William Dunstan (1853-1902)

This page is based on genealogical information on William Dunstan that I compiled in 1999. It will be updated and amended in due course.  First posted on the website on 11 October 2011.

William Dunstan Link Pages:

My great grandfather William Dunstan and his wife Eliza Jane Bolitho were both born in the Parish of Wendron, Cornwall. William Dunstan was born near Porkellis, and Eliza Jane was born  a few kilometres to the south at Trewavas William Dunstan’s father Bennett Dunstan and his grandfather Thomas Dunstan were both Cornish miners and, presumably, were employed in the tin mines of the Wendron district. Eliza Jane Bolitho’s father James Bolitho and her grandfather Thomas Bolitho were farmers and tin miners.

The Cornish Origins of  William Dunstan (1852-1902)

 William Dunstan's father, Bennett Dunstan, was born in 1817, and followed his father Thomas Dunstan in being a miner of the Wendron district of Cornwall. On 7 July, 1841 Bennett Dunstan and Johanna (Johannah, Hannah) Priske (Prisk) were married in the Wendron Parish Church, Registration District of Helston, Cornwall. Their marriage appears in the St Catherine’s Index for the September Quarter, 1841 as:

 The marriage also appears in the 1992 IGI, Fiche 7043, with the following entries:

* the latter entry from information provided by relatives

 The marriage certificate records that Bennett Dunstan was a bachelor of “full age” (i.e. born before 1820) and Johanna Priske was a spinster aged 19 (i.e. born between 8 July, 1821 and 7 July, 1822). Both signed with their “mark” (presumably, neither Bennett Dunstan nor Johannah Priske could write) in the presence of Mary Dunstan and John Pascoe. The exact relationship of these two witnesses to Bennett Dunstan and Johanna Prisk has not been established.

 Further details on the marriage certificate are:

* Porkellis is located 6.5 km north-east of Helston, on the old Helston-Wendron-Porkellis-Penryn Road, parallel with, and about 1.5-2.0 km north of the more recent A 394.   Halabezack is about 2 km further to the north-east of Porkellis.

A letter (dated 23 October, 1996) from Mrs Wendy .M. Billcliffe from Falmouth to Mrs M.E. James of 22 Adelaide Street, Lawson, NSW, states that Bennett Dunstan and Johannah Priske/Dunstan had thirteen children, the last child Hannah (Mrs Billcliffe’s great grandmother) having been born in 1869.

 The Thirteen Children of Bennett Dunstan and Johanna Priske:

* Data from a family tree prepared by Wendy Billcliffe, 1996.

⁺ Listed in 1992 IGI.

^#  Mary Anna on her birth, marriage and death certificates, but Hannah on her headstone (Wendy Billcliffe). Those shown in bold migrated to Australia, with William Dunstan having travelled via New Zealand (see below).

The following information is contained in the census data for Cornwall:

*  Hannah Dunstan also listed as Mary A. and Annie on the census

Bennett Dunstan died on the 23 August 1880 aged 63 years, and his address was given as Lower Porkellis, Wendron; Hannah Priske/Dunstan died in 1874 (data from Wendy Billcliffe).

Wendy Billcliffe (letter of 23 October 1996) records that Hannah Dunstan was living in Halwin, Porkellis at the time of the 1891 census, and was married to Thomas Carlyon at Wendron Parish Church on 23 April 1891.   They had three children. Thomas Carlyon went to Nevada City, California, USA in about 1895/6, and Mrs Billcliffe has a photograph from there. He left at a time when his son Thomas Carlyon (1895-) was very (?young, ill), and there seems to be “some disgrace about his actions in not returning” to England.

 Antecedants of Johannah Priske (1822-)

JAMES PRISKE (~1791-    ) AND ANN PENALUNA/PRISKE (~1796-    )

 James Priske was listed as the father of Johannah Priske in the certificate of her marriage to Bennett Dunstan in 1841 (see above). He was a miner of the Wendron district in Cornwall. A search of the IGI records for the period from 1820-35 suggests that James Priske and his wife Ann had at least five children, of which Johannah was the eldest:

Children of James and Ann Priske

 The naming of the first son as Thomas may indicate that this was the name of his grandfather.

