Dear All I hope someone can verify these facts for me. I am trying to confirm the father and date of baptism of Admiral John Lort Stokes. It should be about 1811 and probably in Haverfordwest St. Mary. I was at Down House in Kent two days ago, where Charles Darwin wrote The Origin of Species - never expecting to do any family history. I was really taking an American from my Swann DNA Project there with his 14-years old daughter for an afternoon trip to somewhere interesting locally, but also caseing the place to see what would be involved in taking more Americans there in 2013 after WDYTYA at London, Olympia. Part of the display there was of the cabin on the poop deck of HMS Beagle where Darwin wrote up his notebooks over the 5 years of the voyage. It said on the write-up that he shared these cramped quarters with two midshipmen - and one of those was a young John Lort Stokes. I think he was the son of Henry Stokes of Scotchwell and Anne Phillips, who married in 1806. This makes him a grandson of John Rees Stokes of Cuffern, who was a cousin by marriage to Sir Thomas Picton. I had never quite appreciated before that he spent 18 years of his naval career on board HMS Beagle, so this was some surprise when I saw his name there and realised the implications. So I can find the rest of John Lort Stokes career quite easily, but even the article about him in the Journal of the Pembrokeshire Historical Society, Volume 9, 2000 does not mention his parentage. And does anyone know how Captain Pringle Stokes fits into this family: The Beagle set sail from Plymouth on 22 May 1826 on her first voyage, under the command of Captain Pringle Stokes. The mission was to accompany the larger ship HMS Adventure (380 tons) on a hydrographic survey of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, under the overall command of the Australian Captain Phillip Parker King, Commander and Surveyor. Faced with the more difficult part of the survey in the desolate waters of Tierra del Fuego, Captain Pringle Stokes fell into a deep depression. At Port Famine on the Strait of Magellan he locked himself in his cabin for 14 days, then after getting over-excited and talking of preparing for the next cruise, shot himself on 2 August 1828. Following four days of delirium Stokes recovered slightly, but then his condition deteriorated and he died on 12 August 1828. Thanks in advance Brian

Brian - The Dictionary of National Biography, Vol. 1-20 has a record of John Lort Stokes (available at Ancestry.com). It says he was born in 1812, the second son of Henry Stokes of Scotchwell. He entered the navy on 2 Feb 1826 on board the Beagle, then fitting out under the command of his namesake, Commander Pringle Stokes, for the survey of the southern parts of America, in company with the Adventure, commanded by Captain Philip Parker King...... There is a also a portrait of John on Ancestry, as well as a reference to The Biography & Genealogy Master Index, although no image of the index is available at Ancestry yet. The Encyclopedia of New Zealand 1966 states John was born in 1812 at "Scotch-well", near Haverfordwest, the 2nd son of Henry Stokes, whose father, John Rees, assumed the surname Stokes. His mother was Anne, daughter of George Phillips, M.D., and grand-daughter of John Lort, of Prickeston. Pembrokeshire. http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/1966/stokes-john-lort/1 Although not verification, it leads you in a direction to find the records. Lynne in Tucson -----Original Message----- From: Brian P. Swann Sent: Sunday, April 08, 2012 5:16 AM To: 'Dyfdd List' Subject: Re: [Dyfed] JOHN LORT STOKES Dear All I hope someone can verify these facts for me. I am trying to confirm the father and date of baptism of Admiral John Lort Stokes. It should be about 1811 and probably in Haverfordwest St. Mary. I was at Down House in Kent two days ago, where Charles Darwin wrote The Origin of Species - never expecting to do any family history. I was really taking an American from my Swann DNA Project there with his 14-years old daughter for an afternoon trip to somewhere interesting locally, but also caseing the place to see what would be involved in taking more Americans there in 2013 after WDYTYA at London, Olympia. Part of the display there was of the cabin on the poop deck of HMS Beagle where Darwin wrote up his notebooks over the 5 years of the voyage. It said on the write-up that he shared these cramped quarters with two midshipmen - and one of those was a young John Lort Stokes. I think he was the son of Henry Stokes of Scotchwell and Anne Phillips, who married in 1806. This makes him a grandson of John Rees Stokes of Cuffern, who was a cousin by marriage to Sir Thomas Picton. I had never quite appreciated before that he spent 18 years of his naval career on board HMS Beagle, so this was some surprise when I saw his name there and realised the implications. So I can find the rest of John Lort Stokes career quite easily, but even the article about him in the