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From: "Barbara and Tony Folkard" <>
Subject: Re: [GEELONG] Laurence Webster - Look-up request
Date: Sun, 12 Dec 2004 18:47:21 +1100
References: <000801c4d98a$7b507080$5d9d4254@psf6f><001c01c4d9a0$95878d60$0701a8c0@Susie> <001801c4da76$9dc695d0$0100a8c0@tower>


Dear Russell,

I wonder if you have any knowledge of Laurence Webster's parents or
siblings? i suppose if you do you would have mentioned them?
My G G Grandfather was Hamilton Webster, born 1817, died 1893 Richmond. He
married Euphemia Millar in Edinburgh, 1847, St Cuthberts, Mid Lothian. His
parents were Hamilton Webster and Jeanette Goodsir.
Any thing there that matchesd up?
regards,
Barbara Folkard

----- Original Message -----
From: Russell Harrison <>
To: <>
Sent: Sunday, December 05, 2004 2:00 PM
Subject: Re: [GEELONG] Laurence Webster - Look-up request


> List Members.
> I am hoping someone may be able to do some look ups for my ancestor
LAURENCE
> (LAWRENCE) WEBSTER
>
> SOME HISTORY ABOUT LAURENCE WEBSTER
> Laurence Webster was born 1817 in County Fife, Scotland and arrived on the
> ship Heber (Helen) in Sydney in July 1839. his occupation was given as a
> farm labourer.
> The ship was of 441 tons and was under Captain Thomas. It had sailed from
> Liverpool on the 28-02-1839 and Laurence was one of 180 "bounty"
emigrants -
> there were also 22 paying passengers and merchandise. The ship came via
the
> Cape of Good Hope.
> No other members of his family ever came to Australia
>
> THE YEARS 1839 TO 1843
> It is not known how long Laurence may have spent in NSW after his arrival
on
> the "Heber". It seems probable that he was transported on a coastal vessel
> to Port Phillip Bay but, so far a search of the many records available has
> not confirmed this. It is unlikely that he travelled overland to Victoria.
> Within the span of four years he seems to have become quite affluent. I
> think it more likely he made money as a trader in the Geelong area.
> About four years after his arrival he and a partner, Andrew Murray, built
> the first building in what later became the site for the township of
Colac.
> It was an inn known as the "Crook and Plaid" and was one of a series of
inns
> between Geelong and Portland that serviced bullock drays carrying freight
> between those two locations. Webster and Murray sold the inn and appear to
> have remained friends and may have had other business interests later on.
> According to the Victorian Port Phillip Gazette, Laurence was granted a
> General Licence on April 23, 1945. This may have been to operate the Royal
> Hotel Geelong as he was there soon after that date.
>
> A bakery was opened at No. 34 Spring Street in 1850, or earlier. (Seaton
> P.158). It was a one roomed brick place. In 1852 Seaton reports a man
named
> Dunlop owned two rooms and a bake house on one of three adjoining sites in
> his possession. The bakery appears to have been expanded in 1854.
> In 1855-6 Laurence Webster became the owner and it was described as a
brick
> shop with four rooms and a bake house. A year later in 1857-8 James
Morrison
> was listed as the owner. It was used as a bakery with a succession of
owners
> through till 1886 and probably much later. In 1914 a James Kelly took over
> the disused bakery and he and his sons operated it through till 1939, or
> later. The property became known as "Kelly's Bakery"
> Laurence Webster had a partner, John Bannerman, is some of his Geelong
> butcher shops and they remained life-long friends after the partnerships
> ended.
> In the 1856 Geelong directory he was shown as having a freehold property
in
> Ashby and was listed as a butcher. In the same year he had a leasehold in
> Batesford Division and a freehold in McKillop Street, Geelong. Also in
1856
> he had a leasehold at Cowies Creek, Geelong. This was probably for grazing
> cattle before slaughter and transport to his butcher shops but it could
> have been Edolston House where he lived at the time of his daughter, Ann's
> wedding in 18-08-1871.
> In the years through to about 1871 Laurence continued to run a number of
> butcher shops and took over the lease of the new Corporation of Geelong's
> abattoirs at Cowies Creek from the Geelong Corporation. The Geelong
Advocate
> shows he was required to install new wharves as part of the lease
agreement.
> His daughter was married at Edolston House in 18-08-1871 she married the
son
> of James Cowie a former Mayor of Geelong. Soon after he suffered a fire at
> Edolston. Probably the cost of the fire at his residence and the cost of
> having to build new wharves at Cowies Creek caused him to became
insolvent.
> After 30 years in Geelong he had to start all over. He moved with his
family
> to Collingwood briefly whilst awaiting transport then migrated to
Dunedin,
> NZ about late 1872 or in the first half of 1873. He died in Dunedin in
1889.
>
> LOOK UP REQUESTS
> I located the following references on Suzie Zada's wonderful web site
giving
> BOOK INDEX references and have edited them as best I can. I would be very
> grateful. for any look-ups. I am very interested in the first two
reference
> as I was unaware of any partnership Laurence may have had with a man named
> Anderson or a man named Ness.
>
> Index Entry Book Title Page
Number
> ANDERSON, WEBSTER, L &, butchers Clyde Company Papers Vols 1 - 7
> [Vol 7] Page 453
> WEBSTER, L,& ANDERSON, butchers Clyde Company Papers Vols 1 - 7 [Vol 7]
453
> NESS, A see Webster & Ness Clyde Company Papers Vols 1 - 7 [Vol 4] .
> Butchers, see also CONLEY,WEBSTER Clyde Company Papers Vols 1 - 7 [Vol 7]
> Page 141
> BANNERMAN, see WEBSTER L & BANNERMAN, butchers Clyde Company Papers Vols
> 1 - 7 [Vol 7]
> WEBSTER, L Clyde Company Papers Vols 1 - 7 [Vol 6] Page 310, 394, 481,
> 595, 636-7
> Webster & Ness Clyde Company Papers Vols 1 - 7 [Vol 4] Pages 303-4, 339
> WEBSTER, L & BANNERMAN, butchers Clyde Company Papers Vols 1 - 7 [Vol 7]
> Page 72, 290
> WEBSTER, L & BANNERMAN, butchers, letters Clyde Company Papers Vols 1 - 7
> [Vol 7] Pages 116, 124, 136, 139, 143, 150, 158
>
>
> WEBSTER, Lawrence Geelong Hotels and their Licensees Page 50
> WEBSTER, L The History of Geelong and Corio Bay with Postscript 1955-1990
> Pages 344 and 588
>
> WEBSTER, family Geelong Region Historic Buildings and Objects Study
[Vol
> 3] Page 280
>
> I ALREADY HAVE THE FOLLOWING BOOKS SO DO NOT NEED A LOOKUP.
> WEBSTER, L The Ashby Story Pages 158, 253
> WEBSTER, Lawrence So Fine A Country : A History of the Shire of Corio
> Pages 90, 126
> WEBSTER, ? So Fine A Country : A History of the Shire of Corio
> Pages 81, 190
>
>
> Many thanks in anticipation of some further information.
> Regards,
> Russell Harrison
> (Sydney)
>
>
>
> ==== AUS-VIC-GEELONG-DISTRICT Mailing List ====
> Geelong & District and Bellarine Indexes :
> http://www.zades.com.au/geelong/gdbksrc1.asp
> http://www.zades.com.au/bellhs/bpnmsrc1.asp
>


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