Is This My Story To Tell?
Today, May 2025, I realised that for the last 2 years I have been working on finding a family connection that would link me to a young cabin boy. With almost one hundred years separating our births I have been able to fill many boxes with documents, newspaper articles & court records….enough is enough…..I have taken a stand & done something I have never done before!
Background To My Family Tree Research: Keeping Motivated
I have over a thousand names in my family tree which I believe allows me to claim that I am not lacking in motivation when it comes to my family tree research. I still find joy in discovering ancestral connections & surprise when I realise how the adage “history repeats itself” is present in my own personal history (see A Meaningful Coincidence)
Through my own actions I am inundated with documents, newspaper articles, images of old buildings & homes. I file them, write about them & allow them to be accessed publicly on Ancestry. Cross checking ancestry sources, checking other family trees, locating new and uploading my own photos has kept me on a “researchers high” (it should have it’s own adjective) for nearly 3 years.
My exuberance for research however, does have a down side. Falling down rabbit holes of history, DNA links & celebrity status (actress Shirley Ann Field for example) has kept me from original goal of finding my fathers war records.
A still standing brick wall has also meant I have not been able to find my paternal grandfather (see A Tangled Web We Weave) Even this has not eroded my motivation completely as, every year, I send a personal message to a DNA link that could take a brick out of the wall!
Enough of the background! Today is Day 1 of my stepping into unknown territory.
I am going to write a family story that may, one day, prove to have no connection to my family.
A Family Tree Story
The, not so subtle clue to how my next family history story differs from my others, can be found in the heading…. “A Family Tree Story” You see it may not be a family history story! It is however, a story I felt compelled to write. Some days this feeling is enough to convince me that there has to be a connection between the cabin boy and me. My pragmatic self however, argues against this! The advantage of being a “Bloomer” (aka “Boomer”) is I realise it doesn’t matter. A story worth telling does not rely on it being connected to me personally….I am not that important. The story is!
Starting A Family History Story
Where To Begin?
Every family history story begins with research. To do that you need both a name & a place. In my case the family name is Eastick, the place is Norfolk, England. Through trial & error I identified that the Eastick families in Norfolk could be placed into two branches. Those that consistently had biblical names & those that didn’t. On one hand I found Isahas, Ezekiels and, on the other, Roberts, James & Elizabeth’s
The cabin boy in my family history story is Robert Eastick born in 1841 his father was Robert Eastick, his mother Elizabeth. Simple? If only! Four generations of Roberts, James & Elizabeth’s regularly showed up in my ancestry hints. Dutifully & somewhat smugly I cross referenced and added them to my tree. I had this Ancestry Research sussed……until Robert Eastick, Cabin Boy, made my acquaintance
Connecting the Family Names
My knowledge of Robert’s early years is restricted to his birth (1841), baptism in (1844) & one line of the in the Norfolk census of 1845. Having only names & dates does not bode well for a family history story but they have been the anchor that has held me fast. Today, by chance (or maybe not?) I came across this sea shanty that was the final push I needed to share the story Robert Eastick, cabin boy
“The Life of a Cabin Boy is Bad” by Robert Palomo
In my world. Robert Eastick, Cabin Boy should be a Great Great Uncle or a cousin 2-3 x removed. But, despite my best efforts, I can not find the link. I do, however have hard evidence of how Robert Eastick, Cabin Boy died and that is the family history story I will tell.
Ancestry Time Line
1841 Robert’s birth & baptism at aged 3 years was in Lynn, Norfolk. His father was also born in the same area. If I have the correct “Elizabeth” his mother’s maiden name was Rogers and she was born in Ireland
The 1851 census shows Robert lived with his mother who is again listed as being born in Ireland & also a brother, James. Elizabeth is recorded as aged 49 years which corresponds to the date of birth to the Elizabeth who was born in Ireland However, she is now recorded as being the “Head” of the family which likely means Robert (the father) is deceased although I have no record of this. Robert (the cabin boy) is 10 years old which also links to his birth records.
The census showed that Elizabeth was a “launderer” & had taken in a border. Life would be hard for women on their own so taking in a lodger & doing other peoples washing were financial necessities. Of more interest to me was the fact that the occupation of this border was “Mariner” It may not be considered a scholarly connection but to my mind a ten year old boy living in the same house a sixteen year old Mariner would have had the seeds of sea life scattered into the dreams of his future.
1856 sees a 15 year old Robert being apprenticed for 6 years onto John Sugars barque.
1856 is also the same year as his death notice. I found Robert’s death notice in Old Bailey Court records. The only other record of his death is in his apprentice records.
The court records detail the relentless, physical cruelty he endured. History records that children in the 19th century were seen as being economic commodities that fueled the industrial revolution of the times. Chimney sweeps, mill owners & ship’s captains valued children for their cheap labour. I base my assumption that Robert’s life & death as a cabin boy was seen more as an occupational hazard on the fact that Captain Doyle, who was in the dock for culpability of Roberts death, was found guilty and yet given a sentence of only 3 months incarceration.
A more positive research discovery among the court records, was finding another member of Robert’s family. It seems Robert had a sister, Matilda Rennart. Unfortunately for my research the ancestral waters become decidedly muddy when I tried to link Matilda to this branch. The only Matilda I found had parents, John & Elizabeth whose age does not match the Elizabeth being Roberts mother in the 1851 census. There is also no mention of Robert who was born in the same year as the 1841 census! As Robert was born in the beginning of January he should be there. My only hope is to find another Matilda but, until then I will climb out of that rabbit hole & bring my focus back to Robert Eastick, cabin boy.
A Cabin Boy In The Newspapers
1857 is the year young Robert’s story reached the shores of Australia. It was this newspaper article that began my connection to the Cabin Boy. (At the time I was researching my Great Grand Uncle, Thomas Eastick. Who, like me was the equivalent of a Ten Pound Pom when he took advantage of free passage to the other side of the world.
The focus in this reporting is on Robert’s suicide but it also highlights that Captain Doyle was “not responsible for the death of the poor ill-used boy, but he was responsible for the numerous assaults committed against him”
1860 is a time obviously not connected to the death of Robert but it is of interest in that only 4 years later the barque, “John Sugars” was again in the news with allegations of “scuttling” by the crew. This was reported in the South Australian Advertiser 5 May 1860
It seems the John Sugars was an ill fated ship with a crew to match.
Future Research
For me, family history research is always about the stories I find (see Be The Story Teller in your Family) . I believe that our stories are as important as any other monetary wealth or heirloom we leave behind. As a species we have survived this long because we are tribal. We need to be connected to others for both our mental & physical well being. Our ability to co-exist, share our knowledge & sustain family relationships has propelled civilisation forward.
In researching my ancestors my focus was always on finding a link from Robert Eastick, the cabin boy, to Robert Eastick, my Great Great Grandfather. It proved to be a goal beyond my reach. Somewhere in the research process finding that link became less important than sharing the story behind the names & dates on my family tree. The life of a cabin boy may never be added to my family tree but it is a story that demanded to be told. In sharing this story I feel a weight off my shoulders. There are 25 other family history researchers on Ancestry who have connections to a branch of my Eastick family. None of whom have added my Cabin Boy to their tree so it is now time to let the universe decide if Robert Eastick finds his place on my family tree or not. For now it is enough that his story has been told.
“You inherit all kinds of things that you can do nothing about. You inherit your identity, your history, like a birthmark that you can’t wash off.”
Warts And All 
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