In the beginning.....

The Name of Baldwin

 The surname of BALDWIN was a baptismal name 'the son of Baldwin'. The french motto "Je n'oublierai pas" means. "I Will Not Forget". The name Baldwin means 'bold protector'. It was not a common name among the Anglo-Saxons, however, a frequent occurrence of the name in the Earldom of Flanders, caused the province to become known as 'Baldwinus Lane'. 

It was an extremely popular name among the Normans in the Middle Ages as it was the given name of the Crusader, who in 1100 became the first Christian king of Jerusalem, and of four more Crusader kings of Jerusalem. It was also borne by Baldwin, Count of Flanders (1172-1205), leader of the Fourth Crusade who became the first Latin Emperor of Constantinople (1204). The name was probably brought to England in the wake of the Norman Conquest of 1066. Many of the early names recorded in medieval documents denote noble families but many also indicate migration from the continent during, and in the wake of, the Norman invasion of 1066. There was a constant stream of merchants, workmen and others arriving in England during this time. In 1086 the Record of Great Inquisition of lands of England, their extent, value, ownership and liabilities was made by order of William The Conqueror. It is known as the Domesday book. Early records of the name mention Baldwinus (without surname) who died in 1190 was the English prelate, born in Exeter in poor circumstances. He became the Bishop of Worcester in 1180 and Archbishop of Canterbury in 1184. He crowned Richard I made a tour of Wales, preaching in favour of the Crusades, and himself died on a Crusade. Johannes Baldwyn was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. Thomas Baldwin of Wales, was registered at Oxford University in 1580.

 The Baldwin Family

The Baldwin Family, that is this particular branch of the family, started in Australia on the 12th April 1853 in a coastal town about 8kms (5 miles) south west of Melbourne called Williamstown.

William Baldwin was born 1808 in Laxfield, Suffolk, England. Later in his life he relocated to Sheffield where he worked as a labourer in a steel factory.

Sarah Smith was born 1813 in Suffolk, England and lived with her parents Joseph and Mary Ann Smith. Joseph was employed as a Wheelwright (repairer and maker of cart and wagon wheels). Little is known of Sarah's mother, Mary. Sarah eventually became a Lace Maker and worked in Nottingham.

William and Sarah were married on the 13th October 1834 in Stradbroke, Suffolk. William was 25 years of age and Sarah was 19.

Little is known as to the reasons for their emigration to Australia. It is speculated that either wide-spread sickness or food shortage due to severe weather conditions could have been deciding factors in their choice. We may never know. There was a section of a ship's log, The Monteagle, that stated, "Sommerset Emigrants made their way to the ports of embarkment to join the Monteagle. The levels were inundated. Flooding around Westonzoyland (on the west coast of lower-england) was so severe that only carts could get through, with water armpit deep and treacherously strong currents, crops sown before the floods had been severely affected by the continuous weather."

The Baldwin's, with their family of children - Joseph (b. 13 Mar 1839) - Rosamond (b. 1845) - Denny (b. about 1848) - Emma (b. 1852), departed from Deptford on 21st December 1852 aboard the Monteagle. Their eldest son, William Albert Baldwin (b. 1835), did not emigrate to Australia until a later date.

The S.S. Monteagle.

The voyage took about 5 months. Aboard ship were 495 people (men, women and children) and by the time they had arrived at Port Phillip Bay, 52 passengers would have died. Twenty-two of them were children. Amongst the children that died, Denny (d. 27th Feb 1853) and Emma (d. 5th Feb 1853) Baldwin who were stricken with Pneumonia, would be numbered with them.

Eventually the Monteagle docked at Williamstown in Hobson's Bay, the northern most part of Port Philip Bay, on the 12th of April 1853. Little is known of the circumstances, but the Baldwin family settled down, and worked as farm labourers. (I only have 2 possibilities as to where the farm was in Victoria. Either, Glendarnel or Tourells)

During the stay, two more children are born. Emma in 1854 and Gideon (also known as Denny) in 1857.

