My mother’s maiden name was Juli Vacchini; her father’s name was Caleb Hutton Vacchini; her grandfather’s name was Caleb Francis Vacchini and her great grandfather’s name was John Vacchini. Everyone except John was born in NSW, Australia.
Juli put her recollections of her family onto paper around the year 2000 and called it “Family Matters”. While I can’t always vouch for the historical accuracy of this work, the passion was wonderful and it is a much-cherished archive. This is what she had to say about John, her great grandfather:
“Francesco(?) was an Italian from Genoa. Not much is known about him, the story goes that he was a political refugee from the time of Garibaldi who led a revolutionary army in 1860 – one of the red shirts or alternatively one of the other side – or maybe he, like the Hamblys, came out to make his fortune in the gold rush. The other story was that he was an opera singer – there were certainly traveling companies in Australia at the time (cf. Lola Montez ). Both stories might be true, politics and opera were linked in Italy in the 19th century. After the Opera the mobs would rush through the streets calling Verdi- Verdi, meaning not only the composer but Vittorio Emanuele Re D’ Italia , while Verdi himself became a member of parliament for a short time.”
When I first became aware that we had this Italian in our ancestry I was very quick to claim full heritage. In High School and beyond I would casually drop my Italian background into conversation, even going as far as to tell the more gullible that I was a direct descendant of Julius Caesar. The family saw the Latin influence as an explanation for Mediterranean skin, operatic and musical ability (I played a great stereo) and extremely good “film star” looks. My mother in her youth looked just like Gina Lollobrigida. Many years later I eagerly waited for DNA results to give my love of the Italian Republic absolute credence.
It has proved impossible to determine exactly when and how John Vacchini arrived in Australia. John Vacchini’s Death Certificate from March 1893 reveals that he was 65 years of age at the time of death. There were no details on the certificate regarding his parents and it was not known if he had ever married. The informant of his death was Annie Rule, who was not a relative. He was buried at the Bourke cemetery on 11 March 1893, two days after his death. The DC states that John was born in Italy and had lived in Australia for forty-two years. Based on this information, John Vacchini would have been born circa.1828 and arrived in Australia circa 1851. Immigration records cannot throw any light on John’s arrival into Australia. The name John is not a traditional Italian name so did he just assume that name or was it a process of applying an English version to an Italian name. The name Vacchini is very rare and it appears that there has only ever been the one Vacchini family in NSW, all descendants of John Vacchini. The only other reference to this unique surname was a Tomasso Vacchini immigrating to Australia aged 24 via Melbourne on the vessel “Gipsy Bride” in February 1855. There does not appear to be any relationship between Tomasso and John Vacchini and Tomasso left Australia a few years later.
Juli writes the following about her great grandmother:
“Annie Owen came from Yorkshire, near Marston Moor, where one of the big battles in the civil war was fought. She was quite young when she came out to Australia with her aunt . The name of the ship they came out on and when they came is in the family records, I think Ian has the details. The aunt became the housekeeper of a property owner in Picton, an English gentleman, and Annie married Francesco – I wonder where and how she met him?. They had three sons- Caleb, Will, and Tiberio but all three died in an epidemic, perhaps diphtheria the scourge of young children in the days before vaccination. They then had three more sons to whom they gave the same names as the others. All of these survived to be quite old and all left descendants – my dad had quite a lot of cousins. Francesco died when Caleb two was seven, that is in 1877, and sometime around then Annie’s aunt also died. Annie then took over as housekeeper and eventually married old Hooke.”
There are some elements of this narrative that actually resemble the truth, so I’ll start with this lady, my 2ndgreat grandmother, Ann Owen, who was born in Salford, Lancashire in 1833 to parents, Francis Owen and Elizabeth Leach. Ann is listed as a house servant at her aunt and uncle’s house in Cheetham, Manchester on the 1851 England Census. Ann’s aunt, Margaret Owen, was born on the 18th of April 1817 in Manchester to Francis Owen (1777-1867) and his wife Ann (1780-?). Margaret was the seventh child of nine and the younger sister of Francis Owen (1811-?) the father of Ann Owen.
