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More about Longbottom

Posted on May 14, 2016 by TinaJanuary 6, 2021

Having learned that the Gransdens lived for a while in Longbottom Concord, NSW last weekend I thought this weekend that I would go and see what Longbottom was like. There is, of course, not much left on the original stockade or any real indication of what Longbottom would have looked like at the time but it was still lovely to visit.

When researching Longbottom last week I came across mention of a memorial plaque that had been set up to commemorate the French Canadian convicts that had been quartered at Longbottom in the 1840’s. I decided to search out the memorial to see if it was still there.

Memorial of Canadian Exiles 1840- Longbottom
Tina Bean 2016

Memorial of Canadian Exiles 1840- Longbottom, Concord
Tina Bean 2016

The memorial plaque reads-

Near this spot in Longbottom Stockade fifty-eight French speaking Canadian prisoners from the uprising of 1837-38 in Lower Canada were incarcerated from March 11, 1840 to November 1842 before being released on ticket-of-leave and eventually pardoned to return to Canada. Their sojourn in the Parramatta River area is recalled by the names of Exile Bay, France Bay and Canada Bay.

Ninety-two English-speaking prisoners captured in Upper Canada in 1838 were similarly exiled in Van Diemen’s Land.

Measures taken as a result of the uprisings in Lower and Upper Canada represented significant steps in the evolution of Responsible Government and Parliamentary democracy in Canada and Australia.

This plaque was unveiled on May 16, 1970 by the Right Honourable Pierre Elliott Tredeau- Prime Minister of Canada, to mark the 130th anniversary of the Landing of the Canadian Exiles in Australia and to commemorate the sacrifices made by many Canadians and Australians in the evolution of self-Governing, equal and free nations within the Commonwealth of Nations.

Sitting just above the plaque there is another much smaller plaque.

Movement of the Canadian Exiles Memorial Plaque to Bayview Park.

This plaque tells the story of the Canadian Exiles Plaque and its movement from its original site at the location of the Longbottom Stockade.

This monument was originally located at Cabarita Park but was moved to here following the development of Bayview Park.

This is the site of the original wharf where the Canadian Exiles disembarked on their way to the Longbottom Stockade down Whaft Road which is now known as Burwood Road.

The Longbottom Stockade was situated on the present Concord Oval.

This plaque is to commemorate the relocation of the monument and was unveiled by Mr. Denny Stimpson, Canadian Vice Consul on 17th of February, 1984.

Bayview Park wharf, Concord.
Tina Bean 2016

Now I had an exact location for the Longbottom Stockade. It happened to be at the end of Burton Street, the street on which Robert Gransden had owned a block of land in Concord that had probably housed him, Edwin and his first wife, Maria, at some stage and quite probably Mary Ann Russell nee Gransden.

So I decided it was time to go to Burton Street and have a look at Concord oval and the street that the Gransdens had lived on.

Concord Oval is now a sporting ground. There is no indication of its original use that I was able to see as they had a game on this weekend. Maybe another time I will get to wander around the oval and the much larger park area on the other side of the road that was also part of the Stockade.

Concord Park, previously the Longbottom Stockade.
Tina Bean 2016

However, on Burton Street was a lovely old Church. St Lukes Church is the oldest Church known in the Concord area and once again there was a plaque to commemorate the church.

St Lukes Church Concord memorial plaque.
Tina Bean 2016

The plaque gives details of St Lukes Church.

St Lukes, the oldest Church known in Concord was designed in the Gothic style by noted architect E. T. Blackett. Construction was by W. J. Godbolt, Dr. Frederick Barker Bishop of Sydney set the Foundation Stone on St. Lukes Day 1859 and consecrated the Church on the 2nd of May 1861. Additions of the Northern and Southern Aisles, Apsidal Chancel and Organ Loft were planned by W. Coles and completed in 1882. The Church became the recipient of its Hill Organ in 1884 from the Walker Family in Celebration of Eadith Walker’s (later Dame Eadith) 21st Birthday.

