Skip to main content
Advanced Search
Letter from Charles Jewell on his voyage from New York to Sydney on board the IVANHOE
Letter from Charles Jewell on his voyage from New York to Sydney on board the IVANHOE

Letter from Charles Jewell on his voyage from New York to Sydney on board the IVANHOE

Maker
Date21 April 1880
Object number00031705
NameLetter
MediumInk on paper
DimensionsOverall (Open): 20.8 × 26.5 mm, 0.057 kg
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from John Jewell
DescriptionA handwritten letter by Charles Jewell to his aunt and uncle Morrison in Plainsville, MA. Jewell, his wife Ann and three of their four children left New York on the IVANHOE on 24th February 1878. In the letter he describes notable events of the voyage, including a raging storm and their subsequent safe arrival in Sydney on 1st June. The family proceeded directly to Goulburn where Jewell found work but died the following year, 1881.HistoryThe decision to emigrate to Australia was apparently made by Charles Arthur, who had some years earlier arrived from England to settle in North Attleboro, a village south of Boston in the United States of America. Charles, it seems suffered from a chest complaint and likely thought the dry climate of Australia would be a healthier place to live. He intended his wife, Anne Marie, and three sons, Charles, John, baby Ernest and daughter, Annie Makepeace, would accompany him on the voyage. Unfortunately, his daughter, who also suffered from a chest complaint, was at the last moment unable to accompany her parents and remained in the care of an Aunt and Uncle. Charles survived the 1878 voyage although Ernest was mostly ill and died shortly after arrival in Sydney. Charles and his family travelled to Goulburn, both for work and to be near a sister, who had earlier emigrated from England, only to find she and her husband had left the town. Another infant, Alfred, was born to Charles and his wife. Some two years after arrival in Australia, Charles died on 11th February 1881 from 'consumption'. Anne Marie returned to Sydney with her three sons and married John McCabe who had also been on the IVANHOE during the Jewell's voyage from New York. SignificanceThis letter by Charles Jewell contains an account of a voyage from New York to Sydney with many interesting perspectives on shipboard life and arrival into Sydney Harbour. In addition to the personal details contained in the letter, its contents are enhanced by the provenance supplied by the Jewell family.