TONY FINNIS' GENEALOGY DATA-BASE.
Main Families --- Finnis (Finniss), Ferrier, Davis, Speed.
'Wizard Access' or 'Friend Access' is not required to be entered for general access to the database.
'Wizard Access' or 'Friend Access' is not required to be entered for general access to the database.
This genealogy Data Base started as a result of discussions early in 2001 between myself and my cousin, John Clement Storey (1915-2001) of Hahndorf, South Australia, regarding our mutual relationship, both being descendants of Captain John Finnis (our great grandfather). As a result, we decided it would be beneficial to fill in the gaps in our knowledge of the Australian descendants of Captain John as best we could.
As John Storey was not a well man at the time, I found myself becoming more involved and interested in the exercise and genealogy in general.
As certain other information was held by my wife and myself on other family members, I decided to expand the exercise to include my mother's family (Davis and Ferrier), and my wife's family (Speed).
Also, I had in my possession a certain amount of family information handed down to me which consisted of old documents, press notices, old newspapers, and scraps of paper. It is my intention to incorporate this information within this Data Base, wherever applicable, so that it is not lost.
The requirements that I had for a genealogy program were that it would operate under the 'Linux' operating system, be capable of being published on the 'internet', be suitable for burning on a CDRom, and not be too expensive. 'GeneWeb' satisfied all these requirements and proved to be a top class genealogy program. I highly recommend it.
Information used to create this Data Base is being gathered from the usual type resources including family sources, the 'Internet' and birth, marriage and death records, and is a continuing exercise.
My sister, Jennifer Schafer (nee Finnis), is providing input mainly related to her recollections of the Finnis, Davis and Ferrier families, and specific information regarding the Schafer family.
I am a member of 'The South Australian Genealogy & Heraldry Society Inc.', and use is being made of their extensive resources.
However, specific sources are been used as stated under the respective name headings below.
I am attempting, wherever possible, to obtain verification of data from official and/or different sources.
FINNIS
Harold J. Finnis (1889-1980) carried out considerable research into early pioneers of South Australia and in particular Captain John Finnis.
Extensive reference has been made to his following publication:-
'Captain John Finnis 1802-1872, A Brief Biographical Sketch'
by Harold J. Finnis 1958 (published by 'The Pioneers' Association of South Australia')
[This is referred to in the Data Base as --- 'H.J. Finnis/BiogSketch']
In the above publication, after carrying out research in England, Harold J. Finnis states :-
"The Church records, extant from the beginning of the seventeenth century, contain references to the name Finnis, with variations in spelling from time to time. In 1623, a baptism in the name Phinnis is recorded; then occurs Phineis, Phinees, Fineas, Finnes, till 1726, after which the spelling becomes established as Finnis, with an occasional terminal double 's' as the only variation."
Information received from Bruce Ingram states -
In a 60 page booklet on Boyle Travers Finniss by Jenny Booth and Keith Borrow, on the first page the authors state :-
"The family name was Finnis, but his father, Captain John Finniss, added an 's' to avoid the French pronunciation of his name as 'finis'."
The note to this statement gives as a reference a letter from Lt. Colonel A.F. Weymss to cousin Muriel in Adelaide, 6 August 1961.
(note: the Captain John Finnis(s) above is not the same as my great grandfather Captain John Finnis)
Other references used regarding Captain John Finnis include :-
a) 'Captain John Finnis - The Expansion of the Pastoral Industry in South Australia'
by Sean C. Dawes (published in the 'Journal of the Historical Society of South Australia' - No 12, 1984)
[This is referred to in the Data Base as --- 'S.C. Dawes/PastInd']
b) 'Pastoral Pioneers of South Australia - Captain John Finnis'
c) 'Mostly Mount Barker - in South Australia
Aspects of the early history of the district, including Blakiston'
by Vivien S. Martin 1982.
Please Note:
As references to other families of Finnis / Finniss names in Kent, England and Australia are obtained, these will be incorporated in the Data Base as a matter of record, however these will not be actively researched, nor will any attempt be made to verify such data.
The origin of all such information will be clearly stated wherever possible.
