the family of james belcher of waterford, ireland - University of ...
the family of james belcher of waterford, ireland - University of ...
the family of james belcher of waterford, ireland - University of ...
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61<br />
William Samuel Belcher/Jane MC 16 MAY 1737 Down Saintfield<br />
William William Belcher/Rose MC 30 AUG 1821 Down Downpatrick<br />
Bolsher<br />
Margaret<br />
Alexander Bolsher/Isabella FC 20 NOV 1836 Armagh English Parish<br />
Belchar<br />
Thomazin Ichabod Harding WM 1692 Cork Cloyne Parish<br />
Reason<br />
Elizab Sam Reason/Elioner FC 10 JAN 1670 Dublin Dublin Sts. Peter & Kevin<br />
Reasin<br />
William Anna Moyes HM 24 SEP 1670 Dublin Dublin St Michan<br />
None <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> above persons or families have been found by me to have any connection<br />
with one ano<strong>the</strong>r nor with James Belcher <strong>of</strong> Waterford. A <strong>family</strong> <strong>of</strong> Belchers<br />
did exist in Waterford and nearby Kilkenny, but no connection has been found yet.<br />
Belchers are not uncommon in Australia, and <strong>the</strong>re appear to have been at least ten<br />
different families migrating, including our John Belcher. In 1975, <strong>the</strong>re were at least<br />
37 Belchers listed in <strong>the</strong> Melbourne Phone book, and only 3 are among John Belcher’s<br />
descendants; now in 1999, <strong>the</strong>y total 72 with 5 from <strong>the</strong> <strong>family</strong>.<br />
The search<br />
Now how did I go about searching <strong>the</strong> history <strong>of</strong> our Belchers? Firstly, I had <strong>the</strong><br />
following sources available: notes <strong>of</strong> my fa<strong>the</strong>r, <strong>the</strong> <strong>family</strong> Bible, conversations with<br />
my mo<strong>the</strong>r and my Aunt Ada, and my fa<strong>the</strong>r’s cousin Lucy Barker. Then I went to<br />
<strong>the</strong> basement <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> newly opened Latrobe Library in Lonsdale Street where some<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> archives were kept. There I found <strong>the</strong> Shipping Lists - original hard copy<br />
transcriptions with very limited indexes. As I was able to afford it, I began buying<br />
some Birth, Death or Marriage Certificates from <strong>the</strong> Registrar. In <strong>the</strong> late 1960s, I<br />
was receiving reports from Ireland from my youngest bro<strong>the</strong>r Bruce, now deceased,<br />
after he found John Belcher’s marriage certificate and <strong>the</strong> church at Colpe in Meath<br />
where he was married. This scotched <strong>the</strong> legend that his marriage was a mixed one,<br />
and <strong>the</strong> suggestion that <strong>the</strong>re was a Reason involved in that generation. I would<br />
have to look fur<strong>the</strong>r back to check those stories. Then more recently since I retired,<br />
I was searching <strong>the</strong> micr<strong>of</strong>iche indexes and recently <strong>the</strong> CDs, and spending hours at<br />
<strong>the</strong> Victorian Archives <strong>of</strong>fice seeking wills, coroners reports, land settlement papers<br />
and state school records. And calling on <strong>the</strong> telephone to people with likely names,