Biography

Birth and formative life

Walter George Tibbett was born 1856 at Massachusetts, United States of America. ^{[1] [2]} in 1865 he was livnng in Dedham, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States

He was a carpenter and farmer.^[3]

Walter Tibbett migrated from United States of America to New South Wales.

He migrated to New South Wales, Australia before 1882.^[4] Why did he leave post-war USA to come to New South Wales? He appears to have travelled from east to west coast before boarding a ship. The 'wild west' didn't attract. There was nothing special in NSW, e.g., gold rushes, at the time. Youthful restlessness?

Marriage and family

Walter married Elizabeth Jane Clout, daughter of William Clout and Sarah Sophia Clout nee Warburton, on 29th November 1882 at Christ Church St Laurence Church of England, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.^{[5] [6]}

Together they had three children: William George (1883-1954), Walter James (1885-1955), and Elizabeth Jane Lavina (1887-). Walter lost his wife in childbirth with Elizabeth. The two boys married sisters, Elsie Jane and Mildred May Bunt in 1904 and 1908 respectively. Elizabeth married Daniel Lewis in 1904.

Disappearance, or Death?

Record of Walter's death, after March 1886 (time of Elizabeth's conception with their daughter) are yet to be located. Walter was thought to have passed away prior to 1890 when he mysteriously disappeared. ^[7]

The family lore that was been passed down the generations is that, Walter locked his two very young sons in a cupboard, then went out hunting for food. He never returned. Elizabeth Jane’s father found the boys, in the cupboard, two days later, close to death. But, where was baby Elizabeth?

Some years later, a skull was found in the bush, and the local newspaper reported that it could be that of Walter George Tibbett, but this was never confirmed.^[8]

It is believed that his three children in New South Wales, were raised by Elizabeth Jane’s parents, William Clout and Sarah Sophia Clout nee Warburton.

This profile is a collaborative work-in-progress. Can you contribute information or sources?

Sources

1. ↑ Information as gathered by Paul Curran, Wednesday, January 21, 2015.
2. ↑ Ancestry.com, Massachusetts, State Census, 1865 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014), Ancestry.com.
3. ↑ requires source
4. ↑ it is expected that his migration was in the latter section of the period, to not have been accompanied by a parent
5. ↑ New South Wales Marriage Index #1752/1882
6. ↑ 3 Ancestry.com, Australia Marriage Index, 1788-1950 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010), Ancestry.com.
7. ↑ Ancestry.com, New South Wales, Australia, Police Gazettes, 1854-1930 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010), Ancestry.com.
8. ↑ requires source

• Alan Thompson, Cloutlines - Newsletter of the Clout Descendants Society in 1, 31, (Clout Descendants Society, Canberra, ACT, Australia, September 1997), , Tibbett(s) Family. Page 7. Contributed by Wanda Maher. hereinafter titled Cloutlines 31. Wanda Maher is a descendant of William George Tibbetts.

My heritage sources

Brother: James William Tibbetts-1506