Analysis: Did Frederick Ward go to Canada?
Copyright Carol Baxter 2011
On 18 September 1951 the Western Stock and Station Journal published an article under the heading “Discovery of Grave at Ottawa links in with earlier events in NSW” by A.S. Spencer. The article included various pieces of “evidence” showing that bushranger Frederick Ward survived his death in 1870. Two sections in this article have seemingly provided the foundation for claims – still being repeated today – that Fred Ward ended his days in Canada. So let’s sift through this “Canada” information and determine how reliable it is.
Link 1 – Charles White’s letter (see photocopy below)
Western Stock & Station Journal
First of all, it is necessary to point out that this article was written in 1951 and repeated information supposedly told by the author’s father to the author at some unknown time. Moreover, it described events that occurred 60 years previously. This is clearly second-hand information – “hearsay evidence” – and on those grounds alone is a weak form of evidence and cannot be considered reliable.
Secondly, Spencer admits that “my father ... had a very high regard for the outlaw”. This indicates a lack of impartiality on the father’s behalf, one likely communicated to the son as well. Passion can blinker the passionate, making them gullible and easily swayed.
Now to the "evidence" itself:
Claim 1: One day in 1892 or soon afterwards, according to the article, Spencer senior was having a chat with a neighbour named Charles White and the subject of Thunderbolt came up. Realising that Spencer senior was a Thunderbolt supporter, White reportedly confessed that he was one of Fred Ward's relatives.
Problem: Fred Ward had no relative named Charles White. His father was a convict transportee with no known relations in the colony. His mother’s maiden surname was not White and she too had no known relations in the colony. None of Fred’s siblings married anyone named White or bore children to a partner named White.
So if Charles White was not Fred Ward’s relation – as the evidence suggests – why was he claiming that he was? Either he was lying or Spencer Senior was massaging the story to make it seem more credible. Whatever the case, the foundations of this story are already weak.
Background credibility is extremely important in determining historical accuracy. A simple rule of historical detection is to use the accuracy of known information to determine the likely accuracy of unknown information. Since Charles White was not a Ward relative, the known information in this newspaper article is clearly incorrect. On those grounds alone, it is highly likely that the unknown information – the claims made in the article – are also incorrect.
Claim 2: After admitting that he was a Thunderbolt relative and discussing the bushranger, White offered to show Spencer something he thought would interest him. White brought out an envelope, pulled out a letter and showed it to Spencer, all the while hiding the signature.
Problem: If that isn’t "leading the witness", I don’t know what is!
Claim 3: Not surprisingly, when White asked Spencer if he recognised the handwriting, Spencer said: "Of course I do! I would recognise that handwriting anywhere. That letter was written by Fred Ward." At which White showed him that the letter was signed "Fred" and dated Canada 1892. White then said that the letter was indeed from Fred Ward himself.
Problem A: Fred Ward said that he was illiterate in 1856 and could read only in 1861.[1] Moreover, in 1865 he and his gang asked a pound-keeper to read them the newspaper report of their robberies, which suggests that their own reading skills were limited; otherwise why wouldn’t they have read it aloud themselves or taken the newspaper with them to read at their leisure.[2] This supports the primary-source evidence that Fred was functionally illiterate.
Problem B: People learn to read more easily than to write. Nobody ever claims to be able to write but not read. Since Fred Ward reported that he could read only, his writing skills were clearly even more limited. His writing would have been unformed – rather like a child’s. It would not be a handwriting style that anyone could instantly recognise.
Problem C: To immediately recognise an individual’s handwriting, the reader must have seen lots of it. So what relationship did the Spencers have with Fred Ward that Spencer Snr might have instantly recognised Fred’s handwriting? The "author" of this article was a man named Aubrey S. Spencer who was born around 1883 in the Muswellbrook district. He was the son of Matthew and Emma Spencer who were married in 1882 in the same district. His father was almost certainly the Matthew Spencer who was born in 1843 in the Scone district and who died in 1910 in the Muswellbrook district.[3] Clearly Matthew Spencer was eight years younger than Fred Ward and lived in a different district, so he could not have attended school with Fred or had more than a passing acquaintanceship prior to Fred’s 1856 incarceration in Cockatoo Island. Nor was Fred in the Muswellbrook vicinity between 1856 and his escape from Cockatoo Island late in 1863. Thereafter Fred was a bushranger on the run from the authorities. While he did venture south as far as Muswellbrook on a few occasions, he spent most of his bushranging years in the Tamworth vicinity or in the north-eastern or north-western parts of NSW. There is no evidence to suggest that he actually lived in the Muswellbrook vicinity between 1863 and 1870, merely that he passed through. So how could Matthew Spencer have known Fred Ward himself or known Fred’s writing so well that he could instantly recognise it decades later – with or without any prompting?
