© Adelaide Tapper Apr 2022
Much of the information relating to Daniel and Ann Tapper comes from research done by many other family historians. My intention here is not to pass off the research work as my own, but simply to have a look at how frustrating family history can be when you can’t find answers.
Daniel Tapper and Ann Norris arrived in Western Australia on the 13 May 1830. They had sailed from London on the ship the Rockingham, along with a number of free settlers for the newly-established Swan River colony. From this one couple, there are now hundreds if not thousands of descendants. On Ancestry.com alone, there are over 200 family trees which include Daniel and Ann.
What I (and many other Tapper family historians) find curious is that nothing is known of their fate. Despite being among Western Australia’s earliest white settlers, their stories have not been passed down through the generations. Very little is recorded in public records, and their deaths have never been found.
More than half of the family trees on Ancestry.com include a year of death for Daniel of 1847. Yet his date is not correct and is based on erroneous conclusions and similarity of surnames. (This is a reminder to family historians to check your sources!).
So, what do we know?
Daniel Tapper and Ann Norris
According to the first census of Western Australia, taken in 1832, Daniel was born circa 1798 in London, England. There are no records created in Western Australia that point to who his parents were, and curiously the names of his parents were not handed down through the generations.
We believe that the correct record of Daniel’s birth can be found in the Bishop’s Transcripts of the baptisms for the church of St. Mary’s on St Marylebone Road, in Marylebone, London. This record shows that on the 16th December 1798, Daniel Tapper (born 12 August) was baptised. His parents are recorded as Joseph and Sarah Tapper.
This is the only Daniel Tapper born or baptised in the year 1798, give or take a few years, found in the indexes for the various church records of London. The Bishop’s Transcripts were copies of the parish records sent to the Bishop of the Diocese of London. This means they are transcribed copies, not the original baptismal records, and thus could introduce errors by the person who did the transcribing. Bishop’s Transcripts also do not contain much information. Only the name of the child, father’s full name, and mother’s first name, and – in this instance – the date of birth. It would appear that the original parish register for St Marylebone is missing.
Daniel married Ann Norris on the 24th March, 1823 at St Nicholas church, Child Okeford, Dorset. Ann was born circa 1804, and baptised 7 October 1804 in Child Okeford. Her parents were Thomas Norris and Jane Lambert. The marriage entry shows that Daniel was, at the time of marriage, of full age, and residing in Heytesbury, Wiltshire, and that he was a bachelor. Ann’s age was given, because she was still a minor, aged 18, and required the permission of her parent or guardian to marry.
Three of their children were born in England.
- Lucy (Lucia), baptised a few months after the marriage, on the 27 Jul 1823, at Child Okeford. The baptismal record shows Daniel’s occupation as “labourer.”
- Frederick, baptised on the 12 February 1826 at Child Okeford,
- Cornelius, baptised on the 8 June 1828 at the church of Blandford St Mary’s, Dorset. Daniel’s occupation was described as gamekeeper.
In 1829, for reasons unknown, Daniel temporarily deserted his family. Under the laws of the time, it was an offense to do so, because it created the necessity for the abandoned wife and children to be cared for at the expense of the parish. This could mean the workhouse for Ann and the children, a decidedly unpleasant experience. Daniel was taken up to the Wiltshire Quarter Sessions on the 27 June and accused of being a “rogue and a vagabond,” for having run away for one month or more from the parish of Heytesbury, leaving his wife and children chargeable to the parish. He was convicted and committed to the House of Corrections in Devizes, Wiltshire to serve hard labour for a month. Before we judge too harshly, the late 1820s were a difficult time for the working people in southern England. The end of the Napoleonic wars saw an influx of men no longer needed to fight the wars, leading to a surplus of labour, hence more competition. Daniel may have lost his job as gameskeeper and gone looking for work elsewhere.
In any case, this experience may have spurred on the family’s decision to try their luck in the new colonies. This bit of personal history of Daniel’s also serves to illustrate that they were a poor family, with few options in England, and perhaps, few options later in life.
