Arthur Joseph GIBSON

  General Notes:

The correct parents of Walter (born 1856) - information obtained from Gibson family who have the original certificates - with the different names for Walter's father on birth and marriage certificates as I have.

Baptism entry on Ancestry.com
Name: Arthur Joseph Gibson
Gender: Male
Christening Date: 13 May 1810
Christening Place: Chatham, Kent, England
Father's Name: Thomas Gibson
Mother's Name: Mary

Marriage Dec qtr 1842 Poplar (Vol 2 P282) Arthur Joseph Gibson and Lavinia Smith
Oct 11 1842 at "the church in the Parish of Poplar", by Banns.
Arthur Joseph Gibson, F Age, Bt, Steward, Poplar. Father Thomas Gibson, Shipwright
Lavinia Smith, F Age, Sp^r, - , Poplar. Father John Smith, Carpenter.
Witnesses were Charles Darley and Martha Ball

Wife Lavinia is called Walker on 1871 census - so presumably Arthur died before that

Not found on the index of 1861 census on findmypast.com. Finally found wife Lavinia on the 1861 census in Guys Hospital and she is described as a Widow - so he died before then. BUT, 4th & 5th children found to be baptised in 1862.

on Findmypast.com (from National Archives BT158)
Deaths at Sea 1858-1865
Joseph Gibson, age unknown, place of birth unknown, drowned 26 Oct 1859
- many others listed, so presumably a ship went down. See below for the solution
BT158 - as indexed and published on findmypast.com
The left hand page of sheet 146 has the entry for Joseph Gibson. Sheet 145
The left hand page of sheet 145 has a heading "3rd Class and Steerage"
The right hand page of sheet 147 has the description of the ship :-
Liverpool 7.11.1859 "Royal Charter 1355" Liverpool, "Thomas Taylor" Master Reg'n 177 and a date I can't read.
So Joseph Gibson was a 3rd class or Steerage passenger on the Royal Charter, heading for Liverpool. The ship's captain was Thomas Taylor and the rest refers to his registration as a Master.
This put doubt as to whether this is "my" Arthur Joseph Gibson as he appears to be a passenger rather than crew. Otherwise the facts match closely with what was expected.

Searching the State of Victoria records "Outward passengers" found :
Family name Given name Age Ship name Departure month Departure year Destination
GIBSON JOS 26 ROYAL CHARTER AUG 1859 LIVERPOOL
- So this Joseph was far too young to be correct

Death in Victoria, Australia (from Victoria State BDMs) - other than age this is an excellent match
1860 Deaths in the District of Beechworth in the Colony of Victoria, entry 9339
when and where died : Eighteenth July 1860, Beechworth
name and surname, rank or profession : Arthur Gibson, Steward
sex and age : Male 53 years
cause, duration, medical attendant, when last seen : Apoplexy, 12 hours, Thomas Crawford, 18 July 1860
names of parents : -
signature, desc, address of informant : A.R. Groble, Undertaker, Beechworth
signature of registrar, date and where registered : ?, 18 July 1860, Beechworth
if burial registered :- when and where buried : 18 July 1860, Beechworth
where born and how long in Australian colonies : London, 3 years 6 months in Victoria
details of marriage and children : Married, wife and three children. Particulars unknown. Family in Woolwich

A Gibson is listed in BT154/4 which is an index to BT153 (register of wages and effects of deceased seamen) for 1860 and names the ship Bussorah Merchant.
BT155 gives an index of the ships names and presuambly BT155/2 will refer to the entry in 1860. The full details, whatever there is, for Arthur Gibson will be in BT153/4 which covers the period 1859-1862.
The registration number for the Bussorah Merchant was 23157

1841 census
HO107/702-1 F18 P5
11 Penny Fields, Poplar
Arthur Gibson, 31, Ship Steward, N
- Pennyfields was (and still exists) just north of West India Dock, off the West India Dock Road

Searched passport applications 1851-1861 (on findmypast.com). None found

Another descendant of this person has got a child's rocking chair that Arthur Joseph Gibson brought back from New York - confirming he was a crew member on a ship.

The site http://mariners.records.nsw.gov.au lists crew and passengers entering Australian waters and in particular has, at http://mariners.records.nsw.gov.au/1854/07/054nin.htm, the entry on the ship "China" (913 tons from Port of London to Sydney arrived on 17 July 1854)
Gibson Arthur J, Steward, age 43, British, Crew
The captain was George McMillan and there were 22 crew plus 3 passengers on board
This again points to a year of birth as 1810-1811 and suggests that the 1841 census entry is probably correct. "China" is described as a Barque.
- correct person, see BT113 and BT116 below

Findmypast has copies of Merchant Seaman records.
One entry gives details of the seaman and voyages between 1845 and 1854, although only appears to have data entered for 1845-1847
National Archives record BT113/6 - seamen's tickets in ticket number order
Page 205
Register No. 11.634, Arthur Joseph Gibson, born at Chatham, Kent on 15 April 1810. He is registered as a Steward.
Features - height 5' 6¼", hair Brown, complexion Sallow, eyes Blue, marks Mark on Left Ear
First went to sea as a Steward in the year 1832.
Has served in the Royal Navy? 5 years
Has been in Foreign Service? No
When unemployed Resides at? Chatham
Issued at London 15 January 1845
Age when ticketed - 35
Can write? Yes
Voyages
1845 Out - Sd 143-85-11 , 64-28-5
1845 Home
1846 Out - Sd 651-64-10 , 64-29-8
1846 Home - Sd 143-85-11 , 64-8-5
1847 Out
1847 Home - Sd 651-64-10 , 64-30-8
Apparently the last 2 numbers in the second set refers to the day and month. The likely interpretation is that he left on 28 May 1845 and returned on 8 May 1846. Then left on 29 Aug 1846 and returned 30 Aug 1847.

Also
BT116/37 page 197 folio 99 (both numbers on the sheet)
Arthur J Gibson, age 42, born at Chatham
Out 1854 - S^d 27.2 China London
Home 1854 - S^d 2.1 China London
- See the reference above for arrivals in Australian waters for the ship "China" in 1854

and
BT114/9 Folio 74 page 148
No. of Register ticket 11.634
Name Gibson Arthur Joseph Chatham
- this is the index to BT113. ie from name you get the ticket number. BT113 is in ticket number order

Apparently Arthur also sailed to Australia in the late 1850s on the Barque Bussorah Merchant
painting here

  Noted events in his life were:

• Occupation: Steward, 11 Oct 1842, Poplar, Middlesex, England.

• Occupation: Steward, 17 Jul 1854, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. On board ship "CHINA" from London to Sydney.
Arthur J Gibson, Steward, age 43, British, Crew

• Occupation: Merchant Seaman, 1856.

Arthur married Lavinia SMITH, daughter of John SMITH and Mary Anne WILLIAMS, on 11 Oct 1842 in Poplar, Middlesex, England. (Lavinia SMITH was born in 1820 in Rochester, Kent, England, baptised on 4 Jun 1820 in Rochester, Kent, England and died on 17 Feb 1886 in Mile End, London, England.)