Submitted as a

Partial Requirement of the

Diploma in Family Historical Studies, 1989

This is to certify that the thesis "The Brimble Family 1726-1989" is my original work and the material contained herein has not either in whole or in part, been presented in support of application for any degree or diploma. Where information has been researched by others, this is noted in the bibliography.

 Vicki Hails

KD - Kingston Deverill, Wiltshire, England

WK - West Knoyle, Wiltshire, England

BD - Brixton Deverill, Wiltshire, England

EK - East Knoyle, Wiltshire, England

MD - Monkton Deverill, Wiltshire, England

The compilation of this thesis would not have been possible without the assistance of the following:

Firstly, I would like to thank Betty Stephens and Ron and June Ball, who like myself, are descendants of Isabella Court. Their encouragement prompted me to undertake this task, and I acknowledge and thank them for the information they have shared with me concerning Isabella's children, Keziah, William and John.

My thanks are also extended to Beryl Hood, Dorothy Mowat and Judith Day, who supplied me with information concerning their ancestors and thus linking the various branches of the Brimble family.

In relation to overseas research, I thank Dr. Barbara J. Carter and Mrs. Janet Hall, whose assistance and co-operation in consulting their indexes helped to build a picture of the family in England.

I also take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the librarians and staff of Parramatta Family History Centre, the Archives Office of New South Wales and the Society of Australian Genealogists, for their co-operation and assistance.

To my family, I thank them for their understanding and patience, particularly during the past few months whilst my years of research were put on paper.

Finally, my thanks to Mr. Evan Best for his guidance in the final preparation of this work.

The thesis will document the history of the Brimble family for over 250 years, covering nine generations of the direct ancestral line of the writer.

Henry Brimble (1726-1801), his son, James (1758-1798), and grandson, John (1785-1844), all lived in the small English village of Kingston Deverill in Wiltshire, England.

Some time after John's death, his wife and three of their children chose to leave their home and start a new life in the Colony of New South Wales, settling in the Newcastle district in 1850. The youngest daughter, Isabella (1834-1902) married a miner, John Court, and remained in the district to raise their children.

Isabella Court (1864-1920) was the youngest of John and Isabella's children to survive. She married Robert Hails in Newcastle, however, this family settled in the small mining township of Clifton, near Wollongong in the early 1880's.

The descendants of this family are known to be living throughout Australia today, and brief reference will also be made to them.

The origins of the Brimble family have been traced to the small English village of Kingston Deverill in the county of Wiltshire. St Mary's Church which still stands today is said to have been built in 1688, although it was rebuilt in the 19th century. It is the Parish Registers of this church which have assisted the writer in tracing the members of this family until their immigration to the Colony of New South Wales (Australia) in 1850.

The first of this family's entries located in the St. Mary's Parish Registers are the baptism of Henry and Sarah's children commencing in 1756. Henry Brimble (c1726-1801) is the earliest known ancestor of the writer, the relationship spanning nine generations.

It is surmised that due to illiteracy, this family name experienced many variations in its spelling, including BRIMMER, BRIMHAM, and more commonly, BRAMBLE. It is known that at least one branch of the Kingston Deverill Brimble's carries the BRAMBLE variation today.

The name BRIMBLE is derived from Old English meaning `Bramble or Blackberry Bush'. It is a locative name indicating it was given to a person or family living near a Bramble or Blackberry bush.

Although available records indicate the writer's family originated from Wiltshire, the name is most common in the county of Somerset, and it is perhaps here that the family's roots lie.

Examination of surviving records from the seventeenth and eighteenth century for the County of Wiltshire, reveal that the name Brimble, and its variants appeared in 23 parishes. The occurrence of this name throughout the county is best detailed in Appendix 2.

There were 420 people living in the village of Kingston Deverill at the time of the 1841 Census. Of these, 46 carried the name of Brimble comprising over 10% of the village population. This figure does not of course include those Brimble's who had married and were then known by other surnames. The occupation most common to this family was that of Agricultural Labourer.

By the time of the 1851 Census, many members of the Brimble family had moved away, several having emigrated to Australia, and others had settled throughout Wiltshire, and presumably other areas of England.

Of the 402 residents appearing on the 1851 Census for Kingston Deverill, 31 were known by the names of Brimble or Bramble. It was noted that the family name experienced many variants in its spelling, however, by the early 1800's the Brimble spelling had emerged as the most consistent. It is therefore interesting to note that the enumerator of the 1851 Census has clearly recorded the Bramble spelling, with the exception of only one Brimble household.

The 1855 Post Office Directory describes Kingston Deverill as a township, parish and a village, situated in a valley with lofty downs on either side, 3 1/2 miles from the town of Mere and 7 miles south of Warminster.

As has been mentioned previously, the earliest known ancestor of the writer is Henry Brimble who was born circa 1726.

The recording of Parish Registers began in 1537 following an Act of Parliament however, the Parish Registers for Kingston Deverill only survive from 1706 [1]. The Bishops Transcripts (which were introduced in 1598) survive for the years 1608-11, 1622-37, 1672-79, 1692 and 1696 for the parish of Kingston Deverill. Despite the survival of these records no baptism or marriage can be located for Henry or any other Brimble prior to 1756.

It would appear that Henry and his wife Sarah, were not originally from the Parish and had moved there some time before 1756. Unfortunately, Settlement and Removal Papers have not survived for Kingston Deverill, and neither Henry nor his wife could be found listed in those for other Wiltshire Parishes [2]. These papers may have identified Henry and Sarah's origins and as their name suggests, were directed at regulating the flow of indigent families into various parishes. Such families were subject to a searching examination by two Justices of the Peace, to discover their last place of legal settlement, to which they could be returned if they seemed likely to need parish relief. Generally speaking, settlement was gained through birth, apprenticeship, marriage with a native, employment for over a year, contribution to parish rates, or residence in property worth over ten pounds a year. The records commenced in 1691 and extend to 1834.

Churchwarden's Account books and workhouse records were also examined however, no record of this family name could be found [3].

Bearing this in mind, it has been difficult to put together a picture of this family during the 18th Century, and the writer has had to rely heavily on surviving Parish Registers. These Registers reveal that the family was originally known by the name of Brimmer and later entries were recorded as Brimmer alias Brimham. During the 1780's the Bramble spelling was noted and the first Brimble spelling appeared in 1790. The Brimmer variation was last recorded in 1789. The Brimble, Brimbel, and Bramble variations continued through until 1812, and after that time, all further entries in the Parish Registers have been recorded as Brimble.

Henry's wife, Sarah died in 1789. She was buried at St. Mary's on 21 July, as a pauper, under the name of Brimmer. It is understood the reference `pauper' was often included in the register so that the family did not have to pay burial tax. This would confirm one's beliefs that the family was not a wealthy one.

Henry Brimble Snr. died in 1801 and was buried on 28 June aged 74 years. Neither Henry, nor his wife Sarah, left a will [4].

Known descendants of Henry and Sarah following the ancestral line of the writer are detailed in Family Tree Chart 1.

Henry and Sarah had eight children baptised at St. Mary's Church, Kingston Deverill, namely, William (1756), James (1858), Mary (1860), Henry (1763), Thomas (1766), George (1769), John (1771) and Benjamin (1776).

As few records for this parish have survived, it has not been possible to ascertain what happened to all of Henry and Sarah's children. It would appear that only James, Henry and Thomas remained in the Parish of Kingston Deverill.

As the Parish Registers for Kingston Deverill have survived for the latter part of the 18th Century, the burial register has been consulted, however, no entries for any of Henry and Sarah's `missing' children could be identified. This is not to say they did not die as children or even adults in the Parish, but if they did, they did not receive a church burial. This theory would seem unlikely, as they had all received church baptisms.

An index to Wiltshire Marriages has been compiled and is known as the Nimrod Index. This index has been consulted, and extracts of all the Brimble variations made [5].

A search of the Wiltshire Goody's and Baddy's Index (compiled from Quarter Session records for the years 1772-1820) did not reveal any entries which may have identified Henry and Sarah's other four children (Mary, George, John and Benjamin) [6].

Land Tax records for Kingston Deverill were also consulted, however, there were again no record for the name Brimble, or its variants [7].

William is the first known child of Henry and Sarah. He was baptised at St. Mary's, Kingston Deverill on 25 April, 1756 under the name Brimmer.

A William Brimble of Brixton Deverill was married 29 December, 1882 at Brixton Deverill to Elizabeth Hoare of East Knoyle.

Henry and Sarah's son William would have been about 26 years of age at this time, and it is possible this is his marriage, however, due to the lack of information provided in Parish Registers at that time, it has not possible to positively identify him at this stage.

Settlement papers reveal that a William Brimble was removed from East Knoyle back to his legal settlement parish of Brixton Deverill in 1883. It would appear that this is the same William Brimble that married Elizabeth Hoare in 1882.

The second of Henry and Sarah's children baptised at St. Mary's was James on 15 October, 1758 under the name Brimmer alias Brimham. As James is the direct ancestor of the writer, he is discussed further in the next chapter.

Henry and Sarah's only known daughter, Mary, was baptised on 21 December, 1760, again at St. Mary's, Kingston Deverill under the name of Brimham. No further information concerning Mary has been located in Wiltshire records.

A fourth child was baptised Henry, at St. Mary's on 25 September, 1763, again under the name Brimham.

The first Brimble marriage to take place at St. Mary's Kingston Deverill, was that of Henry Brimble. On 22 September, 1788, Henry married Martha Parsons, also of the parish of Kingston Deverill. The event was recorded under the name Brimbel.

Henry and Martha settled at Kingston Deverill and like his father, little information regarding Henry's life has survived. He and Martha had only three children, Shadrach (1790-1840); James (1793-1840); and Sarah (1797). None of Henry's children or grandchildren are known to have emigrated to Australia, and it would appear this is the only one of the Brimble families to have remained in the parish of Kingston Deverill for a number of generations.

In 1817, at the age of 54 years, Henry died at Kingston Deverill. He was buried at St. Mary's on 14 November, that year. His wife, Martha lived to the age of 75 years. She was buried at St. Mary's on 12 April, 1840.

Henry and Martha's eldest son, Shadrach was baptised at St. Mary's on 7 February, 1790 under the name of Brimble. Like most of the Brimble's of Kingston Deverill, Shadrach was a labourer. On 11 October, 1812, (after the publication of banns) Shadrach married Mary Long also of Kingston Deverill at St. Mary's. The witnesses to the marriage were Stephen Long, Elizabeth Gerret and Stephen Morris.

