Did your ancestors subscribe to this patriotic fund ?

Over  30,000  subscribers and collectors names are listed and most entries state the place of collection, so this index may well establish where your ancestors were in 1855.

In February 1855, the population of the colony (along with all British colonies throughout the world) were asked to contribute to the Patriotic Fund for the support of widows and orphans of soldiers, sailors, or marines killed while in active service in the war against Russia - the Crimean War.

Australia, eventually raised over £66,000. The Sydney Morning Herald and the Maitland Mercury published the details of contributors in New South Wales in list form stating the names of contributors, and with a few exceptions, the location of the district where collected is noted. Obviously not all people living in New South Wales donated to this cause. However, this index, compiled from the leading city newspaper, the Sydney Morning Herald, and the leading country newspaper, the Maitland Mercury, may assist those trying to establish where their ancestors were in 1855.

This index states the date of the edition of the particular newspaper (Sydney Morning Herald or Maitland Mercury) and the page and column within that edition, thus enabling the researcher to access the entry on the micro film at their local library, and this will show the amount donated - an additional piece of information for inclusion in your family's history records.

The following 12 entries are an example of the format in this index.

The index shows the DATE of the edition of the particular newspaper and the P&C (page and column) number within that edition to facilitate ease of research.....
 
 

NAME	DISTRICT	DATE	P&C	NEWS
Abbott Henry	Sydney - Commercial Bank clerks contribution	15 Mar 1855	2.1	SMH
Baker Thomas (labourer)	Wagga Wagga - Kyeamba - Mr Walker Station	10 May 1855	2.1	SMH
Cameron Duncan	Wallalong - of Eskdale	10 Mar 1855	6.2	MM
Davidson James	-	3 May 1855	2.2	SMH
Evans Henry	Woolloomooloo  - staff of Sutton & Simmons builders	7 Mar 1855	8.4	SMH
Haines Thomas	Hanging Rock & Peel River Gold Fields	24 May 1855	6.3	SMH
Izzard Edward	Wilberforce	22 Mar 1855	2.2	SMH
Lobban Alexander	Manning River district	5 Jul 1855	8.5	SMH
Nicholas O J	Armidale New England - Winterbourne	6 Jun 1855	6.5	MM
Patterson John Tpr (mounted patrol)	Springfield - Goulburn collection list	26 Apr 1855	2.3	SMH
Rathnell Richard	Wollongong district - Robert Haworth establishment	19 Apr 1855	8.4	SMH
Richardson James	Yass district - Hamilton Hume Station	6 Sep 1855	5.6	SMH