On 7 June, 1998, Sue Hunt from Redruth provided the following information on James and Ann Priske: “Johannah Priske’s mother was called Ann Penaluna, and was married to James Prisk(e) in Wendron 28/10/1816. Johannah was baptised at Wendron 15/09/1822, and her brothers and sisters were Ann bp. 01/05/1825, Thomas bp. 16/03/1828, James bp. 05/06/1831, and Mary Ann bp. 12/03/1835. According to the 1841 Census of Wendron (no specific area given), James Prisk was 50 and Ann 47, and all the children were listed. By 1851 they were living in the area called Halabezack, Wendron. James aged 60 (agricultural labourer), Ann aged 55 (laundress), Thomas aged 21 (copper miner), James aged 19 (copper miner), and Mary Ann aged 16 (seamstress).” The 1951 census record confirms that the family lived in Halabezack, which is consistant with the Johannah Priske’s residence at the time of her marriage to Bennett Dunstan on 7 July, 1841 (St. Catherines Index).

 Halabezack, Parish of Wendron

 7 July 1841:   Johanna Priske’s place of residence on her certificate of marriage to Bennett Dunstan. 1851 census: Place of residence of James and Ann Priske and their children Thomas (21), James (19), and Mary Ann (16).

A New Life in Australia

 The collapse of the Cornish mining industry during the late 1860s and early 1870s, coupled with the “mining boom” that followed the discovery of gold in Victoria in 1851, would have been the trigger for the important decision by many Cornish miners to migrate to Australia. At least three of the Dunstan children migrated to Victoria, Australia. Bennett Dunstan was about 23 and Thomas Dunstan about 22 when they left their home in Cornwall for the voyage to Australia (about~1866/67). William Dunstan remained in Wendron where he married Eliza Jane Bolitho in 1876. The couple had two children, William Dunstan (born ~1876) and James Arthur Dunstan (born ~1878), before migrating to New Zealand in ~1879 and, from there, to Australia in ~1880 to join up with his brothers in Victoria.

Marriage of William Dunstan and Eliza Jane Bolitho

 William Dunstan was born in Cornwall in 1852.   No record of his baptism was found in the IGI for the period 1850-1860, however his birth is recorded in the St Catherine’s Index for the March Quarter of 1952:

William Dunstan (1852-01/05/1902) and Eliza Jane Bolitho were married on 13 January, 1876 in the Parish Church, Parish of Wendron in the County of Cornwall. The marriage certificate records that William Dunstan was a bachelor aged 24 (i.e. born between 14 January, 1851 and 13 January, 1852; probably early January 1852) and Eliza Jane Bolitho was a spinster aged 20 (i.e. born between 14 January, 1855 and 13 January, 1856). They were married in the presence of James Bolitho (believed to be Eliza Jane Bolitho’s father) and Walter Dunstan (believed to be a brother of William Dunstan).

 Further details on the marriage certificate are:

There is no record of marriage in the 1992 IGI, but the St Catherine’s Index records the marriage as follows:

 Further confirmation of the details of the marriage are recorded as follows: William Dunstan married Eliza Jane Bolitho in Porkellis, in the Parish of Wendron, Cornwall (Eliza Jane Bolitho/Dunstan’s death certificate). The marriage was in January 1876 (Laura Dunstan’s birth certificate). He was 24 years old and Eliza Jane was 20 years (William Dunstan’s and Eliza Jane Dunstan’s death certificates).

The families of Bennett and Thomas Dunstan

BENNETT DUNSTAN (~1843-26/02/1906)

Bennett Dunstan’s death certificate states that he was born in Cornwall (his death on 26/02/1906 aged 62 suggests he was born between 27/02/1843 and 26/02/1844). No record of baptism was found in the IGI from 1844 onwards. The St. Catherine’s Index list births for the Helston Registry District of a Bennet Dunstan in the June Quarter, 1843 and in the June Quarter, 1844.

The death certificate states he was resident in Victoria for 40 years, suggesting he arrived in about 1866 at age about 23 (see Thomas Dunstan who arrived about 1867;  it is probable they came on the same ship). Bennett Dunstan’s occupation is listed as a miner.

 His death certificate states he married Ann Barker (? maiden name Christopher) in Ballarat when he was 27 (i.e. in about 1870), and they had the following children (ages at the time of his death in 1906):   Bennett Dunstan, 32 years (i.e. born about 1874); John Dunstan, 31 years (i.e. born about 1875); Joseph Dunstan, 29 years (i.e. born about 1877); Annie Dunstan, dead; Walter Thomas Dunstan, 21 years (i.e. born about 1885).  

Victorian marriage records confirm that Bennett Dunstan (born Cornwall) married Ann Chistopher/Barker (born Cornwall) in the period July-December, 1871.   Joanne Dunstan informed me (20 July 1998) that Ann Christopher/Barker’s was born ~1841 and died 1912;  her parents were John Richard Christopher and Mary Ann Penaluna.

