1853 immigration of Thomas and Frances GILES
On the 15th of November 1852 the Marian Moore sailed from Liverpool with assisted emigrants. The ship arrived at Melbourne on the 15th February 1853 after a 92 day voyage. [VPRS Assisted Immigrants from UK Ports, Marian Moore, Book 9, Page 32]

Passenger number 91 was Thomas GILES, aged 24 years, an agricultural laborer from Leicestershire.
Passenger number 92 was Frances GILES, aged 25, also from Leicestershire. Both were C of E, she could read and write and he could read only.
In the column for female children over 7 and under 14, listed in the same row as Frances, there appears to be a young Frances aged 8. (Nothing else is known of this child. The entry may have been misinterpreted.)

On the 28 Feb 1853 Thomas left the ship to work for Thomas NAPIER of Moonee Ponds Station. He was engaged for six months for wages of 70 pounds with rations provided.
Moonee Ponds was to the north west of Melbourne on the main track to the goldfields of Central Victoria. It was here that many travellers would break their journey and water their horses before making the decision to travel west to Ballarat or north to the Mount Alexander diggings.

1853 burial of Frances GILES, wife of Thomas GILES
Register No. 21644, Page 37, Burials in the Parish of St Mark, Melbourne in the County of Bourke in the Colony of Victoria, in the Year 1853. No. 539, Name: Frances GILES, Abode: Moonee Ponds, When Died: 20 May 1853, When Buried: 21 May 1853, Age: 25 Years, Quality or Profession: Wife of Thomas GILES, By whom the ceremony was performed: James A Clowes.

1854 re-marriage of Thomas GILES
Marriages solemnised in the District of Richmond, Entry No. 95/473 [Vic 1171] 7th June 1854 at St Stephen's Church, Richmond.

St Stephen's C of E, Richmond, Victoria, c1861

Thomas GILES, Widower, Date of decease of former Wife: 21st May 1852, Children by former Marriage: none, Birth Place: Goaby Marwood, Leicestershire, Great Britain, Rank or Profession: Drayman, Age: 26, Present and Usual Residence: Richmond, Parents: Charles GILES, Agricultural Labourer and Ann BURROWS (maiden surname).

Frances Ann BANKS, Widow, Date of decease of former husband: 17th December 1853, Children by former Marriage: Living none, Dead one, Birth Place: Whittington, Worcestershire, Rank or Profession: Service, Age: 23, Present and Usual Residence: Richmond, Parents: John OSBORNE, Blacksmith and Elizabeth PARTRIDE (maiden surname).
Married by Banns according to the rites of the United Church of England & Ireland by Charles Thomas PERKS, Officiating Minister, Encumbent of Richmond Church, in the presence of James William BRACEY who signed and William FOOT who made his mark. Thomas GILES made his mark and Frances Ann BANKS signed her name.

It seems a likely coincidence that Thomas GILES had a first wife named Frances and a second wife named Frances Ann. Shipping records and certificates provide 'facts' at face value but there are discrepancies to be considered.

• The burial of Frances wife of Thomas GILES on the 21 May 1853, fits with the shipping information in that she was 25 years of age and that they were living at Moonee Ponds where Thomas was engaged to work.
• The date of death of the first wife of Thomas GILES at his second marriage is stated to be 21 May 1852 (not 1853). If she did die in 1852 then she would have died 6 months before his departure from Britain. I think it most likely that her date of death was misstated and should have been recorded as 20 May 1853 as on the burial certificate.
• However we are then left with the problem of the 8 year old daughter on the Marian Moore as it was stated on the marriage certificate that there were no children of the first marriage of Thomas GILES. Was this an error by the shipping clerk? Was it another mixup on the marriage certificate? No death has been located in Victoria for an 8 year old Frances GILES in 1853-54.
• No first marriage of Thomas GILES to a Frances in Leicestershire, or all of Great Britain prior to 1853 has been found on the IGI.
• No shipping arrival of Mrs Frances Ann BANKS and her husband, with or without a child, assisted or unassisted from Great Britain has been found prior to her second marriage on 7 Jun 1854. Her first husband was said to have died on 17 December 1853. There is no suitable death entry in the Victorian Index for 1853 but as he died so late in the year, his death may have been registered in 1854. There is a death in 1854 for a Thomas Donald BANKS, aged 30, birthplace Keswick (Cumberland, England) parents unknown, [Vic 562] That is a low registration number but maybe not low enough and Keswick is a long way from Worcestershire which was the birthplace of Frances Ann OSBORNE BANKS.
• An extensive search of the IGI has not located a marriage of Frances Ann OSBORNE to BANKS in Worcestershire or all of Great Britain. There were BANKS families in Tasmania but nothing of interest to this matter.
• I believe we cannot ignore the 1853 burial certificate of Frances GILES, but if we did, another scenario could be that the Frances GILES aged 25 on the Marian Moore was in reality, still Mrs BANKS and that she and Thomas GILES were romantic runaways seeking a new life together in a new land with the child of the BANKS marriage. No death has been located in Victoria for child of a Mrs Frances BANKS in 1853-54.
• If the 'romantic runaways' scenario were true Mr BANKS could have died in England but that still leaves us with no death in Victoria of the 8 year old female child on the shipping.