Margaret married Isaac Hindle on 8th October 1837 at the Collegiate & Parish Church in Manchester, which is only a five-minute walk across the river from where they were living on Norton Street, Salford.
Four years later Margaret & Isaac Hindle, and Ann Owen, migrated to the colony New South Wales. They sailed from Liverpool on the “Dionsya Catharina”, landing in Sydney on 16th April 1855 and probably settled into life in that big city. Isaac died on 26th May 1857 at Pyrmont in Sydney, the coroner’s report stating that his death was caused by drowning and drunkenness.
Margaret remarried the next year, 1858, to Caleb Kersey, who had recently been widowed; his wife Elizabeth died only a short time after Isaac Hindle’s drowning. It appears that they lived in Sydney, near what is now Chinatown. The Sand’s directories published in this period show that from 1865 through to 1875 Caleb Kersey was living at 19 Dixon Street, working at various times as either a builder or a lime burner. Their seventeen-year marriage (which produced no known children) ended when Caleb died in Sydney in 1875, leaving Margaret as a widow again.
In 1877 she married a “gentleman”, James Hooke who had been one of the first settlers on the Clarence River. He was also a manager of large sheep stations and had been a Magistrate in Queensland. Shortly after their marriage in Redfern, Sydney, the Hookes moved south of Sydney to Picton, where they built a property “Hillgrove” in 1880. Around that time Margaret employed her niece, Ann Owen, as a housekeeper for their house which was on 13 acres.
Ann Owen arrived in Sydney in 1855 with her Aunt Margaret and Uncle Isaac Hindle.
Twenty five years later her Aunt Margaret and Uncle James Hooke employ her as the housekeeper at their newly built property, Hillgrove in Picton, 80 kms south and a little west from inner Sydney. What happened in that time?
A year after arriving in Sydney, Ann Owen married a German, Frederick Janzen at St. Philips Church on the 28th of August 1856. St Philips is the big Anglican church on York Street, about a block north of Wynyard Station and across the road from a small patch of greenery still existing in that part of Sydney called Lang Park. Ann is listed as a 22-year-old spinster; Frederick as a 25-year-old bachelor, his occupation noted as chandler.
Over the next twenty years Ann gave birth to six children; Juli had that number correct, and yes, the first three died young. These six children’s births and deaths have the surnames Janson (twice), Vacchini (twice), Vachine, Lawson, Oben, Olben, Owen, Vocchini and Johnson recorded in their registrations. Ann married Frederick Janzen in 1856 but he is only mentioned on the documentation for the first born child, Caleb. In some cases, John Vacchini is the birth and/or death informant; in others it is Ann Owen/Johnson. After that Sydney birth, Ann and John (not Frederick) are living and giving birth to children in Dubbo, then Bourke and then in 1870, back to Sydney. It was very apparent that John Vacchini is involved and/or present in Ann’s life and the children’s lives for more than twenty years. It was also becoming very apparent that John Vacchini and Ann Owen had a troubled relationship; but the last child born, a son, was named Tiberio – a most Italian name!
Careful research provided the details of each of the children’s births and deaths, listed chronologically by birth:
First, a son Caleb 1860-1863
NSW Birth-Reg No: 1550/1860. Caleb, a male, is born on 31st July 1860 in Dixon Street, Sydney.
Father: Frederick Janson, butcher, age-32, born in Germany.
Mother: Ann Owen, age-27, born in Manchester England.
Married: 1856, St. Philips Sydney, no previous issue.
NSW Death-Reg No: 3479/1863. Caleb Vachine, a male child 3 years 2 months, died on 13th October 1863 in Macquarie Street Dubbo.
Father: John Vachine, Tailor
Mother: Anne Owen
Informant: John Vachine, Father, Dubbo.
Second, a son Joseph Caleb 1862-1863
NSW Birth-Reg No: 7325/1862. Joseph Caleb Vacchini, a male, is born on 26th November 1862 in Macquarie Street, Dubbo.
Mother: Family Name-Lawson, Maiden family Name-Oben, Christian Name-Ann, age-29 years, Place of Birth-Manchester England.