 Children of Bennett Dunstan and Ann Christopher/Barker

 Bennett Dunstan was a resident of Ballarat in September, 1897 when he acted as informant for the death certificate of his brother Thomas Dunstan, who died in Clunes.

 Bennett Dunstan died in Creek Street in the City of Bendigo on the 26 February 1906, aged 62. The cause of death was cerebral haemorrhage syncope, and he died in four days. He was buried in the Ballarat New Cemetery on 28/02/1906. The Register of the Ballarat New Cemetery includes the following entry:

 The entry for Bennett Dunstan’s residence is confusing, as his death certificate states that he died in Creek Street, Bendigo. It is probable that he died at this address in Bendigo whilst a resident of Hill Street, Ballarat. Annie Dunstan, who has the same Ballarat address and is buried in the same grave, is his daughter, who was born in 1879. A marriage of Annie Dunstan to Chas. Wm Growcott is listed in the Victorian BDM for 1901.

THOMAS DUNSTAN (~1844-28/09/1897)

 Thomas Dunstan’s death certificate states he was born in the Parish of Wendron, Cornwall, England. A St. Catherine’s record of the birth in the Helston District of a Thomas Dunstan was listed for both the March and December Quarters of 1842, but none for either 1843 or 1844 (his death on 28/09/1897 aged 53 suggests he should have been born between 29/09/1843 and 28/09/1844).

 He was resident 30 years in Victoria, thus arriving in about 1866 or 1867 at age about 22. His occupation was a miner. Victorian marriage records confirm his wedding occurred between July and December 1872, the parties named as Thomas Dunstan (born in Cornwall) and Mary Ellen Bottrall (also born in Cornwall).

 Thomas Dunstan died in Clunes on 28 September 1897 aged 53, and was buried at Clunes Cemetery on the 30 September 1897, J.W. Preston, undertaker (see gravestone inscription, below). He died at Dourello Street from phthisis and exhaustion, the illness having been evident for two years. His brother, Bennett Dunstan, was the informant. His death certificate confirms his marriage to Mary Botterell in Clunes when he was age 27 (i.e. in about 1871). Two children were listed on the death certificate, Rhoda Dunstan, 23 years (i.e. born about 1874) and Elsie Dunstan, 10 years (i.e. born about 1887).   A probated will exists for Thomas Dunstan (65 base 815 08/11/1897; died Clunes, miner).

 Children of Thomas Dunstan and Mary Botterell

Both births are confirmed in the Victorian birth records.

 The marriage of Rhoda Dunstan to Jonathon (Jno) Robinson Carter (born in Victoria) occurred in 1902.   They had the following family:

 Children of Jno Robinson Carter and Rhoda Dunstan

 Whittlesea is located about 40 km north of Melbourne, and to the west of the Kinglake National Park.

All three of the Dunstan brothers who died in the Clunes-Ballarat-Bendigo mining districts of Victoria are listed in the Victorian Register of Births, Deaths and Marriages.

Australian Records of the Deaths of Three Children of Bennett Dunstan and Johanna Priske: 

William Dunstan and Eliza Jane Bolitho, of Clunes, Victoria

William and Eliza Jane Dunstan were early residents of Clunes, probably arriving in about 1880 or 1881. The couple had two sons, William Dunstan (named after his father) and James Arthur Dunstan (named after his grandfather, James Bolitho), both of whom were born in Cornwall before the family migrated to New Zealand in the period between the birth of James Arthur in the June Quarter, 1878 (St Catherine’s Index) and their third child, Susan Hannah (Ann), who was born in Port Lyttleton, near Christchurch on the South Island of New Zealand in the June Quarter, 1880 (Susan Ann Dunstan death certificate).   Some three months after the birth of Susan Ann, the family moved to Victoria (presumably to Clunes, where William Dunstan’s brother Thomas and his family were residents).

 The following details have been extracted from Death Certificates for William Dunstan, Eliza Jane Bolitho/Dunstan and Susan Hannah (Ann) Dunstan.

 The remaining seven children of William Dunstan and Eliza Jane Bolitho/Dunstan were born at Clunes, Victoria within the period 1882-1898, and are listed in the Victorian Register of Births, Deaths and Marriages.