There is also a problem with the ages of Frances Ann OSBORNE BANKS GILES:

• The Frances Ann OSBORNE BANKS who m Thomas GILES on 7 Jun 1854 was aged 23, Native Place: Whittington, Worcestershire. To be aged 23 in 1854 she would have been born in 1831.
• Frances Ann OSBORNE was christened on 21 Jun 1835 Whittington, Worcestershire, England d/o John OSBORNE and Elizabeth [IGI Batch Number: C046211 extracted from parish records] The christening pattern in this family would indicate that an 1830-31 birth for Frances Ann was not likely.
• But the death certificate of Frances Ann GILES ms OSBORNE, formerly BANKS at the age of 56 years on 8 Jun 1886 also indicates a birth year of 1830 which tallies with the age at marriage. Was her age underestimated by about 4 years at her marriage and at her death?
• The Frances GILES on the Marian Moore in 1853 was aged 25 years, Native Place: Leicestershire and therefore would have been born in 1828. Her daughter Frances would have been born 1845 when her mother was aged 17.
• If the 'romantic runaways' scenario were true and it was Frances Ann OSBORNE BANKS GILES with an 8 year old daughter on the Marian Moore in 1853 then there is an even bigger problem with her age.
• If Frances Ann OSBORNE was born in 1834 then she would have been 11 years of age when the daughter on the shipping was born in 1845. (so not possible)
• If Frances Ann OSBORNE was born in 1830 then she would have been 15 when the daughter on the shipping was born in 1845. (so not likely)

This explains why I think it is unlikely that Frances Ann OSBORNE was on the Marian Moore. However there were several passengers on the Marian Moore by the name of BANKS (not a Frances). Perhaps George GILES met the second Frances through them. Let's hope that more information will be forthcoming. Any help would be much appreciated.

THOMAS GILES aged 42 yrs of Coghills Creek, Married, Labourer, Anglican, was admitted to the Ballarat Hospital 9 Jun 1870. He was discharged on 11 Aug 1870 after a period of 9 wks in hospital. Everingham & Co recommended his admission, most likely his employer for an accident. His birthplace was Leicestershire and he had been living in Victoria for 17 yrs. [Ballarat Base Hospital Admissions Register 1856-1913]

THOMAS GILES died in March 1897 aged 71 years at Ballarat s/o of Alfred GILES/unknown [Vic 274] (Informant was wrong about the father's name being Alfred. It was Charles). Thomas GILES was buried 4 March 1897 in C of E section of Glendaruel Cemetery. [Entry 83]

Frances Ann GILES [ms OSBORNE, formerly BANKS] died of a heart condition on 8 June 1886 aged 56 years at Coghill's Creek and was buried 11 June 1886 in C of E section of Glenaruel Cemetery. [Entry 375] Her death certificate states that her Father was John OSBORNE, Blacksmith, Mother not known. The informant was Thomas GILES, Farmer, Husband, Coghills Creek. He made his mark. Frances Ann was married to Thomas GILES at Richmond, Melbourne at the age of 26 years (it was 23 on the marriage certificate). There was no mention of a previous marriage. She had lived for 33 years in Victoria. (Arrived 1853) Children were listed as: George 30, Eliza 27, Lydia 25, William 22, Annie 20 and Alfred 17 years. [Certificate No 4925] There was a Magisterial Inquiry into her death.

Inquiry into the death of Frances Ann GILES

Children of Thomas GILES and Frances Ann OSBORNE