Stephen Wrathall of Tasmania (1779 -1872)

ANDREW WRATHALL OF TRARALGON has accumulated considerable data on his Australian line , which was incorporated in his Wrathall Family History website (offline as of Apr. 2007). Andrew is descended from Stephen Wrathall and Mary-Ann Walker. It is possible that Stephen, who emigrated with most of his family to Tasmania in 1830 -1831, may have been a grandson of Lupton Wrathall of Linton (1716 - 1790), since one of Stephen's sons was also named Lupton Wrathall. If Stephen was a grandson of Lupton Wrathall, then Stephen's line was descended from Henry Wratho of Linton (d. 1587) .

Since Stephen (or his father) apparently moved from Yorkshire to London prior to the christening of Stephen's children, it's just a matter of time before the right parish record is found. Unfortunately, we can't rely on census records, which didn't start on a nation-wide scale until 1841. But Trevor Bramley's data indicate that the parish records of interest to study are for St. Dunstan, Stepney, London; click HERE to view I. G. I. and other records as of Apr. 2007 for this Australian branch.

The L.D.S. FamilySearch site showed no marriage or birth for Stephen Wrathall in London as of Feb. 2001. However, there are about 260 IGI marriage records for Mary Walker between 1808 - 1812.

Helen Haumann , who can be reached at bch(at)hitech(dot)net(dot)au, is researching the ancestry of Stephen Wrathall:
I'm looking for ancestors of Stephen Wrathall, born about 1780, who emigrated to Tasmania, Australia in1830. His wife's name was Mary Ann. The family arrived on the ship Rifleman with 3-4 children and a baby; Stephen was listed as a Gentleman. I am one of his great-granddaughters.
In Feb. 2005, Elaine A. Game , who is researching the line of Florence Jane Wrathall of Ballarat, sent a scan of a probate document concerning the will of Stephen Wrathall (1779 -1872). Elaine mentioned the following:
I have scanned the [probate document]; the difficulty is that it is an A3 document, so I have to scan it in two pieces and then stitch them together. I sent it to my photo workshop program and darkened the writing.

If I get down to Hobart, I intend to go to Cornelian Bay Cemetery to see if I can locate Stephen's grave site ... I am the Great-great-great-granddaughter of Stephen, and I have written to you before, as has my sister Noelene, the more precise and accurate collector of information.
Click HERE to view Elaine's scan of the probate document concerning Stephen Wrathall's will (268 kB); click HERE for the text version.
Also in Feb. 2005, Elaine A. Game, who can be reached at elainegame(at)y7mail(dot)com, sent information concerning Mary Ann Wrathall (née Walker), the wife of Stephen Wrathall (1779 -1872). Elaine mentioned her work in locating Mary Ann's grave, as well as her research:
I was sent a photo from a lady in New Zealand, [who] was over here in Tasmania and found Mary Ann Wrathall's grave at Hamilton. She sent me two photos, one of which [is] the grave photo itself. ... Carol Whitt, the lady who kindly sent me the photo of the grave of Mary Ann, did so after finding the Will I sent in to the Site. [Carol is researching the line of Ann Wrathall, who married William Coldicutt of Auckland in 1885. For further info on this line, see Descendants of Stephen Wrathall of New Zealand , compiled by Stephen H. Wrathall.]

Stephen, however, is not buried with his wife.... He was Church of England and Mary Ann was Wesleyan; perhaps that may be the reason for different burial sites. I have been in contact with Cornelian Bay Cemetery; no Stephen, but his son is there, William and his descendants. I did find Stephen and family listed in a census, as living at Newtown, Hobart. As he died in Hobart, it is possible he is buried in the Newtown Cemetery. Unfortunately, a lot of the smaller cemeteries here have been closed and in some cases built over. The Newtown one was closed in 1900, but may still have the grave stones there.

I got a few documents back from the Tasmanian Archives, but the will with probate is all they have. They don't know why it states "see page 317", as it's the same. I did however get three copies free, plus I got a copy of the death notice in the Hobart newspaper (the Mercury) for Stephen's death. It says he died in his son-in-law's home. [I also received] Stephen's Death Certificate, which doesn't tell us much more, and the memorial and tombstone Inscription of Tasmania for Mary Ann Wrathall.... I also found that William the Convict had applied to marry to the authorities; they had to do so if still serving a sentence.