St Lukes Church, Concord. NSW.
Tina Bean 2016

St Lukes Church, Concord. NSW.
Tina Bean 2016

Thus while the Gransdens were living on Burton Street this part of the Street would have been a building site for the entire time that they lived in the area. Sometime between 1857 and 1864 the house or land on Burton Street was sold. By this time Robert had lived in Bathurst for many years and Edwin was living first in Melbourne with the wife he had bought back to the Longbottom House and later at Mount Franklin, in an area of the Victorian Gold Rushes. Mary Ann had by this stage disappeared from the records. It is possible that she made use of the Longbottom House when she left her husband in 1852 but she seems to be back with her husband again by the time she gave birth to their last child in 1854.

Robert Gransden kept the Longbottom house for a considerable time after he and his brother no longer needed it. Did Mary Ann move here after she had her last child and is this where she died? If so the disposal of the house over this seven-year period may give an indication of when and where Mary Ann died. So there is still a lot to explore about this area.

The houses on Burton Street all look to be from around the 1920s-1930s. Without more details as to the exact location of the Gransden property and more information about any potential house, it was impossible to tell if the Gransdens had lived on this block of land and which part of the Burton Street they may have been located on. There is still much to find out. Explorations have started.

The earlier part of this story Longbottom- Gransdens in the Concord area can be found here.

Thieves and Receivers

Posted on May 12, 2016 by TinaMay 12, 2016

It appears that Robert Gransden’s Oil and Colour shop was more extensive than just providing paint and pigments to painters. Robert Gransden had at some stage partnered J. Snell as an Iron Founders. It seems that this partnership had not gone well and the partnership was disbanded in 1844.

Hampshire Advertiser & Salisbury Guardian (Southampton, England), Saturday, February 24, 1844. British Newspapers 1600-1950 (Gale)

However, Robert Gransden, son of John Gransden, appears to have retained some of the equipment and practices of the iron foundry in his Colour and Paint Shop in Orchard Lane, Southampton.

In 1848 Robert Gransden appeared at court as a witness against Elijah White and Edward Bevan who were bought on charges of stealing three quarters of a hundred weight of Iron, the property of George Gould. White and Bevan had been arrested in January of 1848. White had been in the employ of Mr Gould for eight years and Bevan was Mr. Goulds apprentice. At the hearing in January both White and Bevan were committed for trial and were then admitted to bail.

Hampshire Advertiser & Salisbury Guardian (Southampton, England), Saturday, January 29, 1848. British Newspapers 1600-1950 (Gale)

Robert Gransden had been the receiver of the goods. However, despite being “occasionally severely rough handled” Robert Gransden seemed to be unable to confirm that Bevan or White were the people who had come into his shop to sell iron.

Robert Gransdens partner had weighed out the iron and called out the amounts to Robert who was in his office in the middle of the store. Robert had paid the men as they had passed him but only saw the man’s hand as he, Robert, passed over the money.

Charles Ford, a labourer, was the man who had weighed the iron and Robert Gransden trusted him to assess the correct weight. As the scales were in the back of the shop this was out of the line of sight of Robert Gransden. Meanwhile Robert Gransden had not seen the men while he was in his office because he was busy shaving.

At the conclusion of the trial in April of 1848 both men seemed to get off relatively lightly with Elijah White sentenced to six weeks in gaol and Edward Bevan to just three weeks.

Hampshire Advertiser & Salisbury Guardian (Southampton, England), Saturday, April 15, 1848. British Newspapers 1600-1950 (Gale)

Mothers Day

Posted on May 8, 2016 by TinaMay 8, 2016

Happy Mothers Day to all mothers out there.

For mothers day this year I have decided to post a photo of my Grandmother and some of her descendents.

In this photo my Grandmother can be seen with four of her five children, three of her Grandchildren, including both her eldest Grandchild and her youngest two Grandchildren and two of her Great Grandchildren. Taken in Febuary of 2007 for Shirley,s 80th Birthday. She has since passed away.

