- Biography
Frederick Daniel was born on September 5, 1812, almost certainly in Olveston, Gloucestershire, England (just north of Bristol). He was the eldest child of Joseph Daniel and his wife Charlotte Shepstone Daniel.
It is hypothetically possible that Frederick's parents moved to Olveston after his birth and before his baptism, but it seems unlikely.
Frederick was baptized on January 1, 1813, at St. Mary the Virgin, Olveston. His baptismal record clearly indicate that his parents were living in Olveston at the time of the baptism. The date may have been meaningful to his parents. It was their first wedding anniversary, exactly one year after their marriage.
As a child, Frederick would have lived in Olveston; then at Nailsea in Somerset (in 1818); and then at Henbury, back in Gloucestershire (by about 1820).
On April 4, 1837, he was married to Louisa Ann Lee at St. Mary's, Henbury, Gloucestershire. She was 24 and living at Henbury but Frederick was already living in Bristol at the age of 25. we have no knowledge of his occupation at that time.
We are unable to identify Frederick Daniel or his wife Louisa Ann Lee Daniel in the UK census data for 1841.
[In the 1841 census data we can find a 28-year-old individual called Frederick Daniel whose occupation is a "Minister" living in the parish of St. Andrew, Newcastle on Tyne, Northumberland, but he is probably not the correct Frederick Daniel and there is no other evidence to suggest that the current Frederick Daniel was ever a "Minister" of any religion.]
However, by the time of the UK census in 1851, we can find a supposedly 35-year-old Frederick Daniel living in Glasgow, Scotland, where he is enrolled as a "Medical student". He was really 38 years of age, There is no sign of his wife Louisa.
Then three things happen in relatively close succession:
• In about July 1852, Frederick is licensed to practice medicine as a graduate of the University of Glasgow (LFPS (Glas.))
• On October 14, 1852, Frederick emigrates to Melbourne, Australia, from Glasgow, aboard the "Sir William Molesworth" in the company of his sister-in-law (Harriet Burge Daniel) and her two children; he had been appointed as the ship's surgeon
• On December 18, 1852, Frederick's wife, Louisa, is said to have died in Glasgow, and is buried at St. Mary's, Henbury; we suspect she may well have died in Glasgow, but not on December 18, 1852; we think that was the day she was buried
• On March 14, 1853, the ship "Sir William Molesorth" finally arrived in Australia
It is hard to understand this sequence of events. Could it be that Louisa was found to have a long-term illness? Could that be why Frederick decided to become a physician? Might Louisa have died well before December 1852, been cremated, and it was her ashes that were buried at Henbury? There appears to be no reasonable logic by which a man decides to go to medical school in his 30s and then deserts his wife, shortly after he graduates and just 2 months before she is going to die.
There is, on the other hand, considerable logic to the idea that if Frederick knew that his beloved wife had a terminal illness, he might want to do everything he could to save her. And then, when he had failed, he might want to run away as fast and as far as possible from such a depressing series of events.
Whatever actually happened in the last few months prior to the departure of the "Sir William Molesworth" from Glasgow, for Bristol and then for Australia (see Research notes below), the ship really did arrive at Melbourne on March 14, 1853, and Dr. Frederick Daniel was able to start a new life as a widower and medical professional in a "new world".
In 1854 Frederick married again, to Elizabeth Bowie. Their wedding actually occurred in the drawing room of Elizabeth's parents' house in Yarra Bend, Victoria, Australia. Elizabeth had emigrated to Australia in 1852 with her parents and family when her father became superintendent of the Yarra Bend Asylum. They were to have six children, but the first four all died in their infancies,
It is clear that Frederick became a successful physician, and the family lived at difference residences in and around Melbourne over the next 35 years, It is also clear that he would provide his services without charge when it seemed appropriate, He became the Honorary Medical Officer of the Collingwood Free Medical Dispensary late in his life
Frederick Daniel passed away on September 10, 1892, at his home at Queen's Parade, Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia. He was buried at Melbourne General Cemetery, Carlton North. His wife and two children survived him.
Perhaps a little surprisingly we have (as yet) been unable to find an obituary for him.
Sources
• Daniel and Scott family history and genealogy
• Detailed information about this individual is accessible on Ancestry (see https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/19962126/person/875688652/facts)
• "Bristol, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1922" (see https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/404827:61685)
• "Bristol, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1938" (see https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/661469:61686)
• UK census data for 1851
• "Australia, Marriage Index, 1788-1950" (see https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/115376:1780)
• Australian electoral rolls for dates from 1856 through 1992
• "Global, Find a Grave® Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current" (see https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/157743825:60541)
• "Victoria, Australia, Cemetery Records and Headstone Transcriptions, 1844-1997" (see https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/107576:61309)
Research notes
The tale of the voyage of the "Sir William Molesworth" from Glasgow to Australia n 1852 and 1853 is, in itself, unusual (albeit of minimal genealogical interest. except to the descendants of those aboard).
The passengers actually owned the ship and hired the captain and crew -- under the name of a consortium called the "Christian Temperance Emigration Association". She carried a total of 265 passengers and the management of affairs was conducted by a Committee of the passengers. It is highly likely that Dr. Daniel was a member of that Committee. Furthermore, there seems to have been no rush to get from Glasgow to Melbourne.
The "Sir William Molesworth" took 5 months to sail from Glasgow to Melbourne -- a trip that could reasonably be expected to take about 3 months in the 1850s. One reason for this was that the ship stopped at Bristol on its way south into the Atlantic. Some of the passengers actually boarded the ship in Bristol. But it is unclear just how long it was docked in Bristol. If the profile manager is correct in his speculations, it is hypothetically possible that Frederick Daniel was actually present when his late wife's remains were buried at St. Mary's in Henbury. However, it seems more likely that Frederick simply made sure that his wife's remains were to be buried with those of her parents after he had left from Australia.
We may never know exactly what happened in Glasgow and Bristol in late 1852, but if the "Sir William Molesworth" didn't actually leave Bristol until after December 18, 1852, we could make a guess why! There would still have been 85 days to reach Australia.
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1812 - 1892 (~ 79 years)