 The Ten Children of William Dunstan and Eliza Jane Bolitho

Assuming that Eliza Jane Bolitho was born in 1855, she would have been 21 at the birth of her first child and 27 when Laura was born; she would have been 43 when the last child, Thomas Russell, was born in 1898. Laura Dunstan would have been 16 when Thomas Russell was born, and 17 when he died in the following year.

A number of the children died at a young age in Clunes, including: Susan Hannah (aged 10) and Walter Cyril (aged 1 year 8 months), who both died in 1990 -  Susan Hannah (Ann) from diptheria ; James Harold and Thomas Russell Dunstan died at the ages of 22 months and nine months respectively.

Both William Dunstan and his wife Eliza Jane Bolitho/Dunstan also died at Clune. William Dunstan died in his house at Smeaton Street, Clunes on the 1 May 1902 aged 50 years. The cause of death was given as “phthisis”, and was evident for a period of 6 years. Eliza Jane Bolitho/Dunstan died on 21 July, 1937 at the age of 82 in Clunes Hospital, the cause of death being “senility, debility and cardiac failure”. She had lived about 56 of her 82 years in Clunes.

 Records of the Dunstan Family in Clunes

 A list of Dunstans on the Voters’ Roll for the North Ward of the Borough of Clunes (1883-1898) was provided by staff of the William Barkell Centre, Clunes.

 The Victorian Electoral Rolls contain the following information for the Division of Laanecoorie, District of Clunes:

The following Dunstans are listed as Ratepayers of Clunes:

 Some selected Rate Books for Clunes contain the following information.

 In 1889, the property in Smeaton Street was described as having 5 rooms and being of weatherboard construction. It was located in Section 58 on the north side of Smeaton Street and in the block to the east of Canterbury Street (see map of land occupied by E.J. Dunstan). I visited this site in June 1992, which was largely vacant land on which a poultry farm had once operated. There was no house visible on the site, but some brick rubble and a few trees may have indicated its original position. The beautifully preserved Clunes Primary School is close by.

 I also visited the Clunes Cemetery (a few kilometres north of the town) in June 1992, and spent some time looking for headstones on gravesites listed for Dunstans (see below). In particular, I was hopeful of finding gravestones for William Dunstan and Eliza Jane Bolitho/Dunstan, but although the approximate site of Willliam Dunstan’s grave was found, there was no headstone. Gravestones were found for the elder brother of William Dunstan, Thomas Dunstan (~1844-1987), and his wife Mary Ellen Dunstan (-1935), and also for William Dunstan’s son William Dunstan (1876-1950) and his wife Maud Sutton James/Dunstan (~1880-1966). Their gravestones have the following inscriptions:

 The gravesite next to William Dunstan and Maud Dunstan has a headstone for Thomas Stanley Wolfenden (1902-1976), his wife Florence Adeline (1909-1996) and their daughter Lorraine Joy (1946-1952). Their relationship to James Wolfenden who married Lizzie Hudson is not known.

 The following records from the Clunes Cemetery were provided by staff of the William Barkell Centre, Clunes. Some data for Susan A. (H.) Dunstan, Thomas Dunstan and William Dunstan (5149) were extracted from the Victorian Register of B, D and M.

M = Methodist Section of Clunes Cemetery

Children of William Dunstan, miner of Smeaton Road attended the Clunes School in the years 1898 to 1907. Names are on School Rolls provided by staff of the William Barkell Centre, Clunes. No record is given of their last whereabouts.

Children of William Dunstan, storeman of West Street attended between 1914 and 1925. Howard Dunstan became a Draper in Clunes, and Maud Elva Dunstan became a Shop Assistant in Clunes.

 Francis William Dunstan, son of Howard W. Dunstan Motor Driver of Talbot Road attended between 1937 and 1943.

 Other Dunstans to attend the school, but probably not related, include:

 Children of Thomas Dunstan, farmer of Ligar Street, who attended between 1901 and 1902.   They were all last reported from Glenaruel.

 Edna May Dunstan, daughter of Harriet Dunstan, domestic of Maryborough, who was last reported from Maryborough.

