Wednesday, November 17, 2010

John Nye and Charlotte Osborne

Our ancestors John Nye and Charlotte Osborne were parents to seven children:

  • John Nye
  • Emma Nye
  • James Nye
  • Charles Nye
  • Ephraim Hesmer Nye
  • Stephen Nye
  • Osborne Nye (born in Australia)

John Nye (b. 1807) was the son of John Nye (b. 1783) and Anne Randall. He was the oldest brother to Thomas Cotton Nye, Ann Nye, and Sophia Nye.

Charlotte Osborne was the daughter of Reuben Osborne and Charlotte Hesmer. Her sister Frances Osborne later married John Nye's cousin, William Nicholls (son of Grace Nye, who was the sister of John Nye b. 1783).

John and Charlotte Nye and the first six children left England to find a better life in Australia, landing in Portland, Victoria in 1851 after 3 months at sea. Osborne, their seventh child, was born at Mt. Rouse, Victoria where the family worked on a sheep station owned by Matthew Gibb.

During the Australian gold rush, the family leased a home in Warrnambool and a farm in Wangoom, Victoria and began hauling goods from the port to the gold mines in Ballarat and Bendigo, becoming quite prosperous.

Suddenly, in 1858, the family made the momentous decision to sell everything they owned and start walking to Sydney with a goal of migrating to the USA. Halfway to Sydney they became bogged down by the weather and spent the winter in Beechworth, Victoria. Misfortune befell them, the family split up, and some headed for South America while the others made plans to go to California.

Two years later the family was reunited near San Francisco, California, and travelled by wagon train to Utah.

Their extraordinary adventures have been thoroughly researched and compiled in a compelling book. Readers have said they cannot put it down and descendants of the family should not be without their own copy.

Email my son Michael Bouy at michael.bouy@gmail.com for your copy. Many of our family members have bought extra books for their children as meaningful holiday or anniversary gifts, sharing the extraordinary journey of the Nye family from Kent.

3 comments:

  1. John Nye is my great-great grandfather, through his son Stephen and Stephen's son Clyde Vasquez Nye. I have truly enjoyed reading your book, which was purchased and given to me by my parents. Thank you so much for your time and effort in researching and writing the book. It is wonderful!

    - Brent Nye
    Los Alamos, NM, USA

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    1. Thank you for your comments, please forgive me for not getting back to you much sooner. You must be the son of Phillip Nye who is a great man.

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  2. Janice, Thank you for your work that has helped me to know a few of my ancestors. Eight years ago I read the entire book online in no more than 2 sittings. Sadly, I read the book only weeks after returning from a trip to Australia including Sydney and Melbourne and wish I could have traced their journey while there. As my brother above, I now have the hard copy from my parents. Thank you, thank you!

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