The Swan River Colony
In early 1827, Captain James Stirling, travelling with botanist Charles Fraser, sailed down the coast of western Australia. From what they saw of the area around the Swan River, they believed the land would be suitable for British Settlement. Early attempts to get the British government interested were met with a cool reception. That is, until Stirling met Thomas Peel. Peel and some associates worked out a deal with the government: they would recruit 10,000 settlers in exchange for land. In the end, the deal was not as favourable to Peel and the settlers, but in any case, the government sent Captain Fremantle to the Swan River to claim the western portion of Australia for the British.
In April 1829, Peel began to advertise for recruits to join the new colony.
In June 1829, the first ship – “Parmelia” – carrying 68 settlers arrived. They were to remain on their own for months. Meanwhile, Peel’s plan began to go pear-shaped. He and his partner were slow to get organised, and took months to send the next ship. In mid-December 1829, the “Gilmore” arrived, carrying another 89 adults and 78 children. At this point, the township of Clarence was proposed, but not much happened in terms of its development. The next ship, the “Hooghly” arrived a few months later, and there was not much awaiting them.
Mr & Mrs Tapper go to Australia
With their children, Daniel and Ann set forth to Australia aboard the Rockingham. They set sail from London in late January of 1830. It was to be an ill-fated and difficult journey from start to finish. As they sailed out of the mouth of the Thames, the wind changed, and they had to heave to and await the abatement of the winds. The winds were fierce enough for the cable to snap and an anchor to be lost, causing the ship to drift onto the Goodwin Sands. Fortunately, this occurred at low tide, and the ship was afloat again once the tide came in. Next, the winter gales in the English channel were so fierce the sails were torn to shreds. The captain was able to sail the ship into Falmouth harbour where the ship was refitted. Over three months later, they arrived in the Western Australian colony. On the 13 May 1830, the Rockingham sailed into Cockburn Sound, and anchored off Garden Island within sight of the town of Clarence. However, the passengers’ rough voyage was not yet over, because bad weather struck that day. The ship pitched, the cable broke, and the ship was swept closer to shore where it ran aground. The poor passengers had to climb over the side and jump into the surf. For Ann, this must have been very challenging, as she was six months pregnant and with young children in tow. All passengers mercifully reached the relative safety of the beach, but would have spent a chilly and wet night. The next day, the new colonists walked to Clarence to begin their new lives.
One might say that this rough beginning was a harbinger of the hard early years the Tapper family faced in the new colony. Their first months were spent in Clarence, where three months later, their fourth child, Sarah, was born on the 16 August 1830.
Whatever the settlers had been promised by Peel, the reality was grim. There were few employment opportunities in Clarence, the soil was not adequate for European-style agriculture, the cattle had escaped into the bush, and food supplies were inadequate. The water supply was a problem in the drier months, and diseases like dysentery were common.
Further north was the Swan Colony, where the Governor, Captain James Stirling, was offering accommodation and better opportunities. By the time the 1832 Census of Western Australia was taken, the Tapper family were living in Fremantle. Daniel’s occupation on the census (and indeed on other records) was “boatman.” As of the early 1830s, there were no harbour facilities in Fremantle, therefore cargo and passengers had to be rowed between ships and shore by boatmen or lightermen. There would also be the need to ferry goods up and down the rivers.
By the end of 1830, the population of the Swan River colony was about 1000 people. The population grew slowly, and numbered only about 5,000 ten years later, in 1850.
Life in the Perth and Fremantle areas was very difficult. In July of 1832, the mechanics and labourers of Fremantle joined to sign a petition to the Governor, Captain Scott, begging for assistance and employment. Scarcity and high prices were causing starvation. Daniel Tapper was one of the signatories. In response, the Governor ordered Captain Scott to employ any men who needed work to erect a parapet wall, and pay them 2 shillings and sixpence a day (and a higher rate for men with larger families).
