Bounty Agents

[KateHayes]

Hi There,

I recently found my GGGGreat Grandmothers immigration documents. She arrived from Ireland in March 1841.

By whom transported states Gilchrist & Alexander, i have done some googling and found these to be Bounty Agents. Could someone explain what this means?
What would the passenger have paid?
What would the passenger have owed them?
Why were they transported?

It states on the documents she was a nursery maid, aged 16... travelled with her 25 yr old brother and 3 sisters. There mother was a widow back in Limerick. All other documents & certificates put her age at 13? Could this be wrong?

Thanks

[Ruskie]

Now I could be completely wrong with this and it might be the answer to your question, but I'll give you an example of something I discovered when doing some research for someone else.

There were all kinds of deals being done both in the UK and Australia regarding immigrants. It appears to have been big business at the time. Agents offered free transport to migrants in exchange for their land orders (which I believe was a bit naughty) and did deals with governments, probably something akin to getting a 'contract' to supply hard working (Scottish presbyterians in the case I was researching) people to populate the colony.

So your gggggrandmother and siblings may not have had to pay anything to come to Australia, but they may have been promised work, lodgings and be tied by a contract to an employer. Now whether this employment was arranged before they left Ireland I don't know.

Were there other siblings back in Ireland? The widowed mother may not have been able to support them so sent them away for a new and better(?) life.

Ages on immigration can be incorrect. Perhaps her age was raised to 16 so she would be classed as an adult and employable. It works both ways - one of mine took 10 years off his age on immigration. 

As I said, this is just speculation. I'll be interested to see what explanations others give.

[gortonboy]

  here is an extract about bounty agents.........John and his family were assisted immigrants. This means that their voyage was paid for. Bounty emigrant agents solicited emigrants to the colonies. The emigrants were provided a free passage, some local assistance upon arrival - in the form of employment advice and other transitional matters. The ultimate goal was to have as many people in the colony being productive to enable macro self sustainance.

In return, the agents were paid money by the governments for each person they supplied to the colony.

[gortonboy]

here is an example of a ship that had passegers eligible for "bounty"   the agents being the same gilchrist and alexander,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Brilliant,,arrived 26 July 1841, barque 338 tons, David Ritchie master, from Greenock (England) 28 Dec 1840, Cork 28 Jan, Sierra Leone (for water) 8 March and Cape of Good Hope 2 June to Port Phillip. Agents Messrs Gilchrist & Alexander.
Master David Ritchie, Doctor James Aleson/Atkinson, B Kerne 1st Mate, John Reid 2nd Mate, H Horne 3rd Mate
Passengers Mr and Mrs Lawler (or Laiser) and child, Messrs M'Lachlan, Mason, M'Conochie, two Shields, 3 in Intermediate - Mr and Mrs Lanb, Josh Aleson, Intermediate Mr Dunlop, Mr McAlpin, Miss Webster, Mr and Mrs Adams, 31 in Steerage - 16 men and 15 women
Came with 40 passengers, 5 males and 12 females eligible for bounty.
Of the 24 passengers listed, 8 were from Ireland, Co Derry 4, Cork 3, Tyrone1. The other 16 were from Scotland, including Glasgow 8, Argyleshire 3, Edinburgh 2.



 

[KateHayes]

Ahhh ok i kind of thought it would be something like that...

So they were free settlers... i knew they weren't convicts or anything like that but would they have been locked into an employment contract? As one of the sisters Honorah married a convict only a month after arriving named Jeremiah Reardon.

Their names are Michael, Ellen, Catherine, Honorah and Mary Slattery (Slatterie) and they arrived aboard the Portland in March 1841. I am unsure of any other Siblings back home as i have not been able to trace them in Ireland. Finding this family very difficult.

Thanks

[Ruskie]

Do you think that Honorah and Jeremiah Reardon knew eachother back in Ireland? Was he from Limerick too?

Australian marriage and d/c's should give both parent's names.

Not sure about employment contracts. Sorry ....

[KateHayes]

I cannot find a death of Jeremiah Reardon so am unsure where he was from or his parents names. It was before August 1880 as that's when Honorah died in Melbourne as a widow. Her death cert states about 10yrs New South Wales and thirty years in Victoria, but going by Childrens births she was only in nsw for 6 yrs. The parents names aren't on NSW marriage certificates back in the 1840's, they actually have limited information. Mary and Honorah do both have the same witnesses though, John Maguire and Jeremiah O'Brien, they were both married in St Mary's Sydney.

Her parents names were James Slattery and Julia O'Malley, i know this is correct as it's the same on Mary and Michaels death certificates also. All three siblings are buried together and with their spouses in the Melbourne General Cemetery
I haven't been able to find the other two sisters Ellen and Catherine after their arrival.

Also out of curiosity, is it common for large gaps between children of convicts? They married in 1841, had a child at the start of 1842, but then not another child until in Victoria in 1848? Followed by three more with two year gaps between.

[Ruskie]

Oh, shame about the d/c's ... 

Those St Mary's witnesses - are they family or just church officials? Often these were used as serial witnesses.

Do you think the gaps between the children may mean that the couple were separated for periods of time? I don't know but hopefully someone else will. (Perhaps some babies died?) 

[tropicalj]

Hello  there

Often in  those early  time before  the state took over the duties of registrations it was just a baptismal record of entry and some folk  lived too far away from a church etc and didn't do it and other registration were just lost. 

As Ruskie says  could also indicate a period apart.

Jenn