Send an e-mail to: Amanda TaylorSend an e-mail to: Amanda TaylorA Story of an Early Pioneer Family, Researched and written by present-day members of the Family, themselves.
The following article was written and researched by Grace Douglass & Laurel Legge and published in their book 'Along the Windsor Richmond Road' 1985 (ISBN 0 9589831 0 0 and ISBN 0 9589831 3 5) and is subject to copyright. Written permission is held from the late author Grace Douglass for the writer to publish contents via the Internet. However, although this book is in the public domain, it still remains copyrighted material and may not be copied for any reason without permission. I do not have the right to give permission to others to reprint the book. I was only given permission to put it on line. All copyrights stay with Grace Douglass & Laurel Legge and whoever they appointed, for control of the book. Under no circumstances may it be reprinted for profit.
Extractions of parts of the information for personal use with references to the book as the source is encouraged.
It should be noted that since the book was published over twenty years ago, that a lot of the material in the books have been superseeded by later research, some of which can ben seen at my complete Rootsweb database at Amanda Taylor's Genealogy.
After Jane's death, William remarried, and just to confuse his descendants, his second wife was also named Jane. This does confuse researchers, because this second Jane Ezzy is buried in St.Matthew's Windsor, along with William Ezzy, and people seeing her name in the Parish Registr think they have found the burial place of their ancestral grandmother.
Jane Mills, alias Charlotte or Sarah Groves, was a convict from the Middlesex Gaol delivery, and was tried on 18/9/1811. She was indicted for larceny in a dwelling house, which at that time was classed as a Capital Offence, for which the sentence was death. It was commuted to Life Imprisonment or transportation and she arrived in the Colony on the "Minstrel" on 25/10/1812.
Jane Mill's exact age cannot be determined as it varies from one offical record to another. At the time of arrival she was said to be 40 years of age (b.1772c). In the 1828 Census she is said to be 61 years of age (b.1767). At time of death her age was said to be 67 years (1768c).
The first mention of Jane Mills in official records after her arrival was in 1814 when Banns were published in the Church by Rev. Robert Cartwright at the Hawkesbury, for Jane Mills, a prisoner from the "Minstrel" to marry Benjamin Mills, a free person. Permission was granted on 5/4/1814, but the marriage did not take place. In the 1814 Muster Jane Mills is listed as living in Sydney, single and having no issue. It does not state her employer. Benjamin Mills, on the other hand was listed on the Hawkesbury returns as a landholder who had come on the "Santa Anna".
When the 1821 Muster was taken she was living in Sydney, still, and earning her living as a mantua marker, which was an early name for dressmaker, a 'mantua' being the Italian name for cloak or mantle. By the time of the 1823 Muster, Jane was living in the Hawkesbury and was employed as a houskeeper to William Ezzy. She is still listed in this capacity in the 1825 Muster and again in the 1828 Census. The couple were married at St.Matthew's on 18/5/1829 with the consent of the Governor, this latter condition being necessary because of Jane's status. At the time of the marriage Jane was given a Conditional Pardon. Jane never received a Full or Complete Pardon during her lifetime, so her name was never removed from the Convict Records, and so details of her date of death have been entered in the Convict Record Book. William at this time did not sign his name, he just made his mark "X".
To take up the threads of William Ezzy's life again after the stormy exit of the first Jane Ezzy, after Mary's tragic death and the subsequent hassle over the ownership of Boulton and Ezzy's Farm, we must go back to early in the year 1817, twelve years before his second marriage. He continued to farm his 130 acre grant, and appears to have grown mainly wheat. In 1820 there is a record of his having paid twenty bushels into the Government Store at Windsor for which he received 7 pounds and thirteen shillings. There were a number of these Government Storehouses or granaries at the Hawkesbury. For the first twenty-five or thirty years of the settlement of New South Wales growth of grain, wheat and maize was mainly done, in and around the Hawkesbury area, so that it was looked upon as the granary of the Colony. The first Government Storehouses for this grain were built of logs, but afterwards they were substantial brick buildings, of two or three stories. Grain was the main crop grown in the Hawkesbury until long after the death of William Ezzy. Most of the grain was taken to Sydney by river boats at first, but gradually from 1815 onwars, various Mills were built in the Hawkesbury to process the grain there, thus establishing new industries. The early Mills were either driven by water power, or else driven by a single horse, and later ones were poweredy by steam.
