John Thomas HODGES m c1863 Elizabeth GILDING

(Possible marriage of his parents: George Hughes HODGES m 7 AUG 1847 Saint James, Westminster, London, England, Sarah NEWPORT [IGI Batch Number M147509 extracted from parish records]
Also George Hughes HODGES m 1847 St James, Westminster, London, Sarah NEWPORT [1st Qtr, Vol 1, Page 124, FreeBMD] A previous marriage of George Hughes HODGES has not yet been found.)

John George Thomas HODGES d 30 May 1899 aged 56 yrs Melbourne East Hospital s/o George Hughes HODGES/Sarah NEWPORT, 32 yrs in Victoria, married aged 21 in London to Bessie GILDING [Vic death cert 6700 held by Jim Hodges]
Notes:
1. Age at death of 56 tallies with birth in Dec 1842. If 32 yrs in Victoria was correct then arrival year would be 1867. This is not right as his first child was born in Victoria in 1864. He arrived in Aug 1863 therefore he had lived almost 36 yrs in Victoria.
2. John was single aged 20 when he emigrated in Apr 1863. Elizabeth was a spinster on the shipping record so they were not married in London and indeed no marriage has been found on FreeBMD which covers this time and place. John would have turned 21 in Dec 1863 after he had lived in Victoria for four months, so the marriage should have taken place before Dec 1864 if his age of 21 was correct. No marriage has been found in Victoria between Dec 1863 and Dec 1864, despite searching surname spelling variations for both parties, and perhaps it will not be found here because it was stated that London was the place. The only other possibility is that they married on the voyage out between Apr-Aug 1863. One other record to search is British Marriages at sea 1854-1883 at findmypast.com website but this requires a subscription or Pay-per-view.

George J HODGES, Farmer of Perrins Creek Bayswater, died 30 May 1899, Letters of Administration granted 5 Jul 1899 [PROV File number 71/697, Public Record Office of Victoria references to digitised images which are downloaded as pdfs: VPRS_28_P0_LINK Unit 913, VPRS_28_P2_LINK Unit 515, VPRS_7591_P2_LINK Unit 291]
Will dated 10 Oct 1897 witnessed by his sons Arthur and Frank who were also executors of the estate. The inventory included 1 horse, 1 plough, 1 harrow, house and land in the Parish of Monbulk, Section C, Allotment 10. A Hodges as executor of GJ Hodges 9 acres, 2 roods, 37 perches, dated 9 Aug 1916. Note an adjacent property, AH Hodges, allotment 13, 9 acres, 0 roods, 18 perches, dated 29 May 1918. (Will and Letters of Administration brought to my attention by Jeanette Badge, descendant of Dinah HODGES COTTER)

Monbulk -2 Parish Plan, M3146-2 from PROV VPRS 16171 Regional Land Office Parish Plans Digitised Reference Set

Elizabeth GILDING (known as Bessie) b 1838/9 [1851 census, 1861 census, shipping record] at St Giles in the Fields, MSX [1851 census] or Dean Street, Soho MSX [1861 census] (The parish of St Anne Soho is adjacent to the parish of St Giles in the Fields, both in Middlesex. St Anne Soho also borders St James Westminster mentioned above which is also in MSX.)
Elizabeth HODGES (b abt 1837) d 1916 aged 79 yrs Essendon, parents unknown [Vic 5703]
Boroondara (Kew) Cemetery C of E 'A', grave 1179, headstone transcription:
In Loving Memory / Our Father and Mother / George John Hodges / Died 30 May 1899 / 57 years / Bessie Hodges / Died 21 May 1916 / 79 years. (Anne Hodges)

1851 England Census taken 30/31 March [HO107, Piece 1509, Folio 326, Page 11]
GILDING Ann, Head, Widow, 34, Schoolmistress, born Middlesex, St Giles in the Fields (b abt 1817)
GILDING Elizabeth, Daur, 13, born Middlesex, St Giles in the Fields (b abt 1838)
GILDING George, Son, 11, born Middlesex, St Giles in the Fields (b abt 1840)

1861 England Census taken 7/8 April [RG 9/100, Folio 5, Page 8]
Civil Parish of St Pancras, Ecclesiastical Parish of St John, Middlesex, England, living at 25 Tottenham Court Road:
GILDING Elizabeth, Head, Unmarried, 23, born Dean Street, Soho (b abt 1838)
GILDING George, Brother, Unmarried, 21, Book Binder, Frederick Humper, born Dean Street, Soho (b abt 1840)

Unnassisted Immigration to Victoria
Passengers on the Pegasus departed London 29 Apr 1863, arrived Melbourne, 26 Aug 1863:
Thomas HODGES, age 20, Single, Labourer, English [f222 p002] (tallies with birth in Dec 1842)
Elizabeth GILDING, age 24 on original record (37 in index is an error), Spinster, English [f222 p002] (b abt 1838/9)
They were in a group of seven with 'Warrants 123' written beside their names which means that they had sponsors in Melbourne who paid their fare into the agent's account and a warrant had been issued to this effect for them to embark in London. Whether John Thomas and Elizabeth met on the voyage or knew each other in London is not known.

Children of John Thomas HODGES and Elizabeth GILDING