Father: Family Name-Vacchini, Christian name-John, Occupation-tailor, age-34 years, Place of Birth-Genoa, Italy, Europe.
Marriage of Parents: blank.
Previous Children of Relationship: one Male Living
NSW Death-Reg No: 3456/1863. Joseph Caleb Vacchini Olben (illegitimate), a child 3 months, died on 28th February 1863 in Macquarie Street Dubbo.
Place of Birth: Macquarie Street Dubbo
Father: John Vacchini, Tailor
Mother: Anne Olben
Informant: John Vacchini, Macquarie Street, Dubbo
Third, a daughter Margaret 1865-1866
NSW Birth-Reg No: 8188/1865. Margaret Josephine Owen, or Vocchine, a female, is born on 23rdFebruary 1865 in Macquarie Street Dubbo NSW
Father: John Vocchine, Occupation-tailor, Birthplace=Genoa Italy, age-36
Date of marriage- illegitimate
Mother: Anne Owen, Birthplace: Manchester England, age-31
Informant: John Vocchini, father, Macquarie Street Dubbo
Present at Birth: Mrs Moley
NSW Death-Reg No: 2845/1866. Josephine Vacchini, a female 11 months, died on 8th January 1866 in Bourke, district of Bourke NSW
Father: John Vacchini, Tailor
Mother: Anne Owen
Informant: John Vacchini, Father, Bourke
Fourth, a son William John 1867-1944
NSW Birth-Reg No: 5646/1867. William John Vacchini, a male, is born on 30th December 1866 in Bourke, District of Bourke
Mother: Family Name-Johnson, Maiden family Name-Owen, Christian Name-Ann, age-33 years, Place of Birth-Salford.
Father: Family Name-Vacchini, Christian name-John, Occupation-tailor, age-38 years, Place of Birth-Genoa
Marriage of Parents: blank.
Previous Children of Relationship: two males, one female deceased.
Informant: John Vacchini, Bourke, Father.
NSW Death Reg No: 1482/1944. William John Vacchini, a male 77 years died 18th March 1944 at Canterbury District Memorial Hospital. Occupation: carpenter, old age pensioner. Place of Birth: Bourke NSW
Father: John Vacchini, tailor
Mother: Ann Johnson, formerly Owen
Fifth, a son Caleb Francis 1870-1957
NSW Birth-Reg No: 1151/1870. Caleb Francis Johnson, a male, is born on 9th May 1870 in Dixon Street Sydney NSW
Father: illegitimate
Date of Marriage: 18 (appears incomplete?)
Mother: Ann Johnson (Marriage), Owen (Maiden), Birthplace Manchester England, age-36
Informant: (signed) Ann Johnson, Mother, Dixon Street
Present at Birth: Mrs Kessey
NSW Death-Reg 28622/1947. Caleb Francis Vacchini, a male, 77 years died 29th October 1947 at Western Suburbs Hospital, Croydon. Occupation: carpenter. Born – Sydney
Father: Unknown Vacchini
Mother maiden name: Ann Owen
Sixth, a son Tiberio 1875-1916
NSW Birth-Reg No: 2601/1875. Tiberio Vacchini Janson, a male, is born 31st August 1875 in Dixon Street East Sydney
Father: blank
Mother: Family Name-Janson, Maiden family Name-Janson, Christian Name-Ann, age-42 years, Place of Birth-Manchester, England
Informant: Ann Janson Dixon Street East Sydney Mother
NSW Death-Reg No: 11311/1916. Tiberio Vacchini, a male, 41 years died 20th September 1916 at Picton Railway Station. Occupation Railway employee. Born-Sydney
Father: John Vacchini, tailor
Mother maiden name: Ann Owen
1875-1916The birth registration for child four is most interesting. The birth was registered six times in Bourke, Balranald and Bathurst with the surnames of Johnson, Owen and Vacchini as follows:
JOHNSON WILLIAM J 5646/1866 Father-Blank Mother-ANN BATHURST
JOHNSON WILLIAM J 5646/1867 Father-Blank Mother-ANN BOURKE
OWEN WILLIAM J 5646/1866 Father-Blank Mother-ANN BATHURST
OWEN WILLIAM J 5646/1867 Father-Blank Mother-ANN BOURKE
VACCHINI WILLIAM J 5646/1867 Father-JOHN Mother-ANN BOURKE
VACCHINI William John 5646/1867 Father-John Mother-Ann Balranald
There must have been some telegraph method for registration; or perhaps the railway network was in place out west as I can’t see John Vacchini travelling on his horse or a stage coach the 618kms from Bourke to Balranald, another 651 kms to Bathurst, then a final leg of 555kms back to Bourke! The places recorded in all these births and death indicate travel for Ann Owen, John Vacchini and Ann’s children between Sydney, Dubbo, Bourke and Sydney.