Shadrach and Mary had a family of seven children, namely, John (1814-1831); James (1817); Jonathon (1819-1846); Job (1824); Jane (1824) possibly Job's twin, she married her second cousin, William Brimble in 1855; and Joseph (1828) married Caroline Lloyd in 1842. Shadrach's wife, Mary, died in August, 1829.

Obviously still with a relatively young family, Shadrach married again at St. Mary's on 16 May, 1830. His bride, Mary Barnes was born c1791 at Stourton but at the time of her marriage was living in the Parish of Horningsham. Neither Shadrach, nor Mary were literate, and signed the register with their marks. The witnesses to their marriage were James Brimble and Paul Presley.

Shadrach died at the age of 50 and was buried at St. Mary's on 21 October, 1840.

The 1841 Census was taken on the evening of 10 June [8]. The only members of this family noted were Mary, Jonathon, Jane and Joseph. Unfortunately, the only one to have their occupation listed was Jonathon, who was an Agricultural Labourer. By the time of the 1851 Census, only Mary, Jane and Joseph were listed [9]. Mary died in her 86th year and was buried at St. Mary's on 6 May, 1878.

Henry and Martha's second son, James was baptised at St. Mary's on 10 November, 1793, under the name of Brimbel. Like his brother, he too was a labourer. James married his brother-in-law, John Stone's sister, Hannah, with the consent of her parents (Hannah being under 21 years) on 3 April, 1820 at St. Mary's. Interestingly, the marriage was originally recorded for a Richard Brimble, however, this has been crossed out and the name James entered, instead. The witnesses to the marriage were Hannah's brother, John Stone and Rachel Marshall.

James and Hannah had a large family of ten children, comprising seven daughters and three sons. Mary (1821); Thirza (1822) married Samuel Pressley Trimby in 1841; Elizabeth (1824) married George Trinby; Sarah (1826-1837); Joshua (1828-1828); Harriet (1830); Ann (1830) married William West in 1854; Joshua (1830-1830); James (1833) and Martha (1836).

James died just six weeks after his brother Shadrach, at the age of 45 years. He was buried at St. Mary's on 4 December, 1840. Hannah and her daughters, Thirza, Elizabeth, Ann and Martha were all noted on the 1841 Census. It is interesting to note that Samuel Pressley Trimby, who married Thirza a month later, was also visiting the household that evening. At the time of the 1851 Census, Hannah and Martha were the only members of this family still residing in Kingston Deverill although Elizabeth and Ann returned for their respective marriages in 1852 and 1854. No burial has been noted in the Parish Registers for James' wife, Hannah.

Henry and Martha's only daughter, Sarah was baptised at St. Mary's on 26 May, 1797 under the name of Brimbel. She married John Stone on 11 October, 1819 at the family church. The marriage was witnessed by Sarah's brother, James and John's sister, Hannah (who were later married). Unfortunately, no further record of Sarah and John can be found in Kingston Deverill, with the exception of John appearing as the witness to his sister's marriage in 1820. It would appear they settled elsewhere.

Known descendants of Henry and his wife Martha are detailed in Family Tree Chart 2.

The baptism of Henry and Sarah's son Thomas, took place at St. Mary's on 23 February, 1766, and was recorded under the name of Brimham. Like most of the Brimble's during this time, Thomas was a labourer.

Like his brother, Henry, Thomas, was also married at St. Mary's, Kingston Deverill. The marriage took place on 21 October, 1792 to Elizabeth Smith. Again this marriage was recorded under the name Brimbel, but with yet another variation, Brimhall. Thomas and Elizabeth had no children, and she died in 1798. Elizabeth was buried at St. Mary's on 3 May aged 30 years, under the name Betty Bramble.

Thomas married again at St. Mary's on 22 September, 1799 to Elizabeth Tudgay, also of Kingston Deverill, following the publication of banns on three consecutive Sundays, as required (11 August, 18 August, and 25 August, 1799). The marriage was in the name of Bramble. The Tudgay family features quite prominently in Kingston Deverill's history and the 1855 Post Office Directory lists a Mr. George Tudgay as Postmaster and his wife, Elizabeth, as a shopkeeper [10].

Thomas and Elizabeth had a family of seven children, all boys, namely, Jesse (1800-1866); Thomas (1802-1868); William (1804-1887); John 1807-1879); Henry (1810); Benjamin (1813) and George (1820).

Thomas died in July, 1837 at 72 years of age and was buried at St. Mary's on 14 July. His wife, Elizabeth appeared on the 1841 Census, together with her son, Henry and his children, her son George, and a future in-law, George Carpenter. By 1850, the family had moved to the area of Kingston Deverill known as Whitepits, and it was here that Elizabeth died in her 77th year. She was buried at St. Mary's on 6 April, 1850.

Thomas and Elizabeth's eldest son, Jesse, a labourer, married Ann Nubery on 20 November, 1823, in the presence of George Gatehouse and Mary Collins. Both Jesse and Ann appeared on the 1841 Census under the name Brimble and the 1851 Census under the name Bramble. They had eight children. Jesse died in his 66th year, and was buried at St. Mary's on 5 March, 1866.

Jesse and Ann's first child, a son, Jacob (1824) appeared on 1841 Census with his parents, however no further record of him can be found in Kingston Deverill.

Their eldest daughter, Sarah (1826) appeared on 1841 Census as a servant to John Coombs, she married Henry Millard of Monkton Deverill in 1845, although neither appeared on the 1851 Census at Kingston Deverill.

Eliza (1828) their next daughter appeared on the 1841 Census with the family, she married George Carpenter of Donhead in 1850, and they had at least one daughter, Sarah (1851).

Joseph (1830-1853) another son, appeared on the 1841 Census with his parents, he married Eliza Sahill of Hindon in 1850, they had a daughter, Ann, who was also born at Hindon in 1850. The family appeared on the 1851 Census, however, Joseph died three years after his marriage at the age of 22 and was buried at St. Mary's on 16 February, 1853.

Jesse and Ann's next child, Uriah (1832) appeared on the 1841 Census with his parents, however, no further record of him in Kingston Deverill can be found.

Another daughter, Leah (1834-1852), appeared on both Census with her parents, she died at 17 years of age and was buried 11 July, 1852.

Jesse and Ann's son, John (1838-1917) appeared on the 1841 Census with his parents, he immigrated to Australia, and his life in Australia is discussed in Chapter 3.

Jesse and Ann's youngest child, Jesse (1848-1852) appeared on 1851 Census, however he died at 4 years of age.

Thomas and Elizabeth's second son, Thomas, was baptised at St. Mary's on 14 November, 1802 at the age of 3 months. He too was a labourer, and on 2 May, 1833 married Mary Ann Marshall in the presence of James Marshall and Jane Ruddick. Thomas and Mary Ann had only four children, Emmanuel (1833) appeared on both the 1841 and 1851 Census with his family, he married Ann Mabbott in 1855, and had one son, George (1857). Another son, Moses (1837) also appeared on both 1841 and 1851 Census with his parents, he married Rachel Draper in 1857 and they had seven children, Jim (1859), John (1861), Arthur (1863), Charles (1865), Elizabeth (1867), Mary (1869) and George (1871). Thomas and Mary Ann's two daughters, Fanny (1839-1854) and Sarah Jane (1847-1853) both died in childhood and are buried at St. Mary's, Kingston Deverill.

Another son was born to Thomas and Elizabeth in 1804, he was baptised William on 23 September, 1804 at 36 weeks of age. William appears to be one of the more colourful members of this family. He is noted in the Wiltshire Quarter Session Calendars of Prisoners for Devizes Bridewell on 15 July, 1817:

It is interesting to note, that the items William actually stole were from the home of his cousin, John Brimble (the direct ancestor of the writer), who at this time was married, and his wife expecting their first child.

Twelve months later William was again listed in the Wiltshire Quarter Session Calendars of Prisoners at the County Gaol on 14 July, 1818:

This later episode resulted in William being sent to the Assizes, which were courts held, three or four times a year, where the judges of the Supreme Court visited the various counties, and dealt with criminal and serious civil cases before a jury. William was found guilty of theft, and sentenced to 14 years transportation. William's life in Australia and the growth of the Bramble family are detailed further in Chapter 3. Known descendants of William are detailed in Family Tree Chart 8.

Thomas and Elizabeth's fourth son was also born at Kingston Deverill, on 12 April, 1807 he was baptised, John, at St. Mary's. Like his brothers, John was also a labourer, however, he later became a gardener. Some time prior to 1836, John married a girl named Elizabeth. Where they were married and Elizabeth's origins are not known. The marriage occurred prior to the commencement of Civil Registration, did not appear on the Nimrod Index, and was not noted on the Kingston Deverill registers. John and Elizabeth had five children.

A son, Thomas, was born to John and Elizabeth in 1836, however, he died in 1849 at the age of 13 and was buried at St. Mary's on 15 February. A daughter, Lucy Jane was born in 1838 and her baptism took place at St. Mary's on 8 April. Another daughter, Elizabeth Emma was born to John and Elizabeth at Whitepits, Kingston Deverill, she was baptised 21 February, 1841.

The 1841 Census was taken on 10 June. Elizabeth, Thomas, Lucy and Elizabeth were all noted, however, John did not appear on the Census in the family home. A John Brimble, aged 30 years, whose occupation was listed as Agricultural Labourer did appear on this Census, however, he was residing independently. It is however, possible that this was Elizabeth's husband.

Another son, Alfred was born in 1842, he was baptised on 20 November, again at St. Mary's on the first Sunday that the new organ was played. John and Elizabeth's youngest child, Samuel also born at Kingston Deverill, was baptised on 21 September, 1845, again at St. Mary's.

In April, 1850, John, Elizabeth and their surviving children emigrated to Australia. Details of the voyage and their subsequent lives are included in Chapter 3. Known descendents of John and his wife Elizabeth are detailed in Family Tree Chart 9.

Henry, Thomas and Elizabeth's fifth son, was also born at Kingston Deverill. Like his father and brothers, he too was baptised at St. Mary's Church on 13 May, 1810. Henry was also a labourer. Piecing together Henry's family has proven to be a rather difficult task. He married Sarah Carpenter on 3 May, 1834 in the presence of his brother John Brimble and Paul Presley.

