Penelope Warland born 1738 / John Place - Links with Australia

Note: Some of the information on this page was provided by Jennie Andrews in Australia.

Penelope Warland (1738 - ?) was the daughter of Robert Warland (1694 - 1758) and Ann King (1701 - 1784). (See link for names of her siblings).

Penelope Warland married John Place (1730 - 1800) on 1 or 7 November 1766 at St Andrews, Kinson, Bournemouth, Dorset. Witness to the wedding were Mary Dean and Anna Austen. John Place may have been the son of Conyers Place and Magdalene Glisson although this is not proven and is speculation.

John and Penelope Place had one child:

Family of Mathew Wasse Place (1777 - 1834)

Mathew Wase/Wasse Place married Frances Growden Jeffery (6 May 1788 - 10 Dec 1864) on 8 or 26 April 1808 in Lytchett Matravers, Dorset, England. They had the following children:

From around 1817 - Thomas Gorton Coombe

Based on the birth years of his children listed below, Thomas Gorton Coombe (born 1792), a surgeon, married Anne Adams (born 1796) on 15 April 1817 in Newcastle-Under-Lyme, Staffordshire. Anne may (and may not) have been the daughter of William and Sarah Adams, baptised 5 July 1799 in Blymhill St Mary, Staffordshire. They had the following children, all baptised in the same location:

1835 - Death of Thomas Gorton Coombe

The surgeon Thomas Gorton Coombe (born 1792) died at Newcastle-Under-Lyme in 1835. It is not yet known if Anne re-married; if the above details are correct, only two sons (Robert G and Thomas) and possibly one daughter Mary Anne were still alive at this time.

1838 - George Augustus Place, Wimborne Surgeon, in the news

George Augustus Place was the surgeon at the Wimborne Workhouse from March 1838, after he won a tender, until his resignation in August the same year. According to a news article, he resigned because of conflict between him and the Poor Law Guardians. The article, quoting researcher Margaret Roebuck, states 'It seems the guardians had attempted, illegally, to insist that medical officers should, in the absence of a colleague, attend the colleague's patients'. At an acrimonious meeting held on 30 July 1838, George was accused of not fulfilling his contract and resigned within the week.

In December 1838, after an outbreak of smallpox in the workhouse, letters - later attributed to George A Place - appeared in the Times and Standard newspapers criticising the working of the New Poor Law and citing the poor management of Wimborne's smallpox outbreak as an example. On the day the letter appeared, Wimborne residents held a public meeting to demand that steps be taken to prevent the disease spreading. The Poor Law Commissioners sent their assistant commissioner to investigate and his report exonterated the guardians.

George Augustus Place was not satisified, however, and publicly accused the guardians of negligence. A second report exonerated the guardians and George published an address to the local people, claiming that vital evidence had been omitted, altered or reported incorrectly. George's portrait is held by the Priest's House Museum in Wimborne.

1841 census

George Augustus Place was recorded in the 1841 census at Wimborne Minster. He died in 1843 aged only 31.

Anne Coombe has not yet been identified in the 1841 census unless she is the one recorded at Waterbeach, Chesterton, Cambridgeshire that year. Others in that location include a Thomas Coombe (born 1821) - census records need to be checked.

Robert Gorton Coombe (born 1818) may be the Thomas Coombe (born 1815) recorded at St Giles Camberwell, Camberwell, London, possibly studying medicine. This needs checking as he appears to have joined a ship in June 1841 in Ireland, see below.

1841 - Robert Gordon Coombe travels to Australia

Sometime in May or June 1841, the 23 year old Robert Gordon Coombe joined the barque 'Enmore' as a Surgeon Superintendent in Cork, Ireland. The Enmore, under Captain James Henry Ellis, left Cork, Ireland on 9 June 1841 with a total of 107 people, bound for Melboune, Australia. According to the Fanning family history site, the ship's Irish agent had to allow only people who were married or single and under 40 years of age. Each passenger had to have a certificate from their home parish certifying these details. All the passengers were brought out as 'bounty' migrants by James Cain of Melbourne. The Enmore arrived in Port Philip on 4 October 1841 and docked at Hobsons Bay, Geelong. An advertisement in the Port Phillip Patriot and Melbourne Advertiser dated 7 October 1841 noted that 'parties requiring servants (from this ship and one other) will please apply'.

