The Webb Wagg Family in Australia

Albert Hayden Webb Wagg was the ninth child of William (Bill) and Sarah Wagg.  He was know as Hayden and is my maternal great-grandfather. It's taken me a long while to get to Bill and Sarah's ninth child.  It's over two years since I wrote about Chris Webb , their seventh child.  Alice was Bill and Sarah's eight child.  She was born on 30 March 1869 and died 3 months later on 30 June 1869.  A year later, on 1 July 1870, along came Hayden.  He was born at the family's home in Blues Point.  Sarah's sister Jane Trickett (nee Turner) was present at the birth. Only three of Bill and Sarah's children were still living when Hayden was born - Sarah Jane (11 days short of the 14th birthday), Charlie (8 years and 7 days) and Chris (3 years and 9 months).  William George died in 1855 aged 18 months.  Mary Ann died in 1861 one day short of her third birthday.  Adelaide died in 1861 at 8 months.  William John in 1868 at 3 years and 9 months...

Today marks 100 years since our many times great-grandmother and great-aunt, Sarah, died at the home of her son, William - 247 West Street Cammeray. Sarah was born on 21 October 1832 in Sydney - the daughter of George Turner (a carpenter from York, England) and Mary Hand (a convict from Atholone, Ireland).  George and May had another daughter, Jane, but it's possible that there were more children - the search continues! You can read last year's post about Sarah here. Sarah married William Wagg (a seaman and convict from Norfolk, England) on 18 August 1853 at St James Church of England in Sydney.  They settled on the lower North Shore of Sydney and raised their large family. Here's the last photo that we have of Sarah with her extended family.  She's clearly visible as are some of her sons and their wives.  I doubt we'll ever identify everyone or know the reason for the gathering. Listening to my great-grandmother, Josephine Webb-Wagg (nee Clancy)...

William John Wagg was born on 23 July 1864 - just over 10 years after the birth of William George, Bill and Sarah's first child, on 17 May 1854.  William George had died on 31 December 1855.   With the birth of William John, Bill and Sarah, had three surviving children - Sarah Jane (7) and Charles (2).  William's birth was registered at St Leonards.   On 11 October 1864, William was baptised at St Thomas' Church of England, North Sydney.  The family is shown as living at Oyster Bay and Bill's shown as a boatman. St Thomas Church of England, North Sydney - Baptism Register A little over two years later, on 17 October 1866, Henry Christopher (known as Chris) was born.    On 30 May 1868, William John died just before his fourth birthday.  By this time, three of Bill and Sarah's seven children survived.

Over the next few months, we'll be looking at the eleven children of William (Bill) and Sarah Wagg. William George Wagg was their first born child - named after his father and paternal grandfather (William) and maternal grandfather (George).  A transcript of William's baptism record shows he was born on 17 May 1854 to William Wagg, a mariner, and Sarah.  Their residence is recorded as "Kissing Point" which is now the suburb of Putney.   On 03 September 1854, William was baptised by  Reverend William Cowper  at St Philips Church of England which stood on the current site of Lang Park in York Street, Sydney. On 31 December 1855, aged 18 months, William died.  The burial registration records William's occupation as "son of a sailor" of Queens Place - where the statue of Queen Victoria currently stands off Macquarie Street, Sydney.   William was buried on 02 January 1856 in the Church of England Cemetery Camperdown by  Reverend Charle...

We've all asked where did "Webb Wagg" come from and why are there all the variations. Recently, I met a third cousin who is descended from William Webb-Wagg (1873 to 1974) - son of William and Sarah.  She had two documents that had come down through "the Williams" (as I now call them) which supports and answers many of our questions.  The mystery is not fully solved yet.... First, we have William Webb's discharge from the Gwalior (sic) on 4 March 1853. This was a ship that sailed around Australia and the Pacific in the 1850s. So we see that William was working under the name of Webb not Wagg. He continued to do so for all his working life being referred to as "old Billy Webb" I've read. Next, we have the original registration of the marriage between William Wagg and Sarah Turner at the Parish of St James, Sydney on 18 April 1853 - just six weeks later. You'll spot that one of the witnesses is Jane Turner, Sarah's sister, who went on to...