In Apr. 2006, Jenny Fawcett's Tasmania Insolvency Index - 1835 (an index to Insolvency Notices advertised in Launceston papers for the year 1835) had the following entry:
Wrathall / Weathall Stephen
Also in Apr. 2006, The Gardens - Family History web page Cemeteries - St John's, New Town, Hobart , which may be able to provide links to photographs of the headstones, had the following entry:
Stephen WRATHALL
Died 23 Oct 1872
Aged 93 years
In May 2006, Carol Whitt, who can be reached at gwhitt(at)netspace(dot)net(dot)au, was able to locate the gravestone of Stephen Wrathall:
We have just had a few days in Hobart, and, armed with photos from The Gardens - Family web site, we found Stephen's grave stone. We went out to St. John's Church in Newtown and spoke with the Reverend David le Rossignol, who told us Stephen was buried in plot no. A53 in the burial ground to the left of the church. In 1963 the headstones were removed and relocated in Cornelian Bay Cemetery. Stephen's son-in-law [Hugh Currey] and some of his family are also buried at St. John's, and their headstones are also at Cornelian Bay. Hugh Currey's is just behind and one to the right of Stephen's.

We also went to the Archive office and found that on July 1836 Mary Ann (9 yrs) and Lupton (7 yrs) were admitted to the St John's Orphan school and discharged in June 1838. I guess things were pretty tough for the family for a while.

Stephen's headstone is rather hard to read but I feel pretty sure it says

[Sacred]
To the Memory of
Stephen Wrathall
Who departed this life
24th October 1872 Aged 93 Years
Be Ye always Ready
Carol sent several photos: In Jan. 2007, Elaine A. Game mentioned that the International Genealogical Index had the following Individual Record for Stephen Wrathall : Unfortunately, the submitter and source are not listed, and the Will of William Wrathall of Burnsall - 1827 indicates that William (1747 - 1827), son of Lupton Wrathall (1716 - 1790), had no children, and that a son of William's brother Lupton (1757 - 1821) was named Stephen. [See also Stephen Wrathall's Parents.]

In May 2007, RootsWeb's threaded mail archives for the WRATHALL-L Archives contained some messages between Danny Watson and Diane Wrathall concerning Stephen Wrathall's origins and descendants. In the message Re: [WRATHALL] Australia/New Zealand Wrathall Update was the following:
Although not an accurate record, it is my understanding through reading the biography of Stephen Wrathall that his marriage to Mary Ann took place aboard the ship that came to Australia. This information has come from a diary of Stephen Wrathall that is meant to be held in the Brisbane museum.
This diary was also mentioned in 2001 by Derek Wrathall, in regard to the landing of Stephen Wrathall in Mangonui , from Richard T. Wrathall's biography of Stephen: which implies that Richard T. Wrathall read or had seen or heard reference(s) to Stephen's diary, and that, if Stephen's diary exists, Richard's descendants may have access to it, or one of the museums in Australia may have it.
In Jan. 2012, Elaine A. Game [elainegame(at)y7mail(dot)com] mentioned the following:
I ... sent in photos of the grave sites of Stephen and MaryAnn Wrathall .... I have now found [their] Marriage Certificate ... can you pass on my new email address to anyone who would be interested in this as well.
Record Index
Name: Stephen Wrathall
Spouse Name: Mary Ann Walker
Record Type: Marriage
Marriage Date: 26 Mar 1810
Parish: St John of Wapping
County: Middlesex
Borough: Tower Hamlets

Source Information
Record URL: http://search.ancestrylibrary.com/cgi-bin/ssg.d||?h=3289727&db=LMAmarriages&indiv=try
Source Citation: London Metropolitan Archives, Saint John Of Wapping, Register of marriages, P93/JN2, Item 018
Source Information: Ancestry.com. London, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921
[database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
Original data: Church of England Parish Registers, 1754 - 1921. London Metropolitan Archives, London.

Images produced by permission of the City of London Corporation Libraries, Archives and Guildhall Art Gallery Department. The City of London gives no warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or fitness for the purpose of the information provided. Images may be used only for purposes of research, private study or education. Applications for any other use should be made to the City of London, Guildhall, PO Box 270, London, EC2P 2EJ. Infringement of the above condition may result in legal action.
This is the image sent by Elaine. The upper two witness signatures may be those of William and Susanna Elizabeth Wrathall, children of Lupton Wrathall of Smithfield, London (1757 - 1821) and his wife Jane (1753 - 1808).