865, page 3. (National Library of Australia, Digitised Australian Newspapers, retrieved 12 July 2020.)
6. ↑ Online Database Search, from GenealogySA.
7. ↑ South Australian births, index of registrations 1842 to 1906, edited by Jan Thomas, South Australian Genealogy & Heraldry Society (Adelaide, South Australia) 1997.
8. ↑ Catalogue information for South Australian births, index of registrations 1842 to 1906,  at the State Library of South Australia.
9. ↑ Births Search: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. (Search for Draper births between 21-07-1890 and 22-07-1890.)
10. ↑ Death of Lucy Charlotte Draper: The Express and Telegraph  (Adelaide SA 1867–1922), 5 March 1891, page 2, Family Notices. (National Library of Australia, Digitised Australian Newspapers, retrieved 12 July 2020.)
11. ↑ Birth and baptism of Irene Maria Alice Draper: baptism register of St Bede's Church, Semaphore; FamilySearch film # 007720197, image 183 of 752.
12. ↑ Birth and baptism of John William Arthur Draper: baptism register of St Bede's Church, Semaphore; FamilySearch film # 007720197, image 184 of 752.
13. ↑ Births Search: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. (Search for Draper births between 03-09-1892 and 04-09-1892.)
14. ↑ Deaths Search: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. (Search for Draper deaths between 14-11-1893 and 15-11-1893.)
15. ↑ Death of Eliza Rebecca Edwards: The Chronicle  (Adelaide SA 1895–1954), 6 October 1938, page 28, Family Notices. (National Library of Australia, Digitised Australian Newspapers, retrieved 12 July 2020.)
16. ↑ Funeral Notices: The Barrier Miner  (Broken Hill NSW 1888–1954), 8 May 1912, page 1 column 3. (National Library of Australia, Digitised Australian Newspapers, retrieved 4 July 2020.)