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From: "Lesley Uebel" <>
Subject: FW: [PJ] Oral tradition
Date: Mon, 5 Jan 2004 19:38:30 +1100


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Lesley Uebel
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From:
Sent: Monday, January 05, 2004 5:17 PM
Subject: Re: [PJ] Oral tradition


Hi Wayne & List,

This is a very interesting thread and one that I have recently had first
hand experience with. My GG Grandfather, Henry James COPAS was sent to
Australia as a guest of HM Government arriving per Speke (2) in Nov 1926. On
11 Oct 1841 he married another guest of HM Government, Mary Sarah CARROLL. I
am a direct descendant from this liaison. My mother often told me of my
Grandfather joking with my Grandmother (Henry's Granddaughter) about her
convict relations and how his pure stock would clean up her past. Neither he
nor my mother ever knew that his GG Grandfather (James Salter SKINNER per
Theresa 1, Jan 1839) was also a guest of HM Government. In fact, my mother
was quite shocked when she found out. She said her father was absolutely
certain there were no convicts in his family.

Back to old Henry Copas, he died approx. 1853 at Hernani, NSW (no record of
death found) and Mary remarried another HM Guest, John HOPKINSON ( per Lord
Lyndoch, 1838) in 1854. Apparently John and Mary had real feelings of
remorse about their past or were trying to protect their families from the
convict stain as names that were used in official documents for John were
HOPKINSON and HOPKINS and for Mary, COPUS, COPAS, COPES, REEDY, REDY, PIER,
PEAR. Mary also alternated between Mary and Sarah as her given name.

These families lived in the (small) villages of Metz and Hillgrove and were,
from what I can gather, hard workers and very well respected. So effective
has been the disguise that a number of researchers have been completely
thrown off by the different names used. Two in particular who have been
researching for many years and have spent a small fortune on transcription
agents, only recently found the answer to this mystery through my contact
details on Lesley's Claim a Convict site.

Cheers,

John Caling
Canberra

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