Problem D: Letters cost money: pen, ink, paper and postage. Fred’s "luggage" was captured by the police on a few occasions, but the list of his possessions never included any letter-writing items. Those who were illiterate did not waste money purchasing these items, so many of Fred’s supporters would neither have possessed such items nor been able to read a letter if it was sent to them.
Problem E: Why would a bushranger on the run be writing letters to acquaintances, enough letters that someone like Matthew Spencer would instantly recognise his handwriting? Fred wouldn’t exactly have been writing to advise that he was planning to visit!
Which brings us back to Charles White, Fred’s non-relation. White was clearly claiming an imaginary relationship with Fred Ward and conning the gullible Spencer, who instantly swallowed the bait, leading him to proclaim his own imaginary connection. Truth was not driving these claims, but ego – a desire to ride on the coat-tails of someone important. The pair were clearly "Thunderbolt groupies" yet their self-aggrandizing claims are still being believed today.
Secondly, Spencer admits that “my father ... had a very high regard for the outlaw”. This indicates a lack of impartiality on the father’s behalf, one likely communicated to the son as well. Passion can blinker the passionate, making them gullible and easily swayed.
Now to the "evidence" itself:
Claim 1: One day in 1892 or soon afterwards, according to the article, Spencer senior was having a chat with a neighbour named Charles White and the subject of Thunderbolt came up. Realising that Spencer senior was a Thunderbolt supporter, White reportedly confessed that he was one of Fred Ward's relatives.
Problem: Fred Ward had no relative named Charles White. His father was a convict transportee with no known relations in the colony. His mother’s maiden surname was not White and she too had no known relations in the colony. None of Fred’s siblings married anyone named White or bore children to a partner named White.
So if Charles White was not Fred Ward’s relation – as the evidence suggests – why was he claiming that he was? Either he was lying or Spencer Senior was massaging the story to make it seem more credible. Whatever the case, the foundations of this story are already weak.
Background credibility is extremely important in determining historical accuracy. A simple rule of historical detection is to use the accuracy of known information to determine the likely accuracy of unknown information. Since Charles White was not a Ward relative, the known information in this newspaper article is clearly incorrect. On those grounds alone, it is highly likely that the unknown information – the claims made in the article – are also incorrect.
Claim 2: After admitting that he was a Thunderbolt relative and discussing the bushranger, White offered to show Spencer something he thought would interest him. White brought out an envelope, pulled out a letter and showed it to Spencer, all the while hiding the signature.
Problem: If that isn’t "leading the witness", I don’t know what is!
Claim 3: Not surprisingly, when White asked Spencer if he recognised the handwriting, Spencer said: "Of course I do! I would recognise that handwriting anywhere. That letter was written by Fred Ward." At which White showed him that the letter was signed "Fred" and dated Canada 1892. White then said that the letter was indeed from Fred Ward himself.
Problem A: Fred Ward said that he was illiterate in 1856 and could read only in 1861.[1] Moreover, in 1865 he and his gang asked a pound-keeper to read them the newspaper report of their robberies, which suggests that their own reading skills were limited; otherwise why wouldn’t they have read it aloud themselves or taken the newspaper with them to read at their leisure.[2] This supports the primary-source evidence that Fred was functionally illiterate.
Problem B: People learn to read more easily than to write. Nobody ever claims to be able to write but not read. Since Fred Ward reported that he could read only, his writing skills were clearly even more limited. His writing would have been unformed – rather like a child’s. It would not be a handwriting style that anyone could instantly recognise.
Problem C: To immediately recognise an individual’s handwriting, the reader must have seen lots of it. So what relationship did the Spencers have with Fred Ward that Spencer Snr might have instantly recognised Fred’s handwriting? The "author" of this article was a man named Aubrey S. Spencer who was born around 1883 in the Muswellbrook district. He was the son of Matthew and Emma Spencer who were married in 1882 in the same district. His father was almost certainly the Matthew Spencer who was born in 1843 in the Scone district and who died in 1910 in the Muswellbrook district.[3] Clearly Matthew Spencer was eight years younger than Fred Ward and lived in a different district, so he could not have attended school with Fred or had more than a passing acquaintanceship prior to Fred’s 1856 incarceration in Cockatoo Island. Nor was Fred in the Muswellbrook vicinity between 1856 and his escape from Cockatoo Island late in 1863. Thereafter Fred was a bushranger on the run from the authorities. While he did venture south as far as Muswellbrook on a few occasions, he spent most of his bushranging years in the Tamworth vicinity or in the north-eastern or north-western parts of NSW. There is no evidence to suggest that he actually lived in the Muswellbrook vicinity between 1863 and 1870, merely that he passed through. So how could Matthew Spencer have known Fred Ward himself or known Fred’s writing so well that he could instantly recognise it decades later – with or without any prompting?
