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Research in Other Countries => Australia => Topic started by: flossie1 on Wednesday 17 April 13 17:13 BST (UK)
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Esther was transported as a convict on the Broxebomebury 22.02.1814 and arrived in Sydney 28.07.1814. She married Joseph Harris born 1708, the date was 30 July 1817 at St Phillips Church I understand they had 4 children: Esther, Joseph, Cuthbert Joseph and James Medley. Can anyone tell me what would have happened to Esther on arriving in Sydney, what she may have done before marrying Joseph, what his occupation may have been as they were able to afford a marriage licence, when she died or any other information please. Many thanks.
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This might be of some interest if you havent already seen it..
BLADES, Esther. Per "Broxbornebury", 1814
1817 Jul 7,8 Re permission to marry at Sydney (Reel 6005; 4/3496 pp.232-3)
BLADES, Sarah (Came free per "Broxbornebury", 1814) see also SMITH, Sarah
BLADES, Sarah. Came free per "Broxbornebury", 1814; widow of Thomas Blades
1818 May 4,5 Re permission to marry George Smith at Sydney (Reel 6006; 4/3498 p.202)
BLADES, Thomas. Per "Surrey", 1814
1815 Jan 23 Referred to in evidence at inquest on Elizabeth Howell held at Sydney (Reel 6021; 4/1819 p.323)
1819 Nov 20 Lost shortly after the arrival of his wife Sarah and three children per "Broxbornebury" in a gale of wind in Cockle Bay; his wife subsequently married George Smith for whom she was petitioning for mitigation of sentence (Fiche 3200; 4/1860 p.35)
http://colsec.records.nsw.gov.au/indexes/colsec/b/F05c_bl-bo-02.htm#P844_31002
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Might be of interest if Thomas Blade is one of yours
Old Sydney Cemetery
Status burial
Surname Blade
Name Thomas
Age 34
Year 1815
Month Jan
Day 29
References - RST: Convict RM
The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842)
Saturday 28 January 1815
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/629048?searchTerm=%22Cockle%20Bay%22&searchLimits=exactPhrase=+Cockle+Bay
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Hi flossie1,
The "permission to marry" document shows Joseph as a convict per "Gambier", 1811. This would be the Admiral Gambier. Why do you think they were married by licence?
The many petitions by Joseph to have his sentence mitigated state that he had been assigned to Major George JOHNSTON since his arrival.
Coin Clipping:
"...feloniously coloured with a wash, producing the colour of silver, several pieces of base metal, of a fit size and figure to resemble the current silver coin of this Realm, called sixpences, contrary to the statute in that case made & provided."
We used to do this in chemistry class at school with (I think) Tollens' reagent ??? and tried to pass them in the tuckshop. Luckily we were only transported to the Headmaster's office ;D
Debra :)
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Name: Joseph Harris
Occupation: Carpenter
Crime: -
Convicted at: Northampton Assizes
Sentence term: Life
Ship: Admiral Gambier and Friends
Departure date: April, 1811
Arrival date*: 1st December, 1811
Place of arrival New South Wales
http://www.convictrecords.com.au/convicts/harris/joseph/69054
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I found this but i dont know how reliable the information is
Esther Blades was transported with Sarah Flintoff on the "Broxbornebury", left England 22/2/1814, arrived Sydney 28/7/1814. Trial York Assizes 31/7/1813, Term 7 years, Occ. Servant Age 32 ticket of leave No 904.
Muster of convicts 1814 - Esther Blades "Broxbornebury C off Stores to G Johnson Esq.
I wonder if that is how she met Joseph as both her and him appear to be mentioned with G Johnson.
Mills and Boon story ;D
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In the 1822 Convict Muster she is listed as follows:
Names age came free
or born here Ship sentence
Blade Hesther ...... ......... Fly l (not sure what that means) Bloxbornebury 7
Where and by whom employed
Wife of J Harris Sydney
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Esther was born in 1815 in Sydney, Australia died in 1819 also in Sydney
Joseph was born in 1818 in Sydney
Cuthbert J 1821 Sydney
James Medley 1824 Sydney
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Fly l (not sure what that means) Bloxbornebury 7
Ted that is "F by S" = Free by Servitude.
