This chapter about the Rundle family, is the second in a trilogy, that will take the Rundle family back to Kelly, Devon in England. The third chapter, The Lindsay Family of Montrose, Scotland will continue my family discoveries. Shortly, I will upload The Rundle Family of Newcastle, New South Wales, the first chapter in this series.

I discovered that Catherine Rundle, my husband Geoff Rundle’s paternal grandmother had been married before and that her maiden name was actually Lindsay and not Moloney, which was the name she gave when she married Richard Rundle. I had collected Catherine Rundle’s obituaries from Newcastle newspapers and they told the tale of her being born after her father David Lindsay had died in a shipwreck in the Foveaux Straits off the South Island of New Zealand and that she had been given the middle name Ackers in honour of the ship, William Ackers. What I didn’t realise was that Richard Rundle had also been married before.

I confidently collected this Newcastle marriage extract for Richard Thomas Rundle and also found his divorce recorded in the newspapers, which confirmed his identity as a tailor’s cutter.

Australia Marriage Index, 1788-1949:

Name:	Richard T Rundle
Spouse Name:	Rose A N Devon
Marriage Date:	1894
Marriage Place:	New South Wales
Registration Place:	Newcastle, New South Wales
Registration Year:	1894
Registration Number:	5365

23 September 1903, Sydney Morning Herald

23 September 1903, Australian Star

5 March 1904, Sydney Morning Herald

These three newspaper clippings made for interesting reading and I was not aware that any other researcher had recorded Richard’s earlier marriage when I made this discovery in December 2011, so I shared the information immediately on ancestry.com to help other researchers. It was sad to read how this marriage had ended, but interestingly I was discovering so much more about the Rundle family and the fact that Geoff’s ancestry in so many cases, came from second marriages. The next record I found on ancestry.com was Richard Thomas Rundle’s death index. The registration number does give the opportunity to order the original document from the NSW Births Deaths and Marriage Registry, however the price for individual documents is exorbitant and sadly, these documents are now digitised and for me, not having the original document to purchase is a complete waste of money. A cheaper alternative is to employ a transcription agency, but again, these are limited in the content they provide and being digitised, they are of no interest to the genealogist.

Australia Death Index, 1787-1985:

Name:	Richard Thomas Rundle
Death Date:	1936
Death Place:	New South Wales
Father’s name:	Richard
Mother’s name:	Helen
Registration Year:	1936
Registration Place:	Newcastle, New South Wales
Registration Number:	812

Fact Sheet for Richard Thomas Rundle (1869-1936)

Now all I needed to find was a birth index that corresponded to his parents, Richard and Helen Rundle. It was not difficult to find Richard Rundle’s Australian Birth Index and it was wonderful to be able to see his family living in Mudgee and have the knowledge that this record was correct. This information opened up another generation for our Rundle family and I could see Richard’s siblings’ index records waiting to be collected. I accepted Richard Randle (sic) and Ellen Miller’s  Australian Marriage Index, even with the misspelling of Rundle, because it supported the Mudgee address on Richard’s birth record.

Australia Birth Index, 1788-1922:

Name:	Richard T Rundle
Birth Date:	1869
Birth Place:	New South Wales
Registration Year:	1869
Registration Place:	Mudgee, New South Wales, Australia
Father:	Richard Rundle
Mother:	Helen
Registration Number:	14231

AUSTRALIAN MARRIAGE INDEX, 1788-1949:

Name:	Richard Randle
Spouse Name:	Ellen Miller
Marriage Date:	1862
Marriage Place:	New South Wales
Registration Place:	Mudgee, New South Wales
Registration Year:	1862
Registration Number:	2468

Richard Alan Rundle (1829-1890) and Ellen Miller nee Dunhill (1834-1901) were married in Mudgee 4 November 1862 and they had eight children, Helene Elizabeth Rundle (1863-1908), Letitia Rundle (1867-1868), Richard Thomas Rundle (1869-1936), Charles Henry Rundle (1872-1873), Mabel Ellen Rundle (1874-1874), Philip Harvey Youlden Rundle (1875-1958) and Hesbie Dunhill Rundle (1877-1878).

Richard Alan Rundle was given the middle name Alan in Australia, I think this may have been to distinguish him from his son Richard Thomas Rundle thus preventing confusion between the two generations.

Fact Sheet for Richard Alan Rundle (1829-1890)

It was sad to see that only three of Richard and Ellen Rundle’s children survived to adulthood; Helene Elizabeth Rundle, Richard Thomas Rundle and Philip Harvey Youlden Rundle. It was also interesting to note that the surname on Richard and Ellen Rundle’s marriage record was spelt Randle, this spelling is also evident with other documents that my husband Geoff and I collected during our research trip to Mudgee in October 2011. These differences in spellings also make it much more difficult to confidently collect the correct documents and to find them amongst the huge amount of other marriage records and extracts available. Even more interesting were that the two surnames included amongst the names of Richard and Ellen Rundle’s children – Youlden and Dunhill. As a genealogist I am always excited to see an unusual surname and Youlden was one of those zenith moments in my family history where I just knew that this name was going to take me back to where the Rundle family had originated. It was also wonderful to see that Richard had a brother named Philip and this meant that both Geoff and his father had been named in honour of other Philip ancestors in the Rundle family.

Most interestingly, after I placed the parents and siblings of Richard Thomas Rundle into my ancestry.com family tree, I received some wonderful information about the burial of two of Richard and Ellen Rundle’s children at Mudgee. As a direct result of this information Geoff and I prepared to travel to Mudgee in October 2011 to see if we could find out more about the family living in the Mudgee area.

Australia and New Zealand, Find A Grave Index, 1800s-Current

Name:	Letitia Rundle
Birth Date:	Jul 1867
Death Date:	7 Jun 1868
Cemetery:	Mudgee Memorial Park Cemetery
Burial or Cremation Place:	Mudgee, Mid-Western Regional Council, New South Wales, Australia

Name:	Charles H Rundle
Birth Date:	Apr 1872
Death Date:	12 Mar 1873
Cemetery:	Mudgee Memorial Park Cemetery
Burial or Cremation Place:	Mudgee, Mid-Western Regional Council, New South Wales, Australia

The next few pages illustrate some of the documents we found at the Mudgee Family Research Centre, which was so helpful after our last minute drop in to their premises in October 2011.