It would appear that Henry and Sarah's first child was a daughter named Harriet born about 1830. Harriet's baptism is not recorded in the Kingston Deverill Parish Registers, however, she was noted on the 1841 Census as the daughter of Henry Brimble, aged 11 years. There is no record of a marriage for Harriett, although she had a son named Henry who was baptised in 1847. Neither Harriet nor her son Henry, appeared on the 1851 Census for Kingston Deverill.

A son named William, was then born to Henry and Sarah, and he was baptised at St. Mary's on 2 January, 1832. William appeared on both the 1841 and 1851 Census and in 1855 married Jane Brimble, the daughter of his father's cousin, Shadrach. It would appear William and his wife Jane left the village of Kingston Deverill shortly after their marriage, as no further record of them can be found in the Kingston Deverill parish registers.

Another daughter was born to Henry and Sarah in 1834, she was baptised Mary Ann on 8 June at St. Mary's. In 1851 she married Charles Barnes of Longbridge Deverill.

Henry and Sarah's youngest child, Elizabeth was baptised on 29 July, 1840, however, she died within months and was buried on 30 August. It would appear that Sarah also suffered from the birth of their last child, and she too died later in the year and was buried on 31 December at the age of 35.

Following his wife's death, Henry married again in 1844. His second wife, was Hannah Alford of Mere, the daughter of William Alford. Hannah gave Henry another four children, Eliza (1846); Elizabeth Ann (1849); Henry (1852-1852) and James (1854). Both Eliza and Elizabeth Ann appeared on the 1851 Census together with their parents. Young Henry died just 3 days after his birth.

Thomas and Elizabeth's son, Benjamin was born at Whitepits, Kingston Deverill. He was baptised at St. Mary's on 10 January, 1813. Benjamin was a labourer. Benjamin's marriage to his wife Charlotte was not recorded in the Parish Registers for Kingston Deverill, and unfortunately, is not listed in the Nimrod Index, nor was it noted on the St. Catherine's Marriage Index which covers civil registrations after the year 1837 [11]. It is believed Charlotte may have been the daughter of Catherine Marshall, as she and Benjamin were living with her at the time of the 1841 Census.

Benjamin and Charlotte had seven children, namely, Frederic (1836); Ellen (1840) later Mrs. Joseph Coombs; Frederic (1842); David (1846); Louisa (1849) later Mrs. George Gray; Leah (1853-1853) and Fanny (1855) later Mrs. Thomas Matthews. Frederic their first son appears to have died in childhood, as he did not appear on the 1841 Census, however, no burial has been recorded in the Parish Register. Their daughter Leah died at 3 weeks of age.

George, Thomas and Elizabeth's youngest son, was baptised at St. Mary's on 23 May, 1820. In 1841 he was living with his mother at the home of his brother Henry. George did not appear on the 1851 Census at Kingston Deverill, and had possibly married and settled elsewhere with his own family by this time.

Known descendants of Thomas and Elizabeth are detailed in Family Tree Chart 3.

The baptism of Henry and Sarah's sixth child, George, took place on 2 April, 1769, again at St. Mary's under the name of Brimham. Like Mary, no further information concerning George has been located.

On 20 October, 1771, another of Henry and Sarah's son's was baptised at St. Mary's, namely, John. Again no further information concerning John can be found in Wiltshire records.

The last of Henry and Sarah's known children was Benjamin. Like his brothers and sister, he too was baptised at St. Mary's Church under the name of Brimham on 24 March, 1776. Despite research in various records, no further information concerning Benjamin has come to light.

James Brimble is the second known son of Henry and Sarah Brimble. He was baptised at St. Mary's Church, Kingston Deverill under the name of Brimmer alias Brimham on 15 October, 1758.

It was James, who linked the Brimble family with the other variations of the family name. As has been mentioned he was baptised Brimmer alias Brimham, his marriages were recorded as Bramble and Brimble, and his children were baptised under the variations of Bramble, Brimmer and Brimble.

As James' children were all born prior to 1813, his occupation has not been listed in any surviving documents, however, it would be safe to say that he was most likely a labourer, as this occupation was common to those of the parish during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

It would appear that James may have left Kingston Deverill for the parish of West Knoyle in search for work as on 22 November, 1779, at the age of 21, James married Mary Mills. Mary, the daughter of Joshua and Elizabeth Mills was also aged about 21 years having been baptised at West Knoyle on 29 October, 1758 [12]. Mary bore James one child, a son, who was baptised at St. Mary's by the name of James Bramble on 9 July, 1880. Unfortunately, Mary died shortly after their son was born and was buried at St. Mary's on 14 July, 1780. Young James died some three months later and was buried on 17 October.

Some four years later, James took another wife. On 24 May, 1784 in the Parish of East Knoyle, James married Priscilla Maidment. A search of the East Knoyle Registers for Priscilla's baptism proved negative, however, perusal of surrounding parishes did reveal that a Priscilla Maidment, daughter of Grace Maidment was baptised at West Knoyle on 20 January, 1760. Later research has indicated that this could well be the same person.

James and Priscilla had a family of five children, two sons and three daughters, John born circa 1785, Harriett born circa 1789, Isabella born circa 1791, Caroline born circa 1794 and James born circa 1796, all of whom were baptised at the parish church of St. Mary's.

Young James who was baptised on 11 September, 1796 died in 1797 and was buried on 15 March. His father, James died less than twelve months later at the age of 40 years, and was buried on 26 January, 1798.

James and Priscilla's youngest daughter, Caroline, who was baptised 23 March, 1794 was married at St. Mary's on 18 February, 1815 to John Andrews, a baker from the neighbouring parish of Brixton Deverill. It would appear that Caroline and John settled at Kingston Deverill however, they had no children. Both appeared on the Census of 1841 and 1851, however, the 1851 Census indicated that John's birthplace was in fact Overton, Wiltshire, which is some distance from the parishes of both Kingston Deverill and Brixton Deverill. Caroline died at the age of 65 and was buried at St. Mary's on 17 August, 1860. The ceremony was performed by John Parrole the Parish Curate of Hill Deverill.

The next Brimble marriage recorded in the Kingston Deverill Parish Registers was in 1817 and is that of James and Priscilla's son, John. John is the direct ancestor of the writer, and will be discussed further in the following chapter.

In 1820, James' widow, Priscilla, married again. Her husband, was William Tucker and the marriage took place on 11 June in the presence of Priscilla's daughter, Caroline and son-in-law, John Andrews. Although William was described as being of the parish, the name is not common to the parish and no record of a baptism could be found for him. Priscilla died some 9 years later in her 69th year and was buried at St. Mary's on 1 February, 1829.

James and Priscilla's other daughters, Harriett, who was baptised on 8 February, 1789 and Isabella baptised 17 July, 1791 have not been identified in any other records pertaining to Kingston Deverill. Neither appeared on the Nimrod Index of Wiltshire marriages and it is probable that both left the parish, and possibly settled in a neighbouring county.

Known descendants James Brimble are detailed in Family Tree Chart 1.

John Brimble was the eldest child of James and Priscilla Brimble. Like his father, he too was born in Kingston Deverill and was baptised at the parish church of St. Mary on 27 March, 1785.

As with his father, James, and grandfather, Henry, details regarding John's life in Kingston Deverill have proven to be rather difficult to locate.

On 3 July, 1793 at Broad Town, a John Brimble who was described as a county boy was proposed by William Northey Esq. to be apprenticed to John Gaisford on 1 December, 1794 for 10 pounds. Whether this is in fact John Brimble (direct ancestor of the writer) is not certain, as Broad Town is some 47km from Kingston Deverill, quite a distance at that time.

At the age of 32, John took a wife. The Parish Registers for Kingston Deverill record that John married Sarah Forhead of the parish of Kingston Deverill by banns on 26 May, 1817 in the presence of James Brambell and Paul Presley. At the time of their marriage, John signed the register, however, Sarah signed only with her mark.

Although John's wife, Sarah, was noted as being of the parish, no record of a baptism under the name of Forhead could be found. As will be discussed later, Sarah immigrated to Australia, and fortunately, shipping records revealed that she was in fact born circa 1794 at Mere, Wiltshire, the daughter of John and Hannah. Like many records of this time, the quality of the shipping indent was rather poor and unfortunately the surname of Sarah's parents proved very difficult to decipher. Examination of the Registers for the Parish of Mere did however, reveal the baptism of Sarah daughter of John and Hannah Forward on 23 November, 1794 [13]. Obviously this alone does not constitute this to be the same person, however, coupled with other research, the illiteracy level at that time and the recurrence of family Christian names there is a strong probability that the entry does relate to John's wife.

In July, just two months after his marriage, John's name appeared on the Calendars of Prisoners for Wiltshire. It would appear his young cousin, William, (son of Thomas) stole a knife, some bread and cheese being the property of John. William was found guilty on the oath of John and was privately whipped, then later discharged. Unfortunately, this was not young William's only brush with the law, he was the following year, charged with stealing and eventually transported to Australia. Further details regarding William's offences, etc have been discussed elsewhere.

No doubt the fact that John testified and even had his cousin charged would have created some ill feeling amongst the many Brimble's living at Kingston Deverill at the time. Obviously food was scarce, and many offences brought before the Quarter Sessions at that time were related to the theft of food, and other related crimes such as poaching. John's wife was expecting their first child at the time and no doubt, the loss of the cheese and bread would have been of considerable importance to John and hence the matter being brought to the attention of the authorities.

John and Sarah's first child was born shortly after this event and was baptised James Maidment Brimble on 12 October, 1817. What happened to this child is not known. He did not appear on the 1841 Census for Kingston Deverill, and at that time he would have been about 24 years of age. The Nimrod Marriage Index does not extend beyond 1837, and no marriage prior to that time has been identified. Of course it is likely that John left his parents home prior to 1841 in the hope of finding work, married and settled elsewhere. The St. Catherine's House Index to Marriages has also been consulted, and it is noted a number of marriages are indexed for the name James Brimble.

John again appeared on the Calendars of Prisoners in 1818, this time on the wrong side of the law. The following transcript is from Devizes Bridewell dated 31 March, 1818:

After the birth of their first son, James, John and Sarah had another five children, all born at Kingston Deverill.

