Joy's history researches uncover villainy and tragedy
A murder mystery and villainous deeds have been uncovered in a lockdown family history project which has been turned into a book.
Joy Hamer of Newtown decided to use the pandemic lockdown as an opportunity to compile her researches into the Australian branch of her family.
Over the past 20 years Joy has produced four books on various aspects of her family history, during which she received information about descendants of John Hopkins and his wife Catherine who emigrated to Australia in 1854 with their children.
"I was keeping this information in bags and envelopes. The bags and envelopes grew, so this year I decided to put all the information into print, and the coronavirus lockdown has proved the ideal opportunity," she says.
Joy, who is 88, and a former deputy head of Newtown High School who was awarded the MBE in 1996, traces her line to David and Elizabeth Hopkins, who were married at Llandeiniol, near Aberystwyth, in 1769.
She is directly descended from one of the sons, also called David. Another of the sons was Evan Hopkins, through whom the branch which went to Australia is descended.
In November 1854 John Hopkins, wife Catherine, and their six children travelled from their home in Wales to Plymouth to board the "Lord Hungerford" and sail for Australia to start a new life as assisted immigrants, paying £5 for the family fare.
Joy's book details the stories of scores of her distant relatives from the other side of the world, some of whom achieved distinction, but one or two of whom achieved notoriety.
One story is of a woman who won 334,511 dollars on the pools, only to lose her husband 10 months later in a car accident. She remarried a doctor who liberally spent her money and then shot her four times. Charged with murder, he admitted manslaughter and served just 29 months.
Another is of a relative who was a prominent local politician whose body was found at the bottom of cliffs at a place dubbed Suicide Point. But rumour had it that he was pushed by a rival who was later accused of disposing of three people and eventually declared insane.
Joy's book details a number of tragedies too, including one relative having been killed in an airliner crash in 1962.