Baptism for Helena Elizabeth Rundle 21 December 1863, from the Mudgee Parish Records, born 26 July 1863

This record from the Mudgee Family Research Centre gave so much information about Helena Rundle and her parents, including the fact that Richard Rundle was a gold miner and that their address was Meroo, Married Man’s Creek.

Burial of Charles Henry Rundle, died 13 March 1873, buried 14 March 1873

Charles father Richard is recorded as a Mudgee tailor. This was such precious information and in confirming Richard’s occupation as a tailor, I was confident I had the correct family.

Burial of Letitia Rundle died 8 June 1868, buried 9 June 1868, 11 months old, Upper Meroo

Headstone Information for Letitia Rundle and Charles Henry Rundle, Mudgee Shire Council

Mudgee, New South Wales, Australian Electoral Roll for Richard Rundall, Upper Meroo 1870-1871

Headstone for Letitia Rundle died 7 June 1868, Mudgee Memorial Wall

“In loving Remembrance of Letitia Rundle who died June 7^th 1868, Aged 11 Months …”

Mudgee Shire Council Plaque in honour of Leititia and Charles Henry Rundle

Headstone for Charles Henry Rundle, 13 March 1873, Mudgee Memorial Wall

This smaller grave next to Letitia Rundle’s grave is almost unreadable due to soft sandstone erosion. Styled as a pair of Neo-Gothic headstones, they were originally identical, however at some time damage has occurred to the bottom third and it was re-installed, as such, in the Memorial Wall.

Mudgee Memorial Wall, Mudgee, New South Wales

Mudgee Memorial Wall, Mudgee, New South Wales

St John the Baptist Anglican Church and gardens, Mudgee, New South Wales

St John the Baptist Anglican Church, Mudgee, interior stained glass window, font, below

We then went in search of Married Man’s Creek at Meroo and driving along the roadway out of Mudgee we actually passed Meroo Station and decided to call in. We were welcomed most warmly and invited inside to see a map that showed Rundall’s Gully, after explaining that we were in search of our ancestor Richard Rundle. Right across the valley we could see the line of trees showing the creek and the elevation at Rundall’s Gully could be seen. We were then invited to drive closer on their property to take photos and walk as far as we liked to the spot. The property was a merino wool stud and the country, although dry, was in good condition. The green distant trees in the photograph below indicate Married Man’s Creek and Rundall’s Gully is on the ridge above. It was incredible to think that this was where our Rundle family lived in the 1860’s and 1870’s. It must have been such a tough existence and disease must have wiped out so many children at the time. It was understandable now why so many of the Rundle children perished at such a young age. It was also interesting to hear from the historians in the Mudgee Family History Centre who explained that the Reverend from St John the Baptist Church in Mudgee used to tour the goldfields administering to his parish where he would regularly conduct outdoor and impromptu services for his parishioners and in particular he would perform baptisms for the children. Due to rowdy behaviour by some of the gold miners, there was a separation agreed upon in the gold fields and the married men’s camps were defined by the river of the same name and other gold diggers had to honour the decision and mine elsewhere, to preserve some moral character at the diggings.

Rundall’s Gully, Meroo Station, Mudgee, New South Wales

This is the site of Rundall’s Gully and it was an area of mining that was intensely mined for alluvial gold during the 1850/60’s in outback New South Wales.

Married Man’s Creek, Meroo Station, Mudgee, New South Wales

Married Man’s Creek, Meroo Station, Mudgee, New South Wales

Married Man’s Creek, Meroo Station, Mudgee, New South Wales

When we returned to Sydney, Geoff went to the Registrar General’s Office of New South Wales and did a search on Richard Randle/Rundall/Rundle to see if he could find any maps or documents pertaining to his time as a gold miner in Mudgee. What he found was the most incredible information that backed up some of the details found in the baptism and burials of his children.

Grant upon Purchase of Crown Lands, 1878, one of three land documents for Richard Rundle at Mudgee

Grant upon Purchase of Crown Lands, 1878, one of three land documents for Richard Rundle at Mudgee

Parish of Avisford Map, County of Wellington, shows the Meroo Creek, its tributaries, Married Mans Creek and Rundall’s Gully, 9^th edition, 1979 (see pointer on map)

The key on the top right hand side shows landholders in the area and incredibly Richard Randle (sic) was included in the references and I can remember how thrilled we both were to discover this amazing document. There can be no doubt that Randall’s Gully was named for Richard Rundle as his land purchase is at the point that the gully enters Meroo Creek.

Detail showing Married Man’s Creek, Rundall’s Gully all tributaries of Meroo Creek

Detail from map showing Richard Rundle’s land at Rundall’s Gully

I previously searched for Richard Rundle’s migration to Australia without success and had wondered when he had arrived in Mudgee. A newspaper clipping from 6 November 1954 from the Newcastle Morning Herald concerning an article about celebrating 50 years of tailoring of Rundle’s Department Store incorrectly gave Richard’s migration as 1869, because he had married Ellen Miller nee Dunhill in 1862. The Mudgee District Electors List shows Richard Rundle already in the Mudgee area from 1859 and if one accepts his arrival aboard the Georges, then he arrived in Australia via New York in 1855. There had also been information regarding Richard Rundle working for Peapes, a men’s outfitter store in Sydney and I think it likely this was after he left the Mudgee area. Like many young men of his age, Richard had developed “Gold Fever” and after he arrived in Sydney, I think Richard Rundle headed straight for the goldfields of New South Wales. I did wonder if Richard may have left England for the United States and was possibly heading for the California goldfields when word filtered through that there were much better prospects in Australia than the mined out areas of California?

I certainly had more work to do to find the origins of the Rundle family in England.

