Frances is not to be found with her husband in the 1841 census but is in the 1851 Census at 2 Belle Vue Terrace
Hornsea Middx
News Paper
Frances is not to be found with her husband in the 1841 census but is in the 1851 Census at 2 Belle Vue Terrace Hornsea Middx
Sarah Midcalf Servant Unmarried
Female 28 born 1828
General servant Black Notley, Essex, England
Author : Tom Raabe (IP: 123.200.238.74 , 123.200.238.74)
E-mail : Olafbrisbane@gmx.com
URL :
Whois :
http://whois.arin.net/rest/ip/123.200.238.74Comment:
Strong evidence has surfaced concerning the location of the wreck of Green's Blackwall Liner Madagascar, which disappeared in August 1853 after sailing out of Hobson's Bay (at that time, the name of the port of Melbourne, Australia). Some of you may be aware of the tragedy that had befallen the wife of Rivoire Edward De Carteret, Frances Elizabeth Tolcher, who was a passenger on board this ship with the three young children of the couple. It may be possible to help prove that the wreck in question is indeed the Madagascar and what the circumstances concerning the tragic disappearance were, if an artefact which has been found could perhaps be identified as belonging to a passenger. It could of course be from any of the first class passengers, but may even have been in the possession of Frances. Perhaps an old family portrait exists somewhere, depicting this rather rare artefact. If any family member is interested in assisting or finding out more,
All the evidence seems to confirm the suspicion that had been held at the time that there was a mutiny, probably led by bushranger John Frances, who had been allowed to sail on this ship after turning "Queen's Evidence" and betraying his brother and other gang members for their part in the McIvor escort robbery.
There is much diverse evidence now pointing to the wreck in the swamp being the remains of the Madagascar. The object I'm referring to is this one, the walking stick knob. Not found at the wreck, but a few km nearby in a location possibly also associated with the mutiny. Some people have claimed it to be "Spanish", but I think it more resembles a representation of a Norman helmet. The type of thing that could have been proudly carried by Rivoire Edward De Carteret and possibly passed on to Frances, on board the Madagascar, among his personal effects?
The Madagascar's Final Voyage[edit]
Due to the Victorian Gold Rush the Madagascar was sent to Melbourne with emigrants under the command of Captain Fortescue William Harris. She left Plymouth on 11 March 1853 and, after an uneventful passage of 87 days, reached Melbourne on 10 June. Fourteen of her 60 crew jumped ship for the diggings, and it is believed only about three replacements were signed on. She then loaded a cargo that included wool, rice and about two tonnes of gold valued at £240,000, and took on board about 110 passengers for London.
On Wednesday 10 August, just as she was preparing to sail, police went on board and arrested a bushranger John Francis who was later found to have been one of those responsible for robbing the Melbourne Private Escort between the McIvor goldfield (Heathcote, Victoria) and Kyneton on 20 July. On the following day two others were arrested, one on board the ship and the other as he was preparing to board. As a result of these arrests the Madagascar did not leave Melbourne until Friday 12 August 1853 and after leaving Port Phillip Heads she was never seen again.
When the ship became overdue many theories were floated, including spontaneous combustion of the wool cargo, hitting an iceberg and, most controversially, being seized by criminal elements of the passengers and/or crew and scuttled after the gold was stolen and the remaining passengers and crew were murdered.
In the Digital book 'The Silent Moon' Smashwords 2012.(ISBN 9780646583877) The author uses considerable research that connects the sinking of the Madagascar to the infamous South Sea pirate 'Bully Hayes'. The story told in this book also identifies a passenger that was involved in the McIvor Escort robbery. The author identifies a location off the coast of Chile as the place where the research indicates the ship was sunk by the crew led by Bully Hayes.
The Madagascar in Legend and Fiction[edit]
In 1872 rumours of a supposed death-bed confession by a man who "knew who murdered the captain of the Madagascar" were first published. Over the next century many purely fictional stories based on this rumour have been published (being mentioned by authors of such reputation as Basil Lubbock and James A. Michener). Most 20th-century versions state that the death-bed confession was by a woman passenger who was taken by the mutineers and by implication raped, and was too ashamed of what had happened to her to confess beforehand.