J is for James Bishop Bradshaw. James Bishop Bradshaw was the second husband of my third great grandmother and as such not directly related to me by blood. But has such an interesting background that I just can’t help but research him.

James was born around 1829 in Madras, India to Matthew and Ann Bradshaw. James was the second surviving child born to the couple, with James’ elder brother Matthew being born in 1827 in Madras, India. I don’t know a lot about the rest of James’ early life, but family stories relate that he was orphaned at an early age and he and his brother Matthew were placed in the Fort St. George Orphanage in Madras. Apparently, when James was aged 12 and Matthew aged 14 the orphanage put out a call for any boys of use European descent willing to emigrate to Australia. James and Matthew volunteered and left India on 30 October 1841 on board the British Sovereign.

On their arrival, the boys were placed in the orphan school at Liverpool before being apprenticed out. Apparently, the boys were treated badly by their master. James’ obituary relates that the two boys decided they would not put up with their maltreatment any longer and ran away into the bush. Despite separating from each other in an attempt to make it harder for the authorities to catch them, the boys were eventually caught. However, they pleaded their case before the judge and the judge found that the master had been unusually cruel to the two boys and they received no punishment fro running away.

They were apprenticed again and this time all ended happily, with James being employed by one person for half his life before moving on to another employer. James went on to marry later in life and raised a family with my third great grandmother before dying at the age of 73.

I think perhaps the two boys must have heard stories about Australia and its charms to willingly volunteer to emigrate to a country so different from the one they knew in India. Or perhaps they thought it couldn’t be any worse than the orphanage in which they were living at the time. Whatever the case, I believe they were better off for coming to Australia. Had they remained in India, who knows where they would have ended up. Yes, there may have been a chance that a British family in India would have adopted one or both of them but conversely as orphans they may have ended up conscripted into the British army.