Their first daughter Harriett, was born circa 1820, and was baptised at St. Mary's on 23 May, together with George Brimble, the son of John's cousin, Thomas. Like her brother James, no further information concerning Harriett can be found in Kingston Deverill records, and it is likely she too left the village for work or married and settled elsewhere.

John and Sarah's next child was another daughter, she was baptised Caroline on 21 April, 1822. Caroline did appear on the Census for Kingston Deverill in 1841 and at the time was noted as 18 years of age, and described as a Farm Servant. It is possible that she married shortly after and left the village and settled elsewhere, as she did not appear on the Census in 1851.

Another son was born to John and Sarah in 1825 and he was baptised Jonathon on 6 February of that year. Jonathon appeared on the 1841 Census with his parents, aged 15 years, like his father, he was described as an Agricultural Labourer. Jonathon emigrated to Australia with his mother in 1850 and is discussed in further detail in the following chapter.

Some four years passed before John and Sarah's next child was born. Another son, he was named Andrew, most likely after his mother's younger brother and baptised 31 May, 1829. By this time, John's occupation was noted as Shepherd, rather than that of a labourer. Andrew also appeared on the 1841 Census for Kingston Deverill, living in the home of his parents, aged 11 years, he too was described as an Agricultural Labourer. In 1849 Andrew married Louisa Stone of Monkton Deverill, and they immigrated to Australia in the following year. Andrew lost his life shortly after their vessel arrived, and details of the voyage and what happened to his family are noted in the following chapter.

In 1832 Sarah gave birth to another daughter. She was baptised by the name Sophia on 21 October. At the time of the 1841 Census, Sophia, then aged 9 years, was living with her parents, however, no further details were recorded. Sophia did not emigrate to Australia with her mother, brother's and sister, and it is likely that she had married by the time of their departure, although no record of a marriage for Sophia Brimble appears on the St. Catherine's Marriage Index. As with the other members of this family, Sophia did not appear on the 1851 Census.

John and Sarah's youngest child, Isabella, was born circa 1834. She was baptised 22 February, 1835. In 1850 Isabella immigrated to Australia with her mother and brother. As she is a direct ancestor of the writer, her life in Australia is discussed in detail later.

On 19 October, 1844, John died at the age of 58 years. Unfortunately, although his death occurred after the introduction of civil registration in England and Wales, no entry can be found on the St. Catherine's Index to Deaths for the year concerned, nor surrounding years.

Whether John had dreams or aspirations of leaving England and starting a new life in a country such as Australia will never be known, however, his wife Sarah, daughter, Isabella and son's Jonathon and Andrew left England six years after his death. Obviously a major decision on their part, it also changed the lives and destiny of not only themselves, but also those of their descendants.

The known descendants of John Brimble and his wife Sarah Forward are also detailed in Family Tree Chart 1.

William, the third son of Thomas Brimble (1764-1837) and Elizabeth Tudgay, and grandson of Henry (1726-1801) and Sarah Brimble was baptised at St. Mary's, Kingston Deverill on 23rd September, 1804 aged 36 weeks under the name Brimble. In 1818 when William was just 15 years of age he was convicted of theft under the name of William Bramble and was sentenced to fourteen years transportation. He spent four years on a hulk before boarding the Mary II which left Portsmouth on 3 September 1821 under the command of Charles Arcoll and arrived in the Colony at Port Jackson on 23 January, 1822 [14].

Convict Indents reveal that William was tried at Wiltshire Quarter Sessions on 10 July, 1818. His occupation or calling was described as a Sheep Boy. William was described as being 5 foot and 3 1/4 inches tall, he had brown hair, grey eyes and was of a ruddy complexion [15].

Generally, if a convict was well behaved during the voyage, he was usually assigned to a private settler as a farm labourer. This appears to be the case with William, who, together with three other convicts from the Mary II, was assigned to William Redfern Esq. of Airds [16]. The majority of the remaining convicts from the Mary II were assigned to Parramatta, Windsor, Evan, Minto, and Bringelly. Later that year William appeared on the 1822 Muster. At the time, he was noted as a Shepherd and was assigned to the Government Establishment at Bathurst [17].

Some disparity over William's age has been discovered on the various records maintained. For example, the 1828 Muster describes William as only 21 years, however, baptismal records indicate he would have been 24 years of age at that time. A Government Servant, serving 14 years, William was assigned to Lieutenant Palmer of Richmond Vale, Wallis Plains (near Maitland) as a labourer at this time [18].

On 11 August, 1832, William was granted his Certificate Of Freedom, a document issued to convicts after their sentence had been served [19].

Having served his time, and now a free man, William married Lydia Austen, the daughter of William and Elizabeth Austen on 6 November, 1839, at Maitland [20]. They had a large family consisting of eleven children, namely William (1840-1892), Elizabeth (1842-1843), George (1844), Rachael (1846) later Mrs. William Piper, Eliza (1848) later Mrs. William Belton, Amelia (1851) later Mrs. Alfred Gregory, Jess (1853), Lydia (1855) later Mrs. James Palmer, Jane Elizabeth (1857-1935) later Mrs. William Buckman, James (1859), Anne (1862-1919) later Mrs. Samuel Thoms [21].

William's first wife, Lydia, died in 1873. He was married again at Stroud in 1874 to Mary Ireland. They had no children [22].

William, a grazier, died on 31 August, 1887 of natural causes at Bibby Harbour, Myall Lake in the home of his daughter Mrs. James Palmer. He was buried at Bibby Harbour on 1 September, 1887. The following notice was extracted from the Maitland Mercury dated 1 October, 1887:

As mentioned, William was convicted under the name of Bramble and all reference to him and his family in the Colony continued under that name. It is the descendants of William Bramble who continue to carry the Bramble variation of the Brimble name in Australia today. The known descendants of William Bramble and his wife Lydia are detailed on Family Tree Chart 8.

The first known Brimble immigrants were to arrive in the Colony on 8 August, 1850 at Moreton Bay on board the ill-fated vessel the Emigrant [23]. There were two Brimble families on board this ship. Andrew Brimble (1829-1850), son of John Brimble (1785-1844) and Sarah Forward (1794-1851), grandson of James Brimble (1758-1798) and Priscilla Maidment (1760-1829), great grandson of Henry and Sarah Brimble, together with his family and his father's cousin, John Brimble (1807-1879) and his family.

The Emigrant left Plymouth on 17 April, 1850. Weighing 753 tons, she was commanded by William Henry Kemp, passengers included his wife, child and servants, and also Dr. Miuchell, Surgeon-Superintendent. The number of immigrants originally on board was reported as 272, consisting of 39 married couples, 72 single men, 55 single women and 67 children, although a conflicting report of 276 passengers was also received. The Emigrant did not touch at any port during her passage out, nor speak of any vessels connected with the Colonies.

Typhus fever first appeared on board on 12 May whilst the ship was off the Cape of de Verds. On entering Moreton Bay port on 8 August, 64 cases of malignant typhus had been reported. By the 10 August, just two days after the Emigrants arrival, 18 deaths had been reported, 14 of typhus, including one seaman. Two of these deaths had occurred since the arrival of the vessel in Moreton Bay. There were fifteen sick patients and twelve convalescents at this time. The ship was ordered into Dunwich Quarantine Station on Stradbroke Island. The local immigration officer, Mr. Watson, took charge of the station, and a further three doctors and four pensioners (retired officers/soldiers) of the vessel Bangalore were sent as guards.

A total of 40 people died of typhus fever, following its outbreak on board the Emigrant, this includes the three doctors who had been sent from the mainland, together with three members of the two Brimble families on board.

An obelisk has since been erected to mark the graves of the emigrants who died at Dunwich. The inscription reads:

It would appear that once the quarantine period had been lifted, those Brimble's that survived, made their way to Newcastle, where they were to be reunited with other members of the Brimble family who had obtained passage on board the Lord Stanley.

Andrew Brimble was baptised on 31 May, 1829 at Kingston Deverill, the youngest son of John and Sarah Brimble. He married Louisa Stone, daughter of William and Hannah Stone of Monkton Deverill on 6 February, 1849 again at Kingston Deverill. Andrew was accompanied on this voyage by his wife, and their daughter Emily aged 2 years. Shipping records dated 10 August, revealed a child named William was born to Andrew and Louisa during the voyage, however, baptismal records for the Parish of St. John, Brisbane revealed that a child named Andrew Brimble, son of Andrew and Louisa, born 13 August, was baptised 24 October on Stradbroke Island. It would appear that this is infact the same child, his name being changed.

Ironically, although shipping records indicated Andrew Senior's health was good on arrival, he was to die on Stradbroke Island on 27 October, only three days after his sons christening. It is believed that his failing health and imminent death, explains the change in this child's name. Other conflicting information has been extracted from the Shipping Indents for this vessel in relation to Andrew, which stated his parent's names were Andrew and Jane. It is also noted that Andrew apparently had no relatives in the colony, however, his second cousin, John, was on board the same vessel, and another, William, had been transported in 1822. It is very likely, however, that Andrew did not have any knowledge of his convict relation. The fact that the information given on the Shipping Indent is not accurate confirms one's belief that Andrew was obviously not in good health at the time of his arrival and no doubt was suffering the effects of typhus fever at that time. Louisa's knowledge of Andrew's family would understandably be fairly limited, and this coupled with the obvious stress she would have been under at this time, could perhaps explain some of the inconsistency in the information recorded. Known descendants of Andrew and his wife Louisa are detailed on Family Tree Chart 4.

As mentioned previously it is believed that following Andrew's death, his wife Louisa made her way to Newcastle where she was re-united with Andrew's family. Louisa Brimble nee Stone married James May, an English emigrant on 10 January, 1853. Louisa and her husband James had a further ten children, James born 1854, Harriet born 1855, Ann born 1859, Alice born 1860, Thomas born 1864, William born 1867, John born 1872, Florence born 1874, George born 1875 and Edward born 1878. All of whom were all baptised at Christchurch, Newcastle.

Emily, Andrew and Louisa's daughter, married Daniel Gurley, a mariner, on 23 October, 1866, they had three sons, George born 1866, William born 1869 and Daniel born 1873. Emily died on 27 November, 1891 at Newcastle Hospital and is buried at Stockton Cemetery.