It seems very likely that Robert G Coombe spent some time after arrival in the Geelong area. This (and the gold rush) may have influenced his decision to return in around 1853 - see below. Another factor may have been the migration to Australia of his wife's second cousins Eliza Harris (nee Warland) who migrated ro Sydney in 1844, and her brother Henry Warland who migrated ro Melbourne in 1853.

The Enmore departed Hobson's Bay on 2 February 1841, bound for London with 1,150 bales of wool and 2,150 bullock horns. It is not known if Robert G Coombe was on board the ship or travelled on another one. Outgoing passenger records do not exist for that time, only newspaper shipping records, and these provide no clues.

1843 - Mary Anne Place marries Robert G Coombe

Mary Anne Place (1809 - 1864), the first child of Matthew Wasse Place and Frances (nee Jeffrey) married the surgeon Robert Gorton Coombe (1818, Newcastle-Under-Lyme, Staffordshire - 1903) at Wimborne Minster on 27 December 1843. Mary's father was recorded as Matthew Wase Place.

Robert Gorton and Mary Coombe had the following children:

1851 census

In the 1851 census, Robert Gorton Coombe (baptised 1818) is listed aged 34 as a surgeon and apothecary living in Upwell Town, Upwell Isle, Wisbech, Norfolk, UK along with the following family members.

By 1853 - Robert and Mary Ann Coombe migrate to Victoria, Australia

Robert and Mary Coombe migrated to Australia sometime after the 1851 census and went to live in the Mount Moriac area, just west of Geelong, Victoria. So far, no record has been found of the arrival of this family in either the assisted or unassisted passenger lists, but the unassisted lists only start in 1852.

Robert Gorton Coombe, 'surgeon' was reported in the Geelong Advertiser and Intelligencer of 13 October 1853 giving evidence into the death of Augustus Hinke, a German servant worker at the Berremonga Vineyard, Barrabool Hills, who was murdered on the night of 8 October.

Robert G Coombe, medical practitioner, was also recorded in the Geelong Advertiser and Intelligence on 26 October 1853 giving evidence into the death of Catherine Ball who was burned to death in an accident.

1856 - Refernces to Dr Coombe and Death of Mary Anne Coombe (nee Place)

The Geelong Advertiser and Intelligencer of 13 and 15 March 1856 carried an advertisement from Lascelles and Tannock for the sale of 20 head of draught colts and fillies, under instructions from R G Coombe Esq.

The Geelong Advertiser and Intelligencer of 16 May 1856 contains a list of people entitled to vite on the election of a member of the Legislative Aasembly for the District of South Grant, Division of Mount Moriac. The list included Robert Gorton Coombe, gentleman at Mount Moriac, living on leasehold land; given the next reference, it is not clear if perhaps Dennys owned the land.

Charles John Dennys of Mouth Moriac wrote a letter to the editor of The Argus on 30 June 1856. The letter was published on 2 July 1856. The letter is titled 'The cost of growing wheat'. In a postscript, Dennys wrote 'This last season the same machine was tried on favorable flat land occupied by my neighbour, Dr Coombe, but the heavy ears of his maiden crop fell over the sides making great waste and its work was stopped.' This helps to identify the actual location of Coombe's property.

1856 - Death of Mary Anne Coombe (nee Place)

Mary Anne Coombe (nee Place)(born 1810), the wife of Robert Gorton Coombe, died on 1 August 1856 in Mount Moriac, Barrabool, Victoria, Australia (VIC BDM Ref 3916/1856, shows her husband as Robert Gordon Coombe and her parents as Mathew W Place and Frances Growden (unknown)). Mary Ann Coombe was buried in the Geelong Eastern Cemetery, Church of England Old Section, A, Grave 36. Her gravestone reads 'Sacred to the Memory of Mary Anne Coombe of Barrabool who died August 1st 1856. Erected by her husband as a tribute to her many virtues and her noble character'.

