His maternal grandfather Peter Degraves was an entrepreneur who was frequently imprisoned but successful in building mills, a brewery and ships in Tasmania. James Lukin Davis is our lone Austrialian burial, sent on a world tour for his education, he died of typhoid fever in Florence. Australian historians note that they had already lost the rest of their family in the 1859 shipwreck of the Royal Charter off the coast of Angelsey, Wales, returning with gold prospectors from Australia: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/8642353/Gold-rush-shipwreck-offers-up-treasures-off-Welsh-coast-after-150-years.html 'The Royal Charter was a 2,719 ton steam clipper, fitted with a 200 horse power auxiliary engine. George Cramm laid down the Royal Charter, ordered by Charles Moore and Company of Liverpool, launching her on the River Dee in 1855. Gibbs Bright and Company bought her in an unfinished state, taking over the hull of this iron sailing ship after her original builder failed, and went bankrupt. William Patterson now completed the vessel to the new owner's specifications, the ship destined for the Australian run. Made from steel with clipper lines, the engine was added to avoid the ship becoming becalmed in the Doldrums, and designed to carry up to 600 passengers, but with a limited cargo capacity. The Royal Charter was the fastest ship plying the route between Liverpool and Australia, usually making the trip in under 60 days'. This ship's list gives the parents: Mr James Davis, 48, Mrs Louisa Davis, 40, Derwent Davis, 10, Walter Davis, 12, Miss Sophia Davis, 14, Miss Florence Davis, 18. Louisa's sister, Ellen Fenwick, 28, was also on board with her four children, Ellen, 9, Charles, 8, Rosa, 5, and an infant, 1. When the bodies of James and Louisa Davis were recovered, they were locked in each other’s arms. Tony Fleetwood-Wilson writes: 'James Lukin Davis was one of the three surviving children of James Davis and his wife, Louisa née Degraves. (Louisa was the eldest sister of my great-grandmother, Lady Deborah Wilson, née Degraves, of Hobart). James, Louisa and four of their children died on the Royal Charter in 1859. The three eldest children had remained in Hobart, where their aunts and uncles lived, to continue their education. After the death of James Lukin on a visit to Florence, just over four years later, there remained only Louisa Sophia and Charles Percy. Louisa Sophia married in 1875 but died in 1878 after the birth of a son. Thus only Charles Percy, of the seven children, lived a normal life span'. We should like to chisel all their names on the opposite side of James Lukin Davis' tomb. Contributors to story: Christopher Betteridge (Musecape), Grahame Thom, Maurice Appleyard, Jennifer Bennett, Joyce Purtscher, Tony A. Fleetwood Wilson, Philip Henderson.

'Registre des Sepultures avec detail des frais, Francs 332.55/ III: 1865-1870 'Registre des Sepultures' avec detail des frais; Francs 332.55/ Registro alfabetico delle persone tumulate nel Cimitero di Pinti: Davis/ J.L./ / Inghilterra/ Firenze/ 13 Novembre/ 1863/ Anni 25/ 854/ N&Q 107. James Lukin, eldest s. of the late James Davis, of Victoria, Australia, and Laura, d. of Peter Degraves, of Cascade, Tasmania, ob. 13 Nov 1863. Erected by his brother and sister. Chiesa Evangelica Riformata Svizzera, 1827-present.