Louisa and Andrew's son, Andrew, became a labourer, he married Elizabeth Ryan, an Irish immigrant in 1875. They too remained in the Newcastle district, and resided at Newcastle Street, Stockton. Andrew and Elizabeth had four children, Mary Ann born 1875, Andrew Jonathon born 1878, Elizabeth born 1880 and Caroline Sophia born 1882. Unfortunately, Andrew Jonathon, Elizabeth and Caroline Sophia were all to meet with early deaths.

Andrew Jonathon died at just six months of age of bronchitis on 29 August, 1878 and was buried in the Roman Catholic Cemetery at Newcastle. The following funeral notice was printed in the Newcastle Morning Herald of 30 August, 1878:

Caroline Sophia, Andrew's youngest daughter, met an untimely death at just six years of age on 26 October, 1888. She is buried at Stockton Cemetery. The following has been extracted from the Newcastle Morning Herald of 29 October, 1888:

Elizabeth, Andrew and Elizabeth's third child died in 1898, at 18 years of age. She too is buried in the Catholic section of Stockton Cemetery. A funeral notice appeared in the Newcastle Morning Herald, dated 24 August, 1898:

Andrew predeceased his wife, and died in April, 1920. Elizabeth died at 83 years of age in September, 1927. Both Andrew and Elizabeth are buried in the Church of England section of Stockton Cemetery.

John Brimble, the fourth son of Thomas Brimble and Elizabeth Tudgay, grandson of Henry and Sarah Brimble was baptised at St. Mary's Kingston Deverill on 12 April, 1807. John, his wife, Elizabeth, and their three children, Lucy Jane aged 12 years, Alfred aged 7 years and Samuel aged 5 years also boarded the Emigrant at Plymouth. Elizabeth and young Samuel both lost their lives to typhus fever, also dying in quarantine on Stradbroke Island.

It would appear that John Brimble and his surviving two children, Lucy Jane and Alfred travelled south into New South Wales together with Louisa and her two young children. John was a gardener and it is possible he found it difficult to obtain work in the Newcastle district as he apparently travelled further inland and the family settled at Bathurst. John later moved to Orange where he died in 1879. Known descendants of John Brimble and his wife Elizabeth are detailed on Family Tree Chart 9.

Lucy Jane Brimble was baptised at St. Mary's, Kingston Deverill on 8 April, 1838. At the age of 16, Lucy Jane married William Unwin at St. Stephen's Presbyterian Church, Bathurst on 28 April, 1854. William, a farm labourer, was born in Over, Cambridgeshire on 24 October, 1824. He had immigrated to Australia in 1849 on the board the Sarah together with the Bentley family. In 1864, William Unwin purchased 225 1/2 acres of land at Greghamstown, near Millthorpe, and their property became known as `Green Hills Farm'. Lucy and her husband had no children of their own, however, they adopted two sons, Charles Yeomans and James Samuel Hamer.

William Unwin died of cancer on 1 February, 1885, and was buried in the Church of England Cemetery at Millthorpe. According to his will (dated 26 December, 1884) the farm was left to his adopted son, Charles Yeomans, subject to the payment of a yearly rent to Lucy Jane during her life-time as long as she remained unmarried [24]. Charles lived at Green Hill Farm until he moved to Woodstock in 1891 when it was leased. In 1912 the farm was sold on the condition that the yearly rent charge continued.

Lucy Jane Unwin, nee Brimble, died on 16 July, 1915, leaving half her estate to her niece, Mary Elizabeth Paul (daughter of her brother Alfred) and the other half equally divided between her brother Alfred, and other Brimble relatives. Lucy Jane is buried with her husband at Millthorpe and the wording on the headstone is as follows:

Photographs of William and Lucy Jane Unwin hang in the `Pioneers Gallery' at the Millthorpe Historical Museum. William is described as the first farmer west of the Blue Mountains to own a wire bender, and he was also an early share-holder of the Great Western Milling Company, established at Millthorpe in 1884.

Alfred Brimble, like his sister was baptised at St. Mary's Church, Kingston Deverill. The baptism took place on Sunday, 20 November, 1842, the first day that the new organ was played in the church. The only surviving son of John and Elizabeth Brimble, Alfred, a gardener married Mary Ralph in 1867 at Botany. They had a family of six children, William James born 1868, Lucy Jane born 1869, Mary Elizabeth born 1872, George Thomas born 1874, Emily born 1877 and John Henry born 1880. Alfred and Mary's children were all born at Botany although it would appear the family later moved to Millthorpe. Alfred Brimble died aged 81 years on 28 July, 1923. He is buried at Millthorpe and the inscription reads:

Photographs of Alfred and Mary Brimble, donated by their grandchildren, the Paul family, are also in the Millthorpe Historical Museum.

The next of the known Brimble immigrants from Kingston Deverill, include Sarah Brimble nee Forward, her son, Jonathon Brimble and daughter Isabella Brimble. Sarah and Isabella being the direct ancestors of the writer.

As mentioned previously John Brimble died in 1844 at the age of 59 years. It is not known whether he had dreams of immigrating to Australia, or whether the decision was made by his sons, Andrew and Jonathon. Sarah, Jonathon and Isabella found passage on the Lord Stanley, a barque (a small sailing ship) weighing 769 tons, whose master was Captain James, which sailed from Plymouth on 4 May, 1850, some two weeks after Andrew and his family had left on the Emigrant. The passengers consisted of 309 English and Irish immigrants and Dr. Kemble. Of the immigrants on board there were 50 married couples, 86 single men, 44 single women and 79 children under 14 years of age. There were five births on the voyage and four deaths, being 2 infants, a child aged 5, and a married woman. The voyage of 114 days appears to have been one without incident, particularly when compared with the voyage of the Emigrant, which has been described earlier in the chapter.

The Lord Stanley arrived in Sydney on 26 August, 1850. Shipping records indicate Isabella and her family were in good health on arrival. Isabella and her mother were both listed as farm servants, Jonathon, like his father before him was a shepherd. Unlike their parents Isabella and Jonathon had obviously received some education during their childhood and could both read and write. Sarah had paid 11 pounds for her passage, Isabella and Jonathon paying 2 pound each [25].

Sarah, Jonathon and Isabella made their way to Newcastle, where they were eventually re-united with Andrew's widow, Louisa and her two children.

Jonathon found work as a labourer, and in 1853 he married Bridget Egan, an Irish immigrant. Jonathon died at Honeysuckle Point on 7 October, 1858 at the age of 33 of liver disease and is buried at Christchurch Burial Ground, Newcastle. He and Bridget had no children. His widow, Bridget was married again in 1860 to David Gurrey.

The last of the known Brimble's to leave Kingston Deverill for Australian shores were John Collins Brimble and his young bride, Arundel Frances Coombs, also from Kingston Deverill.

John Collins Brimble, was the son of Jesse Brimble and Ann Nubury, grandson of Thomas Brimble and Elizabeth Tudgay, great-grandson of Henry and Sarah Brimble. Like most of this family he was baptised at St. Mary's, Kingston Deverill, on 4 February, 1838. He and Arundel Frances, daughter of William and Ruth Coombs were married at St. Mary's Church, Kingston Deverill on 26 January, 1858.

Some three months after their marriage, John Collins Brimble and his wife left England on 20 March from the port of Liverpool on board the Castellian which arrived in Port Jackson on 13 June, 1858 [26].

Like the other Brimble families, John and Arundel settled at Wickham, in the Newcastle district, where John became a platelayer. Two daughters were born to John and Arundel, Louisa in 1859 and Sarah in 1861. It is understood that John and Arundel parted company and that she later returned to Britain. John was a foundation member of the Baptist church in Newcastle and died from bronchitis on 4 June, 1917 at the age of 79. He is buried in the Baptist Cemetery at Sandgate.

Isabella Brimble, the youngest child of John Brimble and Sarah Forward was baptised at St Mary's Church, Kingston Deverill, Wiltshire on 22 February, 1835.

Little is known of Isabella's childhood, however, she appeared on the 1841 Census, aged 6 years and was residing with her parent's with no occupation listed. Her brother's, Jonathon and Andrew, and sisters, Caroline and Sophia were also living with the family at this time. Her brother James and sister Harriet did not appear on this Census and it is surmised that they may have either died without the benefit of a church burial or had left the area, married and settled elsewhere. The latter would appear to be the most likely of these possibilities as no record can be found of them in the Parish Registers for Kingston Deverill, and a number of possible marriage entries have been noted on the St. Catherine's Index to Marriages.

Although Sarah and her children had left Kingston Deverill by the time of the 1851 Census, this source was consulted, however, none of John and Sarah's other children were noted. It would appear, that both Caroline and Sophia may also have married by this time.

As has been described earlier, upon their arrival in the Colony, Sarah, Jonathon and Isabella, somehow made their way north along the coast to the mining town of Newcastle. The family settled in Newcastle, and remained there for many generations.

The history of Newcastle and its surrounds goes back to the discovery of the mouth of the Hunter River by Lieutenant John Shortland Jnr. in September, 1797, and the subsequent survey in 1801 by Ensign Barralier. Governor King was not impressed with this survey and considered the major port for coal should have been Port Stephens. However, despite its dangerous entrance and its many shoals, the port of Newcastle was to become a busy coal port with a world wide reputation and an enormous amount of shipping took place during the days of the sailing ships.

The Newcastle East area, originally known as "the Sandhills" (due to the sand dunes which highlighted the terrain in the early years of European settlement) is one of the most historic areas in Australia. In the period 1801-1821 the area saw the establishment of a penal settlement, and also the country's first mine. It was here that the Hunter Region saw the establishment of it's first quarry, it's first hospital, it's original fort, it's first signal station, it's first primitive light house and it's first gaol. The gaol however, was not completed until 1818, and prior to this it was necessary for the convicts to find their own accommodation! The gaol, which remained in use until at least 1851, when it was inhabited by a stockade of colonial convicts who were employed in repairing the breakwater, was the sight of many convict floggings and public executions, the last taking place in 1848.

For the first two decades of settlement, Newcastle served mainly as a penal settlement, however, Governor Macquarie opened the Hunter Valley to free settlers and moved most of the convicts to Port Macquarie. Although this dealt a severe blow to the township, the gaol remained in service and the opening of coal mines by the Australian Agricultural Company in 1831 brought some development to the town. Newcastle really began to flourish after the coming of the steam engine to the Hunter Valley which laid the foundations of Newcastle's development in the second half of the Nineteenth Century. The city was incorporated in 1859.