We have found NSW Police Gazette files that John Vicchini, a tailor from Brewarrina, 90 kms from Bourke reported a theft of cloth from his premises in 1871, so it may be safe to assume that “our” John was living in that region for some years earlier, when the first four children’s births and deaths were registered. However, Ann has gone back to Sydney by the first half of 1870.
The registrations show that the first born, Caleb, was born in Dixon Street, Sydney in 1860. William John was born in Bourke at the end of 1866 and his younger brothers, Caleb Francis and Tiberio were born in Sydney in 1870 and 1875 respectively. Both were also born in Dixon Street, which is now part of Chinatown; but in the 1860’s and 1870’s it was a commercial and residential mix of buildings, close to the harbour and south of the city centre. The Sand’s directories show that from 1865 through to 1875 Caleb Kersey (remember him?) was living at 19 Dixon Street, working as either a builder or a lime burner. And he was married to Aunty Margaret; perhaps this is the same Dixon Street location where three of Ann Owen’s children were born?
The Sand’s directories also show John Vacchini, a tailor, in business in Sydney at 15 Harbour Street in 1879 and 1880. That address, 15 Harbour Street, is less than 400 metres from 19 Dixon Street. It seems obvious that Ann Owen was supported by her aunt, Margaret (Owen / Hindle) Kersey from the lates 1860’s through the 1870’s. It also seems obvious that John Vacchini was a short few steps away from the woman and children that he cared so much for. Caleb Kersey died in 1875, the same year that Tiberio Vacchini Janson was born. Two years later, in 1877 Margaret married James Hooke in Redfern. They moved to Picton where a property of 13 acres was purchased and a home, “Hillgrove” was built by 1880.
Soon after her aunt had married James Hooke and settled into their property in Picton, Ann, known to everyone as Ann Vacchini, was employed as the housekeeper. Her boys would have been young, ranging in age from perhaps 6 or 7 to late teens. Ann’s aunt, Margaret died in 1891 and James Hooke and his housekeeper, Ann Vacchini were married in Sydney in July 1893.
Poor John Vacchini – where did he fit into the mix in 1890 when Ann and her boys moved south to Picton? Conveniently, John Vacchini was most likely back in Bourke sometime in the 1880’s, and even more conveniently, he died there a few months before Ann and James married in 1893. John’s death certificate provided no details regarding his parents and it was not known if he had ever married. The informant of his death was Annie Rule who was not a relation. He was buried at the Bourke cemetery on the 11th of March 1893, forever a mystery.
My grandmother, Gwenda (Hambly) Vacchini (Juli’s mum) also wrote a few words for me about her recollections of the family, mainly on her side, although she did include the Vacchinis:
“The Vacchini Great Great Grandfather died while his sons were young and their mother took them to live with her Aunt in Picton. The aunt eventually died and Ann Vacchini married the aunts widower. The three Vacchini boys were brought up in Picton by their stepfather, a very strict Englishman who had quite a property, a bit of a Lord of the Manor. He had been quite adventurous in his early days and was the first white man on the Clarence River. Unfortunately all his diaries (which the Mitchell Library would have treasured) were burnt by some of the family after his death.”
That fits in nicely with Juli’s narrative:
“… old Hooke brought up the three boys, and encouraged, or insisted on, gentlemanly habits. My grandfather learnt to write with beautiful copperplate handwriting which he used all his life. I dont know anything more about his boyhood but in his teens he left Picton to become a jackaroo on a sheep station somewhere in NSW“.