Journal of the Pembrokeshire Historical Society, Volume 9, 2000 does not mention his parentage. And does anyone know how Captain Pringle Stokes fits into this family: The Beagle set sail from Plymouth on 22 May 1826 on her first voyage, under the command of Captain Pringle Stokes. The mission was to accompany the larger ship HMS Adventure (380 tons) on a hydrographic survey of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, under the overall command of the Australian Captain Phillip Parker King, Commander and Surveyor. Faced with the more difficult part of the survey in the desolate waters of Tierra del Fuego, Captain Pringle Stokes fell into a deep depression. At Port Famine on the Strait of Magellan he locked himself in his cabin for 14 days, then after getting over-excited and talking of preparing for the next cruise, shot himself on 2 August 1828. Following four days of delirium Stokes recovered slightly, but then his condition deteriorated and he died on 12 August 1828. Thanks in advance Brian ================================ Dyfed list http://home.clara.net/daibevan/DyfedML.html ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Brian   I had a look at the IGI and there is no baptism for John Lort Stokes.   There is a baptism in Haverfordwest St Marys in 1810 for Elizabeth Henrietta, daughter of Henry Stokes and Anne.   There is also a baptism in Sydney in 1842 for a Fanny Ann Stokes daughter of John Lort Stokes and Fanny Jane.   There is a marriage in 1856 for John Lort Stokes of Louisa French Garret in St. Marylebone.  Both had been widowed and he was a Capt in Royal Navy, born in Prendergast and his father was Henry Stokes a Gentleman.   The only census he is in is with Louisa in 1881 in Scotchwell, Prendergast, where he is described as "Navy Off. Admiral R.N. Retired", and said to have been born in 1813.   Hope this assists   Megan       ________________________________ From: Brian P. Swann <[email protected]> To: 'Dyfdd List' <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, 8 April 2012, 13:16 Subject: Re: [Dyfed] JOHN LORT STOKES Dear All I hope someone can verify these facts for me. I am trying to confirm the father and date of baptism of Admiral John Lort Stokes.  It should be about 1811 and probably in Haverfordwest St. Mary. I was at Down House in Kent two days ago, where Charles Darwin wrote The Origin of Species - never expecting to do any family history.  I was really taking an American from my Swann DNA Project there with his 14-years old daughter for an afternoon trip to somewhere interesting locally, but also caseing the place to see what would be involved in taking more Americans there in 2013 after WDYTYA at London, Olympia. Part of the display there was of the cabin on the poop deck of HMS Beagle where Darwin wrote up his notebooks over the 5 years of the voyage.  It said on the write-up that he shared these cramped quarters with two midshipmen - and one of those was a young John Lort Stokes. I think he was the son of Henry Stokes of Scotchwell and Anne Phillips, who married in 1806.  This makes him a grandson of John Rees Stokes of Cuffern, who was a cousin by marriage to Sir Thomas Picton. I had never quite appreciated before that he spent 18 years of his naval career on board HMS Beagle, so this was some surprise when I saw his name there and realised the implications. So I can find the rest of John Lort Stokes career quite easily, but even the article about him in the Journal of the Pembrokeshire Historical Society, Volume 9, 2000 does not mention his parentage. And does anyone know how Captain Pringle Stokes fits into this family: The Beagle set sail from Plymouth on 22 May 1826 on her first voyage, under the command of Captain Pringle Stokes.  The mission was to accompany the larger ship HMS Adventure (380 tons) on a hydrographic survey of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, under the overall command of the Australian Captain Phillip Parker King, Commander and Surveyor.  Faced with the more difficult part of the survey in the desolate waters of Tierra del Fuego, Captain Pringle Stokes fell into a deep depression.  At Port Famine on the Strait of Magellan he locked himself in his cabin for 14 days, then after getting over-excited and talking of preparing for the next cruise, shot himself on 2 August 1828.  