Friday, January 8, 2016

Stephen Gough is not James Gough's son

Some people on Ancestry and other sites online, have added a Stephen Gough to the James Gough/Ann Cain family. In the 1825 NSW Muster, Phoebe Gough, aged 2 years, is recorded living with her mother Ann at Windsor. In the 1828 NSW Census, Phoebe, then aged 5 years was incorrectly recorded as Stephen. This is an error as this person did not exist. (The 1828 Census contains a number of errors, particularly with names)

In August 1824, James Gough sent a letter to Governor Brisbane requesting a land grant. In the letter he stated he had six children to support. (These children were James, Mary, Alexander, Louisa, Elizabeth and Phoebe.) (SRNSW  Col Sec, Fiche 3090; 4/183 7B, no.387, p.479)

The Stephen Gough who died in Hobart, Tasmania in 1863 was an Irish convict and was not related to this family. He was tried in Dublin 2 March 1841, for the theft of two tablecloths and was sentenced to 7 years transportation. He arrived on 12 September 1841 on the Waverley (1). All his records are available online in the Tasmanian Convict Database. 
https://linctas.ent.sirsidynix.net.au/client/en_AU/names/search/results?qu=Stephen&qu=Gough