William Albert Baldwin arrived in Victoria in December of 1856 at the age of 21 aboard the Angelsey.

Ten years after settling, William, was taken ill with Heart Disease, Chronic Bronchitis and Asthma. He died on the 21st of November 1863 in Tourells, Victoria.

Seventeen years after arriving, Sarah, would suffer and not survive a two month bout of Dysentery. She died on the 25th May 1869. During this time she was living in Glendarnel (north of Balarat) in north-west Victoria.

Their surviving children:

William Albert Baldwin married Teresa Helen Dodd McLellan and had six children. Joseph Baldwin married Mary Elizabeth Phillips and had nine children. Emma Baldwin married Edward Oliver and had nine children. Gideon (Denny) Baldwin married Sarah Mathews and had ten children.

The rest, as they say, is history.

As Time Goes By ......

In the years that were to follow, not much is known about our family's day-to-day activities. I am not an historian, neither do I have the resources, to become one. But, if I did, I would be telling you all that I could so that our family will not be forgotten.

I have a great respect for my past family. I only have one tiny point of contention with them. As far back as I could remember, mainly to my father's parents, the Baldwin's that I knew of were terrible at communicating. I think that this may explain why I have so little information about our family.

Sure, I have their names, the dates they were born and eventually die. The names of their children and so forth. But what I do not have, and I am afraid that it may be forever lost, are the stories, the conversations, the important events in their lives being handed down to their children. From my perspective, the Baldwin family history, is kind of like The Dark Ages where the population was "kept in the dark" in relation to religious matters.

I hope that these few snippets of information may be of some use to our family at some point in time. I do not have the time nor the mental ability to recall all the important events in our family, but, I hope that what I do relate, will be beneficial to someone.

The Time-line Continues......

In the past few years I have been trying to piece together our family history by creating our family tree. I am so glad that this is no longer done primarily with pen and paper! The hours and headaches, the coffee's and snacks, the lost hours in sleep are almost beyond calculating. For those of our family that are doing the same, I have a Baldwin Gedcom file, if you would like a copy. It is basically up to date with probably a few minor errors. Lots of names and dates with little to no day to day information. (I wonder why? I digress..)

Melbourne was in a time of exiting growth at the time the Baldwin's arrived. Just a couple of years prior, gold was discovered, near Balarat. By 1851 Melbourne's population had exploded to about 40,000 people and growing daily.
 

Canvas Town - South Melbourne 1850's

 Melbourne was perfectly located as a destination for shipping. The main central business district was either completed or in the throws of being completed. A railway as well as a river system would provide both access and water to the suburbs. But most Melburnians would travel by foot.

Williamstown, where the Baldwin's landed, was a mixture of wealth and needy. Most of Victoria's prisoners we "housed" here on floating "hulks". By the end of the 1850's, about 6,000 prisoners were kept here, with ages starting at nine. I suppose country Victoria was looking better by this time. The Baldwin's were destined to be farmers. The original Baldwin farm is still there to this day. The farm was passed on to Joseph Henry's wife, Louisa (Williams) Baldwin, when he died. The farm is now owned by the Williams family and was subdivided amongst Louisa's surviving children.

Our branch of the family came from William Baldwin's son, Joseph (1839-1906). Then by his son, Joseph Henry (1869-1912). His son, Joseph Leslie (1986-1967) - my Grandfather, lived in Casterton (Western Victoria) until his death in 1967. My Grandmother then moved to Melbourne to live with her daughter Winnifred. My father, Alan Lionel Baldwin, was born in Cobram in 1931. I found out in 2012 that he died on the 20th of January 2011. (Yet another fine example of our communication lines... I digress, again...)

Both of my parents died too early. Mum was about 64 and dad at 80. Word of warning to our younger readers; They both smoked since their early teens. They both died of Emphysema caused by smoking.

It is my intention to continue working on our family tree. I hope that someday that the information, as well as the stories, can be passed on to our survivors.

"Lest we forget."