Bronwyn and Shirley - Between the two of you you have mostly answered a query of Peter's I received off list. Charles Joseph La Trobe was a first cousin of Benjamin Henry La Trobe, Christian Ignatius La Trobe being the brother of Benjamin Henry's father, Benjamin Latrobe who was born in Dublin. Their father, James Latrobe, was born in Waterford, 1702. He was married to Sophie de Montmollin (daughter of François August de Montmollin and Rose de Meuron) on 16 Sep 1835 in Berne, Switzerland. Sophie de Montmollin was born on 9 Feb 1809 in Neuchâtel. She died on 30 Jan 1854 in Neuchâtel. I have just come across a web page devoted to Charles Joseph L T which our antipodean members may find of interest: http://pweb.netcom.com/~latrobe/CJLaTrobe.htm One point I should emphasise, I am not a blood relative of the La Trobes, only by marriage. Lydia Sellon, daughter of Rev. William Sellon and first wife of Benjamin Henry La Trobe, is a third great grand aunt of mine. Yours Aye Andrew Sellon East Anglia Seeing a child stoop down and stroke a turtle Sydney Smith asked "Why are you doing that?" "To please the turtle" answered the child. "Why, you might just as well stroke the dome of St. Paul's to please the Dean and Chapter," said Sydney. Rev. Sydney Smith 1771-1854, Canon of St. Paul's. From: "Bronwyn Stuckey" [email protected] > The following details about La Trobe appears in a site in the library named after him on the street named after him in Melbourne, Victoria. > > Charles Joseph La Trobe was the first Superintendent of the Port Phillip District from 1839 to 1850 and first Lieutenant-Governor of the new colony of Victoria, Australia from 1851 to 1854. Washington Irving describes him as "a man of a thousand occupations; a botanist, a geologist, a hunter of beetles and butterflies, a musical amateur, a sketcher of no mean pretensions : in short a complete virtuoso." La Trobe was born on 20th March 1801 in London "of French Huguenot descent". His father, Christian Ignatius La Trobe, was a great friend of Haydn and the musicologist Dr. Burney, and was himself a composer of keyboard sonatas which he dedicated to Haydn. > > There are innumerable public buildings in Victoria named after him. Hope this is of some interest. Perhaps the La Trobe descendants already know it all. >