SPEED
The following previously published family history or the family and descendants of John Speed (1830-1914) who settled in the Happy Valley region of Port Lincoln, SA, Australia has been used as the basis of early records :-
'The Speed Family 1857 to 1982'
Compiled by: Anne Marie (nee Speed) and Michael Barnett
Port Lincoln, South Australia 1982
[This is referred to in the Data Base as --- 'A&M Barnett/Speed']
The information contained in the above document is being verified, updated and extended, as applicable to this Data Base.
DAVIS and FERRIER
Considerable miscellaneous material has been passed down to me from my aunt, Miss Sybil Ferrier Davis (1906-1998), which includes the following :-
The 'Family Bible' of George and Jane Ferrier, who were married at Lyndoch Valley, South Australia by the Rev. J. Ayling on the 21st day of November, 1861.This contains 'Ferrier' marriage and birth information up until 1898.
[This is referred to in the Data Base as --- 'Ferrier Family Bible']
A draft family tree of the 'Ferriers' of Brechin, Scotland, plus copies of letters and numerous detailed notes relating to individual Ferriers descended from James Ferrier (?-1786) prepared by the Rev. Walter McGill Ferrier, Manse of St. Andrew, North Beswick, Scotland.
In a letter to Elizabeth and Mervyn Hall, Burnside, South Australia dated 7 July 1971, the Rev. Walter McGill Ferrier says ---
"In particular, I had been thinking that I must hasten on with the family 'dossier' I had been trying to compile, when I could get a moment, from time to time. My idea was to get the information down on paper, sketch out as accurate a family 'tree' as I could, and have copies made for posterity. I felt that as you had both made the long and adventurous journey from one side of our planet to the other, the little I was able to give you by way of information must have been scant reward for your trouble. What I have now managed to do is to provide you with a skeleton family tree, along with such information about most of the characters contained therein, as I can get. This gathering and writing process has been hindered by all the day-by-day work of the ministry, the claims of family life and unexpected events like Aunt Kitty's death, so all this comes to you after considerable delay, for which I sincerely apologise. I have entitled it simply 'Some Material for a Dossier of the Ferrier family' - for that is what it is. Some of the information comes from family letters, documents, etc, in my possession, some from old parish registers, Kirk Session Minutes, sources like the City of Brechin's Register of Burgesses, some personal reminiscences of mine or my father's or my mother's. Some comes from what you might call 'lucky strikes' such as the information about the activities in San Lucar de Barrameda of the Jacobite David Ferrier, obtained indirectly through my local grocer and a wine firm who had a representative in San Lucar.
Much of the information I give is tentative or incomplete. Some cases are disgracefully incomplete. My knowledge, for example, of the descendants of John Scott Ferrier the publisher, is rudimentary, and should be far fuller than it is, but truth to tell, the only ones I have ever met - and then only once or twice - were Nellie Ferrier his daughter (when I was a little boy), and Gordon and Angus, his grandsons (once each).
I am including one or two photographs amongst the data. They will help to give life to the 'bones' of the written material. Also, I should say that when compiling the written part of the material I made sure never to make any statement which could not be vouched for either by documentary evidence or by the reliable word of one who knew the person, or by my own experience of them. It is for this reson that some paragraphs may seem abrupt or impersonal.
You will notice that in the case of most of the sons and daughters of James Ferrier and Elizabeth Gowans, there is a question mark after the year of birth. This comes about because my source of their dates of birth is the family tombstone in Brechin Cathedral, which gives their dates of death and age in years at the time of death. This allows a possible error of one year if one does a simple subtraction sum - hence the question mark.
Most of the people in the 'tree' were tenant farmers in the county of Angus, particularly in the earlier period, or were married to farmers. There are odd merchants, of course, and some like the Jacobite David Ferrier, Alexander Ferrier the Surgeon and his brother David, the ship's captain, as well as those of the family of Walter Ferrier, who travelled far in search of fame and fortune. The others stayed at home in the Brechin area. For that reason, I am including a copy of a large-scale map of Brechin and round about. Most of the place-names mentioned refer to locations within, say, ten miles or so of Brechin. Such was the little world they inhabited two hundred years ago.