Mudgee Elections, 8 June 1859, listing Richard Randle, Sydney Morning Herald

Arrival of Richard Rundle aboard the Georges, 19 July 1855, Sydney Morning Herald

Sands Directories, Sydney, New South Wales, 1858-1993, for Richard Rundle 1887

I could see that by 1887 that the Rundle family had moved to Sydney, and that Richard had reverted to his occupation as a tailor and that the family were living at French Street, Kogarah. He was still listing his address in Sands Directory up until his death in 1890.

Death notice for Richard Rundle, 10 July 1890,  Sydney Morning Herald

Sydney, Australia, Cemetery Headstone Transcriptions, 1867-2002

Name:	Richard Rundle
Age:	61
Birth Date:	abt 1829
Death Date:	8 Jul 1890
Burial Place:	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Cemetery:	Rookwood
Row:	4
Denomination:	Old Church Of England

Headstone for Richard and Ellen Rundle and daughter Helena Sands, Rookwood Cemetery

Headstone for Richard and Ellen Rundle (detail) Rookwood Cemetery, Sydney

Once I discovered that Richard and Ellen Rundle were buried at Rookwood Cemetery in Sydney, Geoff and I resolved to visit the cemetery and find the Rundle grave as soon as possible. The graves are in the lovely and well preserved Church of England Old Section of Rookwood Cemetery. This area is well tended and is now proclaimed a heritage section of the cemetery. The grave is actually not far from my own ancestors the Kippax and Wise families, so I was in familiar territory when we visited the cemetery. During the spring, the flowers in the cemetery are magnificent and year after year the watsonia burst forth their flower spears to wave in the breeze, the roses and the jasmine bloom and the entire cemetery is full of wonderful colours against the surrounding headstones and the delicate fragrances that waft about in warm sunshine.

Sydney, Australia, Cemetery Headstone Transcriptions, 1867-2002

Name:	Helena Sands
Age:	44
Birth Date:	abt 1864
Death Date:	28 May 1908
Burial Place:	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Cemetery:	Rookwood
Row:	4
Inscription:	their dau
Denomination:	Old Church Of England

Helena Elizabeth Rundle (1863-1908) married John A Sands (1859-) in 1886 and they had four children George Arthur Sands (1887-1949), Rudolph W Sands (1889-1889), Royal Helena Dunhill Sands (1890-) and Richard T Sands (1892-1892). Helena filed for divorce in  1892.

Australia Marriage Index, 1788-1949

Name:	Helena E Rundle
Spouse Name:	John A Sands
Marriage Date:	1886
Marriage Place:	New South Wales
Registration Place:	Sydney, New South Wales
Registration Year:	1886
Registration Number:	1794

It was sad that two of John and Helena’s children died as infants, I then collected several newspaper clippings that showed that the marriage between Helena and John Sands was a rocky one, which ultimately ended in divorce.

Evening News 17 November 1887

16 November 1892, Evening News

8 May 1894, Star

17 March 1896, Sydney Morning Herald

New South Wales, Register for the Randwick Asylum for Destitute Children, 1852-1915, for George Arthur Sands, 1892

I could see that tragically the separation and divorce took a dreadful toll on the children when little George Arthur Sands aged 5 and a half was placed into the Randwick Asylum for destitute children, poor Helena must have been absolutely desperate and so fearful of her life and probably unable to support her children. I could not see any further mention of her daughter, Royale Helena Dunhill Sands, in any of the records.

Funeral Notice for Helena Rundle, 30 May 1908 Sydney Morning Herald

Sydney, Australia, Morgue Register of Bodies, for Helena Sands 28 May 1908

It was a tragic and sad death for poor Helena Sands and I felt such sorrow for her surviving son and daughter George Arthur Sands and Royal Helene Dunhill Sands for the troubles and difficulties they had to endure through their parents turbulent marriage.

George Arthur “Snowy” Sands (1887-1949), John Sands and Helena Elizabeth Rundle’s son, married under the name George A Egan to Emily Etta Oakley (1888-1925) in Dubbo in 1903 and they had two sons Vincent Paul Sands (1924-1981), George Anthony Sands (1915-) and three daughters, Emily Etta Yeark nee Sands, Thelma Jean Crossman nee Sands (-1972) and Mrs. B. Payne nee Sands.

The next newspaper clipping is a wonderful obituary for George Arthur Sands outlining his amazing life and contribution to society. It also lists four of his five children.

Wingham Chronicle, 18 February 1949

The Sun, 27 September 1916

It was wonderful to see that Helena’s daughter Royal had survived after all to administer the probate of her mother’s estate. The next document was even more curious.

England and Wales National Probate for Wills and Probate, 1917

This document was evidence that there had been an English inheritance for Ellen Rundle nee Dunhill and this accounts for her daughter’s need to organise the administration of the estate some ten years after her mother’s death.

I then concentrated on finding records for Philip Harvey Youlden Rundle, the youngest surviving son of Richard and Ellen Rundle, with the hope that his records might take me yet another generation in the family. A new resource had recently opened up on ancestry.com, the Sydney Anglican Parish Records 1818-2011 and I have been astonished by their amazing content and so grateful that they are produced as original documents. This next document is the marriage of Philip Harvey Youlden Rundle and his wife Annie Dolan.

Marriage of Philip Harvey Youlden Rundle and Annie Dolan, 26 June 1901, Bexley Christ Church, Sydney

Philip H. Y. Rundle and Anne Nancy Dolan married on 26 June 1901 and had three daughters, Myrtle Nance Rundle (1902-1935), Hazel Helen Rundle (1906-) and Phyllis Melba Rundle 1909-).

Philip H. Y. Rundle’s father Richard was listed as a deceased tailor, information confirming that I was collecting the correct documents for the family. The most precious information from this document was the listing of Helen/Ellen Rundle’s maiden name as Dunhill and not Miller. Curiously, Philip listed his birthplace as Birmingham, England, but this may have been an error and he may have given his father’s place of birth instead or was it possible that the vicar had transposed the bride and bridegroom’s place of birth? I think this last explanation is highly probable as the Mudgee, New South Wales address was certainly one that I was expecting for Philip H.Y. Rundle’s place of birth. All in all I was very happy with this document and for those readers who are viewing their first original document all I can say is, welcome to the world of genealogy and to the varying probabilities that church scribes invaryingly make mistakes and all too often the parishioner cannot read and write and there is no opportunity to correct the record. Parish records invariable will give different spellings of names which are often written phonically and illiteracy meant that there was no way that these spellings could be verified. In taking all this human error into consideration, I will always value an original document over that of a transcription certificate.