 Notes on the Lives of the Children of William Dunstan and Eliza Jane Bolitho

 WILLIAM DUNSTAN (1876-1950)

 William Dunstan was born in Wendron, Cornwall in about 1876 (death certificate). He was age 74 at his death on 15/08/1950 (i.e. born 15/08/1875-16/08/1976). William was listed as age 25 and resident of Clunes when he signed as informant for the death of his father William Dunstan on 1 May, 1902 (i.e. he was born 01/05/1876-30/04/1877). He was 61 years old when his mother Eliza Jane Bolitho/Dunstan died on 21 July, 1937 (i.e. born 21/07/1876-20/07/1877). This suggests he was born between 01/05/1876 and 21/07/1876. The following entry appears in the St Catherine’s Index for the September Quarter of 1876:

 William Dunstan was resident in Victoria for 71 years, having arrived in about 1880, at the age of about three or four years. He lived in Clunes for much of his life, and his occupation was listed as a storeman. His three children attended the Clunes School. He married Maud Sutton James in Clunes at age 27 years, and they had three children (ages given at his death in 1950): Howard William, 43 years (i.e. born about 1907); Edgar James, 40 years (i.e. born about 1910); and Elva Maud, 38 years (i.e. born about 1912).   He was married at the time of his death.

 The Victorian marriage records confirm the marriage between William Dunstan and Maud “Suttin” James occurred in 1903.   Both were listed as having been born in Cornwall.

Children of William Dunstan and Maud Sutton James

 William Dunstan was a storeman of West Street, Clunes. His children all attended the Clunes school in the period between 1914 and 1925. Howard William Dunstan became a Draper in Clunes, and Maud Elva Dunstan became a Shop Assistant in Clunes. Howard William Dunstan subsequently became a motor driver of Talbot Road, and his son Francis William Dunstan (born 09/02/1933) also attended Clunes School in the period between 1937 and 1943.

 Wiiliam Dunstan died in West Street, Clunes on 15 August, 1950, aged 74. He died of myocardial failure (2 years) and hyperpiesis (4 years). He was buried in the Methodist section of Clunes Cemetery on 16/08/1950.

 JAMES ARTHUR DUNSTAN (1878-<1937)

 James Arthur Dunstan was aged 24 when his father died on 1 May, 1902 (i.e. born between 01/05/1878-30/04/1879).   His birth is listed in the June Quarter of the St Catherine’s Index for 1878:

 James Arthur Dunstan married) Sarah Shield in 1902. Sarah Shield was born in Eaglehawk, about 7 km north of Bendigo, and now considered to be a suburb of the city. Eaglehawk has a rich mining history, and contains numerous substantial buildings as a reminder of the town’s prominence last century.   In 1852, three large nuggets totalling 1245 ozs were found in White Horse Gully.   In the days of the gold mining boom, Eaglehawk supported two newspapers and 40 to 60 hotels.

James Arthur Dunstan was listed as deceased when his mother died in 1937, so he died younger than 58 years.

SUSAN ANN DUNSTAN (01/06/1880-31/07/1890)*

 Susan Ann (Hannah, Anna) Dunstan was born at Port Lyttleton, near Christchurch, New Zealand in the June quarter of 1880. When she was three months old the family moved to Victoria and settled at Clunes. She attended the Clunes School in 1889. Susan Ann Dunstan died of diptheria aged 10 in Clunes on 31 July, 1890, in the same year that her  brother Walter Cyril Dunstan died.

 LAURA DUNSTAN (11/06/1882- 07/05/1947)

 Laura Dunstan was born in Clunes, Victoria on 11 June, 1882. She was the daughter of William Dunstan, miner and Eliza Jane Bolitho (Laura Dunstan’s death certificate gives her mother’s name as Eliza Bolitho).

 Laura Dunstan lived in Victoria for 24 years before moving to Western Australia (i.e. in about 1906/1907), where she became a dressmaker/milliner in Boulder. It was here that she met, or resumed an association with, Thomas Hudson. The couple returned to Victoria during 1908 (following the death of Thomas' father, William Hudson) and remained at Clunes for about 6 months. They were married in Ballarat on 27 July, 1908. She was probably about two months pregnant with my father, William Russell Hudson, at the time.

 Joyce Elizabeth Clarke/Hudson said that Laura Dunstan/Hudson had a hard life, and worked “like a slave” to maintain the house and home at 19 Millen Street, Boulder while “Pop” Hudson travelled around the goldfields working on buildings and chimneys, probably including the grandstand at Lake Pirkalilly.   "Pop" Hudson did little to raise the family, and according to JEC/H was “a big I am, who called for his pipe and called for his bowl”. There was no great companionship between "Pop" Hudson and Laura Dunstan. Pop never went to the children’s weddings, and despite the fact that his son William Russell Hudson was a state champion athlete, he never went to see him run. Laura Dunstan/Hudson took the children “home to Clunes” to see their grandparents, but they were rarely accompanied by "Pop" Hudson.