Happy Mothers Day Grandma, also to my mother.

Four Generations. Shirley Guest nee Gransden, some of her Children, Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren.

Longbottom- Gransdens in the Concord Area

Posted on May 7, 2016 by TinaMay 14, 2016

On his marriage certificate Edwin Gransden declared his usual residence to be in Cumberland County, Sydney area, in NSW. By the time of Edwins marriage Robert Gransden, Edwins eldest brother was already living in Bathurst (NSW Bathurst GPO, Government Gazettes., 1850) However, Robert also owned a property in the County of Cumberland. Lot 3, Section 6 Burton St, Village of Longbottom, Parish, Concord, Cumberland was owned by Robert Gransden. (A transaction from Robert GRANSDEN to JOHN WOODS. Lot 3 Section 6 Burton St, Village of Longbottom, 1857-64)

Longbottom was established as a Stockade around 1792. This was originally built to house the convicts who were building Parramatta Road but later it became a staging point for Convicts who were being transferred to Parramatta. To walk from Sydney to Parramatta was a lengthy journey so the Longbottom Stockade was used to house the Convicts as they took an overnight break. (Blaxell, 2010)

The area of Longbottom was granted to Lt. William Lawson in 1809, it was bought soon afterwards by D’Arcy Wentworth who then returned it to the Government in 1814 in exchange for another grant of grazing land. From 1819 onwards Longbottom was part of a Government farm next to what would later become the Village of Concord. The farm originally stretched from Parramatta Road to the current Suburb of Concord and Cabarita. The farm housed convicts who engaged in a wide variety of activities such as timber getters, charcoal burners, sawyers and shinglers. However, once Governor Macquarie left the concept of the farm no longer found favour with the new Governor and the farm was gradually wound down. By 1828 there were only five convicts and an overseer. In 1838 part of Longbottom Farm was sold and the remainder became a depot for a detachment of the Mounted Police. (Blaxell, 2010)

In 1840, fleetingly new life was breathed into the Stockade as Longbottom Farm once again held convicts. This time they were Canadian Political prisoners. A rebellion had been fomented in Canada in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. This had been quashed by British troops and a number of the Canadian prisoners were sent to Australia, some to New South Wales and some to Van Diemens Land. Those that had been sent to New South Wales were housed at the Longbottom Stockade. Between 1843 and 1844 free pardons were awarded to the Canadian prisoners and the majority of them had left Australia by late 1844. After the Canadians left there were plans to develop the area in the Village of Longbottom and houses were built in the late 1840-1850’s. It is around this time that Robert Gransden bought his property at Longbottom Farm. (Blaxell, 2010)

See http://www.concordheritage.asn.au/concord-history/french-canadian-exiles-1840 for the details of a memorial to the Canadian Political Prisoners of the Longbottom Stockade.

It was probably this property with any house that had been built by Robert, that Edwin was living in prior to marrying Maria Baker. It is also probably this property that he bought his wife home to after their marriage. Edwin and Maria were married in St. Philips church in Sydney. Unfortunately no records of whether Edwin’s brother Robert Gransden or sister Mary Ann Russell nee Gransden were at the wedding. It is likely that either before or just after Edwin and Maria married they met up with Edwin’s family in either Bathurst or in Sydney. It is nice to think that Edwin took his new bride to the Bathurst area where he had 10 surviving nieces and nephews from the families of his brother and sister. Edwin must have heard a lot about these family members from letters that would have been sent to and from the families in England and Australia. It is also about this time that Mary Ann, his sister disappears from the records. Hopefully she was not so elusive to her brother as she is to those searching for her in current day Australia.

Map from a Stamp First Day Cover commemorating Concord

More about Longbottom and my continuing research into this area can be found here More About Longbottom.