The farming methods had gradually improved thus making the life of the farmer a little easieer and the farms more productive. Most farmers now had oxen to pull their ploughs, and the ploughs themselves were of an improved design. The brute-strength of the oxen made it possible to remove those offending tree-stumps from the fields, so that the land, itself, became more easily workable and each man could work a larger acreage. We know that William had at least one oxen by 1814, although whether this was the missing 'Music' of 1811, or whether he had originally had two of these animals we are uninformed. Settlers fashioned their wooden ploughs from the box tree and made carts from stringy bark and blue gum.
The township of Windsor was growing and exanding and more and more settlers were moving in to take up farming land. Floods still troubled those who farmed the flat river-bank properties and the river rose highly again in 1816, 1817 and 1819. There were no further high floods for almost 38 years after that time.
After the first visit of Governor Macquarie to the Hawkesbury i 1810 the standard of the Settler's homes gradually improved. On this initial visit the Governor was appalled at the standard of the homes and he admonished many to pay more attention in future to their own personal cleanliness and comfort and to build themselves better houses to live in. He encouraged them with a promise of Government assistance to those who took his advice. He also ordered that in future all Settler's homes must have stone chimneys to minimise the risk of fire. If it is the home of William Ezzy that is described in the story covering the tragic death of his daughter Mary (and not the home of William and Kezia Roberts), as explained in that same account), then William had by 1816 erected himself a comfortable dwelling. The account of the young girl's death refers to the windows having 'ten panes out of twelve of glass shattered to pieces' which indicates a building of some substance as the poorer homes still had open windows covered only by night-shutters, glass, at that time still being some-what of a luxury.
The year 1820 saw a party of local men leave the Hawkesbury to examine the Hunter River District. There was John Howe (leader), his son-in-law, George Loder, Andrew Howe, Phillip Thorley, Benjamin Singleton and Thomas Dargin jnr., the latter being an elder brother of Joseph and James Dargin who would within the next few years marry William's two younger daughters. The party reached Patrick's Plains on St.Partick's Day, hence it's name. Dargin's Creek and Howe's Valley were also named for these men.
By the end of Macquarie's term (1822) roads were made, Magistrates and clergymen were appointed, Churches and schools provided, public buildings erected, such as Court House, gaol, a military barracks and a hospital. Regarding the cost of living in that year, the cost of sending a letter to England from the Colony, was 20 pounds sterling, and by comparison, the governess for young Master Lachlan Macquarie, received only ten guineas a year plus board and keep.
William saw the birth of a thriving river shipping trade, the main source by which goods would be removed from, and brought into the Hawkesbury for many years to come. In 1816 a start was made on building a wharf at the foot of Thompson Square, but the flood of the same year washed it away and a fresh start had to be made and it was completed in 1817. The wharf, at Governor Macquarie's direction, had been made large enough to accomodate a vessel of up to 300 tons.
The year 1824 saw the introduction of a new coach service from Parramatta. Named the 'Union' it ran a daily service, and was the first successful service for many years. The journey took three hours and the fares were 7/6 inside and 6/- outside. The service lasted for two years and then had to be abandoned owing to the very bad condition of the road between Parramatta and the Hawkesbury. There were no further attempts at providing a service of this kind until 1832.
By the time the 1828 Census was taken, William Ezzy had only 26 acres of his original 130 remaining. He had gradually given his children their allotted shares as they came of age, or married. From an Indenture dated 1862 we know that William Ezzy had signed over to William Thomas Baylis, first husband of his daughter, Lucy Ezzy -- ' 'a piece or pacel of ground containing about twenty six acres more of less' on 7/4/1825. The parcel was deeded to William Thomas Baylis his Heirs and Assigns for ever, on accont of his wife, Lucy Baylis. Once again we have the husband inheriting the wife's share of the Estate, Lucy, now married, would not hold the property in her own right. Similarly, prior to 1828, John and Charles would have received 26 acre portions when they came of age.
