George WESTLEY Exile Convict to Australia on the Thomas Arbuthnot 1847

[rosball]

I still think it is worth you visiting the NSW archives when you have time Lyn.   I didn't have much spare time - I had a lot of other records to photograph.   You may get different members of staff - they all have different areas of expertise - and may give different advice or hints.  adding :   And I took everything at face value and didn't have time to ask more probing questions.

Ros. 

 

[lynsfamily]

Hi Ros,
An enormous thank you for taking time to think of my query while you were there.  It really is appreciated.  The snippets and suggestions made by you and JM have helped me piece a tiny bit more together for George Westley.  I have emailed a request to Ask the Librarian and will keep you posted.  May have found his death in the same NSW Government Gazette Index 1832-63 (findmypast) - 17 Aug 1865 Will/Administration but need to find the death to be absolutely sure.
I will make the effort to visit in person in the next couple of months.  About six hours south of Sydney so will need to have all my ducks in a row before proceeding.
George is one of three brothers convicted and transported to Australia.  The other two Samuel and John went to Tasmania under the probation system.  John and George were convicted together but George managed to come as an exile to Port Phillip.
Thanks again everyone
Lyn

[ShaunJ]

The George Westley mentioned in the Gazette in August 1865 is the farmer in Dungog.

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/225251326

I haven't been able to trace the 1852 Gazette item.

[majm]

There is a flaw in FindMyPast’s index.  The actual Gazette with the notice is Issue 64, for Tuesday 22 June 1852.   (FindMyPast has transcribed the date for the notice, rather than the date of the publication !) 

Page 990, page 991
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/12733470
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/12733471

The Tickets of Leave of the undermentioned Prisoners of the Crown have been cancelled under the recommendation of the Commissioner of Crown Lands, Darling Downs, in consequence of the parties being absent from their District:-

(A lengthy list follows, with the Ticket of Leave holders’ given name, surname, ship of arrival)

…..
George Westley, Randolph
……
J MCLEAN, Principal Superintendent of Convict’s Office,  18th June, 1852.

So may I mention that on the convict ship ‘Randolph’ there was a chap named as George WESLEY.   His Ticket of Leave shows he had been tried at Halifax, a Court Martial.  Yes, that’s Halifax, Nova Scotia.   Trial 21 August 1847,  sentence of 7 years.    His ToL of 15 Oct 1850 (50/563) replaced the one # 49/609.   The 1850 ToL allowed him to remain in the service of  G V J GAMMIE, Darling Downs, for 12 months.  Recommended by the Commissioner of Crown Lands, (at) D. Downs.  28 June 1850.    It was replaced by 50/2082.    There was at least one other chap on that Randolph voyage who had also been tried by that Court Martial at Halifax.   Many on that voyage were tried at Courts Martial from : Barbados, New Brunswick, Jamaica, Bury, Portman, Jersey … 

I think, on balance, the NSW GG is a typo, and is not our OPs George Westley.

JM

[lynsfamily]

Hi JM,

Thanks for all that.  I agree that the information uncovered in the Gazettes so far for the Darling Downs refer to the convict George Wesley of the Randolph and not my George Westley of the Thomas Arbuthnot.  Guess I will just keep turning over stones until I get a hit.

It is a bit weird the George Westley's brother John in Tasmania changed his surname from Westley to Wesley on his marriage once he was a free man.

Again many thanks for your input.
Regards
Lyn

[JMBresearch]

George's surname was most likely Wesley, rather than Westley. Westley will be the name he was charged under. It may be because the person recording the charge misheard the name, or because he and his brother mispronounced it. Once a name was recorded in the justice system, that name stuck for the entirety of his incarceration and the voyage out, even after the authorities knew it was incorrect. 
The Pentonville prison register shows his father as Benjamin Wesley.  He was baptised George Wesley in Sawley, Derbyshire in 1822, the son of Benjamin Wesley and Ann Willmot.
In addition to John, brother Samuel was also transported to VDL. He died at Oatlands in 1847.
His brother John advertised in the Argus in October 1855, asking George to contact him and mentions that in 1851, George was employed by a Mr Coagle of Glendernel Run, Burn Bank.
It looks like he was a cook at Moore's Hotel in Horsham in 1864 and was stabbed in the arm by a John Murphy, almost fatally.
I haven't found a record of him after that. It is possible he returned to England
I've followed most of the exiles from the Thomas Arbuthnot from birth to death, but haven't done George yet. When I do, I'm happy to let you know what I've found.

[lynsfamily]

Thanks for your info. Have managed to confirm your details supplied.  In 1851 he was working for William Coghill at Glendaruel.  William Coghill, also a shoemaker in his native Scotland, arrived in New South Wales on board the Mangles in 1824, captained by his brother John. In January 1838, William and two of his sons, David aged 23 and William aged 16, travelled from the Monaro Plains, to the Port Phillip District with John Stuart Hepburn and 2000 sheep. It turns out that it may well be that George wasn’t there long as further mention in Hepburn’s diary show finds of gold at Creswick's Creek on Clunes Station, in July, 1851, at Buninyong in August, and at Ballarat and Mt. Alexander in September. There is a distinct note of regret and bewilderment in the diary. "Short of hands and no likelihood of getting any more." Another entry follows: "Many thousands of men passing during this week to the gold diggings at Mt. Alexander . . . counted ... 59 carts and 1.149 men between Mr. Campbell's station and this ... 17 miles . . ."  A new era had begun.

I found further evidence of George at Horsham when he was one of a number of signatories calling for James McBain to be nominated for the representation of this district in the Legislative Assemby.   
All goes quite for another 10 years when in 1874 George Wesley has a Section 49 license approved for 20 acres at Yallakar, near Edenhope in the Wimmera area.   Section 49 of the Land Act 1869 allowed the granting of a license for the occupation of auriferous (gold-bearing) land for a period of one year at a time. The amount of land was to be no more than 20 acres with an individual being permitted to hold one licence only. The fees were to be set by regulation.
This does not appear to have resulted in George finding his riches in gold as in October 1876, George applied to the local land board at Casterton for an extension of time to complete his improvements on his holding.  Two months later the land board recommended that his license be cancelled, the land to be sold by auction; upset price of £2 per acre and all improvements forfeited. 

Unfortunately I have not been able to locate a death yet or whether he managed to contact his brother in 1855.

Thanks again for your input.
Regards
Lyn

[JMBresearch]

Hi Lyn
That all makes sense!
David Coghill employed a lot of exiles from various ships, including the Thomas Arbuthnot.
All the best with your research.
As I mentioned, I am working my way through the Thomas Arbuthnot exiles, and I will let you know if I find anything about George's life.
Kind regards
Jill Brewer