Problem D: Letters cost money: pen, ink, paper and postage. Fred’s "luggage" was captured by the police on a few occasions, but the list of his possessions never included any letter-writing items. Those who were illiterate did not waste money purchasing these items, so many of Fred’s supporters would neither have possessed such items nor been able to read a letter if it was sent to them.
Problem E: Why would a bushranger on the run be writing letters to acquaintances, enough letters that someone like Matthew Spencer would instantly recognise his handwriting? Fred wouldn’t exactly have been writing to advise that he was planning to visit!
Which brings us back to Charles White, Fred’s non-relation. White was clearly claiming an imaginary relationship with Fred Ward and conning the gullible Spencer, who instantly swallowed the bait, leading him to proclaim his own imaginary connection. Truth was not driving these claims, but ego – a desire to ride on the coat-tails of someone important. The pair were clearly "Thunderbolt groupies" yet their self-aggrandizing claims are still being believed today.
Link 4: Gravestone of Frederick Ward (see photocopy below right)
Western Stock & Station Journal
Claim: Aubrey Spencer stated that he visited Ottawa in 1937 and made enquiries about Fred Ward. "I was informed that in Ottawa Cemetery an Australian named Frederick Ward lies buried."
Problem: Spencer Junior did not state who provided the information. He did not state when this Frederick Ward died or how old he was. He did not state which Ottawa Cemetery the man was buried in; moreover, there is no “Ottawa Cemetery” as such, although there are dozens of cemeteries in Ottawa generally. He did not visit the cemetery and examine the grave for himself. In fact, he provided no evidence whatsoever to confirm that an Australian with the name Frederick Ward was indeed buried in an Ottawan cemetery or that the man could have been the bushranger Fred Ward. He was evidently just another gullible Spencer – or perhaps one with an agenda!
The facts:
The death indexes for the Canadian state of Ontario – which includes the city of Ottawa – are accessible via Ancestry.com and cover the years 1869 to 1934. Significantly, they include no references to a man named Frederick Ward or to anyone with a similar name who could have been the erstwhile bushranger.
Summary:
The claims that Fred Ward moved to Canada and died in Ottawa surfaced at a time when such claims were almost impossible to confirm or refute. Today, the records can be accessed and the truth determined. There is no evidence whatsoever to show that Fred Ward moved to Canada or was buried in Ottawa.
For information about Frederick Ward's actual death, see When did Fred Ward die?
Problem: Spencer Junior did not state who provided the information. He did not state when this Frederick Ward died or how old he was. He did not state which Ottawa Cemetery the man was buried in; moreover, there is no “Ottawa Cemetery” as such, although there are dozens of cemeteries in Ottawa generally. He did not visit the cemetery and examine the grave for himself. In fact, he provided no evidence whatsoever to confirm that an Australian with the name Frederick Ward was indeed buried in an Ottawan cemetery or that the man could have been the bushranger Fred Ward. He was evidently just another gullible Spencer – or perhaps one with an agenda!
The facts:
The death indexes for the Canadian state of Ontario – which includes the city of Ottawa – are accessible via Ancestry.com and cover the years 1869 to 1934. Significantly, they include no references to a man named Frederick Ward or to anyone with a similar name who could have been the erstwhile bushranger.
Summary:
The claims that Fred Ward moved to Canada and died in Ottawa surfaced at a time when such claims were almost impossible to confirm or refute. Today, the records can be accessed and the truth determined. There is no evidence whatsoever to show that Fred Ward moved to Canada or was buried in Ottawa.
For information about Frederick Ward's actual death, see When did Fred Ward die?
Sources:
[1] Maitland Gaol – Description Book: Frederick Ward [SRNSW ref: 2/2017 Year 1856 No.175; Reel 759] and Darlinghurst Gaol – Description Book [SRNSW ref: 4/6306 Year 1856 No.1772; Reel 859]; Darlinghurst Gaol – Description Book: Frederick Ward [SRNSW ref: 4/6309 Year 1861 No. 2103; Reel 860]
[2] Maitland Mercury 9 Jan 1866 p.2
[3] Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, NSW – Online Indexes: Births, Marriages and Deaths
[1] Maitland Gaol – Description Book: Frederick Ward [SRNSW ref: 2/2017 Year 1856 No.175; Reel 759] and Darlinghurst Gaol – Description Book [SRNSW ref: 4/6306 Year 1856 No.1772; Reel 859]; Darlinghurst Gaol – Description Book: Frederick Ward [SRNSW ref: 4/6309 Year 1861 No. 2103; Reel 860]
[2] Maitland Mercury 9 Jan 1866 p.2
[3] Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, NSW – Online Indexes: Births, Marriages and Deaths