Despite surviving hardships in England, and then a voyage out to the Colony, only 8 months after her arrival, Sarah was admitted to Newcastle Hospital. The first Newcastle Hospital was built circa 1814 and remained in use until 1866, upon the completion of a new hospital, which was built largely with money raised by local citizens, particularly by the city's first mayor, James Hannell. The 1866 hospital remained in use until 1884 when the foundation stone of the new wing was laid. In 1867 the following Rules of Admission applied to the hospital:

It is not known whether these rules would have applied to those patients of the old hospital, and how severely this may have affected Jonathon and Isabella financially. Sarah died on 1 May, 1851 and was buried at Christ Church Graveyard on 2 May 1851.

Christ Church was built 1816-1818 by convicts during Newcastle's penal settlement period, the plans being drawn by convict artist Joseph Lycett. The church was attended by Governor Macquarie in 1818, and was last used for a service in 1884. Many of Sarah's grandchildren were also baptised in the original building. A comic incident occurred at the church in 1871, which was reported in the Newcastle Chronicle:

Following his mother's death, Jonathon, unmarried at this time, would no doubt have taken on the responsibility of his young sister, Isabella and his sister-in-law, Louisa, now a widow with two young children to rear on her own. Obviously of prime importance to Jonathon, would be to find suitable husbands for both, and of course, he would also have been anxious to find a wife of his own. This task took several years to accomplish, but on 10 January, 1853, a triple wedding took place at Christ Church, when Jonathon, Isabella and Louisa were all married, by the Chaplain, C. Pleydell. N. Wilton, M.A.

The first ceremony recorded in the Parish Register was the marriage of Louisa Brimble, nee Stone, to James May, an English emigrant, the witnesses being John Walters, Jane Gallimore and Jonathon Brimble.

The next recorded ceremony, was the marriage of Isabella Brimble to John Court, a miner, from Somerset, witnesses to this marriage being Jonathon Brimble and his fiancée, Bridget Egan.

The next entry relates to the marriage of Jonathon Brimble to Bridget Egan, who had also been the witness to Isabella's marriage.

As has been mentioned previously Jonathon died without issue in 1858. The family of Louisa Stone has also been discussed earlier.

John Court, Isabella Brimble's husband was born c1829 in the English county of Somerset. Unfortunately, this was one of the more difficult counties in which to identify ancestors, due mainly to the small percentage of parish registers which have been filmed by the Church of Latter Day Saints. Despite John and Isabella having seven children, none of their birth certificates indicate John's place of birth, other than that he was from Somerset, his age varies considerably from being born in 1820 to 1830, however, the most consistent would indicate he was born about 1829 [27]. His death certificate does not state his place of birth, and again refers just to Somerset. His father's name is given as James, and the name of his mother, unknown.

John's arrival in the Colony has been another difficulty to determine, and one would begin to suspect that he was covering his tracks quite well. A John Court did arrive in the Colony at Port Jackson on 2 June, 1852, as a steerage passenger on the Schooner Champion [28]. The Champion was a vessel registered in Sydney, its master being John Wood. The vessel left Nelson, New Zealand on 11 May with a cargo of timber, 2 cabin passengers, and three other steerage passengers. Unfortunately, despite contact with the relevant New Zealand authorities, a record of this man's arrival in New Zealand can not be located.

Family stories, indicated, that John Court was a convict, who had been given a parcel of land, which he apparently later exchanged for rum! Although this seemed a rather strange story it did seem worth investigating.

Convict Indents were subsequently examined, and although there were no records for a John Court, it was noted that a convict named John A'Court was transported to Australia in 1838. John A'Court was tried at Dorset Quarter Sessions for stealing a calf on 27 June, 1837, and was sentenced to life transportation. John A'Court left England on 6 November, 1837 on board the Emma Eugenia I which arrived in Port Jackson on 9 February, 1838.

The Convict Indent describes John A'Court as a native of Somersetshire, he was a Protestant, single, and could read. His occupation at the time of the trial was given as an Errand Boy. Physically he was quite short, standing only 5 foot and 1/2 inches, his complexion was fair and freckled, he had grey eyes and light sandy coloured hair. Distinguishing marks included a slight diagonal scar over his left eyebrow, freckled arms, and a mole inside the lower part of his left arm [29]. John A'Court received a pardon in 1846 [30].

Further research indicated that John A'Court married in 1851, although no children have been identified. It was also discovered that John A'Court died in 1904 at Ballimore at the age of 84 years. This has unfortunately confirmed that the two were in fact separate individuals.

As John was a miner, it would appear that he and Isabella generally resided in the mining areas of Newcastle up until the time of his death in 1880. Coal was first discovered at Newcastle in 1796, however, the first mines were not established until 1831. The mining community in New South Wales followed the patterns set in Britain and the names of the major mining townships, such as Adamstown, Lambton, Stockton, Wallsend and Wickham also displays the origins of the miners who had immigrated to Australia.

In 1859 John, Isabella and their children were living at Honeysuckle Point, which is today the Newcastle suburb of Civic and is located on the Newcastle Harbour. By 1862 they had moved to Wallsend which was then known as Pit Town. The Newcastle Directory and Almanac of 1880 [31] describes Wallsend as:

By 1864, John and Isabella had moved to Hartley Vale, where they remained for several years. John did not however, appear on electoral rolls until 1869, residing at Hartley Vale in the Electorate of Northumberland, and appears to have remained here up until at least 1875 [32].

For a time in 1870 it would appear the family resided at Borehole which was described as a postal hamlet lying 2 miles from Newcastle and being the residence of a number of coal miners employed in the collieries in the neighbourhood [33]. Despite this, Electoral Rolls show John as a resident of Hartley Vale up until 1875 when he is then noted as residing at Commonage, which includes the area later known as Adamstown.

John Court, Isabella's husband, died at Adamstown on 22 November, 1880 and was buried at Christ Church Burial Ground on 24 November, 1880. Although a family of little means, a funeral notice appeared in the Newcastle Morning Herald of 24 November, 1880:

The discovery of coal and the subsequent establishment of coal mines in various parts of New South Wales plays an important role in the settlement patterns of this family. Coal was discovered on the South coast at Coalcliff in 1797, however, it was not until 1857 that the first mine was commenced. The villages that sprung from the mining pits include those still in existence today, such as Coalcliff, Helensburgh, Clifton and Bulli.

What happened to Isabella after her husband's death is not known, however, by 1883 she was residing at Clifton, a small mining township on the south coast of New South Wales. It is not known whether she left Newcastle with her youngest daughter, Isabella, who had also settled at Clifton with her husband, Robert Hails, or whether she had left with Joseph Goundry whom she later married.

Joseph Goundry was born c1830 in County Durham, England, the son of Joseph Goundry, a miner, and Mary Scoefield. His death certificate indicates he arrived in the Colony about 1860, however, despite research in available shipping records this has not been confirmed [34],[35]. Like his father, Joseph was also a miner. He had lived in the Newcastle area from at least 1869 in the mining township of Borehole and later Lambton. Joseph disappeared from the Northumberland Electoral Rolls in 1877, and then reappeared on the Illawarra Electoral Roll in 1884 at Clifton, the same year as Isabella's son-in-law, Robert Hails.

The question has been raised by several of Isabella's descendants as to whether she may have actually left her husband prior to his death in 1880, possibly about 1877, when Joseph Goundry left the area. The possibility that Joseph knew Robert Hails has also been raised as both were miners from County Durham. This occupation is however, both consistent with residents of Newcastle and County Durham at this time.

Regardless as to whether Isabella and Joseph had crossed paths earlier is not really known, however, at the time of Isabella's grandson's birth in 1883 she was using the name Isabella Goundry and was both the witness and informant to his birth. In 1885, Isabella was again noted as a witness to another of her grandchildren's births, as Mrs. Goundry, nurse. Unfortunately, no records have survived which may clarify Isabella's occupation as a nurse. It may be that she was present at the birth of her grandchildren, or perhaps she was considered by the locals as the "midwife" and called upon when needed.

In 1886, Joseph and Isabella travelled to Sydney where they were duly married on 16 July, at St. Luke's Church. The marriage was performed by Thomas W. Unwin, the witnesses being Sarah J. Unwin and L. Unwin. Co-incidentally, Isabella's second cousin Lucy Jane Brimble who had immigrated on the Emigrant (the same ship as Isabella's brother, Andrew Brimble) married a William Unwin. William and Lucy settled at Millthorpe, however, at this time, there is no known relationship between this family and those present at Isabella's marriage to Joseph Goundry. The origins of the Reverend Thomas Warburton Unwin are not known, however, he became an Anglican deacon in 1856 and a priest in 1858. He appeared in Directories at Castlereagh in 1862 and at Emu Plains in 1867. In 1870, he was residing at The Rocks in Princes Street, and in 1871 2 Upper Fort Street, during this period he became incumbent of St. Luke's Anglican Church, Sussex Street, but by 1888 he had moved to Burwood where he remained until his death in 1902. The other Unwin's mentioned on the marriage certificate include the Reverend's wife, Sarah, and daughter, Louisa.

Isabella and Joseph remained at Clifton until about 1891 when they returned to the Newcastle district. They resided at New Lambton until Joseph's sudden death in 1894. It is not known why they returned to Newcastle, however, as they had now been married for several years any scandal would have since subsided. Both had children living in the Newcastle district and it can only be assumed they wished to be reunited with their families. Interestingly, Joseph's death certificate indicates that he and Isabella were married in 1870, some 16 years earlier than their legal marriage took place.

Joseph died of influenza on 18 July, 1894 at New Lambton. The following was extracted from the Newcastle Morning Herald of 20 July, 1894:

After Joseph's death, Isabella remained in Newcastle. She died on 14 January, 1902 of senile decay. The following obituary was extracted from the Newcastle Morning Herald, dated 16 January, 1902:

Isabella and Joseph are both buried at Sandgate Cemetery.

Examination of land records confirm that neither of Isabella's husbands had any land dealings [36].

Despite a search of the Probate Index and the Intestate Index [37], no entries were found for Isabella, nor her two husbands, John Court and Joseph Goundry.

Isabella and her first husband, John Court, had seven children, all of whom were born in the Newcastle district.

