The Family of Frances Jane Avice KEITHFrances KEITH was the second youngest of the eight children of Daniel KEITH and Jane McPHERSON (see Daniel's story here). She was born 16 May 1807, probably at Summer Hill House, St George, Bristol, England and was baptised 19 August 1807 at St Georges Church, Bristol. She accompanied her parents when they moved to Kent House, Hammersmith, London and survived the Typhoid that killed her father and two siblings in early 1811. She travelled to Canada with her mother but returned with them to England, proably back to Bristol. Her mother died at St George, Bristol in 1824 when Frances was only 17. On 25 April 1825 she and her younger sister Jessica Amelia accompanied their brother Edward Joseph and his new wife Anne on board the ship Mountaineer when it sailed from Plymouth for Sydney, Australia. The ship went by way of Cape Town, departing there on 5th September 1825. The Mountaineer then called into Hobart Town, where it arrived on 24 October, remained for nearly a month before departing for Sydney on 19th November. The shipping events were recorded in the local newspapers. Note the difference: a Mr Martin departed in Hobart. Was he Robert Montgomery Martin, Frances's future husband?
Marriage to Robert Montgomery MARTIN EsqAlmost 12 months after arriving in Sydney and now just 18 years old, Frances Jane Avice married Robert Montgomery MARTIN in St James Church, Sydney on 13th November 1826. It is likely that this was the same Mr Martin whom as a passenger accompanied the Keith family from Cape Town to Hobart on the ship Mountaineer a year earlier. Martin was born about 1801 in Dublin, Ireland to Protestant parents John Martin and Jane Hawkins. He trained as a doctor (supposedly at Edinburgh Univeristy but he is not listed in their graduates), went out to Ceylon then joined an expedition around the coast of Africa in a temporary capacity as assistant surgeon, serving also as botanist and naturalist on the south-east coast of Africa, Madagascar, and Indian Ocean islands. On 10 November 1824 Martin left the expedition at Mombassa, and by way of Mauritius made his way back to the Cape. That would have been around mid-1825 at about the same time that Frances and her siblings on the Mountaineer were recovering from their ordeal sailing from Plymouth to Cape Town. He appears to have sailed on to Australia with the Keith family, either providently taking the same ship or deliberately embarking in order to woo Frances.
No children of the marriageOther researchers of the KEITH and MARTIN families have found the birth of a "Robert MARTIN" to Robert and Jane MARTIN, born 26 February 1834 at Parramatta, Sydney and attributed this birth to Montgomery Martin and Frances. Although Robert Montgomery Martin, a "respected medical practitioner" had lived at Parramatta during 1827 (Letter to the Editor, The Gleaner Thursday 26 April 1827) there is no evidence that this was a child of Montgomery and Frances Jane. In fact, according to later evidence given by Montgomery Martin in 1847, he and Frances did not have any children. In addition, Montgomery and Frances left Australia in 1828. Montgomery returned to India around the end of 1828, lived there for a year, before returning to England in 1830. As they were, according to Montgomery, in England by 1831, the child born in 1834 in Sydney could not have been theirs. Divorce by way of Private ActJumping forward a few years, newspapers in Australia reported that Montgomery Martin was suing for a divorce from Frances.