Maria Gransden nee Baker

Posted on May 3, 2016 by TinaMay 3, 2016

I have been researching Edwin Gransden again and I decided it was time to give a little bit of thought to Edwin’s first wife Maria Baker. I have very little information on Maria and would like to know more as things obviously did not go well between Maria and Edwin.

Two short weeks after arriving in Sydney in 1855 on the Washington Irving, Edwin Gransden married Maria Baker. On his marriage certificate Edwin declared his usual residence to be in Cumberland County – Sydney area, in NSW. Edwin and Maria were married in St. Philips Church in Sydney. St Philips Church had been opened in 1809 and the Reverened William Cowper, who solemnised the marriage between Edwin and Maria was the first Priest to have held office at the Church and for the first 10 years of his tenure he was the only Priest at the Church. William Cowper died in 1853 after having spent the majority of his life working at St Phillips Church in Sydney.

Sydney in 1848
by Joseph Fowles
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0600151h.html#p10b

Little is known about Maria Baker other than that she was born in Suffolk England about 1823 and her father, George Baker was in the army. It is uncertain exactly when Maria arrived in Australia however it is probable that she was the Maria Baker who arrived on 26^th of October 1839 aboard the Florist. Her occupation at the time was listed as house servant.

Figure 1. 1839 ‘SHIP NEWS.’, The Sydney Herald (NSW : 1831 – 1842), 28 October, p. 2. , viewed 02 May 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12856055

The Florist was a barqu, a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts having the fore- and mainmasts rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) rigged fore-and-aft.

Figure 2 Courtesy of United States Library of Congress’s Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID det.4a25817

Edwin and Maria were married by banns. In 1215 the calling of banns was introduced into England and Wales. This involved the public announcing of an impending wedding for three weeks leading up to the date of the wedding. This was to ensure that anyone who knew of an objection would have the chance to speak up. On the marriage certificate Edwin declared himself a widower and Maria was declared as a Spinster. As both Maria and Edwin were overage no one needed to sign for either of them. To date there is no true indication of who Edwin’s earlier wife may have been and in what country he may have married her, although Maria at least believed that he had married his previous wife in England. Looking further into the future however, Edwin’s first daughter is called Ellen. In the 1851 Census Edwin is staying with an Ellen Sly or Fly. It is possible that his daughter Ellen was named after this Ellen who he may either have been married to or living with in England.

Both Maria and Edwin moved to Melbourne. From here it is very uncertain what happened to the couple but what is evident is that they split up. Unlike many other separations at this time there is no announcement in a Newspaper stating that Edwin will no longer be responsible for Maria’s debts. Given that Edwin moved to the Goldfields there is the possibility that Edwin either deserted Maria or that something happened that meant that they just lost contact while he was on the Goldfields.

Maria continued to live in Melbourne working as a Housekeeper.

At the time of her death in 1890 Maria Gransden was living in Fitzroy Melbourne and her death certificate states that she is married to unknown Gransden with no children. Maria obviously did not know that her husband had pre-deceased her by just under 20 years.

Aside

Day of Frustration at the Archives

Day of frustration at the archives yesterday. I have proved that one of the convicts that we thought was ours is not. So I now have to figure out who this person is. His name is William Russell, he is located in Bathurst and he had six children with his wife before she left him. It appears likely that she then came back and they had another child a few years later. Then she disappears from the records. He is around to approve his daughters marriage at the age of 17, as she was a minor she needed his permission to marry. After that he also disappears from the records.

He may be a convict as all of this takes place in Bathurst and this was a very big convict area but certainly by the time they are getting married he is no longer a convict, if he ever was one. His name was William Russell I don’t have a death certificate for either him or Mary and it seems that both of them have lived forever somewhere off in the Never Never. If I had a death certificate it may be possible to locate who was who.

I have now looked up and obtained all likely death certificates for his wife Mary Russell nee Gransden and checked them against all likely Wills. No dice! Now I need to try and do the same with William Russell, but of course William Russell’s are a dime a dozen so finding him that way is extremely difficult.

