→ Elizabeth Blincon approx birth 1807. Gender: F; Date of arrival: 1857-09-01; Native place: ENG; Fiche: 130; Page: 1; Arrival month: SEP; Ship name: HARWICH; Arrival year: 1857; Origin code: B; Age: 50; Ship master: FRANKLIN GEORGE. The ship Harwich (also recorded as the Harwich of London) arrived at Sandridge (Port Melbourne) on September 1, 1857.
London
Elizabeth Adams was born in 1806 to John and Sarah Adams , she had a sister 8 years older who she must have been close to. In 1825 Elizabeth from married Henry Blincow at St Nicholas Deptford witnesses to the marriage included Sarah Archer her sister.
Widow 1839
Henry Blincow died young we have no records to tell us why but Elizabeth at 33 was a widow and was never to re-marry, but she had her sister nearby and that was her lot. Based on her Will later in life, it seems Henry left her with an income and she wasn’t poor in anyway.
1841 Census
There is a Ann Blincow age 36 living with William H Archer and Sarah Archer in 1841 in Mile End Old Town, London. She is a dressmaker at this time. I believe this is Elizabeth Blincoe nee Adams and first name incorrectly recorded. It also make most sense of another Blincow in the Archer household.
Sarah Archer her sister was married to a General Merchant William Henry Archer and when the Gold Rush began in Australia in 1852 they left Elizabeth in London and sought their fortune in Melbourne.
In was a few years later that Sarah suggested her sister come and join them, and as far as I can tell she lived with them when she got to Melbourne for the rest of her life
The Voyage
The Harwich was three masted ship that carried a lot of assisted and unassisted passengers, the journey took about 102 days and would have sailed south through the Atlantic, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and then utilized the “Roaring Forties”—strong westerly winds in the Southern Ocean that propelled ships toward Australia.
Elizabeth traveled as an unassisted passenger, meaning she or her family funded the fare rather than receiving a government bounty. As a widow traveling alone, her experience would have been defined by the social structures of the 1850s:
- Accommodation: Given her status and age, she likely occupied a cabin in the “Intermediate” or “Second” class. While better than the crowded steerage decks, it was still a far cry from luxury.
- On arrival at Sandridge in 1857 she would have probably been surprised to disembark on the Sand Bar south of Melbourne and the site of many canvas tents as Melbourne was extremely short of accomodation in the 1850s
- Fortunately for Elizabeth a lady of means would have servants help her carry her luggage and guide her to a place where presumably William and Sarah Archer were awaiting her on the shore. She unlike many emigrants had a home to go to and was likely in a good area of Melbourne right from the start.
Death Obituary
from Trove Newspaper archive
BLINCOW.—On the 30th June., at the residence of her sister (Mrs. Sarah Archer), Barker’s-road, Kew, Mrs. Elizabeth Blincow, widow, aged 75 years.
Elizabeth was buriend at Boroondara General Cemetery Kew, City of Boroondara, Victoria
Probate
3 October 1881 .Elizabeth leaves £178 in assets the executor is William Henry Archer
Name Elizabeth Blincow
Record Type Probates
Death Date 30 Jun. 1881
Death Place Kew
Occupation Widow
Grant Date 3 Oct. 1881
Grant Probate
Grant Recipient W H Archer
Probate File Number 22/541
Sources
- Daphne Austin Blencowe Database
- Ancestry and FamilySearch
- Trove Newspaper Archives