Some documents say she was serving a life sentence, some say 7 years ???
Debra :)
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I highly doubt that Joseph HARRIS born 1708 would be marrying Esther BLADES in 1817 ;D
Anyway, there appears to be some descendants who have been working on the family:
http://www.cockatoovalley.com/trent/Trent%20Niemann%27s%20Families%20old2/b2.htm#P1709
http://www.cockatoovalley.com/trent/Trent%20Niemann%27s%20Families%20old2/b11.htm#P1708
http://www.cockatoovalley.com/trent/Trent%20Niemann%27s%20Families%20old2/b10.htm#P1706
http://www.cockatoovalley.com/trent/Trent%20Niemann%27s%20Families%20old2/b11.htm#P5294
http://www.cockatoovalley.com/trent/Trent%20Niemann%27s%20Families%20old2/b11.htm#P5295
http://www.cockatoovalley.com/trent/Trent%20Niemann%27s%20Families%20old2/b11.htm#P5296
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You are right Merlin, it would be rather amazing for them to have married then!! Teach me to read articles properly!! I have been trying to find out what crime Joseph must have committed to be transported, although those I have read were not that extreme! Can anyone help me here?
Many thanks.
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Joseph Harris convicted at Northampton Assizes March 1809 for sheep stealing. It looks as if he was from Weekley, a small village near Kettering. His co-accused John Barrick or Barrett was accused of feloniously killing a sheep. It looks as if someone else of with surname Harris - a brother? - was also charged but not convicted. Found four articles on this on britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
Whilst looking at that source I also found some more information on Esther Blades ... her surname is given as 'Blaydes' at her arrest/conviction so use this spelling when searching the website. Her co-accused was named Sarah Flintoff. Also mentions of a Henry and Catherine Gill being involved. Looks as if there are 10-15 articles about this in the year 1813 so could be worth investigating further for details of her life pre-conviction.
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Esther was born in 1815 in Sydney, Australia died in 1819 also in Sydney
Joseph was born in 1818 in Sydney
Cuthbert J 1821 Sydney
James Medley 1824 Sydney
??? ??? ???
Dawn M
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Lots of this information we already have but thought it might be worth putting up again.
From England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892
Esther BLADES (name spelt as shown in the image), convicted Summer Assizes 1813 at York, for 'coining' and sentenced to death. Sarah FLINTOFF shown with the same details.
New South Wales, Australia Convict Ship Muster Rolls and Related Records, 1790-1849
1814 - Esther BLADES, convicted July 1813, sentence 7 years. (Sarah FLINTOFF is bracketed with Esther, with the same information)
1816 - as 1814, but shows in the Disposal column as "Wife to Richd (Robt??) Harris" . At least that's what it looks like - VERY difficult to read. This record also shows her sentence now as "Life" ???
1818 has the same information as 1816, but the husband's name is easier to read and it is definitely "Robt" so it seems that the husband's name is incorrect, given the marriage record, and the request for permission to marry.
Dawn - Esther, Joseph, Cuthbert and James are the children of Esther and Joseph HARRIS.
I have only put up this baptism as a very slight possibility given the name of one of Esther's children
Family Search
Esther Blades
Baptism; 28 Apr 1783 RICHMOND NEAR LEYBURN,YORK,ENGLAND
parents: Cuthbert Blades
Judith
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Thanks everyone for all your help!
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Some interesting research into Esther Blades and her husband Joseph Harris has been done by Margaret Lyall and is recorded in the pages posted by ~MERLIN~ in the post immediately above.
In summary re Esther Blades (with some research of my own thrown in):
Esther Blades, from York, had a son named Cuthbert Joseph Harris. For this reason she is believed to be the Esther Blades who was baptized on 28 Apr 1783 at Richmond near Leyburn, York as the daughter, and one of the younger children, of Cuthbert Blades, “a Junior Sergeant, North York Militia” & his wife Elizabeth Nicholson who had married on 26 Jan 1765 in Richmond, Yorkshire https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NV88-DM5 . Cuthbert’s next child to be baptized was Alice on 9 Sep 1783 Richmond near Leyburn, York. This shows that his daughter Esther was born in 1782, as she also had an older sister Ruth baptized on 14 February 1781 at Saint Albans, Hertfordshire. They also had a daughter Alice baptized on 30 Jan 1779 at Saint Sampson, York.