John and Isabella's first child, a daughter, named Sarah Sophia, was born on 4 October, 1853 and was baptised at Christ Church the same day. It would appear, Sarah Sophia died as a child. As John and Isabella's second child was also born prior to the commencement of Civil Registration, no details of previous issue, living or deceased is available, however, the birth certificate of their third child indicates one child was deceased. It can only be assumed that Sarah Sophia died some time prior to 1859, however, no record of her death or burial is available. It is understood that in some instances that a child who is not expected to live is baptised as soon as possible and this may explain why Sarah Sophia's baptism may have taken place on the day of her birth. It is also possible that the Chaplain omitted to enter her burial in the register, if these events took place at the same time.

John and Isabella's second child was born at Newcastle on 14 January, 1856, another daughter, she was baptised Caroline Keziah on 24 February, 1856 at Christ Church. She was always known by the name Keziah rather than Caroline. It is believed that Keziah may have been the name of John Court's mother, or at least has a connection with the Court branch of the family, as the other names given to John and Isabella's daughters were popular in the Brimble family.

Keziah married Captain William Alfred Ball on 27 March, 1884 at St. John's Church, Newcastle. Captain Ball, a mariner, was born 9 September, 1852 at Salcombe, Devon, the son of Thomas Ball and Ann Clark Perraton.

Keziah and Captain Ball had five children, four sons, and one daughter, namely, William (1885), David (1887), James (1889), Ida (1893) and John (1895). The birth of their first son, William was noted in the Newcastle Morning Herald of 9 May, 1885:

The family moved to Sydney some time after Ida's birth and in 1898 were noted as living at `Ralston' 56 Wells Street, Annandale. By 1900 they had moved to 20 Little Edward Street, Pyrmont. Captain Ball died here in 1901. The following funeral notices appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald of 30 March, 1901:

After her husband's death, Keziah remained at Little Edward St, until 1903, when she opened at Grocery store at 22 Union Street, Pyrmont. In 1907, Keziah moved to 132 Harris Street, Pyrmont, again as a grocer. By 1908 Keziah had moved to 75 Murray Street, Pyrmont, where she conducted a boarding house, although she was only listed in the Sands Directory from 1919-1923 at this address [38]. In her latter years, Keziah resided with her daughter, Ida and son-in-law, George Robinson at Balmain. Keziah passed away on 6 March, 1935. The following have been extracted from the Sydney Morning Herald, dated 6 March, 1935:

Of William and Keziah's children, their eldest son, William Alfred Hopes Ball who was born 6 May, 1885 at Wickham, became a Storeman. At the age of 23 he married Mary Isabel Eklund on 13 November, 1908 at St. Bartholomew's Church of England Pyrmont. Mary aged 25, was the daughter of August Eklund, a labourer and Isabella O'Brien. The marriage was witnessed by William's brother Claude and sister, Ida. William and Mary had three children, Clara, Alfred Roy and James John. William died on 2 December, 1973 at West Ryde.

Their second son, David, did not marry, and died 12 May, 1948 at Lidcombe, and is buried at Rookwood Cemetery.

James Claude Ball, a sugar worker, married Florence Martha Justice, the daughter of Edward Justice, a commercial employee and Martha Wier on 10 March, 1917 at the family church, St. Bartholomew's, Pyrmont.

Ida Rose, William and Keziah's only daughter, married George Robinson a labourer, the son of John and Sarah Robinson on 31 December, 1908 again at St. Bartholomew's, Pyrmont. After George's death, Ida remarried Jack Calendar. Ida died on 11 February, 1983 at Penrith and is buried at Pine Grove Cemetery, Eastern Creek.

William and Keziah's youngest child, John Errol, who was born in 1895 at Annandale, died at just 19 months of age and is buried at Rookwood Cemetery.

Known descendants of Keziah and her husband Captain Ball are detailed in Family Tree Chart 5.

A son, William, was born to John and Isabella on 14 August, 1859 at Honeysuckle Point (Civic). After his father's death in 1880 William as the eldest son, played the role of guardian to his family and no doubt became responsible for his sisters' well-being. William first appeared on Electoral Rolls in 1881/82 in the County of Northumberland at Commonage, and like his father, became a miner. By the time of the 1882/83 Electoral Roll, the area previously referred to as commonage was known as Adamstown. William and his family resided at Union St, Adamstown until his death in 1931.

The following description of Adamstown was noted in the Newcastle Directory and Almanac:

Edward Reay, the above mentioned proprietor of the Assembly rooms, was the father of William's sister-in-law, Hannah, who had married his brother, John.

On 17 September, 1881, William married Deborah Ann Turnbull, the daughter of Matthew Turnbull and Ann Hunter, a mining family who had immigrated from County Durham in 1879 on the Northampton.

William and Deborah had five children, William John (1882), Burton (1883), Florence (1887), Annie (1890) and Isabella (1895).

Their first son, William John died on 14 September, 1885, aged 3 years and 3 months of croup. He is buried at Sandgate Cemetery.

Burton Court remained in the Newcastle area, he married, and became a blacksmith.

William and Deborah's eldest daughter Florence married Samuel Lambert and had two children, William and Mabel. She later married Frank Ed Moxey, and they had one daughter, Muriel.

William and Deborah's second daughter, Annie, died at six weeks of age of congestion of the lungs and she too was buried at Sandgate Cemetery.

At this time it is not known what happened to Isabella, William and Deborah's youngest daughter.

A search of Land records reveal that William was involved in a number of land purchases in the Adamstown area of Newcastle from 1889 [39].

By the time of the 1903 Electoral Roll William's occupation was given as Colliery Weighman [40]. He was an Alderman on Adamstown Council and later became Mayor of Adamstown. He died on 11 September, 1931.

Known descendants of William Court and his wife Deborah Ann Turnbull are detailed in Family Tree Chart 5.

John and Isabella's second son, John, was born on 28 April, 1862 at Pit Town (Wallsend). Like his father and brother, John was also a miner however, he later became a Shopkeeper and Publican.

In 1881 John married Hannah Reay, the daughter of Edward Reay, proprietor of the Assembly Rooms in Adamstown. Together they produced six children, Mary (1882), John (1884), William Edward (1886), James (1887), Isabella (1892) and Rose Hannah (1895). Mary, James and Rose Hannah all died in childhood.

On the 10 November, 1887, John sequestrated his estate and was subsequently declared bankrupt [41]. At this time John and his family were living at Mount Kembla, near Bulli, having left Newcastle due to slackness of work. His debts had been accumulating since 1885 and were mostly for the provision of goods, although one was for medical attendance. The total of his debts was near to 70 pounds, however his assets were realised at just one pound and five shillings being household furniture. At this time, John's income as a miner amounted to about one pound per week and no debts were proven.

In 1902, John made application to the Supreme Court for a Certificate of Conformity, was required to pay four pound, one shilling and sixpence and was declared solvent on 26 August, 1902. It would appear this application was made so that John could obtain a publican's licence, as this was the occupation given on latter Electoral Rolls.

John's wife, Hannah, died in 1907 whilst they were living at Cessnock. In October 1908, John purchased land in Government Rd, Cessnock, however sold it a short time later to a baker, Mr. George Hamilton Barnes [42].

In December, 1908 John married a widow, Margaret Voss. It is said, that prior to this, Margaret lived in the goldmines and did the washing for other miners in the goldfields. John died at Glouster on 26 September, 1922.

With regards to John and Hannah's children, John Jnr. married a girl named Jessie Terris and became a Billiard Maker.

William Edward married Ruby Josephine Cooper when he was 27 years of age and became a Bookmakers Clerk. They moved to Sydney and settled in the suburb of Randwick. William and Ruby had three children, Lionel, Edna and John. William Edward was survived by his wife and daughter and died on 18 June, 1971.

John and Hannah's only daughter to reach adulthood was Isabella. As her mother died when she was just 15 years old Bella, as she was known, went to Sydney and lived with her Aunt Kezia at Pyrmont. Bella can recall her Aunt Keziah, and describes her as being "very nice, but strict". Bella can also recall scrubbing the floors of the boarding house, which she feels may have contributed to her bad knees! Bella became Mrs. Butters. Her husband had a men's shoe shop which also sold leather goods.

Known descendants of John Court and his wife Hannah Reay are detailed in Family Tree Chart 5.

Isabella is a direct ancestor of the writer and she is discussed further in the following chapter.

Henry James Court was John and Isabella's youngest son. He was born on 1 March, 1870 near Borehole and died one month later on 31 March, of marasmus, a deficiency disease. Henry James was buried at Christchurch Burial Ground, Newcastle on 3 April, 1870.

John and Isabella had another daughter, Mary, born 14 December, 1871 at Hartley Vale. She died eight days later on 22 December of congenital weakness and is buried at Christchurch Burial Ground, Newcastle.

Isabella lived with her parents at Hartley Vale up until the mid 1870s when the family moved to Adamstown. A public school was established at Adamstown in July, 1877, and it is possible that as she was of school age, she may well have attended.

Isabella was just 16 years of age when her father died of heart disease, and following his death, she resided with her older brother, William at Hamilton.

Isabella, although the youngest, was the first of her brothers and sisters to marry. The marriage took place at Hamilton on 19 February, 1881, just five days short of Isabella's 17th birthday. The ceremony was performed by George James a Minister of the Primitive Methodist Church and was witnessed by William Court and Sarah Jane King. As Isabella was not of age, the consent of her guardian, namely her brother William, was also given.

Isabella's husband, Robert Cornelius Hails, was a miner who had emigrated from England. Robert was born at High Southwick, County Durham on 9 November, 1855 the son of Robert Hails and Mary McKenzie.

Robert left England on 10 March 1876 on board the Windsor Castle together with his brother John and sister-in-law Sarah [43]. They arrived at the port of Brisbane three months later on 21 June. Robert, John and Sarah were described as Free Passengers, the following outlines the conditions under which such passage was granted:

It would appear, the Government did not strictly adhere to the condition regarding permanent residency in Queensland, as both Robert and his brother John, later settled in New South Wales.

Shortly after their marriage, Robert and Isabella's first child, a daughter named Hannah Keziah was born at Hamilton in 1881. The witness to Hannah Keziah's birth is noted as Mrs. Hails, presumably Robert's sister-in-law, Sarah.

Robert did not appear on Electoral Rolls in New South Wales until 1882/83, and at that time was noted as living at Newcastle Commonage, as was his brother, John.

