A French Connection

A French family connection was discovered through my genealogy research with my great grandfather, Francis (aka Joseph) Ascoli (1821-1895). Three siblings' birth certificates (Alf (my grandfather), Sarah and Marcus), all show their father's birthplace as France (specifically Marseille, on the birth certificates for Alf and Marcus).

Ascoli birth certificates, siblings: Ernest Albert (aka Alf) 1872, Sarah Hannah 1875, Marcus George Daniel 1877. Mother Christina Long (note transcription error, Christina Dong, on Alf's birth certificate).

Marseille is the oldest city in France and an ancient trading port. It is famous for Bouillabaisse, a traditional fish soup, made with a variety of local fish and shellfish, cooked with herbs and spices, and served with a garlicky sauce and crusty bread.

A simple Bouillabaisse recipe from Rhodes, Lorna. 1989. The Book of Soups. p 107.

Joseph Ascoli's French ancestry was further confirmed through shipping records that stated he was French and that he worked as a chief cook on the Lord Ashley in 1872 and 1875. However, on another ship, Queensland, in 1872, he was recorded as British. Did he speak both French and English? These ships were trading on the east coast of Australia and the Pacific islands and could have been the reason why Joseph had different partners and families at the same time in two states (Christiana in Sydney and Agnes in Melbourne). 

There is some conflicting data on Joseph's nationality with another family in South Australia, with a Joseph Ascoli and his partner/wife, Louise Martini (born 1831). Their first child, Lydia, born 1859, has no nationality recorded for her parents on her birth certificate; their second child, Anna Louise, born 1862, had both parents born in Germany (Joseph born in Hamburg and Louise born in Kiel); and their third child, Francis (aka Frank), born 1869, had his father born in Marseilles and his mother born in Kiel. Joseph, at that time, was a teacher at Manx Town in the Adelaide Hills but by the time his third child was born in Ballarat he was a cook. Was this Joseph Ascoli the same person as my Francis Joseph Ascoli? Did Joseph change his nationality to French with his change in occupation? Was he born in Marseilles or Hamburg? With my early research, I could not find a French birth certificate for Joseph, but the majority of his family's birth death and marriage certificates identified him as French.

I was also unable to find a marriage certificate for Christina Long (my great grandmother) and Joseph Ascoli, even though their marriage date is recorded as 4 May 1871 on their three children's birth certificates. 

There is however another marriage certificate in Melbourne for Francis Joseph Ascoli and Agnes Reilly on 20 April 1871 (a month before Christina's recorded marriage date). In Melbourne, Francis Joseph Ascoli is a restaurant keeper, and his recorded birthplace is Bordeaux, France. A child (Charlotte) is born by Agnes on 25 July 1871; the father is now called Joseph Ascoli, has French nationality, with his occupation a surveyor. It is most likely Joseph was a bigamist as research has now identified seven partners/wives. 

Some of my French cookbooks.

Joseph Ascoli was a surveyor in Melbourne, in 1871, but in Sydney he continued his work as a chef, giving his work addresses in 1875, as a pastry chef at 139 Liverpool Street, and the Payne's building off 159 Phillips Street (Sands Directory 1858-1933). Joseph was a professional cook at various locations in Sydney, and on ships sailing from Sydney during the years 1871-1880.

In 1879, Joseph was working as a cook on the steamer, Wentworth, for the Australian Steam Navigation Company, when he was charged, convicted and sentenced to three months hard labour for stealing cutlery and grocery stores (Evening News 7 April, 1879, p2). This is the reason why my grandfather (Alf) and his brother (Marcus) were admitted to the children's home. 

In 1880, Joseph was working as a cook at the Post Office Hotel, Sydney, and in 1881 at the Globe Hotel, Albury.

1880 'POLICE.', The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW: 1842 - 1954), 29 January, p. 3.  viewed 27 Aug 2023, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13448612

The publicity about Joseph's stolen clothes may have brought him (again) to the attention of the NSW police because that same year there was a summons issued for him for deserting his child, Marcus. Alf and Marcus had been previously admitted on 6 May 1879 to the Randwick Asylum for Deserted Children. 

1880 'Deserting Wives and Families, Service, &c.', New South Wales Police Gazette and Weekly Record of Crime (Sydney : 1860 - 1930), 29 September, p. 363.viewed 27 Aug 2023, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article251642858

Alf, my grandfather, never spoke about his childhood in the children's home, to his children or his grandchildren. He did tell the story of his parents dying on a ship when he was a young boy. Was this a story that he had been told when he was in the children's home at Randwick? 

Did he believe his parents died on a ship? We will never know but I think he may have believed this story as I discovered that Alf's half-sister, Charlotte Ascoli, told the same story to her children and grandchildren. 

Agnes Ascoli (nee Reilly, born 1850) with daughter, Charlotte Ascoli (1871-1948). Melbourne. Photo courtesy of Kathleen Delany (nee Hawkins, born 1929). Kathleen is the granddaughter of Charlotte Ascoli. I had the delight of meeting Kathleen, in Western Australia and Victoria, to share our genealogy research and our Ascoli family stories.

Charlotte Ascoli and my grandfather, Alf Ascoli, lived in different states (Victoria and New South Wales), had different mothers (Agnes and Christina), and it appears the half siblings never met, yet their stories were so similar about the death of their parents that were passed down to their descendants. 

Francis (aka Joseph) Ascoli died in Melbourne on 10 May 1895 from gall stones, jaundice and exhaustion with his death certificate recording he was born in France, place unknown.

Over the years of researching Joseph Ascoli, I was delighted to have a French ancestor and I enjoyed cooking many French meals over these years of family history research. Some of my favourite recipes included: French onion soup, Quiche Lorraine, Salad Niçoise (my favourite salad with tuna, olives, boiled eggs, tomatoes and anchovies), crepes, coq au vin (chicken cooked in red wine), Boeuf Bourguignon, pastries, tarte tatin (upside down caramelized apple tart), croissants, and crusty breads. 

Some adapted French recipes from: A World of Cooking. 1982. Publisher Ameris, London. French Cooking pp 113-128.

My mother, Babe Ascoli (nee Gooley, 1906-1993), enjoyed cooking duck with orange sauce on special occasions. She viewed this as a French dish. The duck would be browned all over before baking (in a hot oven for approximately an hour) along with herbs, stock, orange juice and orange rind. A gravy was made with extra orange juice and brandy. Oranges were delicately cut for decoration. I remember one Christmas Day in Mullumbimby, I dropped this dish as I took it out of the oven, smashing the container and ending our special roast duck dinner. Luckily there was always a big roast turkey for Christmas in the Ascoli home. 

My excitement of finding a French ancestor, Joseph Ascoli, however, was diminished by finding out that Joseph Ascoli was not a good living man; he was a man who had lied, stolen from his employers, and deserted his children. But the more I researched the more I admired my grandfather, Alf Ascoli, who had not let his father's crimes define his life. Alf did not become a victim or follow his father's deviant ways but became a good living man, loving and loyal to his family, and working hard as a farmer for his family and community. 

More recent research on the Ascoli family and advances in DNA analysis have now proven that Francis Joseph Ascoli was not French.  He was German, born on 28 May 1821 in Hamburg. 

Now where are those German cookbooks?