Australian World War I Service Record for Philip Harvey Youlden Rundle 24 July 1916

I also could see, having established that Ellen Rundle’s maiden name was Dunhill, that I had a lot of further searching to undertake for her previous marriage and again it has amazed me how one small detail such as a maiden name can unearth the most amazing amount of information. The information from Philip Harvey Youlden Rundle’s Marriage Certificate was an amazing piece of family information.

I then searched the indexes for a first marriage for Ellen Dunhill and in a short time I confidently collected several records.

Australia Marriage Index, 1788-1949:

Name:	Ellen Dunhill
Spouse Name:	Nicholas Miller
Marriage Date:	1859
Marriage Place:	New South Wales
Registration Place:	Chippendale, New South Wales
Registration Year:	1859
Registration Number:	1022

Australia Birth Index, 1788-1922:

Name:	Catherine Miller
Birth Date:	1861
Birth Place:	New South Wales
Registration Year:	1861
Registration Place:	Orange, New South Wales, Australia
Father:	Nicholas Miller
Mother:	Ellen
Registration Number:	10726

Australia Death Index, 1787-1985:

Name:	Nicholas Miller
Death Date:	27 Aug 1861
Death Place:	Queensland
Registration Year:	1861
Registration Place:	Queensland
Registration Number:	000265

Account of the death of two men aboard Elida, 24 October 1861, Launceston Examiner

Massacre on Shaw Island, 8 October 1861, Maitland Mercury

 

17 January 1933, Morning Bulletin, Rockhampton

In a short space of time I had uncovered one of the most amazing stories about our family history. It was quite overwhelming to realise what had happened to Ellen Dunhill during the three years of her life. It was incredible to see this account of the massacre of Nicholas Miller at Shaw Island, an island that is part of the Whitsunday Islands of Queensland. It was also interesting that Nicholas was described as a man of Greek origin, this had surprised me because of his very English sounding name, but perhaps he had Anglicised his name for convenience? The previous newspaper item, although basically the same as the earlier one did include the wonderful news that Ellen Miller and her new born child were being looked after and that a collection had raised £35 to support her in Rockhampton. Then came this next record showing that a few months later little Catherine Miller had also died. I did feel for Ellen Miller nee Dunhill, widowed and then left childless in a matter of months. I was also amazed at how Ellen had travelled so extensively up and down Australia’s East Coast and had also married Nicholas Miller in Chippendale, Sydney. It will remain a mystery, how and why Ellen travelled from Rockhampton to Mudgee, where she met and married Richard Rundle.

Australia Death Index, 1787-1985

Name:	Catherine Miller
Death Date:	26 Dec 1861
Death Place:	Queensland
Father’s name:	Nicholas Miller
Mother’s name:	Ellen Dunhill
Registration Year:	1861
Registration Place:	Queensland
Registration Number:	000308
Page Number:	10205

During this time I also found a migration for Ellen Dunhill, which I believe to be correct, I had actually been searching for the migration of Richard Rundle but had no luck finding a shipping record, so to find such wonderful migration information on Ellen Dunhill was very pleasing.

Victoria, Australia, Assisted Migration 1838-1923 for Ellen Dunhill aboard the Omega, 4 May 1855

Ellen is listed on the top of this record aboard the Omega, ex Southampton, England, and arrived in Melbourne, Australia on 4 May 1855. Ellen, aged 20, was born in Middlesex, England, listed as a domestic servant who has been engaged by Captain Main of Brighton, Victoria.

5 May 1855, Geelong Advertiser

9 May 1855, Cornwall Chronicle, Launceston

It was interesting to collect this article about the type of immigrants aboard the Omega and it goes a long way to explain why Ellen Dunhill was travelling alone and the fact that she must have found the opportunity for employment before leaving London. I was comforted by the thought that she was travelling on a respectable ship that was bringing much needed employment to Australia.

1841 English Census for Ellen Dunhill aged 6, living her family living in Tottenham Court, St Pancras, Middlesex with her parents Thomas and Elizabeth Dunhill, and siblings Elizabeth, Jane, Emily and Muskett Dunhill. Thomas is listed as a coachman.

London, England, Births and Baptisms 1813-1906, for Ellen Dunhill, 2 October 1834, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Dunhill

This Baptism confirms much of the information found in the 1841 English Census and gives Ellen’s father’s occupation as a coach-maker’s clerk, obviously an educated and literate man.

I can confidently take Ellen’s family back a few more generations and am happy to help any researcher in this area, my ancestry.com tree has many more records and shows the extended Dunhill family. There is much interest and research into this branch of the Dunhill family because Thomas Dunhill’s brother Frederick Dunhill was the grandfather of Alfred Dunhill the famous English tobacconist and founder of the House of Dunhill. As a result there are many family trees and many records, newspaper articles and photographs to collect for the Dunhill family.

I collected some of the available photos and documents and noticed that the House of Dunhill was founded in 1893 after he inherited his father’s saddlery business, Alfred developed a series of accessories for automobiles, however the English Census for 1901 has him listed as a tarpaulin manufacturer, possibly supplying the motor industry.

However the 1911 English Census shows him as a tobacconist.

1911 English Census for Alfred Dunhill, tobacconist and family

The next record is the marriage of Thomas Dunhill and Elizabeth Muskett and it solved my piqued interest surrounding the unusual naming of one of Ellen’s brothers as Muskett.

Marriage for Thomas Dunhill and Elizabeth Muskett, 3 June 1820, St James, Westminster

I was now in a position to take the Rundle family back to England and to search the English census documents for Richard Alan Rundle in the hope of placing him into his place of origin. The name Rundle was helpful because it is not a very common surname and I was fairly confident that this fact alone would be most helpful.