(7) Alice 30 Jan 1779: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NBKG-FW5
( 8 ) Ruth 14 Feb 1781: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NR4V-T32
(9) Esther 28 Apr 1783: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NYJV-QY3
(10) Alice 9 Sep 1783: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NLBZ-1S9
Earlier children baptized at Richmond from the Index of England & Wales Christening Records, 1530-1906 were:
(1) Ann, 23 Dec 1765
(2) Cuthbert, 30 Jun 1767 (married Anna and living in London in 1851)
(3) Elizabeth 30 May 1769
(4) Thomas 25 Nov 1770
(5) William 17 Jan 1773
(6) Thomas 9 Jun 1776.
So it appears that Esther was 1 of 10 siblings.
Esther’s father Cuthbert Blades was baptized in Richmond, Yorkshire on 20 Jul 1744 (Index of England & Wales Christening Records, 1530-1906). He was the son of Cuthbert Blades and Ann Norman who married on 28 Feb 1742 in Richmond (Index of England & Wales Marriages, 1538-1940). His father Cuthbert Blades born in 1715 in Richmond, Yorkshire the son of Solomon Blades,
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/N1FS-C23
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/N1FS-C24
Both Cuthbert (1744) and his son Cuthbert (1767) served in the Yorkshire Militia, and have records in the British Archives.
Esther is believed to have had an illegitimate child baptized on 21 March 1803 at Richmond near Leyburn by the name of William Atkinson, and “the reputed father was a cabinet maker Richard Atkinson”.
Some of the details of Esther’s trial have been detailed in previous posts, and more is on the 1st web-page containing the research by Margaret Lyall listed by ~MERLIN~ in the previous post. Esther’s sentence of 7 years transportation on 31 July 1813 at the York Assizes was recorded on the list of 120 female convicts aboard the Broxbornebury documented in England before the ship sailed.
Esther arrived in NSW on 28 July 1814, and in 1814 Esther is shown to be working for Lt. Col. George Johnson. She would have been working as a Household Servant. Joseph Harris had also been assigned to the same employer, and was probably working as a farm labourer.
Esther and Joseph must have almost immediately begun a relationship as just less than 12 months later, on 11 Jul 1815, their first child Esther was born. Joseph and Esther married on 30 Jul 1817 when she was pregnant with their next child. The marriage record reveals that Esther could read and write, but that Joseph was illiterate. After the marriage Joseph continued to be assigned to Lt. Col. George Johnson as shown by this record in the Colonial Secretary’s papers, which also shows that Joseph had worked for Lt. Col. George Johnson from his arrival in the colony in 1811 (had worked for him for 7 years):
c.1818 Jan - Servant of G Johnston; requesting indulgences and a ticket of leave (Reel 6026; 4/1715 pp.9-10)
In the document Joseph Harris is described as having a wife, 1 child, and to be “daily in expectation of another”. This document also reveals that Lt. Col. George Johnson was living at Annandale (Farm). http://www.dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/Annandale
Lt. Col. George Johnson was an important man in the history of Australia being instrumental to the quashing of the convict Vinegar Hill rebellion in 1804, and to the arrest of Governor Bligh and military rebellion and take-over of the Government of NSW in 1808. In this mititary coup Johson took on the roll of Lieutenant-Governor and administered the colony. What is interesting is that Johnson was in London in June 1811 being court-martialled and did not return to NSW until 30 May 1813. The “Admiral Gambier” with Joseph Harris aboard did not arrive in Sydney until 29 September 1811. When Johnson stated in 1818 that Joseph had worked for him for 7 years he was including a period when he had been overseas and his farm and household had been run by his wife in his absence. http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/johnston-george-2277
(continued in next post)
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(continued from previous post)
Esther and Joseph’s son Joseph, the child who was “daily in expectation” was born on 20 Jan 1818, Cuthbert Joseph (ka Joseph Henry) was born in 17 Jul 1821, and James Medley was born in 1 Sep 1824. One of these children died before 1825. (tedscout said that little Esther died in 1819 but there is no death registration, and a family tree on an****y has her marrying a Charles Hearn, having descendants, and dying in 1883 [I have know idea if this marriage and death are correct]. Little Esther is found in both the 1822 muster and 1828 census. The child who died was Joseph born in 1818 who died before the 1822 muster. Their second son Cuthbert Joseph was known as Joseph by 1822 and shown as such on the 1822 muster.)