Gravestone of Mary Anne Coombe

1857 - Robert Gorton Coombe returns to the UK

Likely relating to the death of his wife, Robert Gorton Coombe, aged 40 (born 1817), was recorded as a passenger on board the ship 'Champion of the Seas' that departed Melbourne on 8 April 1857. The Age of 6 April 1857 recorded the following names in the passengers cabin (among 28): Dr R G Coombe, Mr R Coombe, Masters George and Francis Coombe. Victorian government records show that Robert G Coombe was 40, his son also Robert G Coombe was 13, George Coombe was 9, and (Harriett) Francis [sic] was 5. The ship was carrying 933 oz of gold and was bound for Liverpool.

From 1858 - Christopher Henry Place (1814 - 1881)

Christopher Henry Place (1814 - 1881), the son of Mathew Wasse Place (1777 - 1834) and Frances Jeffery (1788 - 1864) married the much younger Elizabeth Court (16 Oct 1838 - 1915) on 22 May 1858. They had the following children:

1858 - Robert Gorton Coombe (born 1818) re-marries

As noted above, Robert Gorton Coombe's wife Mary Ann (nee Place) died in Victoria, Australia in 1856 and Robert returned to the UK. Robert re-married Frances Sarah Jones, a single woman, in Cheshire, Liverpool in 1858. There are two possible matches for Frances one born in Carmarthenshire, Wales in 1820 to a Sarah Jones (father's suname only), the other born in Greater/Great Crosby, Lancashire, in 1818 to Terrick and Eliza Jones. The second is considered more likely; her brother appears to be Richard Terrick Jones (born 1816). (Details to be confirmed)

Robert and Frances Coombe had a daughter:

Unfortunately, Frances Sarah Coombe died (possibly giving birth) in Basford, Nottinghamshire, in 1859. See below for Robert's third marriage in 1862.

At this date, Robert Coombes other children were all young - Robert Gorton Coombe, born 1847, George A Coombe, born 1848, and Harriet Frances Coombe, born 1850

1861 census

Christopher Henry Place (1814 - 1881), his wife Elizabeth, and their first born son Mathew Henry Place were recorded in the 1861 census at St Davids, Exeter, Devon.

Robert G Coombe (born 1818) and family have not yet been positively identified in the 1861 census.

1862 to 1865 - Robert Gorton Coombes additional children

Robert Gorton Coombe married a third time after the death of Frances Sarah (nee Jones), this time to Harriett Elizabeth Smith, in Marylebone, London, in 1862.

The following children were born to Robert Gorton Coombe and his third wife Harriett from 1863 to 1865.

1869 - Harriet Frances Coombe

According to Ancestry, Harriett Frances Coombe (1850 - 1917) was recorded in Norfolk in 1869. See below for the 1871 census.

From 1870 - life of Sir George Augustus Coombe / Pilkington

The following details are from Debretts Guide to the House of Commons, 1886 and the Wikipedia page for George Augustus Pilkington.

Sir George Augustus Pilkington (7 October 1848, Upwell, Cambridgeshire – 28 January 1916) was an English doctor and Liberal politician. Pilkington was born at Upwell, Cambridgeshire, as George Augustus Coombe, the son of R. G. Coombe a surgeon. He was educated privately and trained for medicine at Guy's Hospital, London. He became MRCS Eng and LSA in 1870 at the age of 22. He practiced medicine in Southport from 1870 to 1884 when he was House Surgeon to Southport Infirmary, Medical Officer of the North Meols District, Ormskirk Union, Surgeon to the Royal Naval Artillery Volunteers, and Medical Officer to the Southport Convalescent Hospital and the Southport Infirmary.

See also below from 1884.

1871 census

Coombe family

Place family

Christopher Henry Place (born 1815), his wife Elizabeth (born 1838) and seven others are recorded at Rhinefield, Lymington, Hampshire:

Not all of these children appear in the 1881 census indicating they had died or left to work elsewhere by then.

By 1875 - Robert Gorton Coombe marries

Robert Gorton Coombe (1847 - 1903) married Edith Maria Allen (1847 - 1894) in the UK before 1875. Edith had a sister Marian Allen. Robert and Edith Coombe had the following children:

1876 - George Augustus Coombe marries Elizabeth Pilkington

At the age of 28, George Augustus Coombe married Mary Elizabeth Pilkington, the daughter of James Pilkington, former MP for Blackburn, in 1876. George appears to have changed his surname sometime after this date, and possibly after the 1881 census, to Pilkington on the death of his brother-in-law [a brother of Elizabeth].