Kelly House, Kelly, Devon, the Norman church spire of St Mary the Virgin can also be seen

I did not envisage that a few years later Geoff and I would travel to England to find the places where his ancestors had trod. It was amazing how our holidays were now turning into the most amazing ancestor trails giving us such adventures and making the places we travelled to so much more interesting. Since I began my family research we have travelled to Scotland, England, Ireland and New Zealand in our quest to find our ancestors graves and places where they lived. It has filled our lives with such satisfaction to be able to know who we are and where we came from. In a way this has given us both an understanding about our past and enriched us with the knowledge about how we make decisions in our lives, who we are and why we behave in the way we do. All in all, family history is one of discovery and understanding about our true place in the world.

Five Generation Pedigree Chart for Richard Thomas Rundle

I hope that this chart will assist my readers to place the Rundle Family of Devon into their correct branches of the family.

1841 English Census for the Rundle Family of Kelly, Devon, England

I found this very promising English Census for a Rundle family living in Kelly in Devon which seemed to tick a lot of boxes. This census, taken the night of 7 June 1841, was the first government census that was taken and preserved in the nineteenth century and although short on information, compared to following census’, it did provide names, addresses, ages and occupations. This Rundle family was living in Meadwell and Thomas Rundle, 43, was a mason, presumably a stone mason and his wife Elizabeth, 45, both had familial names. More importantly, among the children, was Richard aged 11, who corresponded exactly to the age parameter that I had set into the ancestry.com search engine.

Thomas and Elizabeth Rundle’s children, Elizabeth 17, William 15, Thomas 13, Richard 11 and Phillip (sic) 9 were all familial too and finding a Phillip among the children was incredibly exciting. I tentatively accepted this census, placed all these the names into my family tree and waited to see what other records were recommended by ancestry.com. These records would be those that other researchers may have accepted for this family of Kelly in Devon. Almost immediately I received information that I was not alone in accepting this census and in particular I could see that a few other researchers had family lines down from each child but not from “our” Richard. No researcher had gone back further than this 1841 Census and no-one had a surname to their mother, Elizabeth, which was obviously another challenge. However, it was indeed a promising start and it may well be that I was the first researcher to correctly place Richard and his Australian family back into their correct Rundle family in England.

I decided to look at Phillip (sic) Rundle in this Devon family first and this name was so promising because Richard and Ellen Rundle had named a son Philip as well. I could see in other trees that Philip Rundle from Devon had moved to London and had married Isabella Hannan. London records are so much more freely available than the closely held ones from Devon and the best part was that so many of them are original documents. The Devon Family History Society provides only transcriptions for the Parishes of the County and the cost of joining the Society and then purchasing these is one of the reasons that many researchers are probably still searching for their correct families. I was already a member of the Society and had already experienced this difficulty whilst researching my mother’s Galsworthy family from Devon.

In one of those unforgettable moments in my research, when I clicked a button on my computer to reveal the handwritten certificate for the marriage of Philip Harvey Youlden Rundle and Isabella Hannan. I could now see that Richard Rundle, in the middle of the Mudgee goldfields, had named his son in honour of his younger brother from his homeland of Devon and I knew straight away that I had found “our” Rundle family and I knew that the names Harvey and Youlden were probably ancestor names, possibly on the maternal side. The surname Youlden was an absolute gift to the genealogist and so rare because it made my job so much easier. Instead of searching through literally hundreds of documents, there would only be a handful.

London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1932. Marriage of Philip Harvey Youlden Rundle and Isabella Hannan, St Edmund, London, 20 June 1855

England and Wales, National Probate Calendar 1861-1941 for Philip Harvey Youlden Rundle

Philip Harvey Youlden Rundle (1831-1877) and Isabella Hannan (1824-1883) married in London on 20 June 1855 and they had three children, Lucy Rundle (1859-1945), James Hannan Rundle (1864-) and William Rundle (1867-)

Philip Harvey Youlden Rundle’s marriage record, lists his father, Thomas Rundle, but instead of being mason, he was listed as a builder. The other interesting thing about this marriage document was the fact that Isabella’s brother was married and listed on the same document. The name and occupation of their father, one and the same, listed as James, a dyer, deceased. The witness to both marriages was John, possibly a brother. So much valuable information can be gleaned from these documents and I proceeded to capture them to my laptop, creating a profile for each family member.

It was a this point that I enlisted the help of my dear friend and fellow Galsworthy family researcher Ingrid Curwood. Ingrid lives in Plymouth, Devon, a short walk from the Devon Registry Office, which contains the original documents for the church parishes of the Country of Devon. Ingrid is not only a collaborator for my Galsworthy/Dodbridge family from Devon, but an experienced and clever researcher, who has been doing genealogy for her family for many years longer than me. Geoff and I spent a wonderful day in Plymouth with Ingrid during our holiday to Devon in September 2016 and we went on the most amazing cemetery hunt through several parishes and the found long forgotten graves of our Dodridge ancestors. Yet again a highly unusual name was integral to the success of my family research. Ingrid produced amazing documents for me to take home and very generously, she had also researched our Rundles from Kelly, Devon. I owe her a debt of gratitude for her diligence and perception and for helping me uncover the past.

Ingrid is an editor on my ancestry.com Rundle family tree and it was exciting to see her uploading original birth, death and marriage images of the Rundle family of Kelly, Devon to my tree that were only available from the Plymouth Registry Office. She would have trawled through the parish records, page by page, to find these baptisms, marriages and death records and I am so grateful to her and also that we share this love of family research.

Ingrid concurred with my thoughts regarding the name Youlden as being a possible maiden name for Richard Rundle’s mother and it wasn’t to be long before I heard back from her regarding these developments. In the meantime I placed the name Elizabeth Youlden into my family tree as an experiment and came up with a connection to another family researching the Youlden family from Kelly, Devon. This was a large family and I had to be careful and patient before accepting this as correct but Elizabeth fitted so nicely into this family and incredibly an elder brother was named Philip Harvey Youlden. Once I saw this I was pretty certain that this was our family.

