Over the last few weeks I have systematically written a sheet of paper up reflecting what data I know about each of the sisters. I then turned to the sisters who do not appear very much in the various books. What happened to them?
Amelia King was almost the youngest of the siblings, born in 1785. It was known that she had married George Waddell, but beyond that nothing was known.
I turned to my trusty Google friend, just to see what the internet provided in terms of clues and perhaps other researchers. I received a wonderful surprise, which of course yielded more questions. In fact, many more questions.
One of the surprises revealed that a series of documents from the 18th Century had survived and were now in the care of the Royal Geographical Society. I read the on line details and then phoned the archivist. Could they describe the details to me? They did and at the point of writing this I need to invest at least 3 days in to visiting London and accessing the documents.
The documents include a journal of Amelia & George's daughter, also called Amelia. Included in this bundle was the additional journal of George Waddell with detailed references to his marriage to Amelia King.
Amelia King had married George Waddell in Bombay India in 1802. They had two children:
- Amelia born 19th May 1809 and baptised in
- George born 16th Oct 1812 and baptised at Chobham in November 1812
Amelia the daughter grew up and in February 1834 married Sir Keith Alexander Jackson (1798 - 1843). It was as a result of this marriage that Amelia had the opportunity to travel, and it those journeys and experiences that she documented in her journals.
From the details, Amelia travelled through Frances, The Netherlands and Wales during 1822-1828. She also spent some time in Bath, East Malling and Taunton. She also includes the diary of her brother George who travelled through Wales during May to September 1828.
From the details, Amelia travelled through Frances, The Netherlands and Wales during 1822-1828. She also spent some time in Bath, East Malling and Taunton. She also includes the diary of her brother George who travelled through Wales during May to September 1828.
Amazing what Google turns up but offline wins in terms of the information. What a jackpot and what fun you'll have as you pore through the documents! Congratulations.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I can hardly wait to get up to London and look through these journals and documents.
DeleteSounds like you have some fun ahead! I look forward to death certificates, don't know how I could wait if I knew a journal was waiting for me somewhere.
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