There was no doubt that the families descendant of Ann Owen, all of whom “adopted” the surname Vacchini, saw John as the father of the three boys, and after he died in 1893 their mother, Ann Owen married her employer, James Hooke who became their step-father. The assumption was made that the family had an Italian background to it and Italian “features” could be seen in all branches and generations. Even though it doesn’t appear in any records, many family members used the name “Giovanni” instead of John, to burnish his Latin credentials. Juli seems to have preferred “Francesco”, but she had been living in Europe for some years when she wrote “Family Matters”.
When Ann (Owen) Vacchini married James Hooke in 1893 her sons were 27, 23 and 18 years of age and beginning to live their own lives. William married in 1896 and was working in the Picton area; Caleb had left the area to become a jackaroo on a sheep station between Tamworth and Gunnedah and Tiberio had started working with the Railway.
The 1902 Electoral Rolls for Picton for 1903 show the eldest son, William John Vacchini and his wife, Sarah Ann (Bell) Vacchini living on Argyle Street, probably on the “Hillgrove” property as one of it’s boundaries was Argyle Street. William and Sarah had four children three of whom survived infancy. They moved over time into Sydney, William died in 1944 in Canterbury and worked as a carpenter most of his life.
On 30th March 1911 James Hooke, pioneer, Magistrate and gentleman farmer died at his property “Hillgrove”.
On 25th March 1916 Ann (Owen / Janzen / Vacchini) Hooke died at “Hillgrove”.
A Picton historian, Liz Vincent wrote about Caleb:
“Caleb was sent to the South West of NSW to learn the art of station operations and hopefully management, but work became scarce and after several years he returned to Picton and worked as a farm labourer. He was prominent in the town as a sportsman, representing at football, where hardly a match passed that he wasn’t praised for his efforts, cricket, cycling and shooting. In the early 1890’s he became a member of the Mounted Rifles and in 1897 was one of three Picton men selected for the Contingent to the Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee Celebrations. He had a successful tour of England and won a medal for mounted wrestling. In March 1901, he sailed as a Sergeant with the 1st Mounted Rifles for South Africa, returning on the 1st May 1902. He returned to work as a labourer and continued his sporting achievements. For some years he was secretary of the Rifle Club and won a number of shoots including the club championship. Caleb became the Inspector of Nuisances for the Local Council but with a growing family, (he had married prior to embarkation for South Africa) he decided to try the city. The family moved away from Picton in 1913. Caleb fulfilled a secret ambition and became self taught carpenter and amongst other buildings, erected his own home in Northbridge. He worked into his seventies and unfortunately died as a result of a fall from a building in 1947 at the age of 77 years.”
Caleb Francis Vacchini, my great grandfather had three children and had moved to Cronulla soon after his mother Ann died. By the end of 1918 he was living in the Northbridge home mentioned by Liz Vincent.
Tiberio Vacchini died in tragic circumstances in September 1916 when he was crushed between two sheep vans at the local Picton railway yards. He and Ann Elizabeth (Whitfield) Vacchini had four children.
Growing up we heard many stories about our ancestors all who seemed to have left this mortal coil before we were old enough to meet them. I’m sure that not having met them allows the imagination to thrive, especially when there is talk of people arriving into Australia on boat, travelling on horseback to places long distant from our suburban homes, children dying in infancy and having their names given to younger siblings who survived. I remember as a young boy at my grandparent’s house in Northbridge listening to Jason and The Argonauts on the radio. My grandmother gave me children’s history books which further fuelled my imagination, so it was no wonder that my late teen years saw me accepting my heritage as a Roman Hero, possibly Sulla reborn!
Years later, DNA testing that showed absolute zero Italian in my background came as quite a shock. But luckily, it did show that I have a minute percentage of DNA that “might” be from Caucasia; Armenia beckons, the Garden of Eden is in clear sight and all possibilities cannot be dismissed! No wonder I can play chess like Kasparov and sing like Cher! I’m sure Kim Kardashian is a distant cousin! What about Adam? Do you see the resemblance?
miles of irvings 
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