Ingrid uploaded many documents and it was hard to keep pace with her discoveries and I have illustrated a few in this chapter and the rest are on my Rundle family tree so that they can be shared with other Rundle family researchers. Ingrid taught me the value in sharing my documents in an endeavour to get ancestry.com trees correct and she excitedly explained that I would always have the honour of being the first to upload them to my tree and be able to share the documents, as all uploads are dated according to the actual day of upload.

Thomas Rundle (1796-1870) and Elizabeth Youlden (1794-1844) married in Kelly, Devon on 6 February 1823 and they had eight children, Elizabeth Beard Rundle (1823-1902), William Rundle (1824-?), Thomas Rundle (1825-1904), Henry Rundle (1827-bef 1841), Richard Rundle (1829-1890), Philip Harvey Youlden Rundle (1831-1877), Mary Rundle (1833- bef 1841) and Robert Rundle (1834-1835).

Fact Sheet for Thomas Rundle (1796-1870)

Baptism of Richard “Alan” Rundle, 15 February 1829, son of Thomas and Elizabeth Rundle of Meadwell and on the same page is the baptism of George Rundle, 23 November 1828, son of Henry and Mary Rundle. Thomas and Henry Rundle were brothers.

Note that there is no middle name listed on this document for Richard Rundle and Ingrid Curwood is certain that the name Alan was added in Australia.

Baptism of Philip Harvey Youlden Rundle, 2 January 1831, son of Thomas and Elizabeth of Meadwell, also the baptism of Betsy Rundle, 11 September 1831, daughter of Henry and Mary Rundle of Meadwell.

Thomas and Henry Rundle, the fathers in document above were brothers, living in the same township and it is probable that cousins, Philip and Betsy, would have grown up as friends.

Marriage of Thomas Rundle and Elizabeth Youlden, 6 February 1823, also on the same page is the marriage of Henry Rundle and Mary Luckis, 27 March 1823

Henry Rundle was an elder brother of Thomas Rundle.

Henry Rundle (1794-1843) and Mary Luckis (1806-) were married at Kelly, Devon on 27 March 1823 and had six children, Joanna Luckis Rundle (1823-), William Rundle (1826-), George Rundle (1828-1905, Betsy Rundle (1831-), Ann Rundle (1834-) and Mary Rundle (1841-)

These are large families and I am not going to expand on every family branch or it will become too confusing for family readers. For those interested in these branches of the family I am very happy to invite them to my Rundle Family Tree on ancestry.com where I have placed many original records. For others, please contact me and I will endeavour to provide you with your particular descent line documents.

1841 English Census for Henry Rundle 45, an agricultural labourer, his wife Mary 35 and children, Betsy 12, Ann 7, and Mary 2 months

Henry and Mary Rundle’s elder three children, Joanna 18, William 15 and George 13 are not on this census and it may well be that the children are already in domestic service or apprenticed to a master, as was common in those days.

Returning to the children of Thomas and Elizabeth Rundle, I wanted to expand on their daughter, Elizabeth Beard Rundle, who was an elder sister to Richard Alan Rundle because I discovered that she was married to Samuel Harris, a tailor, and this interested me because this may well be where Richard Alan Rundle learned his trade and he may have been apprenticed to Samuel in Meadwell or they were both apprentices to a master tailor.

Baptism of Elizabeth Beard Rundle, 24 August 1823, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Rundle of Meadwell, Kelly, Devon, England.

On this record was also the baptism of Joanna Luckis Rundle, 10 August 1823, daughter of Henry and Mary Rundle and the baptism of Mary Bickle, 16 May 1824, daughter of Thomas and Maria Bickle, farmer of Burrow, Kelly. Maria Bickle nee Youlden was the sister of Elizabeth Rundle, and their parents were Francis Youlden and Elizabeth Beard. Thus, when Thomas and Elizabeth Rundle named their eldest daughter she was given her grandmother’s name, both her Christian and her maiden name. The intertwining of the names may be confusing, but it is important to understand that the English followed strict naming traditions. In each family, names will be repeated and the first son and daughter of each family will normally be named in honour of their paternal and maternal grandparents.

England and Wales, National Probate Calendar 1861-1941, for Elizabeth Harris

1851 English Census for Samuel Harris, a tailor from Ashwater, Devon and his wife Elizabeth Harris and their children Letitia L. aged 1, and Mary E. 1 month and Thomas Rundle, Elizabeth’s father, now widowed, a mason is also listed.

Incredibly, Samuel and Elizabeth named their eldest daughter Letitia, the same name her brother Richard Alan Rundle and his wife Ellen Dunhill chose for their daughter when she was baptised in Mudgee, New South Wales.

Samuel Harris (1824-1852) married Elizabeth Beard Rundle (1823-1902) in Kelly, Devon on 30 May 1848 and they had three children, Letitia Lavinia Harris (1849-1917), Mary Elizabeth Harris (1851-) and Samuel Harris (1852-).

1851 English Census for Richard Rundall (sic) living in London in the Borough of Westminster

It was wonderful to find this 1851 English Census and see that Richard, born in Devon, was a tailor and I am sure this is the correct document for him. Aged 22, he is working in London following his apprenticeship. Dartmoor is close to Kelly and is a vast moorland area which is now a national park. He is listed as a boarder in a home and there are three other tailors listed on the same page, presumably they were working together.

Burial of Elizabeth Rundle (nee Youlden) of Meadwell, Kelly, Devon, 25 November 1844, aged 49 years

Burial of Thomas Rundle of Meadwell, 27 January 1879, Aged 73

This document shows that Thomas lived to a great age, living for another 35 years after his wife Elizabeth died in 1844. His grandson Richard Thomas Rundle’s obituary claimed“his grandfather remembered Sydney when Circular Quay was in its primitive colonial state, before the ferries,” – now that I have found this burial, this newspaper article can’t be correct. See my Rundle Family of Newcastle chapter.

I am now moving back another generation in the Rundle family to Thomas Rundle’s father William Rundle (1752-1821) of Meadwell, Kelly, Devon and his family.

Marriage of William Rundle and Mary Denner, 30 December 1777, at Kelly, Devon, also on the same page is the marriage of Joseph Lane and Elizabeth Rundle, 1 June 1778

Elizabeth Rundle (1756-) an elder sister of William Rundle, married Joseph Lane (1751-) in Kelly, Devon and they had three children, Joseph Lane (1779-1779), Mary Lane (1783-) and Jenny Lane (1787-).