Esther’s last official record is in the 1825 muster where she is shown as the wife of Jos(pe)h Harris, Sydney. (She was described as the same on the 1822 muster.)
On 20 August 1825 Joseph received a 50 acre land grant.
1825 Aug 20 - On list of persons who have received orders for grants of land (Fiche 3266; 9/2652 p.92)
which it was expected that he would live on with his family
1825 Jun 6- Enquiry to William Cowper and John Piper whether Harris intended to reside on land grant should he receive one (Reel 6014; 4/3514 p.439). Reply, 10 Aug (Reel 6064; 4/1787 p.80)
The Memorial that Joseph put into the Government requesting the land grant in Jun 1825 confirms that at that time he and Esther had 3 surviving children.
1825 Jun - Memorial (Fiche 3135; 4/1842A No.358 pp.335-42). Reply, 20 Aug (Reel 6015; 4/3515 p.169)
Joseph is described in Aug 1825 as a former servant of the late Lt. Col. Johnstone. (Lt. Col. George Johnstone had died on 5 January 1823.)
Esther died in 1827 or early 1828, as per the information provided by Joseph on 22 Jul 1828 when admitting his sons (Cuthbert) Joseph, 6, and James, 4, into the Cabramatta Orphan School.
The humble petition of Joseph Harris on behalf of Joseph & James Harris, saveth that the said Joseph (6) and James (4) are the children of Joseph Harris and Esther his wife as by the annexed certificate will appear. That his wife having dead some months, and the employment of petitioner compelling him to leave them, when splitting palings in the bush without any protection. also lately they have prevented him from providing any labour.
The petitioner humbly prays that the said Joseph and James Harris may be admitted to the Orphan School.
Petitioner agrees that the said Joseph & James Harris shall remain in the Orphan school so long as the said trustees shall think fit, and that when of proper age shall be disposed of at their discretion as an apprentice or servant.
(They were released back to their father on 30 Apr 1829.)
I hope the above goes somewhere towards answering the original query “Can anyone tell me what would have happened to Esther on arriving in Sydney, what she may have done before marrying Joseph?”
Sarah Blades, wife of Thomas Blades who arrived as a convict aboard the Surry in 1814, who herself arrived free on the Broxbornebury in 1814 with her 3 children was not related to Esther Blades who arrived as a convict on the same ship.
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Esther was born in 1815 in Sydney, Australia died in 1819 also in Sydney
I think I was wrong. I cannot for the life of me find where I got the original reference for this Esher's death. Please forgive me. I cannot amend the original post. There is no Modify button ???
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Esther was born in 1815 in Sydney, Australia died in 1819 also in Sydney
I think I was wrong. I cannot for the life of me find where I got the original reference for this Esher's death. Please forgive me. I cannot amend the original post. There is no Modify button ???
Hi Ted,
Since the revamp of Rootschat a few months ago, there have been changes to the "MODIFY" facility.
You can only change anything in your post for a period of 24 hours after you publish it.
There is a very good reason for this.
It is important that a thread on the forum flows reasonably well and makes sense to someone reading it. That it makes sense as queries and extensions of queries come up for exploration etc.
Well, what was happening was that some people were found to be incorrect in the information they put up on their post and instead of saying "I have made a mistake" they were deleting or altering whole chunks of their posts and sometimes even deleting the whole thing without any explantion or aplogy at all
When someone later on the thread made response and reference to the post as it was in its original form, nothing made sense because no-one could see the information they were referring to due to its being so altered.
Trystan decided that this was not OK because it makes people look silly and so only a short window is now available to correct or change things.
I, for one, support the change because that kind of conduct is rude and disrespectful to other helpers.
Sue
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Don't want to hyjack this thread Sue discussing why we can't edit - but Im with you I hated it when things "disappeared". Thanks for explaining the changes.
I was just going to put a line through the death with an explanation so people didnt have to get to page 2 before they realized I'd made a mistake.