In the Will of Charles Ezzy he sets out that the original grant to William Ezzy was to have been shared between James, John, Lucy, Mary and himself"-- Elizabeth and Sophia not being born at the time the grant had been made. Therefore, it can be seen, that with three portions of twenty-six acres already deeded to his children, and still being in possession of one portion, himself, there is one portion of twenty six acres missing at the time of the Census. This portion could possibly have been the 'Estate' referred by John Boulton, that he intended making a claim upon, and so was possibly sold to settle the Estate. The history and divisio of theland has not, however, been a subject that we have followed further.
In the 1828 Census William Ezzy had twenty six acres of land, 21 of which were cleared and 16 of these under cultivation. He had one horse and four cattle. Other than Jane Mills, his assigned convict housekeeper or 'wife', he had no other servants. His crops were wheat, maize, barley and potatoes.
William Ezzy lived to see most of his surviving childre married. (Charles married shortly after his Father had died). He also lived to see his first twelve grandchildren born, the start of a new generation of the Ezzy Family in the Colony.
William Ezzy died 24/3/1830 and was buried in St.Matthew's Windsor. According to the Parish Register he was 65 years of age. He does not have a headstone and the location of the grave is not known.
Jane Mills outlived William by more than five years. There were no issue from this second marriage, as Jane was too advanced in years at the time she became his housekeeper, nor is there any record of her having had any issue in the Colony. Jane died 18/12/1835, and although she is buried in St. Matthew's Windsor as Jane Ezzy, she remains in the Convict Records, as Jane Mills, alias Charlotte or Sarah Groves. As to whether she was buried with her husband or separately we have no record.
Before we leave William Ezzy, I feel that this is the place to make some reference to the early pioneer cottage pictured on both this and the following page. This home stood on the Windsor Richmond Road and these photographs were taken about 1955. As it can be seen, the home was almost derelict, and has long since been pulled down. It was completely surrounded by vegetables -- cabbages, cauliflowers, broad-beans, tomatoes, etc. -- crops of maize, wheat and barley, having long since vanished from the Hawkesbury.
The cottage had obviously been added to over the years, to suit changes in family members, and financial circumstances. It isthe belief of the photographer that the home in which William Ezzy spent his final years forms part of this structure, and that it was added to by successive members of his Family. The owner of the vegetable crop was able to produce the Deeds to the land on whichthe house stood, and it was most definitely part of the land granted to William Ezzy. The farmer was also able to supply the information that for quite some years into the present Century, the house had been occupied by people who he thought were members of the original family.
In view of this information, coupled with what we know about the early members of the Ezzy Family, we have to agree that it is highly possible that part of this structure was built by William Ezzy, and was most likely added to by his son Charles Ezzy, and later again by Charles Ezzy junior. William's son Charles and his wife Catherine, lived on the Windsor Richmond Road with their family of eight children, for their entire married lives, except for perhaps brief spells on their property "Molly" on the Namoi in the North.
[Note : photographs of an old homestead appear on pages 63 and 64]
Built of early sandstock bricks, the windows in one section do have 'twelve panes of glass' as described in the tragic story of Mary's death. The kitchen section at right, had a large open fireplace with a sleeping loft above. This section could have pre-dated the other. There was also a well in the yard, near-by, with an old rusting pump on it.
Charles Ezzy jnr. and his wife Eliza, also raised their family here on the Windsor Richmond Road, although it was his wife, unfortunately, who had to do most of the 'raising' as Charles died before his fifth, and youngest child was yet born. Eliza, herself died in 1922, quite possibly in this same cottage, if we are correct in our assumptiions. In all fairness, we must also state that William's three daughters, Lucy, Elizabeth and Sophia, also spent part of their married lives here on the Windsor Richmond Road, so the occupants could just have easily be them. Nevertheless the cottage stood on Ezzy land, and it is reasonable to assume that members of William's family lived in it, even if he did not do so himself.
[Note : State Records of NSW Bench of Magistrates cases, 1788-1820 lists John BOULTON on 2/5/1812 [Reel 658] charged with harbouring the apprentice, Willian Ezzy, and encouraging to wilfully disobey orders[Item Identifier SZ773] and John BOULTON on 3/10/1812 [Reel 658] charged with "�violent assault" [Item Identifier SZ773] a Freeman.
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