In the midst of their hardship, on the 7 August 1833, another Tapper child was born, named John. It was to be several years before he and his sister Sarah were to be baptised, at the same time, in the Church of England in Fremantle. Another child, Mary A, was born around 1836. She was baptised a few days before she died, and was buried on the 11 April 1838. John’s baptismal record shows Daniel’s occupation was “Fisherman.”
Perhaps due to the harsh living conditions, Daniel was in trouble with the law several times during the late 1830s. On the 3 July, 1837, he was charged with committing a misdemeanour and sentenced to one month’s jail. The offence in this instance wasn’t recorded. In 1838, he served a two-month sentence for stealing a bottle of pickles from a storekeeper. As an aside, I always found this funny because my father and I both love pickles. Did the Tapper obsession with pickles go back that far? Later that year, Daniel served a six-month sentence for stealing a china bowl. Daniel’s defence was that he found the bowl outside Mr Curtis’ shop, from which the bowl was allegedly stolen. Mr Curtis claimed the bowl had been on a shelf in his shop where Daniel had been not 15 minutes before being apprehended. It may be that he planned to sell the stolen item, so that he could sustain his family. In any case, it is a sign of desperation. Another census of Western Australia was taken in 1837. At this point, Daniel was in prison. His wife Ann was shown with most of their children, with her occupation listed as servant. Their oldest daughter, Lucy, was living in the household of Captain Daniel Scott, where she was also employed as a servant.
Another Tapper infant was buried in Fremantle on the 9 December 1841. The child’s name was not recorded, but died of convulsions. It’s possible the child was only a newborn, which might explain why no name was recorded. If this is indeed the case, then we ca surmise that at least Ann was still in Fremantle in late 1841, regardless of whether Daniel was or not.
Did Daniel leave Western Australia?
After his bouts of incarceration, Daniel’s trail as reflected in the public records of Western Australia fades. But the name Daniel Tapper does show up in some records in other Australian locations. More tenuous are mentions of Mr Tapper or Mrs Tapper in some records. For example:
1840: Daniel Tapper was a passenger on board the Mona departing from George Town, Tasmania on the 30 May 1840, heading for Portland Bay, Victoria. Daniel Tapper is not a common name, and to date, I a not aware of another person by that name who was also in the Australian colonies in the mid 19tch century. [Source: Archives of Tasmania]
1841: Port Phillip Gazette, 8 Sep 1841 – Letters being held in the Post Office until Sea postage be paid – a letter for Mrs. Tapper, Swan River. This would indicate that someone (Daniel, perhaps) had written to Ann, but had not paid the full postage.
1848 Dec 15: Daniel Tapper was a passenger in steerage on the Schooner Venus, from Guichen and Rivoli Bays
1850: D. Tapper on board the cutter “Resource” leaving Guichen.
1853: Tapper, on board the Gold Seeker, cleared out of Melbourne for Hobart Town on the 14 June
1856: Victorian Government Gazette shows a Daniel Tapper in Flemington, for whom an unclaimed letter was held. [Source: Victoria Government Gazette no. 89, 1856, July 25, p. 1206: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/vic_gazette/1856/89.pdf%5D
1856: Mr Tapper departed on the Frances from Adelaide to Fremantle on the 6 November. (This, of course, could be some other Mr Tapper, including Daniel’s son Frederick, who did settle in Adelaide.)
1860: Portland Guardian and Normanby General Advertiser, 31 Jan 1860, a Daniel Tapper was arrested for being drunk, and pleaded guilty. He was discharged with a caution.
1860: Victoria Outward Passenger lists: Daniel Tapper, age 60 (so, roughly correct age), departing Portland, Victoria on the Sydney Griffiths bound for Swan River. This entry certainly looks like it refers to our Daniel Tapper.
What was Daniel doing in the coastal area between South Australia and Victoria? Was Ann with him? At this point, it’s all speculation.
Most of these mentions in shipping and newspaper records potentially put Daniel in the region of south-eastern coastal South Australia and western Victoria, namely around Guichen and Rivoli Bays in South Australia and Portland, Victoria.