I have also found two potential convicts, one I am pretty sure is not correct because he has a middle name that is in half of the documentation but not in any of the documentation for his children, it makes it unlikely.

The other convict William Russell is a possibility but whoever did the transcriptions has of course got confused by the long s’s and so half of the transcriptions are under William or Wm Ruffell or Ruffel rather than Russell. This makes the searches even longer and more difficult and I could well be chasing a William Russell that has nothing to do with the Gransden family. Plus half of the information for him also seems to be missing.

Then on top of that I am also trying to research our block of land and finally connect some dots. But the packet of information that should inform me of who had what is missing. There was something in the archives in the correct position but it was logged as something else. We thought it may be relevant anyway but if it is it is in the middle of the chain of evidence somewhere and not at either of the ends that I have concrete information for. So I can’t confirm the link between the Bennets who held our land in the 1860’s and William Balmain who held our land in the 1790’s

UTAS and Convicts

Posted on April 29, 2016 by TinaApril 29, 2016

The next subject for my Diploma in Family History has started. We are researching Convicts.

Unlike the first subject, ‘Introduction to Family History’, this one has jumped right in. We have had some information about convicts we are starting to figure out which convict we will be researching and we have been looking at websites to help us write up our convict research.

One website that looks really interesting is London Lives. This website has a search function and brings up a whole lot of different resources for those who were living in London UK between 1800-1600. Of course this includes Greater London so it has quite a few resources from Kent. So the first thing that I did was plug in the Gransden surname. I came up with a bunch of Wills, most of which I already have copies of, and a Mary and an Ann Gransden’s admission and discharge papers for St Thomas’s Hospital in 1776. The Mary and Ann may well be the same person particularly given the name Mary Ann was one of the Gransden favourites for many years. At this stage I have not located which Mary Ann or Mary and Ann this may refer to but interesting to know that there are admissions for this time at St Thomas’s Hospital.

St Thomas’s Hospital was originally named after St Thomas Becket. It isn’t known exactly when the Hospital was founded but it was describes as ancient in 1215. The original Hospital was run by a mixed order of Augustinian Monks and Nuns and provided shelter for the sick, poor and homeless.

Old St. Thomas’s Hospital, Southwark: The Entrance Courtyard. Eighteenth century. Wellcome Library ICV No 14043. © The Wellcome Library, London.

When Mary and Ann or Mary Ann Gransden was in St Thomas’s Hospital it was located at Southwark. Southwark is one of the oldest parts of central London. The hospital had a very large flow through of patient traffic and catered for a wide range of medical conditions from those with venereal disease right through to those who were classified as insane.

If you want to read more about St Thomas’s Hospital you can go here http://www.londonlives.org/static/StThomasHospital.jsp for more details.

So of course this brings me back to Mary Ann Gransden and William Russell, I am becoming obsessive about this couple and will be glad to be looking at some other Gransdens again in a month or so. William Russell is of course not the William Russell that I was expecting him to be. However, given that William Russell and Mary Ann were in Bathurst prior to the outbreak of Gold Fever, and in the early years of Bathurst, it is highly likely that William Russell whilst not being the William Russell that I was originally after, is in fact a convict. So this course may well be a really good time to start searching for William Russell the convict who may in fact have married Mary Ann Gransden.

If I am unable to find the correct William Russell then it may be time to explore Mary Stevens. Mary was sentenced at Ilchester Court during the Somerset Lent Circuit hearing on 28th March 1799 for “Stealing Goods val. 30/- of Thomas Andrews”. This was for 17 yards of printed cotton. She was sentenced to transportation for 7 years. Mary had been held at the Castle of Taunton whilst awaiting trial. The sentence was confirmed at the Summer Circuit of 1799 and the Lent Circuit the following year. She arrived in Australia on the “Earl Cornwallis” on 12 June 1801.

Mary Stevens is not a Gransden family convict but she is a convict from other branches of my family tree. I would like to know more about her but my priority, if possible is to locate and research William Russell. Mary Stevens is my fall back convict.