William Rundle was the witness to both of the other marriages on the page and it would seem that William was both well connected with the church and literate. It would appear that Kelly was a small parish where everyone seemed to know each other well and families were inter-related. As a clerk of Kelly Parish, William would have been educated as well, he would have witnessed marriages, and probably helped the rector, Reverend J. Darke with church matters at St Mary the Virginia Church, Kelly, rather like a verger would today.

Fact Sheet for William Rundle (1752-1821)

William Rundle (1752-1821) and Mary Denner (1757-1838) married on 30 December 1777 and had seven children, Mary Rundle (1778-), Elizabeth Rundle (1780-), Philipa Rundle (1782-), Jane Rundle (1785-), William Rundle (1788-), Henry Rundle (1794-1843) and Thomas Rundle (1796-1870).

Baptism of Henry Rundle, 19 October 1794, son of William and Mary Rundle

Baptism of Thomas Rundle, 19 March 1796, son of William and Mary Rundle

The following document is the baptism of Henry and Thomas Rundle’s father William Rundle and then follows the marriage record of William Rundle’s parents Henry and Elizabeth Rundle.

Baptism of William Rundle, son of Henry and Elizabeth Rundle, 20 December 1752, Kelly, Devon

Marriage of Henry Rundle and Elizabeth Hawkins, both of this parish were married by banns, 31 March 1752, Kelly, Devon

Henry and Elizabeth Rundle were the parents of William Rundle (1752-1821)

UK and Ireland, Find A Grave Index, 1300s-Current

Name:	William Rundle
Death Date:	21 Nov 1821
Cemetery:	St Mary the Virgin Churchyard
Burial or Cremation Place:	Kelly, West Devon Borough, Devon, England

As soon as I found this grave index I knew that Geoff and I would shortly make plans to visit Kelly in Devon. It was exciting to plan our trip and book our accommodation for a holiday in September 2016. We found recommendations for bed and breakfast accommodation at Kelly House, Devon and thoroughly enjoyed our three day visit, which we spent touring the pretty countryside, picnicking and exploring the churchyard for the graves of my husband’s ancestors. It was one of the highlights of our trip to discover the grave of William Rundle lying close to Kelly Church, however, sadly the headstone had split in two and even though it was severely weathered, it was just readable.

St Mary the Virgin Church, Kelly, Devon

Kelly Church is a lovely Norman inspired, perpendicular styled church from the 15th Century. There is a graveyard which is set in the surrounding gardens and it is next door to Kelly House, the Manor House of the district.

St Mary the Virgin Church, Kelly, Devon

St Mary the Virgin, Kelly, Devon, Interior

St Mary the Virgin Church, Kelly, Devon, Font

St Mary the Virgin Church, Kelly, Devon, List of Rectors

St Mary the Virgin Church, Kelly, Devon, Kelly Society of Change-Ringers

Headstone of William Rundle, who died 21 November 1821, buried in St Mary the Virgin Church graveyard, Kelly, Devon

The headstone is cracked, covered with lichen and very hard to read, Geoff and I searched for ages before we finally looked at this fallen and broken headstone, which reads “William Rundle, of this parish, Clerk of this Church, died 21 November 1821 aged 69.”

Grave of William Rundle, St Mary the Virgin, Kelly, graveyard

It was incredible to find William Rundle’s headstone, even if only one half is still standing. We actually overlooked this headstone to begin with, but then on a second and more thorough checking of all the headstones in the graveyard I thought I could see the letters “DLE” faintly on the surviving right hand side. A quick scout around found the broken left hand side of the headstone lying in a nearby grave (front left grave in photo indicated with black marker) and when we placed the broken piece beside the other half it fitted together like two pieces in a jigsaw and we could read the rest of the name as “WILLIAM RUN”.

I took a video of this exciting discovery and hope to find a way to upload it to my website so other descendants of William Rundle can see our amazing discovery of the grave and this wonderful and very precious relic of our family history.

Kelly House, Kelly, Devon

Whilst we were staying at Kelly House the owners were very interested in the fact that Geoff was a descendant of the Rundle family from Kelly and he told us that a man called Abraham Rundle had built Kelly House. This was interesting news indeed. Architects in those days may actually have been builders and stonemasons, they could order plans for homes such as Kelly House by using Georgian design books, and it was a matter of how many rooms, how many stories, how many windows etc. did a client desire or need for his family. Thus, Abraham Rundle need not have been an architect by training as we know and now understand the profession. Abraham was born in Tavistock and was married in St Mary the Virgin, Kelly and he baptised some of his children there but at this stage I can’t find any connection with the families. Ingrid Curwood has searched the record books and can find no relationship, as yet and does not think the two families are closely related.

View of the Kelly countryside from Kelly House

Grave of Maria Bickle nee Youlden, Busseyville Cemetery, Jefferson County, Wisconsin 1800-1873

Maria was one of Elizabeth Rundle nee Youlden’s sisters.

During our stay in Kelly, Geoff and I visited the Kelly graveyard on a number of occasions and although we were searching for Rundle graves we found many other familiar names amongst the headstones. Just as I was leaving I found the grave of Thomas Bickle, very possibly Maria Youlden’s husband who had died in a farming accident and took this photo just by chance. I was later able to confirm by dates that it was the correct grave. Thomas Bickle was indeed the husband of Maria Bickle nee Youlden, Elizabeth Rundle’s sister. I had earlier been contacted by a member of the Bickle family who explained that after Thomas’ accident, in about 1842, Maria Bickle and her four surviving children, Thomas Bickle 19, John Bickle 17, William Bickle 15 and George Bickle 9 migrated to the United States of America and settled in Busseyville, Jefferson County, Wisconsin. The family still have an old family bible that gives the dates of the Bickle descendants plus information that the family had originated in Kelly in Devon.

Headstone of Thomas Bickle, died 15 June 1841, Kelly graveyard, Devon

Thomas Bickle’s grave is near to the cemetery gate at the front of the church. Thomas apparently fell from his horse and died as a result of his wounds at the aged 43.