1879 - Harriett Frances Coombe marries

Harriett Frances Coombe (1850 - 1917), the sister of Robert Gorton Coombe and George Augustus Coombe, married Albert Crossley Branch in Lewisham, London, in January 1879. They had a son:

Albert and Harriett Branch were recorded in the 1881 census living in Croydon, Surrey.

1881 census

The 1881 census includes the following individuals noted on this page.

Coombe family

Place family

From 1882 - George Augustus Place (1860 - 1904)

George Augustus Place (1860 - 1904), the second son of Christopher Henry Place and Elizabeth (nee Court), married Elizabeth Kircher (21 Feb 1857 - 23 Mar 1944) on 18 April 1882. They had the following children and grandchildren.

From 1884 - Life of George Augustus Coombe / Pilkington (continued)

According to the same Debretts guide and Wikipedia page published above, Pilkington was Mayor of Southport from 1884 to 1885. In 1885, he was elected Member of Parliament for Southport but lost the seat in 1886.

After 1886 - Coombe brothers acquire a tea estate in Sri Lanka

Sometime after 1886, George Pilkington and his brother Robert Gorton Coombe travelled to Sri Lanka where they purchased the four tea estates of Poonagala, Lunugalla, Udahena and Cabaragala, collectively known as the 'Poonagala Valley Co Ltd'. The exact reason for this purchase is not known but it occurred at a time when the value of estates had dropped as a result of the failure of coffee crops - many of the plantation owners had invested a lot of money on credit in the estates. Perhaps George Pilkington was aware of this opportunity through a connection (as yet unconfirmed) with Sir Thomas Lipton.

It is believed that the two brothers (possible travelling with some of Robert's sons) returned to the UK after acquiring the estate. Based on work and travel records, some of the Robert's sons appear to have stayed on in or travelled to Sri Lanka, including Robert Gorton Coombe (1875 - 1953, died in Sri Lanka), William Stuart Coombe (1877 - 1946, possibly married in Sri Lanka), George Allen Coombe (1880 - 1956, married in Sri Lanka) and Thomas Bernard Coombe (1884 - 1962, who travelled to Sri Lanka at least twice).

For more details on the Coombe family in Sri Lanka, see this separate page.

Late 1800s - Sir George Pilkington in the UK, public life

Debretts notes that Pilkington was a councillor and alderman on Lancashire County Council, Deputy Lieutenant, J.P., and Honorary Colonel of the 3rd Liverpool Volunteer Regiment until October 1902. Pilkington was knighted in 1893. He won the seat at Southport again in a by-election in 1899, but lost it again at the 1900 general election. He was High Sheriff of Lancashire in 1911.

From 1886 - Family of Mathew Henry Place

Mathew Henry Place (1858 - 1943), the eldest son of Christopher Henry Place and Elizabeth (nee Court), married twice. The name of his first wife is unknown. His second wife was Elizabeth Ballam, whom he married in January 1886 in Lambeth, London. They had three children:

No other details are known.

1888 - Death of Harriett Elizabeth Coombe (nee Smith)

Harriett Elizabeth Coombe (nee Smith, born 1825), the wife of Robert Gorton Coombe (born 1818), died at Kensington, London, in 1888.

1891 census

Matthew Henry Place and his wife Elizabeth ('Lizzie'), as well as their children Emily Violet Marie Place (born 1886) and Matthew Henry Place (born 1888) but not George (not yet born) are recorded in the 1891 census at Christchurch, Hampshire.

Christopher Warland Place (born 1872) is recorded at Brockenhust, Lymington, Hampshire.

Robert Gorton Coombe (senior), aged 73 (born 1818) is recorded as a 'Registered Surgeon Retired' in this census at St Quintins Avenue, Kensington, London, with the following other people:

George Augustus Coombe had changed his surname before 1891. He is recorded, with his wife Elizabeth, at North Meols in the 1891 census as George Pilkington.

