Mr. G. BEWKER

Recently I found some documents in the S.A. State Library archives relating to the 1849 voyage of the Abberton from London to Pt Adelaide. They are related to the ship's surgeon, Mr Charles Jennings. They include a letter he wrote home to his family in London giving details of the voyage, his contract of employment with the Agents for the ship, and details of the rules and regulations and his responsibilities that tell a great deal about life onboard. Most exciting was a letter of thanks signed by nearly all the passengers in their own hand, sent to the surgeon who proved to be a kind and caring doctor. My ancestors were among the signatories - George Bowker and Eliza Bowker. (not Bewker). I have compiled a list of all the names in the letter and matched them against the list that appeared in the South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900), Wednesday 24 October 1849, page 3. There are quite a few differences in spellings of names. Some signatures include more christian names and names for some of the 'wives' and 'children. I will try to add the information on individual pages. The documents in the library are D8547 (L) and D8551/1 (Misc).