Baptism of Maria Youlden, 27 April 1800, daughter of Frances and Elizabeth Youlden, Bere Ferrers, Devon, England

Maria Youlden (1800-1873) married Thomas Bickle (1797-1841) on 9 April 1822 at Kelly, Devon they had six children, Thomas Bickle (1823-1904), Mary Bickle (1824-), John Bickle (1825-), William Bickle (1827-), George Bickle (1833-) and Daniel Bickle (1836-1845).

Baptism of Elizabeth Youlden, 12 February 1794, daughter of Francis and Elizabeth Youlden, Whitchurch, Tavistock, Devon.

Elizabeth Youlden married Thomas Rundle and is my husband Geoff Rundle’s 2^nd great grandmother. Unfortunately, Geoff and I could not find Thomas and Elizabeth Rundle’s headstone amongst the graves at St Mary the Virgin Church, Kelly, Devon on our trip to Devon in September, 2016.

Baptism of Philip Harvey Youlden, 27 December 1792, son of Frances and Elizabeth Youlden, Whitchurch, Tavistock, Devon

Burial record for Philip Harvey Youlden 20 Jan. 1828, aged 36 of Kellybere, Kelly, Devon

Francis Youlden (1766-1840) and Elizabeth Beard (1773-1837) were married in October 1792 at Whitchurch, Tavistock, Devon and they had thirteen children, Philip Harvey Youlden (1792-1828), Elizabeth Youlden (1794-1844), John Youlden (1796-1819), Richard Youlden (1797-1848), Maria Youlden (1800-1873), James Youlden (1801-1831), William Youlden (1803-1866), Thomas Youlden (1804-), Nicholas Youlden (1805-1838), Edward Youlden (1807-1818), Daniel Pengelly Youlden (1808-), Mary Ann Youlden (1810-1810) and George Youlden (1812-1813).

St Mary the Virgin church, Kelly, Devon

Whilst Geoff and I were traipsing through the graveyard of St Mary the Virgin, Kelly in Devon we made an incredible discovery of Youlden graves. One of the graves, a ledger grave was almost completely overgrown by grasses and wild flowers and if it were not for the word Francis, we would never have found this grave. Geoff and I prised off the dense grasses to reveal the surname Youlden and again, it was one of the most exciting times in our family history to find this grave of Geoff’s ancestors.

Ledger grave for Elizabeth Youlden of Kelly Bere, died 3 December 1837, the wife of Francis Youlden and also listed on the grave are seven of her children.

“THIS STONE TO PERPETUATE THE MEMORY OF ELIZTH THE WIFE OF FRANCIS YOULDEN OF KELLY BERE – SHE DIED 3 DECEMBER 1839 AGED 67 YEARS.”

This gravestone is also a memorial to seven of Francis and Elizabeth Youlden’s children, George Youlden who died 4 Jan 1813 aged 7 months, Edward Youlden who died 8 Aug 1818 aged 11 Years, John Youlden who died Nov 14 1819 aged 24, Philip Youlden who died Jan 18 1828 aged 36 years, James Youlden who died 7 Aug 1831 aged 30 years, Nicholas Youlden who died 6 July 1838 aged 33 years and Mary Youlden, her Infant Daughter.

Burial of Elizabeth Youlden of Kelly Beare aged 67, 5 December 1837 and her son Nicholas Youlden aged 33, 6 July 1838 and Mary Rundle of Meadwell aged 82, 1 May 1838 This page is so historic as both Elizabeth Youlden nee Beard and Mary Rundle nee Denner are the direct ancestors of my husband Geoff Rundle. Elizabeth Youlden and Mary Rundle being his GGG grandmothers. It is quite the most incredible and precious document.

Detail of the Youlden Grave at St Mary the Virgin graveyard, Kelly, Devon

Headstone of William Youlden of Kelly Beare died 7 March 1866 and his wife Rebecca Peter, St Mary the Virgin graveyard, Kelly, Devon.

William Youlden was the son of Francis and Elizabeth Youlden of Kelly Bere, a brother to Geoff’s great great grandmother Elizabeth Rundle nee Youlden.

Headstone of Richard Youlden, son of William Youlden and Rebbeca Peter, died 29 Feb 1876, St Mary the Virgin churchyard, Kelly, Devon

William Youlden was the son of Francis Youlden and Elizabeth Beard, a brother to Elizabeth Rundle nee Youlden. Richard Youlden would have been Elizabeth Rundle’s nephew.

Headstone of Richard Youldon who died 22 Aug 1848 aged 54 and his wife Mary Youlden who died 5 February 1854, aged 66, erected by their daughter Ann Youlden.

Richard Youlden was the son of Francis and Elizabeth Youlden of Kelly Bere, Kelly, Devon.

It has been wonderful to recount the journey of my discoveries about the Rundle family of Kelly, Devon. I have enjoyed every moment and it has given me such pleasure to have been able to discover so much about our Rundle family and their origins in the peaceful countryside of Devon. I have spent so much time researching our family since 2011 and my husband Geoff asked me to write up my research so it would not be lost in the future. I would like to dedicate this chapter to my husband Geoff Rundle, who has enthusiastically accompanied me on all my adventures and who has put up with my time being stolen from him, whilst I write up each and every chapter of our family history.

I am also very honoured that recently the Australian National Library enquired if I would allow Relatives Matter to be included in their Pandora Project. This project captures Australian family research websites and preserves them for the future. Even if my website is discontinued, my chapters will be found amongst their online resources.

Virginia Rundle

4 November 2018

Bibliography

Ancestry.com

Find My Past

Family Search.org

Family Tree Maker charts

Ryerson Death Index

Devon Family History Society

New South Wales Registry Office

Plymouth Birth Death and Marriage Registry

Find A Grave.com

Trove Digitised Newspapers

Mudgee Family History Society

Mudgee Shire Council

The History of Matt, blog page

Thanks must go to Ingrid Curwood for her research work on Devon records

Also, to Geoff’s first cousin Peter Rundle, who was so kind lending me his research material