Unusually, as Mr Martin was not a wealthy man, the divorce case proceeded by way of a private Bill through the House of Lords. Clearly Martin had friends of influence who were able to pursuade the Lords to hear the case. The divorce was necessitated by Martin's desire to marry Miss Eliza BARRON, which he did soon after the divorce Bill was enacted [Private Act 1847 c46]. The case was reported in the newspapers. The Sydney Herald Fri 2 Jul 1847 p.4 published this report:
A full report of the proceedings was published in The Globe, London, Wednesday, March 10, 1847:
Thus it would appear that Jane travelled with Montgomery, first to India and then on to England, where they lived in The Strand. They met John Sheridan, perhaps as both men purported to have medical qualifications. Sheridan resided with them for a while but on 31 October 1831 he and Frances Jane eloped, to be found in Pimlico, London in 1833. Note that in Jessica's testimony she arrived back in London in 1833. In the 1841 census she was living with her sister-in-law Ann Keith in Camden Road, which is close to Clerkenwell where her sister Frances was living. Read the biography of Robert Montgomery Martin hereChildren of Frances Jane and John SHERIDANLater evidence of the family in Australia makes it clear that John and Frances had four children but when and where were they born? The 1841 census and baptismal records cast some light on this problem. The family is recorded in the 1841 census at 21 Cobourg St, Clerkenwell. The family is indexed as Steradan. Cobourg St no longer exists, but was close to what is now the Islington Museum and a block north of St James Church, Clerkenwell. We must assume that the "Keith" was in fact Frances Jane KEITH even though her age is wrong. The youngest child is only 7 weeks old. The census was taken on 6 June 1841, so the child was born around 11-18 April but had not been named 7 weeks later. The date would indicate the child is Alice Frances Keith, but the age is shown in the column for males. This may be a mistake by the enumerator. Alternatively, was this an unnamed child that died soon after the census? The census record confirms that at least John and Reginald were born in London.
Baptismal records: There are baptismal records for John and Reginald, at St James, Clerkenwell. Their parents were John and Frances and their address was Cobourg St, the same address as in the 1841 census. Although both were baptised on 21 June 1840, the dates of birth are included. From this and other evidence, John and Frances had 4 children. The older two were born before civil registration began in England, but Alice and perhaps Violet should have been recorded. They appear not to have been registered. We do know that John and Frances emigrated to Adelaide in 1849, accompanied by "two children". John and Frances had 3 or 4 children by this date. The newspaper report also includes "JB Shendon" who would be John Beal Sheridan. This suggests either the youngest child, Violet Laura was born in Australia; one of the children did not travel with John and Frances; or the shipping report is in error.
Travel to Adelaide: About 2 years after the divorce, Jane Frances and John Sheridan emigrated to Adelaide. They travelled on the barque Constant, arriving 23 December 1849. The newspapers reported "John Sheridon, wife and two children". There was also a "JB Shendon", which would have been John Beal SHERIDAN, their third child. Note that they were accompanied by Dudley KEITH, Frances's nephew (son of Edward Joseph and Ann Boleyn). There is no record of Violet Laura SHERIDAN on board, suggesting she was born in South Australia after they arrived.
Life in AdelaideJohn SHERIDAN was a flawed character. There are several reports of his being drunk and a dangerous lunatic, such as these appearances in court in the months after they had arrived in Adelaide.
A few years later, John Sheridan seems to have sorted himself out and tried his hand as a teacher.
John and Frances settled in north Adelaide, living in later years at "Keith House", 50 MacKinnon Parade. Frances opened a school at the address and later gifted the property to form the Keith Sheridan Institute. Today the property has reverted back to a private house.
Death of John SheridanPerhaps not surprisingly, John Sheridan died at MacKinnon Parade on 17 April 1858. He was 53 years old. As far as the records tell, he never did marry Frances Jane.
The family continued to live at MacKinnon Parade, running the school there. In 1867 they had 68 pupils.
Death of Frances Jane Avice Keith SHERIDANFrances died on 14 January 1882. The death notice refers to her 2 sons but not the 2 daughters.
The Sheridan family are all buried in the West Terrace Cemetery, John and Frances in one grave and their son John Beal in the adjacent plot. John Sheridan's headstone is weatered and difficult to read. It reads in part: JOHN SHERIDAN M.D. Formerly Editor of the Morning Advertiser, London.
The Children of Frances Jane and John SHERIDANJohn Beal SHERIDANBorn 9 January 1835 in London, baptised 21 June 1840 at St James, Clerkenwell, London. His name is intriguing; the John refers to his father John Sheridan, but what is the significance of the "Beal"? It is an unusual spelling - might it have a family connection?
