Originally I did not have a very detailed history of the life of my grandmother Robina Florence Henderson or of her family. Her mother Mary Anne Hodgkiss (some records have the name Hodkin or Hodgkins) was the daughter of Thomas William Hodgkiss born 1838 who married Elizabeth Jane Mitchell born 1844. Elizabeth and her first daughter Jane Hodgkiss drowned whilst crossing the Don River in Devonport Tasmania on the 17/10/1864 when Mary Anne, born 7th July 1863 at Pt. Sorell, Launceston, Tasmania was 15 months old. Due to this tragic loss Mary Anne Hodgkiss was raised by her mother's sister Mary Anne Mitchell and her husband Thomas Drake. Her father Thomas Hodgkiss later married Mary Heywood born 1849 in 1868 at the Church St George Pt. Sorrell Launceston Tasmania.

It appears that John Henderson born 1825 and his wife Mary Dogherty born 1823, John Neil Henderson's parents came to Australia some time between 1845 and 1854 but this is not known at this stage.

I have found the following John Henderson's who entered Port Phillip during that time.

JOHN HENDERSON Aged 26 arriving JUL 1852 on the ship CHOWRINGHEE.

JOHN HENDERSON Aged 25 arriving NOV 1852 on the ship NORTHUMBERLAND

JOHN HENDERSON Aged 28 arriving DEC 1854 on the ship EARL OF EGLINTON

J. HENDERSON Adult arriving OCT 1852 on the ship LADY FITZHERBERT

Robina's parents John Neil Henderson and Mary Anne Hodgkiss's first child, John Henderson, was born in Ballarat Victoria in 1887. Ballarat and Bendigo in Victoria were thriving gold mining towns at that time and many people had come from overseas to try their luck in a new harsh land. Their children were John Henderson 1887 - ?, Fanny May Henderson 1890 - ?, Alfred Henderson ? - 6/7/1952, Robina Florence Henderson 1892 - 1957, and William Gladstone Henderson born in Launceston Tasmania in 1898 - 1/5/1918.

During their marriage John and Mary Anne had lived in Ballarat Victoria, Majorca Victoria, Queenstown Tasmania and Smeaton in Victoria. Robina met and married her husband George Lawson in Queenstown Tasmania. Some time after 1920 Robina and her husband left Queenstown and moved to Richmond Victoria.

On the 10th July 2003 I received an email from Ross Crichton from Scotland with more details on the history of our lines of the Henderson families.

Our great grandfather John Neil was the son of John Henderson and Mary Dogherty who were married in 1854 in Bendigo Victoria. They had 2 children that we know of to date named William and John Neil.

Through Ross we know something of the life of John Henderson's brother Neil Henderson who was born in Dumbartonshire in 1828. He married Robina Michie born 9/10/1826 in Glasgow on 14 July 1848. They had at least seven children together before Robina died on 2/12/1874. Neil eventually married again after his wife's death in 1874 and although he married a Scotswoman, by 1880, he resided in Cohoes, New York State. Ross found his Census entry and with him and his new wife, there are two of his younger children, Robina and Mary Ann. Robina married a Martin Devoe and it was this cousin that my great uncle Alfred was in touch with judging by his letter. Ross doesn't know when Neil Henderson died, only that it was after 1880 and in the USA. His other son, John, Ross'g.g.g.grandfather was a regular visitor to the States. He eventually returned to Scotland where he died in 1918.

Robina Michie is probably the woman after whom Robina Florence Henderson our own grandmother would have been named. Robina Michie was born in an East Lothian village called Prestonkirk on the 09 Oct 1826 to William Michie and Mary Learmont. Her father William was living in Canongate Edinburgh when he married but it is possible that his family came originally from Aberdeenshire. The more definite line is that of Robina's mother, Mary Learmont. She was the daughter of Peter Learmont, a ploughman who married Janet Culbert or Cuthbert on 27 June 1788. Janet was born in a coastal village called Oldhamstocks in 1765.

Robina Michie was baptised on 24/11/1826 and had the following siblings - Ann Michie 10/3/1808, Mary Michie 8/6/1813, Margaret Campbell Michie 14/4/1816, Jane Gordon Michie 24/8/1819, and Isabele Gordon Michie 23 Jan 1823 Note : Ross thinks these dates are Baptism dates.

Back to the Hendersons briefly - After Neil, there is no real certainty. Ross traced Neil's family indirectly by tracing the ancestors of his relations in the States. However, this does not prove Neil's direct descent and Ross is only 50% certain he has the right line. If it is the right line, it goes back through various Walter and William Hendersons to the late 1600s in Campsie and Kirkintilloch."

Our Great Uncle William Gladstone Henderson listed below was killed in action in World War I on the 1st May 1918 in Borre France. He was a member of the AIF 12th battalion from Queenstown Tasmania. His AIF registration number was 7740. William Gladstone Henderson is buried in Grave A6 Le Peuplier Military Cemetery, Caestre, France along with 106 of his fallen comrades.

George Lawson our grandfather was also a member of the AIF 12th battalion from Queenstown Tasmania. It is not known if William and George were friends but it is possible that George met Robina Florence Henderson (William's sister) as a result of knowing William. George Lawson who left the AIF on 20/5/1919 married Robina Henderson in 1920.

Thanks Ross for all of this fabulous information your efforts are very much appreciated.

SEE ALSO LAWSON FAMILY AUSTRALIA

IMPORTANT NAMES AND DATES