Robert Gorton Coombe (1847 - 1903), a 44 year old physician and surgeon, is recorded at Kings Road, Maldon, Essex with the following other people:

Robert Gorton Coombe's wife, Edith Coombe (nee Allen) and her sister Marian Coombe were recorded in the 1891 census as being 'head' of a boarding school in Cheltenham, England. A young woman named Clara Gall (born 1874) was a student at this school at this time, which is apparently how she met Edith Coombe's son Robert Gorton Coombe (born 1875).

Clara Gall was the daughter of Arthur Gall (7 September 1836, Barbados - 12 July 1894, St Lucia) and Helen Alexander (1844 - 1923, Camberley). Clara's siblings were Arthur Henry Beckles Gall (1870 - 1936), Ida Helen Douglas Gall (1872 - ) and Herbert Frederick Douglas Gall (1875 - 1947). Clara had until the late 19th century lived in the West Indies. Arthur Gall (the local Inspector of Revenue and Police) died in 1894 and there appears to have been a need to leave St Lucia, where her Arthur did not have a good reputation (see the Gall family history). As noted in the Gall family history, Clara's brother Arthur Henry Beckles Gall 'does not appear to have followed his father's like of financial matters and as a young man entered into a successful planting career'.

For full details of Clara Gall's family, see this link (GALL - A family history of the Galls - Family Tree (ebook)). Details about the boardinhg school link provided by the grandson of Clara's younger brother, Herbert Frederick Douglas Gall on 21 February 2023.

Robert Gorton Coombe's five older children (Marian, Robert, John, William and Dorothy) do not appear to be recorded in the 1891 census. Further research is required to locate them (assuming they were still alive).

Other Coombes, including a William G Coombe born the same year (1847) as Robert, and several children, are also recorded in Maldon. Their relationship with the above is yet to be confirmed from census returns.

From 1899 (UK) - Christopher Warland Place (1872 - 1922)

Christopher Warland Place (1872 - 1922), the eighth child of Christopher Henry Place and Elizabeth (nee Court), married Elizabeth Keeping (1862 - 1952) at Lymington on 22 September 1899. They had the following children:

1901 census - Coombe family

Robert Gorton Coombe (senior), aged 83 (born 1818) is recorded as a 'Registered Surgeon Retired' in this census at St Quintins Avenue, Kensington, London. His daughter Harriett Frances (possibly Branch) is believed to be recorded at the same address or nearby in Kensington.

Robert Gorton Coombe (born 1847) is recorded in the 1901 census, along with several other Coombes including two of his children listed below and others who also appeared in the 1891 census. [Needs further investigation] Robert died in 1903.

Early 1900s - Robert Gorton Coombe marries Clara Gall

Robert Gorton Coombe (1875, UK - 1953, Poonagala, Sri Lanka) married Clara Margaret Drysdale Gall (1874/5, St Lucia, West Indies - 1908, probably Sri Lanka) on 2 April 1902 in Clapton Park, All Saints, UK.

1903 - Death of Robert Gorton Coombe (born 1847)

Robert Gorton Coombe (born 1847) died on 20 July 1903.

1909 - Death of Albert Crossley Branch

Albert Crossley Branch, the husband of Harriett Frances (nee Coombe) died on 23 March 1909 in London. Harriet continued to live in Kensington where she was recorded as a widow in the 1911 census, and again in 1914.

1909 - Death of Robert Gorton Coombe (born 1818)

Robert Gorton Coombe (born 1818) died on 21 August 1909 in London.

Photo of Sir George Pilkington

1916 - Death of Sir George Augustus Pilkington (nee Coombe)

Sir George Augustus Pilkington (born 1848) died on 28 January 1916 in Southport.

1917 - Death of Harriett Frances Branch (nee Coombe)

Harriet Frances Branch, the wife of Albert Crossley Branch who died in 1909, died on 16 October 1919 in Kensington. Their son Albert Gorton Branch died in 1959.

1953 - Death of Robert Gorton Coombe in Sri Lanka

Robert Gorton Coombe (born 1875) died on 10 February 1953 at Poonagala, Bandarawela, Sri Lanka.

Page created 13 July 2014, updated 21 February 2023 (general updates). Copyright © Andrew Warland. (andrewwarland(at)gmail.com)