But did he? The whereabouts of William Robert Peeling was always a family mystery. William left England in 1923 at age 19 and the family story was that he went to America.
William was one of three boys born to William and Minnie Peeling in Fulham, England. When Minnie died in 1915, William re-married to Gertrude Moore and they had a girl, Phyllis in 1920. Things were tough with the step-mother in the house and this situation prompted the boys to leave.
His younger brother Fred, my grandfather, left England for Australia a year later. He was 16. He was contracted to do farm labouring in New South Wales so embarked in Sydney.
Fred got married and had a family, eventually his daughters asked questions about where he was from. They were told about his difficult family situation and that his brother William left and ‘went to America.’
When I first starting researching I found no records for William except his birth in England. Years later, I returned to research him thinking that, as US records were now showing on other Ancestry profiles, maybe there would be some clues. When I looked at his record, there were no new hints, so I clicked on the search instead and up popped a record, a UK Outward Passenger list. William R Peeling departed England on 27 July 1923, destination port of Brisbane, Australia. Brisbane! I stared at the indexed information in disbelief. Am I seeing things? He went to Australia? This can’t be him.
I opened the immigration record, looking for more clues. The document was faded, browning, lined paper with typed names. He was 19, so the aged matched, living in Barnes, across the Thames from his family home in Hammersmith. The address in modern times looked like a shop in a high street. I still wasn’t convinced it was him.
Heading back to the search list, several Australian Electoral Roll records were next. As I opened each one, they all said the same thing, Robert Peeling, farm labourer, Pittsworth. It also mentioned the name of the property. The records started in the 1930’s through to 1968, all living on one property with the last address in the town of Pittsworth.
He died on 31 March 1972. The index of death records on Queensland Births, Deaths and Marriages is in the name of William Robert Peeling, parents William and Minnie. I had found him.
For the first time in my research career, I took it one step further. I found the address of the property in Pittsworth and wrote a letter explaining who I was and asking for any information about William. A few weeks later I received a phone call from a wonderful lady who was a niece of the owner of the property and spent part of her childhood visiting there. She remembered Bob, as he was known, to be a part of the family. He had his own rooms, separate from the main houset, and was always friendly, happy and hard-working. He loved lawn bowls and playing cricket. She knew he was English, but no one knew about his family. To my delight, she sent me a photo, the one attached to this story, and the only one the family has of William.
It is sad to think William could have visited his brother Fred in Sydney, meet his nieces, be part of a family, but he chose never to see any of his family again. He became part of another family.
This experience taught me, as far as research goes, never give up. Always go back and look again, review what you have, expand your search, ask questions. You might solve the family mystery.
Trace Genealogy 