So convicts- here I come.

Saying goodbye to William Russell per Asia

Posted on April 26, 2016 by TinaApril 26, 2016

For many years my research, and that of others who had researched the Gransden Family in New South Wales, had lead me to believe that William Russell per Asia had been the husband of Mary Ann Russell nee Gransden. But the evidence finally stacks up enough to say categorically that this is just not the case.

The original information on William looked promising;

William was tried at the Oxford Assizes on 13th July 1831 for stealing a waistcoat. He was previously convicted and gaoled for 6 months for stealing sheep skins.
He was sentenced to transportation for life.

William was the correct age, he was in NSW and with the limited information we had at the time he looked like a good match. But over the years I have stacked up enough information to say that this William Russell probably never lived in Bathurst where Mary Ann was having her children with a William Russell.

Originally I found information that William was assigned as a Convict to Timothy Nowland in Maitland. This was not enough to say that he was not our convict. After all just because he was assigned to someone in Maitland did not mean that either of them stayed in Maitland. However, this was enough for me to start looking.

The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, Thursday 5 July 1832
1010. Russell William, Asia (9), cattle jobber and butcher, to Timothy Nowland, Maitland

I came up with two pieces of interesting information that showed William Russell was located in Maitland at the time he received his Ticket of Leave.

RUSSELL William – Asia 1831 43/563 28 Apr 1843 Ticket of Leave Passport [4/4250; Reel 971] Ticket of Leave 42/0816; On the recommendation of Maitland Bench
RUSSELL William – Asia 1832 45/0196 27 Feb 1845 Ticket of Leave Passport [4/4256; Reel 973] Ticket of Leave 42/0816; On the recommendation of Maitland Bench

Then came some information about William’s pardon. This made some sort of sense. William and Mary Ann didn’t marry until 1847 even though they had children prior to 1847. So it was possible that they were waiting until he obtained a Conditional Pardon. But even if that was the case, his marriage on the 6th of March 1847 didn’t actually make sense as his Conditional Pardon did not come through until December of 1847. William would have needed permission to marry.

William was granted a conditional pardon on 31 December 1847. A condition of the pardon was that he never returned to England.
RUSSELL William – Asia 1832 48/461 CP 31 Dec 1847 [4/4456] 786-025-026

By this stage I was beginning to be pretty certain that we had the wrong William Russell but it always pays to be certain about these things. So I did a Trove search. I found an article placing William Russell, Asia, in Maitland in 1855 having lost the documentation for his Conditional Pardon.

1855 ‘Classified Advertising’, The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser (NSW : 1843 – 1893), 7 February, p. 3. , viewed 26 Apr 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article697825

That was it. This placed William Russell definitively in Maitland in 1855. By now he should have 7 children in Bathurst if he was the correct William Russell. I had not found one piece of evidence to place this William Russell in Bathurst and I had so far found five pieces of evidence that showed William as being located in Maitland. But I still wanted to be sure. By now I had really invested a lot of time in William Russell so even though he wasn’t my William Russell I still wanted to find out a bit more about his life. So every now and then I do a little bit more searching into William Russell per Asia.

I have now found William requesting permission to marry Catharine MeKesey in 1832. To date I have been unable to find a marriage certificate for this pair so it is possible that they never married.

RUSSELL, William, 29- Asia, Life, April 1832, Catharine McKesey, 23 requested permission to marry. Request granted 26 Apr 1832.
Registers of convicts’ applications to marry. Kingswood, New South Wales, Australia: State Records Authority of New South Wales. Series 12212

Then to cap it all off, today I found William Russell being admitted to Gaol in Newcastle in 1856. He is described as 5 foot 6 inches with tattoos that include a woman on his right arm and a man and a woman on his left arm. He is also described as of sallow complexion and balding.

