Not unless you can figure out where my Thomas MAY came from and how/why they went to New York. This has had me seriously stumped for decades now, and I suspect I am seriously hampered by the distance from Massachusetts to Melbourne <g>. Here's the short story on him: Thomas MAY was born about 1806 somewhere in the British Empire. Though I can't find him in any convict or assisted immigrant lists, in 1843 he was in Melbourne, and married Sarah Ann CLUBB (an assisted immigrant about whom I have a relatively good picture) in St James Church. In 1845 he was a baker in Geelong and in 1849 the family probably lived at Marabool Street. There were three children: Thomas Melbourne MAY (1845 in Melbourne), Sarah Ann MAY (probably about 1849 in Geelong), and Robert MAY (1846 in Geelong, died 1850 at sea). The marriage was at least somewhat troubled, as "Wild and Wondrous Women" indicates that the couple appeared on Geelong police blotters with complaints of mutual abuse and drunkenness. In December 1850 the entire family (less Robert, who died that April) arrived in New York on a ship from London (since Robert died April 14th "at sea", I assume the departure from Australia was before the middle of April 1850). Some time between then and 1861 Thomas dropped from sight under circumstances which prompted the family (as shown in Thomas Melbourne MAY's letters from 1861) to concoct a story of him having been lost at sea (obviously false, since he shows in the passenger list of "Devonshire" in 1850). Sarah Ann (CLUBB) MAY re-married in New York before 1866. Sarah Ann MAY eventually married, possibly to someone named Linford. Thomas Melbourne MAY became my Great-Great-Grandfather. The obvious questions are: Where did Thomas come from? When and how did he arrive in Australia? Why did the family leave Geelong just at the height of the gold rush? How did they get the resources to make the journey? (Sarah's family in London would not have had the resources to help). Why did they choose New York as a destination? What happened to Thomas between 1850 and 1861? Sorry to take up so much bandwidth, but this has been a real stumper for me for a long time. Thanks. Chuck May Pittsfield, Massachusetts, USA ChuckMay@may-engineering.com http://www.may-engineering.com > Date: Sat, 3 Apr 2010 14:31:26 +1000 > From: "ROSALYN SMAILL" <rstruttonsmaill@bigpond.com> > > Hi Chuck, > What a pity. Is there anything else I can do to help?

Hi Chuck, I've changed the subject line because the Digest subject line is most confusing and causes the system to "multiply" the messages! Just a couple of corrections - the original printed directory probably had Marabool Street but it's actually Moorabool Street. You also asked "Why did the family leave Geelong just at the height of the gold rush?" The gold rush didn't start until mid 1851 so it definitely hadn't started here. Perhaps he'd read about the gold rush in the US and thought he'd pursue that? Consider this as a possibility - Argus newspaper 10 Oct 1849, 13 Oct 1849, 17 Oct 1849 and 19 Oct 1849 ... Schooner 'Marian Watson' sailed for San Francisco, California - passenger included Mr T MAY ?? - departed Sydney. This doesn't fit with a reference to Thomas MAY (Baker) of South Geelong - victim of assault - 14 Dec 1849 but perhaps that's a typo because Mrs Sarah MAY was before the court 31 Oct 1848. You would need to get someone to check the original entries in the newspapers to confirm if those dates are correct. The local reference to Thomas MAY, dwelling house, Moorabool street was 12 Apr 1849 [Geelong Advertiser - Electoral List] And looking further, unless there are two Thomas MAYs, the 1849 entry may not be a typo ... Thomas MAY, householder, Wallace Street (there is a Wallace Street in South Geelong) - 18 Apr 1850 [Geelong Advertiser - Electoral List] Thomas MAY, Marabool street, Geelong - 29 Jun 1849 [Argus - Electoral List] At the time you mentioned, there was a LOT of travelling / migration to and from New Zealand and to and from the US. Not sure if that all helps or confuses! Regards ......... Susie Z -----Original Message----- From: aus-vic-geelong-district-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:aus-vic-geelong-district-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Chuck May Sent: Sunday, 4 April 2010 2:03 AM To: aus-vic-geelong-district@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [GEELONG] AUS-VIC-GEELONG-DISTRICT Digest, Vol 5, Issue 50 Not unless you can figure out where my Thomas MAY came from and how/why they went to New York. This has had me seriously stumped for decades now, and I suspect I am seriously hampered by the distance from Massachusetts to Melbourne <g>.