William Deakin (1819 - 1892)

Born 24 Dec 1819 in Towcester, Northamptonshire, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 21 Dec 1892 at age 72 in Melbourne, Colony of Victoria

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Biography

William was the father of Australian Prime Minister Alfred Deakin.

William Deakin Esq of South Yarra, Melbourne one of the early proprietors of coaches 1854-8 born at Towcester co Northampton in 1819^[1], married at Grosmount, Monmouth 18th Oct 1849^[2] to Sarah, daughter of William Augustis Bill Esq a farmer and stockbreeder (who was born in Shropshire and died Hughlin Court Monmouth in 1852 aged 65) by Sarah Jones his wife (a farmers daughter who was born in Monmouth and died in 1853 aged 56. Her mother was of the Morgans of Brenockshire) and by her (who was born at the Great House, Llanarth, co Monmouth in 1822) has issues - a daughter Catherine and a son Alfred.

William worked in a grocery store in Oxford before marrying and emigrating in 1849. He acquired sufficieint knowledge of bookkeeping to justify his later position as an accountant.

William Deakin of Towcester, Nortahmptonshire, and his wife Sarah, nee Bill, of Llarnarth, Monmouthshire, left England in December 1849 in the barque, Samuel Boddington, disembarking at Adelaide in March 1850.^[3] One of William's married sisters was already living in Adelaide, where his only daughter Catherine Sarah was born on 21 July 1850 (died unmarried in 1937. William gave his occupation as 'storekeeper and clerk'. He joined the gold rush. By 1853 William had abandoned the fields and the Deakins settled in Collingwood (later a part of Fitzroy), where they lived as respectable suburbanites of modest means. William undertook a variety of jobs, storekeeping, water-carting and carrying. Alfred was born on 3 August 1856, with William's occupation given as a 'carrier'. In partnership with his wife's brother Richard Bill, he ran a coach business in Collingwood in 1860, but by 1862 was a manager of another coaching firm Bevan, James & Co., which was absorbed by Cobb & CO in 1867. William continued to work as a manager and accountant for the larger firm.

He passed away in 1892 in South Yarra, Victoria^[4] and buried at the St Kilda Cemetery ^[5]

Research Notes

Although the newspaper reported that William and Sarah DEAKIN were bound for New South Wales it appears they disembarked in Adelaide when the Samuel Boddington docked in South Australia on 26 March 1850.

Sources

1. ↑ England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975. Name: William Deakin; Event Type: Christening; Event Date: 12 May 1820; Event Place: Towcester, Northamptonshire, England, United Kingdom; Event Place (Original): Towcester, Northampton, England; Gender: Male; Father's Name: John Deakin; Mother's Name: Catherine. "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JSZQ-2Q8 : 19 September 2020), William Deakin, 1820.
2. ↑ England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005. Name: William Deakin; Event Type: Marriage; Event Place: Hereford, Herefordshire, England; Registration District: Hereford; County: Herefordshire; Registration Quarter: Oct-Nov-Dec; Registration Year: 1849; Volume: 26; Affiliate Line Number: 41; Possible Spouse: Sarah Bill. "England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2DST-QR5 : 13 December 2014), William Deakin, 1849; from "England & Wales Marriages, 1837-2005," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing 1849, quarter 4, vol. 26, p. 247, Hereford, Herefordshire, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.
3. ↑ South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) Wed 27 Mar 1850 Page 2 SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/38437590

   Tuesday, March 26—The barque Samuel Boddington, 765 tons, Hurst, master, from Gravesend 6th December, and Plymouth 30th December...

   ...For Sydney...William Deakin and wife.

4. ↑ Birth, Deaths and Marriages, Victoria Online Registry. Event: deaths; Registration number 15548 / 1892; Family name: DEAKIN; Given name(s) Wm; Place of event: S Y, Australia; Mother's name Cath CROSS; Father's Name: Jno. https://my.rio.bdm.vic.gov.au/efamily-history/
5. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 23 December 2020), memorial page for William Deakin (24 Dec 1819–21 Dec 1892), Find a Grave Memorial no. 216053225, citing St. Kilda Cemetery, St Kilda, Port Phillip City, Victoria, Australia ; Maintained by James Nicol (contributor 49374229) Find A Grave: Memorial #216053225

See also:

• R. Norris, 'Deakin, Alfred (1856–1919)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/deakin-alfred-5927/text10099, published first in hardcopy 1981, accessed online 23 December 2020
• J A La Nauze "Alfred Deakin: A Biography" (1965) Melbourne University Press
• Biographical story on Alfred Deakin in "The Register" 20 Jan 1927
• Judith Brett (2012) "Alfred Deakin's Childhood" Aust. Hist. studies 43:1 61-77