Following four days of delirium Stokes recovered slightly, but then his condition deteriorated and he died on 12 August 1828. Thanks in advance Brian ================================ Dyfed list http://home.clara.net/daibevan/DyfedML.html ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Hi Brian John Lort Stokes was a very interesting man. As you say, he spent many years on the Beagle and went on to be a well-respected naval hydrographer, charting many far-flung seas. I spent a couple of years in Australia and New Zealand in the 1990s and collected a lot of material on John Lort Stokes along the way. He is well remembered in both Australia and New Zealand. I did make a start on an article about him but it has never been finished. The following is an extract: There are numerous biographical entries relating to John Lort Stokes including ones in the Dictionary of National Biography and the Australian Dictionary of National Biography. All give excellent accounts of his exploration, but there is little detail as to his family and background. He was born on 30 July 1811 at the family home of Scotchwell, Haverfordwest. Although he travelled vast distances around the globe, this is also where he was destined to die nearly 74 years later. His parents were Henry Stokes and Anne Phillips who were married on the 25th of April 1806 at the church of Haverfordwest St Thomas. Henry and Ann had seven children, John Lort Stokes was the fourth child and second son. His elder brother was George Warren Stokes, a Colonel in the Bengal Army, whose surviving children were Charles William Rees Stokes, a Tenby solicitor and Georgina Ann Stokes, who married Edward Eaton Evans, the well known Haverfordwest solicitor. Stokes has particular significance to the Northern Territory of Australia, exploring many of . He named the Fitzroy (Western Australia), Flinders (Queensland) and Albert Rivers and shared in the discovery of the Victoria and Adelaide Rivers. He is said to have been responsible for naming Port Darwin, after his friend Charles Darwin. You are correct about his Picton ancestry. His great grandmother was Elizabeth Picton, daughter of Thomas Picton of Poyston. She became the wife of John Warren of Haverfordwest. Their daughter Frances married John Rees Stokes of Cuffern, Roch. I remember talking to Peter Dawkins Palmour about the Stokes family of Scotchwell, many years ago. Peter was descended from the Stokes family of St Botolphs. I remember him saying that he never had too much time for the Scotchwell family, given that they were not “real Stokes”. The family were formerly surnamed Rees and the name was changed in the 1770s after John Rees inherited property from his “cousin” John Stokes of Roch and Haverfordwest. It took me a long time to work out the relationship between the Rees and Stokes families – they were both descended from John Young of Cuffern Roch (Will proved 1716). I believe that Pringle Stokes was unrelated and not from Pembrokeshire. Cheers, Jonathan -----Original Message----- From: Brian P. Swann Sent: Sunday, April 08, 2012 1:16 PM To: 'Dyfdd List' Subject: Re: [Dyfed] JOHN LORT STOKES Dear All I hope someone can verify these facts for me. I am trying to confirm the father and date of baptism of Admiral John Lort Stokes. It should be about 1811 and probably in Haverfordwest St. Mary. I was at Down House in Kent two days ago, where Charles Darwin wrote The Origin of Species - never expecting to do any family history. I was really taking an American from my Swann DNA Project there with his 14-years old daughter for an afternoon trip to somewhere interesting locally, but also caseing the place to see what would be involved in taking more Americans there in 2013 after WDYTYA at London, Olympia. Part of the display there was of the cabin on the poop deck of HMS Beagle where Darwin wrote up his notebooks over the 5 years of the voyage. It said on the write-up that he shared these cramped quarters with two midshipmen - and one of those was a young John Lort Stokes. I think he was the son of Henry Stokes of Scotchwell and Anne Phillips, who married in 1806. This makes him a grandson of John Rees Stokes of Cuffern, who was a cousin by marriage to Sir Thomas Picton. I had never quite appreciated before that he spent 18 years of his naval career on board HMS Beagle, so this was some surprise when I saw his name there and realised the implications. So I can find the rest of John Lort Stokes career quite easily, but even the article about him in the Journal of the Pembrokeshire Historical Society, Volume 9, 2000 does not mention his parentage. And does anyone know how Captain Pringle Stokes fits into this family: The Beagle set sail from Plymouth on 22 May 1826 on her first voyage, under the command of Captain Pringle Stokes. The mission was to accompany the larger ship HMS Adventure (380 tons) on a hydrographic survey of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, under the overall command of the Australian Captain Phillip Parker King, Commander and Surveyor. Faced with the more difficult part of the survey in the desolate waters of Tierra del Fuego, Captain Pringle Stokes fell into a deep depression. At Port Famine on the Strait of Magellan he locked himself in his cabin for 14 days, then after getting over-excited and talking of preparing for the next cruise, shot himself on 2 August 1828. Following four days of delirium Stokes recovered slightly, but then his condition deteriorated and he died on 12 August 1828. Thanks in advance Brian ================================ Dyfed list http://home.clara.net/daibevan/DyfedML.html ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message