Wm Russell, Asia 1832 born 1816. 5 foot 6 inches. Sallow complexion. Woman on right arm and man and woman on left. Bald on top of head, Oxford, Protestant, Labourer. Gaol, Newcastle. Date of entry 1856.
Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia, Gaol Description and Entrance Books, 1818-1930 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

So today I say goodbye to William Russell. I have known for some time that he is unlikely to be our William Russell but I can no longer convince myself that he may, through some chance, still be the correct person. I now have William located in Maitland or Newcastle from the date he was assigned right through to the date he entered Newcastle Gaol more than 20 years later. At the same time Mary Ann had seven children to a William Russell in the Bathurst area. Mary Ann’s William Russell and William Russell per Asia cannot be the same person.

Today I say farewell to William Russell, you were an entertaining character while I was searching for you. Farewell William Russell, you provided an interesting Hunt.

Now, where is my William Russell? He was in Bathurst but I seem to have lost him. The hunt will have to start all over again.

Update on Searching for Mary Ann Gransden nee Russell

Posted on April 24, 2016 by TinaApril 24, 2016

I spent a lovely three days in Bathurst. The town is gorgeous and I got a history of Bathurst that will help me to add colour to the story of Mary Ann Gransden and Robert Gransden and their experiences. What I didn’t do is find either William Russell or Mary Ann Gransden.

I spent some quality time with the members of the Bathurst Historical Society. They were very helpful when it came to looking things up for me and going through my options.

We looked up the Convict Musters for Bathurst in 1837. There is one William Russell there that may be an option. But without more details it is almost impossible to come to any conclusion. There are a bunch of Irish William Russells who came to Australia as convicts at the correct time. Whilst in many ways this would be good it is unlikely that these are the correct William Russells. William and Mary married in a Church of England not in a Catholic Church. It is possible that William changed his religion to marry Mary but it is unlikely. Thus it is probable that William was English rather than Irish.

There was one William Russell per Marquis of Hastings 30 years old in the 1837 Muster who is a possibility. The Master was Thomas Pye. This needs to be double checked as there seems to be no convict with these details in Ancestry.

I found a few other likely convicts but they have all either arrived in 1840, Mary and Williams first child was born in 1839, or they were allocated to places no where near Bathurst. There was one Irish William Russell who arrived in the 1830’s and was sent to North Parramatta. Even though I am concerned about the religion, this William Russell was a Roman Catholic, it is still a possibility. This William Russell arrived in 1835. The ship was the Forth and Henry Hutton was the Master. However, this William Russell was also a coach builder. It is probable that he would have some very useful skills so I don’t think he would have ended up as a poor farmer and labourer.

Time to get more birth, marriage and death certificates to try and clear up some questions.

The witnesses for William and Marys wedding were Jno L Darney of Bathurst, Eliza James of Bathurst and William Parrott of Bathurst. Finding these people may be a way of moving forwards.

John L Darney, possibly the same person was, in conjunction with his wife, the teacher of the Kelso Church of England School. He was witness to a number of weddings including one between Bridget Broderick and Thomas Brown. This marriage was later disputed.

1852 ‘Advertising’, Bathurst Free Press and Mining Journal (NSW : 1851 – 1904), 31 March, p. 3. , viewed 24 Apr 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article62519719

At this stage I have still not confirmed the identities of Eliza James or William Parrott.

Aside

Ryde District Historical Society

Ryde District Historical Society

I have been a member of the Ryde District Historical Society for many years. It is a group that I really enjoy as I get to share the finds that I make and also get to hear those of others. Over the years this group has taught me a lot about how to research and different area’s to go to for more information. In fact every Historical Society I have ever been to gives me more information and more clues as to what sort of research I can do. The adage that not all information can be found on the internet still holds true.

Last night the Ryde District Historical Society started up a Facebook Group. They are now on Social Media at https://www.facebook.com/groups/RydeDistrictHistoricalSociety/ I hope that this will continue to bring people to the Historical Society and to build our membership up. So far we have very few online members but that will change as we get current members to sign up.

Looking forward to seeing a lot of information about Ryde being shared on the new FB group.