I remember that her dressmaking skills were in evidence when she sent two stuffed felt horses as Christmas presents for me and my brother John. One horse was made of dark brown felt with pale brown mane and tail; the other pale brown with dark brown mane and tail.

Laura Dunstan/Hudson died at 19 Millen Street, Boulder (the family home) on 7 May, 1947. She was 64 years old and had been ill, but not hospitalised, for some time (she was a bit “livery” according to my mother). Her daughter Roma was there during her illness and at the time of her death. She died quietly on the cane lounge, the cause of death being “aortic and mitral valve disease”, and was buried in Kalgoorlie cemetery on 8 May, 1947. (Information on Laura Dunstan was related to me by Joyce Elizabeth Clarke/Hudson in June 1882).

RUBY MAY DUNSTAN (01/03/1886-

 Ruby May Dunstan was born in Clunes in 1886. She was listed in the Clunes electoral rolls for 1908 and 1912 as living with her mother Eliza Jane Bolitho/Dunstan at Smeaton Road, Clunes, where her occupation was listed as “home duties”. In 1912 she would have been about 26 and unmarried. A possible marriage is listed in the Victorian Register for Births, Deaths and Marriages for 1913, when she would have been 27.

WALTER CYRIL DUNSTAN (1889-1890)*

Walter Cyril Dunstan was born in Clunes in 1889 and died there aged 20 months in 1890.

ELDRED CYRIL DUNSTAN (1891-1947)

Eldred Cyril Dunstan was born in Clunes in 1891. He fought during the First World War (1914-1918), and his name appears on the “Roll of Honour, Talbot and Clunes” in the RSL Rooms, on the “Clunes State School Honour Board”, and on the “Methodist Church and Sunday School Honour Board”. In 1919, he was listed on the Clunes Borough and District Volunteers.

A sad note on the fate of some returned soldiers appears in an article from an un-named publication , provided by staff of the William Barkell Centre, Clunes.

“The war had affected those who had served in different ways. Their experiences of course had varied;  some had seen little action, others had been repeatedly wounded and some suffered shell shock. Quite a few turned to drink. Dickie Mitchell, Sandy’s older brother, acquired the nickname of "waltzing Lily" for his unsteadiness in gait whilst under the influence. Eldred Dunstan, Jimmy Sparks and the veteran of South Africa Harry Barkell were others who took to the drink.”  (From Butler, R.L. (1980), “Clunes and District, Victoria : The impact of the Great War 1914-1919”. B.A. Honours Thesis, Department of History, University of N.S.W., Royal Military College, Duntroon).

Uncle “Ellie”, as he was known to my father, William Hudson, was a bootmaker in Clunes. He died in 1947 aged 56.

LEMONIA (LEMONA) IVY DUNSTAN (07/04/1893-1979)

 Lemonia Ivy Dunstan was born in Clunes in 1893. Her marriage to Rupert Stanley Spark (policeman) appears in the Victorian Register of Births, Deaths and Marriages for 1919. She would have been about 26 at the time. She died in Park in 1979 aged 85.

 Rupert Stanley Spark died in 1970 aged 75.

 JAMES HAROLD DUNSTAN (1895-1896)*

 James Harold Dunstan was born in Clunes in 1895 and died there aged 22 months in 1896.

THOMAS RUSSELL DUNSTAN (1898-1899)*

 Thomas Russell Dunstan was born in Clunes in 1898 and died there in 1899 aged 8 months.   He appears to be the source of the second name “Russell”, which has been passed down through the first-born boys of successive Hudson generations, commencing with the eldest son of Thomas Hudson and Laura Dunstan/Hudson, William Russell Hudson (1909-1973), to Douglas Russell Hudson (1939- ), and then to Michael Russell Hudson (1968- ).   In the next generation, George Bearne Russell Robertson continues the tradition.

 

Notes on the origin of the names:

Origin of name Dunstan.   No entry in “A handbook of Cornish Surnames, enlarged edition” by G. Pawley White (1972).   Short Runs Press Ltd, Exeter.

 Origin of name Prisk.   From prysk (bushes, brushwood).   Place name Prisk, Mullion.   Found in mid-west Cornwall.   From “A handbook of Cornish Surnames, enlarged edition” by G. Pawley White (1972).   Short Runs Press Ltd, Exeter.

 Origin of name Penaluna.   From pen - lynnow (end or head of pools).   Found in west Cornwall.   From “A handbook of Cornish Surnames, enlarged edition” by G. Pawley White (1972).   Short Runs Press Ltd, Exeter.