James Augustus WILLIS  

1865 -

 Set As Default Person

• Name	James Augustus WILLIS  [1, 2]
  Born	1865	Buckland, Dover, Kent, England   [1, 2, 3]
  Christened	30 Apr 1865	Buckland, Dover, Kent, England   [4]
  Gender	Male
  Census	2 Apr 1871	St Radigund's Road, Dover, Kent, England
  	Age: 7
  Census	3 Apr 1881	Coone Farm, Buckland, Dover, Kent, England
  	Occupation: Agricultural Labourer [Boarder]
  	Age: 17
  Emigration	21 Sep 1886	London, England
  	James is listed as on board the 'Jumna' when it sets sail from London, bound for Australia.
  	Age: 21
  Emigration	17 Nov 1886	Mackay, Queensland, AUSTRALIA
  	According to family legend, James "went to Australia when he was about 20 years old and was never heard of after that!" Passenger lists show a James A Willis disembarked in Mackay in Queensland, Australia on 17 November 1886. His occupation was 'ploughman' and the Country of origin was Kent, England. He was an 'indentured labourer'. [An indentured laborer was under contract of the employer for some period of time, usually four to seven years, in exchange for such things as ship's passage, food, land and accommodation.]
  	Age: 21
  Died	Queensland, AUSTRALIA   [5]
  Siblings	9 siblings
  + 1. George Robert WILLIS,   b. 1 Jan 1847, Charlton, Kent, England ,   d. 29 Jan 1922, 21 Astley Avenue, Dover, Kent, England  (Age 75 years) + 2. Mary Ann WILLIS,   b. 4 Mar 1848, Dover, Kent, England ,   d. Before 1911  (Age 62 years)   3. Emma Elizabeth WILLIS,   b. 1849, Charlton Green, Dover, Kent, England + 4. Maria WILLIS,   b. 1851, Charlton Green, Dover, Kent, England ,   d. Yes, date unknown + 5. John William WILLIS,   b. Jun 1853, Charlton Green, Dover, Kent, England   6. Clara WILLIS,   b. Aug 1855, Charlton Green, Dover, Kent, England ,   d. 8 Feb 1864, Dover, Kent, England  (Age ~ 8 years) + 7. Louisa WILLIS,   b. 1857, Charlton Green, Dover, Kent, England ,   d. 1 Dec 1879, Dover, Kent, England  (Age 22 years)   8. Charles Henry WILLIS,   b. 1859, Buckland, Dover, Kent, England ,   d. 7 Feb 1876, Dover, Kent, England  (Age ~ 16 years) + 9. Alfred Thomas WILLIS,   b. May 1864, Dover, Kent, England ,   d. 4 Dec 1934, 13 Noah's Ark Road, Dover, Kent, England  (Age ~ 70 years)
  Person ID	I207	WILLIS01
  Last Modified	16 Aug 2019

  
  

  Father	George WILLIS ,   b. 1821, Barham, Kent, England ,   d. 7 Nov 1875, St Radigund's Road, Dover, Kent, England  (Age 54 years)
  Mother	Mary Ann SUTERS ,   c. 21 Sep 1821, St James the Apostle, Dover, Kent, England ,   d. 3 Sep 1895, St Radigund's Road, Dover, Kent, England  (Age ~ 73 years)
  Married	28 Mar 1846	St Peter & Paul Parish Church, Charlton, Dover, Kent
  Children	10 children
  + 1. George Robert WILLIS,   b. 1 Jan 1847, Charlton, Kent, England ,   d. 29 Jan 1922, 21 Astley Avenue, Dover, Kent, England  (Age 75 years) + 2. Mary Ann WILLIS,   b. 4 Mar 1848, Dover, Kent, England ,   d. Before 1911  (Age 62 years)   3. Emma Elizabeth WILLIS,   b. 1849, Charlton Green, Dover, Kent, England + 4. Maria WILLIS,   b. 1851, Charlton Green, Dover, Kent, England ,   d. Yes, date unknown + 5. John William WILLIS,   b. Jun 1853, Charlton Green, Dover, Kent, England   6. Clara WILLIS,   b. Aug 1855, Charlton Green, Dover, Kent, England ,   d. 8 Feb 1864, Dover, Kent, England  (Age ~ 8 years) + 7. Louisa WILLIS,   b. 1857, Charlton Green, Dover, Kent, England ,   d. 1 Dec 1879, Dover, Kent, England  (Age 22 years)   8. Charles Henry WILLIS,   b. 1859, Buckland, Dover, Kent, England ,   d. 7 Feb 1876, Dover, Kent, England  (Age ~ 16 years) + 9. Alfred Thomas WILLIS,   b. May 1864, Dover, Kent, England ,   d. 4 Dec 1934, 13 Noah's Ark Road, Dover, Kent, England  (Age ~ 70 years)   10. James Augustus WILLIS,   b. 1865, Buckland, Dover, Kent, England ,   d. Queensland, AUSTRALIA
  Family ID	F105	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Census Records		1871 - WILLIS, George & Mary Ann [SUTERS] 1871 Census return for George & Mary Ann Willis at St Radigund Road, Buckland, Dover, Kent, England.
  		1881- WILLIS, James 1881 Census return for James Willis, Agricultural Labourer at Coome Farm, Buckland, Dover, Kent, England.

