Elizabeth KING was one of the four daughters of Capt Philip Gidley KING RN, Lieutenant Governor of Norfolk Island, and later 3rd Governor of the Colony of New South Wales, and his wife Anna Josepha COOMBE. She appears in numerous online family trees, with wildly varying unsourced details of her birth, marriage, and death facts.
Some of those trees state that she was born in 1796, some in 1797. Some give the exact date as 10 Feb 1797, while others give 2 Oct 1797. The place of birth is sometimes stated to be Routh (Yorkshire, England); Sulawesi (Indonesia, specifically Central Sulawesi, also known as Sulawesi Tengah); Tengah, Central Kalimantan (Indonesia); Greenwich (Kent, England); at sea; Somerset (England); on board Contractor or Britannia; Indiana (USA); Norfolk Island (Australia); East Carroll (Ohio, USA); Richmond (Surrey, England); Bideford (Devon, England); and The Shoe (Wiltshire, England). This absurd situation surely highlights the imprudent practice of copying the work of others without bothering to cast a critical eye. Similar lists of dates and places of her marriage and death are also to be found, but let us not belabour the point with further useless detail.
Fortunately, good quality evidence is readily available to clarify the details of the events.
Author Marnie BASSETT wrote in her book The Governor's Lady: Mrs Philip Gidley King (Oxford University Press, 1940, London, page 34) that in April 1796 the KING family sailed aboard the Britannia and then the Contractor for England, and that during the voyage, daughter Elizabeth was born. The family evenually arrived in England in May 1797. (This source is cited on the Wikipedia page for Mrs KING.) BASSETT's statement omits the finer details.
Shortly after arriving in England, Capt KING wrote a letter to Secretary NEPEAN. Dated 9 May 1797, the letter gives the following details:
"The Britannia being chartered by Governor HUNTER to return to England, he allowed that ship to call for me at Norfolk Island. I embarked from thence the 22nd last October, arrived at the Cape the 15th, and left it the 26th Jan'y, in the Contractor, East India ship, and arrived at Plymouth the 6th inst't."Source: HRNSW, V3, p 206, image 250, http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-359069148 (image attached)
The "Cape" referred to was the Cape of Good Hope. Thus, we have some key dates for the timeline:
22 Oct 1796, departed Norfolk Island per Britannia
15 Jan 1797, arrived Cape of Good Hope
26 Jan 1797, departed Cape of Good Hope per Contractor (an East India Company ship)
6 May 1797, arrived Plymouth, England
Elizabeth was baptised 16 months later. The record reads:
"September 1798... Baptised 25 Elizh Daugr of Philip Jidley King a Captn in the Royal Navy & Anna Josepha Born Feb 10 1797"
Source: London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812, Greenwich, St Alfege, 1784-1812, image 83 of 140, ancestry.co.uk (image attached)
Thus, the correct date of birth is 10 Feb 1797, and placing this into the timeline of the voyage, we see that Elizabeth was born at sea aboard Contractor after departing the Cape of Good Hope and prior to arriving at Plymouth. This leg of the voyage took one hundred days, with the birth taking place on the fifteenth day, so an approximate place of birth can be estimated as Lat 20 S Long 6 E, off the coast of Namibia in the South Atlantic Ocean.
The Contractor's journals, ledgers, pay books, deck log, imprest book and absence book might be included in the archives of the British Library's Asian and African Studies section (as cited in The National Archives' catalog reference L/MAR/B/319), so it is possible that the birth might have been noted along with precise coordinates.
Details of her marriage are easily found online. The document reads:
"Marriages solemnized in Christ Church, in the Parish of St Mary-le-bone, in the County of Middlesex, in the Year One Thousand Eight Hundred and twenty-nine... Charles RUNCIMAN of the Parish of Paddington in the County of Middlesex a Widower and Elizabeth KING of the District-Rectory of Christ Church in the Parish of St Mary-le-bone in the same County a Spinster were married in this Church by Licence this First Day of October in the Year One thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine. By me W J HUTCHING MA Curate. This Marriage was solemnized between us Chas RUNCIMAN, Elizabeth KING (both signed), In the Presence of Francis RUNCIMAN, Benjn Edwd HALL, Sarah E G HALL, A J KING, T STILWELL Jr. No. 82."
Source: London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1938, Westminster, Saint Marylebone, Marylebone Road, 1825-1833, image 91 of 171, ancestry.co.uk (image attached)
Details of her death and burial are also readily available. Firstly, notices were published in the press:
"Died... On the 31st ult. at Dorking, Elizabeth, the wife of Charles RUNCIMAN, Esq. of Oxford-terrace, Edgeware-road."
Source: Morning Herald (London), 3 Sep 1831, page 4, findmypast.co.uk (image attached)
"Died... Aug. 30, at Dorking, Elizabeth RUNCIMAN, of Oxford-terrace, Edgware-road."
Source: Saint James's Chronicle, 3 Sep 1831, page 3, findmypast.co.uk (image attached)
The burial register reads:
"Burials in the Parish of Paddington in the County of Middlesex in the Year 1831...
No - 1930
Name - Elizabeth RUNCIMAN
Abode - Dorking, Surry (sic)
When buried - [September] 5
Age - 34
By whom the Ceremony was performed - Do [ditto for W K CLAY Curate]"Source: London, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-2003, Westminster, St Mary, Paddington Green, 1813-1832, image 418 of 447, ancestry.co.uk (image attached)
Note that William Keatinge CLAY was appointed as curate at Greenwich on 24 Dec 1823.
Source: theclergydatabase.org.uk
The attached illustration is of the family about 1800, shortly before their departure for New South Wales, where Capt KING succeeded Governor HUNTER. The illustration is based on a watercolour drawing by R DIGHTON.
Source: Illustrated Sydney News, Sat 19 Dec 1891, page 20, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63613489
So in summary, we can now state the facts about Elizabeth.
Birth - 10 Feb 1797 on board the Contractor, in the South Atlantic Ocean, probably off the coast of Namibia
Arrival - 6 May 1797 at Plymouth, England
Baptism - 25 Sep 1798 at St Alfege, Greenwich, Kent, England
Marriage - 1 Oct 1829 at Christ Church, Saint Mary-le-bone, Middlesex, England
Death - 30 or 31 Aug 1831 at Dorking, Surrey, England
Burial - 5 Sep 1831 at St Mary, Paddington, Middlesex, England
Sadly, if hopes are held that corrections will be made to hundreds of erroneous online trees, disappointment will be the likely outcome.
