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« on: Saturday 29 August 09 08:10 BST (UK) »
Hi Normro and trish1120,
the info I have on John Colbeck is from a local written account, as follows;
On 12 May, 1833, a tailor, John Colbeck, sailed from the port of London on the 2 gun barque "Ann", commanded by Captain Richard Free. John was then 45 years old, and came from the county of Cumberland. He sought for himself and his family a new life in the colony of Van Diemen's Land, founded thirty years earlier, and of which such glowing reports had reached England of its temperate climate, its fertile soil and its opportunities for advancement. Conditions in England at this time were bad indeed.
It is almost certainly true that the labourer, and perhaps most tradesmen, were less well fed than were the convicts who were at the time being transported under the new "reform" scheme. At any rate, the thought of the rough voyage of five months did little to deter John Colbeck and his fellow emigrants, but no doubt the voyage was interesting enough to relieve the monotony and the tensions of the long trip, as the little vessel gallantly beat her way down the Atlantic, and beyond the Cape of Good Hope into the roaring forties, then "running down her easting" till she sighted the wild cliffs of the colony and entered the Derwent River on the 1st October, 1833. With John were his wife Elizabeth, and five children: William 14, Sarah Francis 12, Rosina 9, John Morris 4, and an "infant".
John carried on his trade in Hobart, but it is not clear whether it was in a private capacity or as an employee of the government of Lieutenant Governor Arthur. The census of 1842 refers to John Colbeck, householder, of High Street, Bothwell, living in a "complete" brick house, with seven other persons, all free, resident there on the night of 31st December 1841. Of these there were Elizabeth, the mother, described as "over 21 and under 45", 2 boys between two and seven years, 1 boy between seven and fourteen years, 1 girl under two years, one girl between seven and fourteen years, and one girl between fourteen and twenty-one years.
Other than that I have a marriage date of 20th April 1817 in Saint Ann, Soho, Westminster, London - that seems to be the best fit.
Any more info would be great, and I am also interested in the Victoria, Australia Colbecks to add to my database.
Regards
Doug Colbeck
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