AUS-PT-JACKSON-CONVICTS-L Archives

From: Pamela Dowling <>
Subject: [PJ] Arrived 1827 - John RUSSELL
Date: Sat, 04 Oct 2003 03:03:26 +1200

1825: Tried Dublin Ansill Monday, 3 Jan 1825 for highway robbery, (aged 14)
and sentenced to 7 years. Probably held in Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin for the
2 1/2 years while awaiting transportation.

1827: On 2 June the ship Cambridge (of 533 tons) captained by R PEARCE left
Dublin carrying 198 male prisoners along with Col LINDSAY & HQ 39th
Regiment. The Surgeon was Dr GREGOR, RN.

John was ill during the voyage. On 16 August (aged 19) he was put on the
sick list suffering from Catarrh and discharged on 24th. On 24 September,
now described as aged 20, he was on the sick list again, this time with
diarrhoea, and discharged on 27th.

The Cambridge arrived in Port Jackson on 17 Sep 1827 after a voyage of 3
and a half months.

John's age was given as 16 on arrival. He couldn't read or write, was
unmarried, and a Catholic. His native place was Dublin and he was an
Errandboy.

Pysical Description: 5'3" tall, Ruddy complexion with dark brown hair and
brown eyes. He had a scar on his right cheek, a mermaid on his left arm and
a scar on the back of his left [????] On arrival he was "disposed of" to
William PETHERS at Cook River.

At the time of the 1828 census, John was aged 17 and was working as a
labourer with William PITHERS on Brimson's Farm at Botany.

Does anybody have any information of William PITHERS or Brimson's Farm please?

Have not found a TOL, but John received a Certificate of Freedom 3 Jan
1832, at which time he was described as a labourer He had grown 2 inches
taller than when he arrived, and was now 5'5". (Must be all that good
Aussie tucker!) The Australian sun had added freckles to his dark, ruddy
complexion, his hair was dark brown to black and his eyes had faded to
hazel and were hollow. Now in addition to the scar on his cheek, he had one
of the left side of his forehead, and a small heavy mole on his right
cheek. He also had a scar on the back of his left hand.

1838: Living at Bredalbane, he married Esther or Easter OWENS, (another
daughter of convict Thomas OWEN, Mariner (3) 1827), who had arrived free
with her mother, 3 sisters and one brother on a convict transport, the ship
Caroline on 6 Aug 1833. John and Easter were married at Goulburn on 14 May
by the Presbyterian minister, William HAMILTON. Marriage witnesses were
Turing McKINLAY & Andrew NEWMAN. They may not have been friends of the
couple, as Turing McKinlay also appears as a witness in the next marriage
entry, for a wedding on 25 June.

Their first child was Mary, my direct ancestor, baptised in Yass about
1838, although I have not found any record of this baptism. They had a
further 12 children, moving about quite a bit over the years:

Michael bap 1842: Reidy Creek (? RC Yass)
Julia bap 1844: Sydney
Julia bap1846: Sussex St, Sydney
Sarah bap 1849: Jamberoo
Catherine bap 1851: Fairy Meadow
Elizabeth bap 1853: Jamberoo
John 1856: b. Terrys Meadow nr Dapto
Maria Ann 1859: b. Yellow Rock Creek
Theresa 1860: b. Macquarie River (? should be Rivulet)
Isabella 1865: b. Broulee
James 1867: b. Broulee
Theresa 1873: d. Broulee
and a female who died bef Sep 1856.

I was not fortunate enough to find them in what remains of the 1841 census.

John was working as a Sawyer in 1849 and 1853, but by Sep 1856 is
describing himself as a Farmer.

Then he becomes one of life's little mysteries. In spite of eliminating
many, and then checking the 10 most likely death entries for John, no death
registration can be found for him, or for Esther in NSW.

Sources:
Convict indent, Cambridge 1827. AONSW fiche 666 p.200, no 188.
Convict Certificate of Freedom 32/1. SRR Ref4/4308, film 988.
NSW Baptism and birth certificates for his children.
1828 NSW census.
Surgeon's Journal for Cambridge, AJCP PRO Film 3191.

Regards
Pam
An Aussie transplanted to Rotorua, NZ.

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• [PJ] Arrived 1827 - John RUSSELL by Pamela Dowling <>