Known as JB Sheridan, he emigrated to Adelaide in 1849 with his parents John and Frances. There he became a lawyer, married Emma BROWN and they had 2 children (John Reginald born 28 Oct 1885 and Catherine (later Katharine) Keith born 10 April 1888). JB died in Adelaide on 20 March 1906 and is buried at West Terrace Cemetery, Adelaide.
There is more about John Beal and his family hereReginald SHERIDANReginald was born 22 April 1837 in London and baptised at St James Clerkenwell on 21 June 1840 at the same time as his older brother.
He entered the printing trade in Adelaide. He did not marry and died 8 November 1882 in Adelaide aged 45 years. It appears he left his estate to his sister Alice. He is buried with his parents. Alice Frances Keith SHERIDANAlice was born in April 1841 in London, but her birth does not appear to have been registered. She emigrated with her family to Adelaide in 1849. She often referred to herself as A.F. Keith Sheridan. Like her mother she became a school teacher at "Keith House" at 50 MacKinnon Parade, Adelaide, continuing to run the school after her mother died in 1882. By 1901 she had become fascinated with the Keith family history, writing to the Registrar of St Andrews Univerity seeking information about her grand-father Daniel Keith. The letters dated 18 October, 14, 20 & 26 November, 1901 state she was visiting Britain at the time.
It would appear that the Misses Sheridan were well-known in Adelaide society. This newspaper report is from 1888.
One of Miss AF Keith Sheridan's literary endeavours was translating material into English. She was noted as the first person in South Australia to translate some of the works of Hans Christian Andersen from Danish into English. She had the work published privately by the printing firm of G. Scrymgour & Sons, the printing works that had until recently been owned by her brother Reginald.
Alice Frances Keith SHERIDAN died 25 November 1922 and is buried at West Terrace Cemetery, Adelaide. An obituary was published in The Register, Adelaide.
Violet Laura SHERIDANFrom various sources, Violet was born about 1847. For instance the transcript of her death record in 1921 shows her age as 74, her place of birth as Middlesex, England and length of residence in Australia as 72 years. Despite this knowledge she does not appear in birth registers in England. Violet was aged about 41 when she married Alfred Muller SIMPSON at St Johns Church, Adelaide on 23 August 1888. Alfred was a widower, his first wife (Catherine ALLEN) having died in 1887. Violet and John did not have any children.
Alfred died in Adelaide on 28 September 1917.
Violet died in North Adelaide on 28 June 1921. She did not have any children. She left her estate to her sister Alice Frances. Their combined estates, valued at £30,000 wer left to various charities (see below) The Sheridan EstateBetween them, the four Sheridan siblings inherited and amassed a relatively large estate. Alice and Violet inherited the property at 50 MacKinnon Terrace from their mother as well as the printing business interests of their brother Reginald. This included a property at the corner of Grote St and Victoria Square, in the heart of Adelaide. Neither sister had children and they both outlived their brothers. According to reports, the sisters decided to leave their share of the estate to the other sister and for the combined estate to be left to various educational and charitable interests. These bequests were reported in the papers after Alice's death in 1922.
The property at 50 MacKinnon Parade was to become the "Keith Sheridan Institute". It was officially opened in 1926.
The estate also contributed £2,000 to establish a new kindergarten in Cairns St. This kindergarten was later expanded to become the Halifax St Childcare Centre. The Keith Shreidan Kindergarten at the rear, was demolished in 1983 to become the playground.
Some of the estate went towards the erection of a tea kiosk at the Adelaide Hospital. It was opened in 1925 by the city's leading dignitaries, including Mr Allen Simpson a city alderman, and the step-son of Violet Laura.
The Sheridan Kiosk had a long history as a kiosk, but was in more recent times converted to offices for the hospital's Research Office. It sprouted air conditioning units on the outside and the windows were modifed, but the overall shape and the distinctive roof dome remained. Today the Kiosk is a registered historic building, but is surrounded by chaos as the now-closed hospital awaits a decision on its future.
Return to the Daniel Keith Family Index Page Return to the Benton Family Index Page Last updated: 20 May 2020 |
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