  
  

• Notes

  According to family legend, James "went to Australia when he was about 20 years old and was never heard of after that!"

  
  

• Sources

  [S02] **1871 England Census, Class: RG10; Piece: 1011; Folio: 32; Page: 32; GSU roll: 827261. Name: James WillisBirth Date: abt 1864Birth Place: Dover, Kent, EnglandResidence Date: 1871Residence Place: Buckland, Kent, England http://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=uki1871&h=12620727&ti=5538&indiv=try [S09] **1881 England Census, Class: RG11; Piece: 1005; Folio: 84; Page: 41; Line: ; GSU roll: 1341239. Name: James WillisBirth Date: abt 1864Birth Place: Buckland, Kent, EnglandResidence Date: 1881Residence Place: Buckland in Dover, Kent, England http://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=uki1881&h=8557115&ti=5538&indiv=try [S12] FreeBMD - Birth Index: 1837-1983, http://www.freebmd.org.uk , Dover Vol 2a, Page 936. [S166] Family Search, (https://www.familysearch.org/). "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NJWX-14G : accessed 13 February 2016), James Augustus Willis, 30 Apr 1865; citing Buckland (near Dover), Kent, England, reference ; FHL microfilm 1,886,085. [S251] >HESS, Carol, Feb 2008. In February 2008 I contacted Carol Hess, a genealogist living in Australia and sent her an email requesting help in tracing what became of James Willis Here is her resply. "I found a little spare time and had a good look through the UK census and BDM's for your family and I noted in the 51 census they were named WILLIS [indexed as WILIKS] I then searched the BDM's for both variations and think I have found all 10 children of George & Mary Ann. It appears that the male children were all given a second name. I now believe that your James was James Augustus WILLISS registered in Dover March 1865. That find sent me back to the Queensland immigration index to take another look at a James A WILLIS who arrived here in 1886 on board the "Jumna" [I had earlier discounted this one because of the second name] He is the only James WILLIS of suitable age in any of the immigration indexes for Qld, NSW & Vic. Yesterday I went to the library and checked the microfilm for that voyage of the "Jumna" and lo and behold, James A Willis was aged 22 in 1886, occupation a ploughman and County of origin was Kent. He was an indentured labourer who disembarked in Mackay in Northern Queensland. However, before getting too excited I must point out there was a James Archibald Willis born 1867 in West Ashford Kent and it is possible that he is the person in the immigration index. The age is out by a few years though. I then checked the Qld marriage index and found only 1 James WILLIS in a suitable time frame. He married 27.08.1887 to Mary Ellen WALTERS. The only way to determine if this is indeed your James would be to purchase the marriage certificate which should state the parents and birth place of both bride and groom. The cost is $26 AUD, which can be paid by credit card. The web site I gave you for Qld has an application form to print out and all information needed. Unfortunately, the trail from here becomes somewhat murky. James & Mary had one child, Alvera Rachel Sophia born 05.10.1889. Mary then went on to have 4 other children with a George JACKSON. They were all registered as WILLIS and cross referenced with WALTERS & JACKSON. These 4 kids took the name of JACKSON but the first child kept the name of WILLIS. She married 11.04.1909 to Samuel John SMITH. What happened to James after that I do not know. There are several electoral roll entries for a James WILLIS, a miner, in North Qld towns. I assume you have access to ancestry.com and these rolls are in the Australian databases, so you can search these yourself. There are several James WILLIS deaths recorded but none with the father George and only one with unknown parents. He died 08.02.1931 but probably doesn't have much info because if the parents are unknown, then most likely not much else is know. This James, the miner, lived alone for many years [according to the electoral rolls] which fits perfectly with your family story of not hearing from him ever again. I really do think that this could be your man. He disembarked in Mackay and after an apparent broken marriage stayed in the north for many years. I think now we can discount the James Clifton from NSW, as this fellow seems to be a better lead."