The Jacobite David Ferrier is related to our stem of the family. Of that I am convinced - but I can't prove it! He and the earliest James Ferrier were, I am sure, more than master and servant.
Regarding the earlier history of the Ferriers, the family must have been in Angus for many centuries. The name is constantly occurring in all sorts of documents right back to about the 14th century. It is claimed that a Norman Knight, one (in Latin) Henricus de Ferrarriis, would be normally called (in Norman French) Henri des Ferrieres, and that he, who was the owner of some land in East Lothian in the 12th century, could trace his origin to the town of Ferrieres-en-Gatinais, near Fontainebleau south of Paris. There is also a humbler theory, that a ferrier is simply a ferry-man. Support for this comes from the fact that families of Ferrier are found in the vicinity of ferries - in Renfrewshire (Erskine Ferry), in West Lothian (the ferry would be between Blachness and Culross, across the Forth), and in Angus (there you have a selection of ferries - the one across the Tay between Broughty Ferry and Tayport, and the ferry across the Southesk between Montrose and Ferryden). As against this, I have never yet heard anyone, no matter how aged, or countrified, or tied to the soil, speak of a ferry-man as a ferrier.
Well that's enough of that. All I hope is that the material I have sent may give you some pleasure, or interest, or even amusement."
Note:
The information I have regarding the above are a copy of the Draft Family Tree, copies of the notes regarding individuals, and copies of some correspondence.
[This information is referred to in the Data Base as --- 'Brechin Info']
I have included complete quotes from the above, where applicable, as they contain interesting comments and insight into the persons involved.
Handwritten notes (some obviously removed from a note-book at some stage) made by my grandmother (Mrs George E. Davis, nee Ferrier) concerning arrival from overseas and family details of the Davis' and Ferriers
[These are referred to in the Data Base as --- 'Davis Notes']
Numerous old press cuttings concerning births, deaths and burials.
[These are referred to in the Data Base as --- 'Birth Notice, Death Notice etc']
It should be noted that Clara Dickson (1906-2003) during her lifetime was a major source of information regarding Ferrier and Davis family history and dates (particularly related to Riverton and Marrabel, South Australia). She had a most incredible memory and was the particular source of most of the South Australian information that was conveyed via E. & M. Hall to the Rev. Walter McGill Ferrier. My Aunt, Sybil Ferrier Davis, also relied heavily on her to ensure information she had was correct.
MORMON DATA
As data is being obtained from 'The Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints' (The Mormons) web site, I decided that any such data obtained from this source related to any family names under investigation would be incorporated in the Data Base and the source identified as follows:-
[FamilySearch (tm) Ancestral File --- 'LDS/AF']
[International Genealogical Index --- 'LDS/IGI']
Where any minor discrepancy exists, preference is given to the 'International Genealogical Index (IGI)' data.
Anthony Mercer FINNIS
Hahndorf, South Australia
August, 2001
[modified September, 2003]
[modified January, 2004]
CDRom DATA
[April, 2002]
Reference has also been made to data contained on the following CD´s.
. South Australian Births 1842-1906.
. New South Wales Pioneers´ BDM 1788-1888.
. Tasmanian Pioneers´ Index.
. Victorian Pioneers´ Index.
. Western Australian Pioneers´ Index.
Andrew Hermann
[July, 2003]
Andrew Hermann (London, England) has researched areas of FINNIS genealogy extensively
and provided me with a copy of his Gedcom file for my information.
I have incorporated his information into my data base where relevant.
[This source is referred to in the data base as ´Hermann´]
Laurence Ferrier
[August, 2003]
Laurence Ferrier, 7 Patricia Street, Warmambool, Victoria, 3280
compiled the ´Descendants of Walter FERRIER´ dated 5 August 2003.
I have used information from this to fill-in some gaps in my data-base.
[This source is referred to in the data base as ´Laurence Ferrier´]
GeneaNet Database Network
[October 2003]
This Data base has now been placed on the 'GeneaNet Genealogical DataBase Network' and can be accessed via:
Index |