John Joseph Punch (b 1827)
parents Thomas Punch & Ann Brown


born 31 January 1827, Limehouse, London, England[1]
baptised 25 February 1827, St Anne's Church of England, Limehouse, London, England[1]
died 1885, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia[2]
buried probably Bendigo, Victoria, Australia

John Joseph Punch was born in the Limehouse area of London's Docklands.  As a young man he trained and worked as a Bricklayer[3,4].


Maria was born on 7 February 1829 and baptised at St Anne's, Limehouse on 6 December 1829.  Maria's parents were John Wright, a Butcher, and Elizabeth[1].


Limehouse (Google Maps)

John Joseph's baptism entry in St Ann's register


Maria Wright's baptism entry in St Ann's register

On 2 September 1849, John married Maria Wright at St Dunstan's Church of England in Stepney, London.  Their marriage Banns were read on 12, 19 and 26 August[4].


John Joseph Punch & Maria Wright's marriage entry

When their first child, Thomas James was born in 1850 (named for John's father and older brother) they were living at 9 John Street, Limehouse[9].  In 1851, They were living 41 Caroline Street, Stepney, London[3].  Living with them was their second child, John.  .


1851 UK Census


Emigration
Aged only 25 years, John with Maria, son, John Joseph and daughter, Elizabeth set off for Australia arriving at Portland, Victoria on 20 January 1855, onboard the "Shand"[11]. 

This is 2 years before his older brother, Thomas James emigrated.

The Argus, 19 October 1852



The Argus, 8 January 1855

The Argus, 27 January 1855



The Shand, Passenger List

John is noted as a Bricklayer on the "Shand" passenger List.  They departed the ship "on their own account".

John and Maria made their way to the Bendigo area where the great Victorian gold rush was in full swing.  From at least 1855 through to 1868 the family lived in the Bendigo area with 8 children born in Bendigo and a nineth born in Kangaroo Flat[2].  It may be expected that John tried his hand at gold mining and also plied his trade as a Bricklayer during this time.


Google Maps


For some time around 1857-early 1858, John may have been mining with his brother, Charles Alexander in the Jones Creek Diggings, just north of Dunolly, Victoria.  When his four siblings arrived in Sydney in 1857, his sister, Sarah Ann stated that she had two brothers in the Colony, this John Joseph and Charles Alexander and they were at the Jones Creek Diggings.  On 14 January 1858, John's older brother, Thomas James, placed the following advertisement in the Melbourne newspaper, The Argus.


The Argus, 14 January 1858


Bendigo, Dunolly, Tarnagulla and other small townships were part of the Golden Triangle during the heady days of the Victorian gold rush. 

The Jones Creek diggings was simply a collection of miners, their families and tents together with a rudimentary Government Camp (later moved to Burnt Creek) where small fortunes could be made - with luck! 

The diggings were probably located where Jones Creek crosses the Bridgewater-Dunolly Road.


Passing On

It seems that John and Maria spent their entire time in the Bendigo area.  John died in 1885 in Bendigo and Maria in 1906 in Long Gully[2].  Maria was buried in the Kangaroo Flat Cemetery, C of E Section, South, grave 2924 on 21 August[7].

In 1903, Maria was living at a house in Thistle Street, Bendigo with "John" who is a Miner.  Perhaps this is her grandson John Joseph.  Maria's occupation is stated as Home Duties[6].




Children of John Joseph Punch and Maria Wright:-
Click on the links (where available) to follow this family.

1.  John Joseph Punch was born in 1850.  John came to Australia with his parents and married Julia Hannah Gundry[2].

2.  Thomas James Punch was born on 14 December 1850 and baptised on 5 October 1851 at St Anne's Church of England, Limehouse, London, England[1].  He is not recorded in the 1851 UK Census and he probably died very young[3].


Baptism entry from St Anne's register[1]


3.  Elizabeth Punch was born in 1853.  Her birth was registered in Stepney, London, England[10].  She arrived in Australia with her parents and older brother John Joseph onboard the "Shand"[11].  Nothing more is known.

4.  Louisa Maria Punch was born in 1855 in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia.  Louisa married Isaac Moore in 1863.  Isaac was born in Derbyshire, England.  They lived in Bendigo from the time of their marriage through to at least, 1903 and in that year, they lived in Lily Street and Isaac worked as a Painter[2,6].  They must have lived in Echuca for a few years around 1877 since their third child, Sarah Phillipa was born there[2].

The known children of Louisa and Isaac are[2]:-

4.1  Esther Emily Moore was born in 1873 in Bendigo.  She married John Joseph Brown in 1885.  Esther died in 1974 in Tecoma, Victoria

4.2  Mary Maria Moore was born in 1875 in Bendigo and died in Box Hill in 1950.  She married Fred Jenkins in 1899.  They had four children - Fred, Elsa, Joyce and Alfred Kenneth all born in Long Gully near Bendigo.

4.3  Sarah Phillipa Moore was born in 1877 in Echuca, Victoria and died in 1956 in Fitzroy, Victoria.  She married Montague Oughton Taylor in 1900.  Motague was born in Eaglehawk (Bendigo) in 1877 and died in 1922 in Northcote, Victoria.  Their known children are:-
4.3.1  Montague Leslie Taylor married Annie Josine (or Josephine) Burns

4.3.2  William Isaac Taylor

4.3.3  Francis Oughton Taylor

4.3.4  Bernard Thomas Taylor married Nellie Evelyn Baker

4.3.5  Hazel Daphne Taylor married Frederick Ernest Bloom

4.4  Robert Moore was bor in 1879 in Bendigo.  He died in 1919 in South Melbourne.

4.5  Isaac Moore was born in Bendigo in 1882 and died in 1937 in Caulfield, Victora.  In 1903, he worked as a Miner in Bendigo[6].

4.6  Thomas Moore was born in 1884 in Bendigo.

4.7  William Moore was born in 1886 in Bendigo and died in 1970 in Carlton, Victoria.

4.8  George Moore was born in 1889 in Bendigo and died in 1943 in Melbourne.

4.9  John Albert Moore was born in 1891 in Bendigo and died in 1942 in Fitzroy, Victoria.

.10  Murial Josine Moore was born in 1894 in Bendigo.  She married Fred Williams in 1918.


5.  Sarah Anne Punch was born in 1857 in Bendigo.  In 1875, she married Thomas Henry Lethlean, a Cornishman.  


6.  Emma Emily Punch was born in 1859 in Bendigo and died the same year[2].


7.  William Henry Punch was born in 1860 in Bendigo lived only 10 days[2].


8.  Andrew Punch was born in 1862 in Bendigo and died the same year[2].


9.  Charles Alexander Punch was born in 1863 in Bendigo and died aged only 10 weeks[2].


10.  William Henry Punch was born ca 1864 in Bendigo[2].  In 1884, he married Mary Ball.


11.  Henry Thomas Punch was born in 1864 in Bendigo[2].


12.  Albert Benjamin Punch was born in 1868 in Golden Sqaure (near Bendigo).  He married Melinda Talmage in 1895[2].



References
  1. St Anne's parish register, www.ancestry.com
  2. Victorian Birth, Marriage and Death registers
  3. 1851 UK Census HO/107/1551
  4. Stepney Parish Church register, www.ancestry.com

  6. Victorian Electoral Rolls
  7. Bendigo Cemetery Trust records
  8. Swan Hill Cemetery records
  9. Find My Past
  10. FreeBMD.org.uk - Apr-Jun, Vol 1c, Page 3529
  11. Victoria, Australia, Assisted and Unassisted Passenger Lists, 1839-1923