Tenth Generation

72. Robert BLABER^22,378 was born about 1815 in Horsted Keynes, West Sussex, England.³⁷⁸ He was christened on 20 September 1817 in Horsted Keynes, West Sussex, England.^111,368 Between 1840 and 1843 he was a Joiner.^379,380 Robert lived at Praed Street in London, England in 1840.³⁷⁹ In 1849 he was a Carpenter.³⁸¹ He emigrated on 25 August 1854 to Australia.³⁸² The family sailed from Southampton on the SS Agra, and arrived in Australia on the 3rd December 1854. Their surname was shown on the passenger list as "Bluber". In 1856 Robert was a Carpenter in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.^383,384 He lived at 137 Collins Street East in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia in 1856.^383,384 (East Melbourne - East Hill Division). In 1870 he was a Builder.²² Robert lived at 4 George Street, Collingwood in Victoria, Australia in 1870.¹¹⁸ He died of Pleuracy on 17 February 1870 at the age of 55 in Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia.^378,385,386 Death reported by his daughter, Louise. He was buried on 18 February 1870 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.^378,387 Robert has Ancestral File Number 197F-GL9.³⁷⁸ A Note from Barry Sherlock:

"A letter dated June 1855 from Anne Blaber to George Edwin Blaber, reported having had a letter from William in which he reports that Robert and his family are staying with him. The letter mentions that when William wrote, "it was the midst of winter", which made me wonder if perhaps they had emigrated. This would explain why I had found no records of Robert or William (Benjamin William?)
Anne's letter also mentioned in the next sentence someone returning from Australia which may be significant.

When Andrew Blaber (Sue's cousin) went to Australia in 1994, he investigated and subsequently reported - "Robert died of pleurisy at the age of 50 in Melbourne on 18/2/1870. His occupation is given as builder. His wife Louise Marie (nee Houssous) who he married in London on 1/6/1840 was French and survived him. They had 3 daughters - Louise Marie Anne born 1842, Ida Caroline born 1844 and Eliza Letitia (no trace of this person can be found subsequently - may have been confused with Mary Ann) born 1850. Robert's wife advertised in the Melbourne Directory as a dressmaker and died in 1879 aged 62
Louise Marie Ann married Charles William in 1860 and Ida Caroline married John Davies Bevan in 1872.
Records suggest that Robert was in Australia 15 years at the time of his death"

The marriage of another daughter Mary Ann was subsequently found, both by Joy Knight and agents - Rosie Ritchie, to Charles Brown 1864 in Melbourne.

The 1856 Electoral Roll shows Robert Blaber, Carpenter, Householder, 137 Collins Street, East Melbourne, (Eastern Hill Division). Collins Street is apparently now the heart of modern Melbourne.

There was a cholera epidemic in London in 1854 - could this be the reason why the family moved to Australia - maybe Eliza Letitia died in London of the disease. Equally they may have moved because of the Gold Rush in Melbourne from about 1850

Sue's cousin Joy Knight, who lives in Australia, found the marriage of another Blaber, Mary Ann to a Charles Brown 25/10/1864. Could this be another daughter of Robert and Louise Marie or possibly of Benjamin William? Joy also found out that the marriage of Robert's daughter was to Charles William Lewis not Charles William as Andrew Blaber had reported.

While browsing the Internet on the Mormon site, I input Robert Blaber and lo and behold the name came up with his wife and children submitted by a Mrs Joy Lewis in Melbourne. Sue phoned her and it turns out that her husband is descended from the Charles William Lewis who married Louise Marie Ann. We sent her the family tree.

26/6/1999 Obtained Robert's death certificate from Melbourne which confirmed the date of death as 17/2/1870, living at the time at 4 George St , Fitzroy in the district of Collingwood in the colony of Victoria. His death was due to pleurisy at age 50. The death was reported by his daughter Louise who was living at 212 Bourke St Melbourne. 3 daughters were named in the certificate - Louise Marie Ann age28, Ida Caroline age 26 and Eliza Letitia age 20. Eliza obviously did not die in London as we had thought possible.

We also had the marriage certificate for the Mary Ann Blaber we had come across. It appears that she was a widow aged 30 (widowed 1862) and married a Charles Brown on 25/10/1864. Her previous name was Symes. Although she cannot be a daughter of Robert she was obviously married to a Blaber. Could she have been married to Benjamin William?

In the same post we had a family tree from Joy Lewis in Melbourne giving details of the Bevan family as far as they know it and also the first generation of Lewis's - more to follow. They say that they don't know of Benjamin William."

Robert BLABER and Marie Louisa Harriette HOUSSOIS were married on 1 June 1840 in St James, Paddington, London, England.^{22,378,379,388,389} Witnesses at the wedding were Juvenal Adolphe Descroix and Catherine Louise Descroix. They^{22,378,379,388,389} lived at 34 George Street in Westminster, London, England in 1843.³⁸⁰ They³⁸⁰ lived at 7 Upper Albany Street in St Pancras, London, England in 1849.³⁸¹ Marie Louisa Harriette HOUSSOIS^22,378, daughter of Leger Henri HOUSSOIS and Isabella MORELL, was born about 1817 in Dunkirk, France.^390,391,392 This date is a "guesstimate". Before 1879 she was a Dressmaker in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.²² She advertised in the Melbourne Directory. She died on 15 June 1879 at the age of 62 in Moonee Ponds, Victoria, Australia.^390,392 Marie was buried on 17 June 1879 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.^22,378 She has Ancestral File Number 197F-GMH.³⁷⁸ She was also known as Louise Blaber.³⁷⁸ Other given names could include: Ann; Louise Marie Harriet. Surname could be: Houssoms; Houssons.

Robert BLABER-136 and Marie Louisa Harriette HOUSSOIS-251 had the following children: