The Lumtins and the Hamptons
Charles Lumtin (b. 10/11/1887, d. 31/10/1978) was born in the gold fields of western New South Wales, the son of a Chinese immigrant, Den Lumtin (b. 1843, d. 20/4/1928), and an Australian woman, Lavina Hampton (b. 1/12/1849, d. 16/6/1909).
Den Lumtin and his parents, Who Chumm (b. 1817, d. ?) and Ah Can (b. 1821, d. ?), were all born in Canton, China. Den Lumtin sailed to Australia in the 1860’s, settling around the western NSW gold fields.
Lavina Hampton was the daughter of James Hampton (b. 17/4/1822, d. 25/11/1890), born in Kent, England, and Bridget Spencer (b. 1820, d. 10/8/1883), an Irish convict who was transported to Australia on the Minerva (2) in 1839 for stealing clothes. They were married in Liverpool, NSW in 1845.
James was the son of a convict, William Hampton (b. 18/3/1791, d. 14/9/1859) who was convicted of stealing firewood and was transported to NSW on the ship, Lloyds, in 1837 aged 46. He left behind a wife, Mary Ann Muckaway (b.1795, d.22/1/1855), and 11 children in Kent, England.
In 1839 at the age of 17, James travelled with his uncle, Benjamin Hampton and his aunt Rebecca and their 4 children to Sydney on the ‘Cornwall’. James died in 1890 at Cordillera NSW. He broke his neck falling from a buggy.
Lum Den to Lumtin
Lum Den’s name means “continuous rain and electricity /lightning” in Cantonese and his brother, Lum Tin’s name, means “continuous rain and sky / heaven”. It appears that Lum Den adopted his brother’s name perhaps to honour him for a particular deed he did, thus fulfilling his filial duty according to Confucian customs.
And that’s why he named his son Charles LUM TIN.
The earliest Lum Tins
The earliest Lumtin ancestor we have found so far is Who Chumm, who was born in 1817 in Canton, China. It is not known whether Who Chumm ever went to Australia. His son, Lum Den sailed there in the 1860’s, settling around the western NSW gold fields.
The Staines and Dawes (family tree)
Fanny Matilda Staines (b. 16/1/1892, d. 2/4/1951) was the daughter of John Carroll Staines (b. 8/5/1848, d. 1920) and Alice Dawes (b. 23/11/1860, d. 1926). John Carroll was the son of a convict, Thomas Staines (b. 15/9/1811, d. 27/9/1852), who was convicted at Northampton, England for life and who had arrived in NSW in 1836, aged 25. Sadly, Thomas drowned while trying to cross a flooded river (Bell River, near Bathurst, NSW) to reach his pregnant wife. His son, John was only 4 years old.
Thomas married Christiana Catherine Kreig (b. 26/2/1818, d. 13/12/1859), a woman who had migrated to Australia via London from Achburg, Germany (in Wuttenberg province). After Thomas died, Christiana went on to remarry, and ran the Hibernian Hotel in Stuart Street, Bathurst up until her death in 1859.
Alice Dawes was the daughter of James Dawes (b. 17/6/1825, d. 8/9/1899) and Elizabeth Lewis (b. 1837, d. 9/10/1905). James was the son of a convict, William Dawes (b. 12/7/1791, d. 12/3/1859) who was convicted at the Old Bailey in 1819 for stealing a silver spoon and arrived in NSW in 1820.
William Dawes married Alice Randall (b. 1804, d. 27/7/1876) (James’ mother), the daughter of Susannah Ravenscroft (b. 18/5/1788, d. 24/10/1851). William and Alice are buried together in Camperdown cemetery in Church Street, Newtown, NSW. Their grave is the first inside the entrance. (See also photo below.)
Susannah married John Randall (b. 1779, d. 13/10/1859) – both were convicts – though it is believed that her daughter Alice’s father was actually Lieutenant Thomas Hobby, to whom Susannah was assigned when arriving at the colony. John was born in London and transported to Australia on the Ganges in 1797. He was buried at Jordan’s Hill (a place which is no longer in existence.) Susannah was also born in London, and was transported on the Experiment in 1804.
Alice Dawes‘ mother, Elizabeth Lewis, was the granddaughter of a convict, George Lewis (b. 29/1/1774, d. 18/5/1857) who married Sarah Frederick (b. 1783, d. 27/4/1871) in 1808 in Sydney.
Sarah arrived in Sydney in 1803 with her parents, Christopher and Mary, on the HMS Glatton. Christopher was a carpenter. George was transported on the Coromandel in 1799. George and Sarah had a son, William Lewis (b.1811, d.1846) who married Mary McQuade (b. 1817, d.1/7/1856), the mother of Elizabeth Lewis. Mary was a convict, apparently born in Malta but tried in Dublin and transported to NSW in 1833.