Hi Graeme - here's another idea - given that Martha Lewis died on 20 April 1870 and that 2 death notices appeared in the Mercury 3 months after her death ie on 21 July 1870 and 11 August 1870, which is probably the length of time it would take for word of her death to reach John in Tassie, I wonder if she died in the UK at a place called Mewstone? Have you tried to track her through the UK census records? cheers Jenny "Jenny Chester" <jennychester@bordernet.com.au> wrote in message news:4aee2e28$0$5419$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au... > Hi Graeme > > I checked out the death notice you refer to and see that Martha's brother > John Kenrick Lewis was a surgeon of Hamilton on Forth. So I googled it > and found that it is on the NW coast of Tassie and is the previous name > for the current township of Forth > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forth,_Tasmania Is it possible that Martha > lived with her brother in a residence called Mewstone? > > See also the Forth Valley Online Access Centre > http://www.tco.asn.au/oac/community_history.cgi?oacID=22 > The History of Forth > History details of Forth, or Hamilton on Forth as it was originally named, > are available by visiting The Ulverstone Local History Museum. Click the > following link to visit the website http://www.leven.tassie.net.au/ULHM/ > Perhaps they will be able to help you with Mewstone and/or the Lewis > brother and sister. > > Rushing out to a meeting > > Hope this helps > > Jenny > Bruny Island TAS > > "Graeme" <Graeme@greywall.demon.co.uk> wrote in message > news:7b4193b350%Graeme@greywall.demon.co.uk... >> In message >> <b5aa7bde-43e2-4cec-aab9-6ec13fce2e9d@o9g2000prg.googlegroups.com> >> Vivien <viric@bigpond.com> wrote: >> >>> On Nov 2, 5:32 am, Graeme <Gra...@greywall.demon.co.uk> wrote: >>> > Was Mewstone, Tasmania ever inhabited? >>> > >>> > The reason I ask is I've come across a daeth notice for a Martha Lewis >>> > in >>> > the Hobart Mercury for 11th August 1870 giving that as her place of >>> > death. >>> >>> Only by albatross! >>> It's about 20 km off the southeast coast of Tasmania and is basically >>> a rock rising steeply out of the sea. >> >> That's what I thought. >> >>> It sounds as though the death occurred on board ship while heading for >>> Hobart. >>> >> >> But I would have thouht the name of the ship would have been given as >> place >> of death in that case. >> >> The other thought that occurs is that it might have been the name of a >> house >> in Hobart. >> >> -- >> Graeme Wall >> >> My genealogy website <www.greywall.demon.co.uk/genealogy/> > >

In message <4aeeb9f9$0$1783$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au> "Jenny Chester" <jennychester@bordernet.com.au> wrote: > Hi Graeme - here's another idea - given that Martha Lewis died on 20 April > 1870 and that 2 death notices appeared in the Mercury 3 months after her > death ie on 21 July 1870 and 11 August 1870, which is probably the length > of time it would take for word of her death to reach John in Tassie, I > wonder if she died in the UK at a place called Mewstone? Have you tried > to track her through the UK census records? cheers Jenny > That I hadn't thought of, the time lapse is certainly suggestive. It just seems a bit of a coincidence. The English equivalent is the Great Mew Stone off Plymouth in Devon. There's no Devon connection that I know of for the family. As to the censuses, I can't reliably identify a specific Martha Lewis, it's too common a name. A check on FreeBMD doesn't show a death for a woman of her age (she would have been 51) in England or Wales. -- Graeme Wall My genealogy website <www.greywall.demon.co.uk/genealogy/>

Had a look on the National Burial Index CDs for England & Wales and there was no-one who fitted the age or year. Still possible though