Given that in the late 1830s Daniel had been in jail several times, he may have suffered a reputational blow, which added to the general difficulty in finding work in the colony. He may have gone to earn a living somewhere else, leaving Ann and the youngest children and sending back money to them. A connection to the area around Guichen and Rivoli Bays and Portland makes some sense. There was a whaling station in Rivoli Bay, and in general, whaling and seal-hunting were happening between Portland, Guichen and Rivoli Bay. Portland also happens to be the only deep-water port between Melbourne and Adelaide, and fishing would have been a common occupation. Daniel’s later-mentioned occupations – fisherman and boatman – are consistent with him working in this region. There is also a family connection to whaling.
Would Ann have gone with him, leaving the youngest children in someone else’s care? I think not. The letter awaiting appropriate postage addresses to Mrs Tapper in Swan River in 1841 could indicate that at least at this point, Ann was still in WA.
After the discovery of gold in Victoria in 1851, Daniel’s focus may have altered. There is some speculation that Daniel may have gone to the diggings to try his luck finding gold. We know that his son Frederick went to the Forest Creek goldfields to try his luck in 1852. Did he go to join his father, or did his father follow him? Further research is needed to answer those questions. To date I have found no record of either of them in gold mining records, but if they were there in 1852, it’s likely they were in the goldfields prior to extensive record keeping relating to mining claims.
Absence from WA
There is also evidence – of sorts – in the lack of evidence that Daniel (and/or Ann) stayed in WA.
For example, their daughter Lucy married on the 1 January, 1844 to Jacob Delmage. She was 20 years old, and they were married by licence. Western Australian marriage certificates at the time did not show father’s name, but one of the witnesses was her younger brother Fred, who would have been under 20 at the time. This means he was still considered a minor, but may well have been her eldest male relative – or even eldest relative at all – in the colony.
The youngest daughter, Sarah Tapper, married on the 1 August 1848 in Perth, to William Rewell. She was not quite 18 years old, and would have required permission to marry. While the groom’s father (and his occupation) were shown on the marriage certificate, the bride’s father’s details are left blank. On the church version of the marriage record, it appears that a witness to the marriage was a J Tapper, who is likely to be her brother John, then only 15 years old. The lack of detail about her father is curious, for even if he was absent or dead, those details would normally be included. Is it at all possible that the name of her father was not known to her? Or does in indicate that he was not around, or that she did not want to be connected to him?
What happened to Dan and Ann?
Even if we can establish that at least Daniel, and may Ann, left Western Australia for South Australia and Victoria, we still don’t know when they died.
Civil registration of births, deaths and marriages did not begin in Western Australia until 1841. Records of these events prior to 1841 can only be gleaned from other sources, such as church records, cemetery records, other government sources, and newspapers. Not all of these records have survived, nor were they necessarily faithfully maintained. There are also known gaps in the church records even after civil registration began, such as between 1855 and 1860.
So, for example, many of us have assumed that Daniel and Ann’s son Cornelius died as a child, but there is no surviving record to confirm this. Gaps in the records may explain why we can’t find evidence of his death. And gaps may explain why we don’t know when Daniel and Ann died.
Many Tapper family trees on genealogy websites give Daniels’ year of death as 1847. This is likely because of Daniel’s entry in the Bicentennial Dictionary of Western Australia, which was compiled by Rica Erickson, with input from many others. Unfortunately, while this source is a useful compilation of data, it does contain many errors. Apparently, there were two Perth newspaper which mentioned the death of a Mr Tappin or Tapping, formerly a baker, who died suddenly on the 15 March 1847. Further research indicates these articles were about an Edward John Thomas Tapping.
Also, if Daniel was the passenger on board the Sydney Griffith in 1860, he definitely did not die in 1847. Nevertheless, after his departure on the Sydney Griffith in January 1860, his trail runs cold. His wife Ann’s trail ran cold perhaps as early as 1841).
Did Daniel make it all the way back to Swan River in 1860? Maybe yes, maybe no. But there’s nothing to say that he stayed in WA and saw out his days there. His death is not registered in WA. There is no other source to show this death, such as newspaper death notice, cemetery record, or probate.
What are the possibilities?
He died on the voyage?
- In theory, if he died on the Sydney Griffith’s voyage, his death should have been registered at the next port. There is no evidence of that.
Did he stay on the Sydney Griffith as it left Australia? Or leave on another ship to other parts of the world?
- The Sydney Griffith made it safely to WA. The ship was scheduled to travel on to Singapore. The ship’s manifest relating to its departure form W.A. shows the ship left for Singapore on the 9 March, with one passenger, but the passenger was not named. The newspapers only mention the captain and his wife. Was the wife the passenger? The Singapore Straits newspaper did not mention the ship’s arrival. Maybe Daniel stayed on board and went to Singapore. If so, nothing has yet been found to indicate he stayed in Singapore.
- Maybe he left Australia for some other part of the world. For example, did he return to England? New Zealand? Travel to America? South Africa? Asia? The Pacific Island?
There is no record of a death in England of a Daniel Tapper of right age. Also nothing for him in the consular returns of Brits dying abroad, nor in New Zealand. Records in other parts of the world were patchy during this period, but certainly nothing has been found on the international genealogy databases such as Family Search and Ancestry.com.
Did he go back to SA, VIC, or some other state in Australia?
- By the 1860s, civil registration was well-established in the Australian colonies. Even if he was elsewhere in Australia his death would more likely than not to have been registered. Furthermore, there were more cemeteries, and newspapers to report on events. Yet Daniel’s death is not recorded in any of the surviving birth, death and marriage records, there is no mention in a newspaper, and none of the (obvious) cemeteries show his burial
- Other records have been examined for VIC and SA, such as inquests, lonely graves, asylum and hospital records etc. There is nothing to indicate Daniel living or dying anywhere after 1860.
Did he die in a shipwreck?
- perhaps Daniel was on another ship that wrecked. Such things were commonly reported, and the newspapers would probably list the passengers who went down with the ship. Then again, not all such records have survived (or been indexed).
He died without his identity known
- Maybe he died far from home (whether in WA or some other part of Australia), where people did not know his identity, and he is recorded as an “unknown death”. There are dozens of deaths a year registered with unknown names.
As I mentioned at the start, none of Daniel and Ann’s descendants have information about him. There were several branches of the family in Western Australia. Stories have filtered down about their children – but none about Daniel and Ann. For “first settlers” with a large number of descendants, this seems unusual to me. Maybe the family were ashamed of Daniel and Ann for one reason or another. Remember that for decades, a convict ancestor was not something that Australians acknowledged. While Daniel was not brought to Australia as a convict, he did spend time in jail.
It may be that as other records of genealogical interest are indexed and digitised, we may come across information about his fate. Until then, we have to bear with the dissatisfaction of not knowing his fate.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Firstly, in the spirit of reconciliation, I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of country in Western Australia where my English ancestors arrived only 192 years ago ; I acknowledge the millennia of connections to land, sea and community of the peoples who had inhabited the land long before my people arrived. I pay my respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
I would very much like to thank the many people who have contributed to the Tapper research, including the late Bob Cook, who many years ago, before the days of Ancestry.com, combed through the Western Australian records and spoke with many Tapper descendants to compile “The Tapper Family of Fremantle”, a manuscript written on typewriter, full of photographs and facts.
I’d also like to thank Margaret Thompson, who has done a lot of the more recent research on the Tappers, along with many others belonging to the Tapper email group.
And Pia Tapper Fenton who runs the Tapper One Name Study. The Tapper Tree: https://thetappertree.wordpress.com/
Links and Information
Dorset Online Parish Clerk https://www.opcdorset.org/ChildOkefordFiles/ChildeOkeford.htm
GENUKI: Child Okeford, Dorset https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/DOR/ChildOkeford
The Ship Rockingham https://rockingham.wa.gov.au/forms-and-publications/events-culture-and-tourism/heritage/the-ship-rockingham
Some Heirs and Graces 