As has been mentioned previously, like many living in the Newcastle district at the time, Robert was a miner. It is interesting to note the following which was printed in the Newcastle Morning Herald in 1887 and titled The Miners Ten Commandments:

Although one today finds such an article amusing, it is quite hideous to think that the conditions described are close to the truth, and depict quite an accurate picture of a miner's life and the prosperity that he had to look forward to.

Like many, Robert and his family left the mines of Newcastle for a time, and settled in the Illawarra district in the small mining township of Clifton.

South Bulli mine which opened in 1857, was the first of many mines to open in the district. This saw the Illawarra or the South Coast district become the second major mining settlement at that time. The Illawarra district had an extremely diverse industrial history during the nineteenth century. This commenced with cedar-getting in the early 1800's and later, cattle raising, whaling, wheat and sheep farming, dairying, flour and timber milling. The 1860's saw the influx of coal mining. The 1880's was dominated by coke making, however dairy factories were also established and continued into the 1890's with milking and also the introduction of smelting.

Great numbers of little timber houses were built for the coal miners, at first with only one or two rooms. There were no bathrooms and sometimes, two more rooms were added at the back depending upon the size of the family. Many of these homes were constructed of slabs of wood spit from tree trunks, which were stood on their ends in grooves cut in a log along the bottom and also held the same way at the top. Roofs were made of sheets of bark held in place by poles tied with rope-like vines. Floors were generally bare earth though some had floor boards constructed of sawn slabs of timber, the walls were pasted with sheets of paper to keep out the breeze.

The township of Clifton actually came into being in 1877, when the Coal Cliff Colliery was developed. It is understood that a number of well-built weatherboard cottages with galvanised iron roofs had been erected about a half mile from the mine, and the spot was known as the "village of Clifton". The mine manager, Mr. Hale, had a villa residence almost on the edge of the cliffs. A Thomas Hale is noted on Electoral Rolls originally at Coalcliff however he later resided at the nearby township of Woonona.

Obviously, the construction of these homes was an attempt to attract miners from other Colliery's all over the state. As Robert now had a young family to support such an opportunity would have prompted him to leave Newcastle, for the possibility of a more comfortable life. No doubt Robert and Isabella would have lived in a home, not unlike those described at Clifton.

On 20 February, 1883, Robert and Isabella's second child was born at Clifton. Their first son, he was named Robert after his father, a family tradition which was to continue for generations to the point of confusion for the family historian. Robert's birth was witnessed by his grandmother, who at this time was known by the name of Isabella Goundry (the story surrounding this has been previously discussed). Isabella was also the informant on his birth certificate, and for reasons unknown to the writer (though possibly to hide the fact that she was "living in sin") Isabella advised the Registrar that Robert's mother, Isabella was born in England and that his parents had also been married in England. Research has proven that this information was incorrect.

It was not until the compilation of the Electoral Rolls of 1884/85 that Robert appeared as a voter in the Illawarra district as a resident of Clifton. Further examination of Electoral Rolls reveal that in 1885/86, Robert had returned to Adamstown and it was here that Mary, the third of Robert and Isabella's children was born on 15 June, 1885.

In the 1886/87 Electoral Rolls, Robert was noted as a resident of Stockton, as was his brother John, however his fourth child, Isabella was born at Clifton on 15 September, 1887. Her birth was witnessed by Mrs. Goundry, nurse, who was infact the child's grandmother, as mentioned previously.

By the 1888/89 Electoral Rolls Robert had again returned to Clifton and it was here that Isabella and Robert's fifth child was born on 29 September, 1889. Their second son, he was named John. His birth was witnessed by Dr. Lee, Surgeon; Mrs. Goundry, nurse and Sarah Booth.

On 3 March, 1890 Robert petitioned the Judge in Bankruptcy and was subsequently declared bankrupt [44]. Robert declared that he was a miner, residing at Clifton, and was married with five children. He claims his bankruptcy was caused by slackness of work and pressure of creditors. A total of 16 creditors were noted including his brother-in-law, Captain Ball. The debts were contracted from 1885 through to 1889 and totalled nearly 42 pounds. The creditors included storekeepers, butchers and bakers at Clifton, Stockton, Adamstown, Hamilton and Wickham. Robert's only asset was wearing apparel valued at four pound. Obviously Robert's wages would have been similar to that of his brother-in-law, John Court, who had been declared bankrupt in 1887, and thus such debts would be quite significant to those on an average miners wage of only one pound per week.

Another daughter, Rose, was born to Robert and Isabella on 10 September, 1891 at Clifton. Rose contracted a cough, her lungs collapsed and she died aged 14 1/2 months on 25 November, 1892.

Unfortunately, Robert's financial position did not improve in this time either and he was again declared bankrupt in April, 1893 [45]. Robert declared that he had been bankrupt before and that he had not paid any of his creditors. He and his family were now living at Helensburgh. Robert attributed his present bankruptcy to "slackness of work and sickness in my family, three at once, and one died." His debts this time totalled 25 pound 15 shillings and 5 pence and included funeral costs for the burial of his young daughter, Rose.

Later that year on 24 October, another daughter, Sarah, was born to Robert and Isabella at Cawley's Creek near Helensburgh. It was amusing to note that the witness to Sarah's birth was Sarah Stork.

One now looks at the history of the railways in Illawarra. Although such an event would not normally have any significance to a mining family, it did however change the lives of the Hails family.

The construction of a railway line from Sydney to Illawarra was first proposed in 1873 by James Manning, however, the mountainous country to the west and to the north made if difficult to find a route and it was considered the cost would be very great. Despite this, work commenced and although the country between Waterfall and Clifton required seven tunnels, which slowed the work (refer to Appendix 6), the line was opened in sections. By 1886, the line had reached Waterfall and work on the line between Clifton and Wollongong finished in 1887. It is understood that during this period travellers then went by train from Sydney to Waterfall and then by horse coaches to Clifton where they joined a train to take them onto Wollongong. The line between Waterfall and Clifton finally opened on 3 October, 1888.

As mentioned previously Isabella, Robert and their children had moved from Clifton to Helensburgh some time before 1893. Life for this family was one of many hardships and on the evening of 13 June, 1895, Robert was killed as the result of injuries received after having been run over by a passing train in Number 2 Tunnel of the Illawarra Railway line near Helensburgh. To the residents of Helensburgh, at that time a comparatively small community, the incident no doubt would have been one of much discussion. The following article appeared in the Illawarra Mercury dated 15 June, 1895:

Unfortunately although the actual Coroner's Inquests for this period have not survived the Registers of Coroner's Inquests were consulted [46]. The inquest was held on 14 June at Helensburgh Court House by Francis Woodward. The only additional information included in the Register was that Robert possessed `household effects valued at 5 pound'. Robert did not leave a will, nor was any record found in the Intestate Index.

Following her husband's sudden death, Isabella remained in the Illawarra district and in 1897, she gave birth to another daughter, named Violet.

Obviously, Isabella would have found it difficult to provide for her rather large family on her own and on 23 December, 1899, she married Benjamin Batey, the son of John Batey and Dorothy Maddison, a native of County Northumberland, England. The marriage (which was registered under the name of Beaty), took place in Sydney and was officiated by George Lewis, a Minister of the Congregational Mission Church and was witnessed by James Jeffrey (Isabella's son-in-law) and N. Henness. At the time of their marriage, Benjamin, a bachelor, was described as a miner, and aged 33 years, his usual residence was noted as Helensburgh.

Benjamin immigrated to Australia together with his sister, Elizabeth and her two young children, Dorothy and Elizabeth on the Duke of Westminster whose master was Captain Turner. The vessel sailed from London on 12 May, 1886 and arrived at Brisbane on 6 July that year [47]. Like most miners, Benjamin also made his way to Newcastle in New South Wales, and in 1889 was first noted on Electoral Rolls by the name Beaty at Teralba, which is situated on the outskirts of Newcastle, off Cockle Bay.

Shortly after their marriage, Isabella and Benjamin's first child, Dorothy was born in 1900 and four years later a son, Benjamin was also born.

With the introduction of women receiving the right to vote, in 1903 Isabella appeared on Electoral Rolls together with her husband, and her occupation was given as Domestic Duties.

It would appear that life with Benjamin was quite comfortable for Isabella, particularly when compared with the life she had with her first husband, Robert Hails. The Batey family began investing in land and in 1905 Benjamin purchased his first block of land, being Lot 599 Boomerang St, Helensburgh. In 1907 Isabella purchased Lot 594 which was behind the land Benjamin had purchased two years earlier. In 1908 Benjamin made another two land purchases, Lot 600 in Boomerang St, and another piece of land in Undola Rd, Helensburgh [48]. It is not known whether Benjamin and Isabella built on these blocks, as it would appear they actually resided in Parkes St, Helensburgh.

Of the land purchased by Benjamin and Isabella, Benjamin sold Lot 600 to Andrew Otago McCullock, his step-daughter's brother-in-law in 1918 who subsequently sold it to Charles Campbell, Mary's husband in 1922. Upon Charles' death the title was transferred to Mary who had the land sub-divided and sold in 1945.

The land in Undola Rd was also sold in 1918, and Lot 599 Boomerang St. was sold in 1919. Isabella's land (Lot 594) was transferred to her daughter, Dorothy in 1919. Dorothy retained the land until 1970 when it was sold.

It has been said that Benjamin was quite careful with his money, however he did develop a weakness for gambling later in his life and lost all his property. This has not been confirmed, although the sale of all their property at this time does appear to add some substance to this story.

Isabella died on 7 October, 1920 at just 56 years of age. Her funeral was noted in the Sydney Morning Herald of 8 October and reads:

A tombstone marks the sight of Isabella's grave at Helensburgh Cemetery and displays following inscription:

Isabella's second husband, Benjamin Batey appears to have remained at Helensburgh, however, by 1925 he had disappeared from the Electoral Roll. At the time of writing it is not known whether he had died or whether he left the area at this time.

A search of the Probate Index for the years 1919-1928 has failed to locate wills for either Isabella or Benjamin Batey, and no record for either could be found on the Intestate Index.

Hannah Kezia, Isabella's first child to her husband, Robert Hails, was generally known by the name of Annie. Born at Hamilton on 30 April, 1881, Annie spent the early years of her life between Newcastle and Clifton, however in 1893, she had moved with her parents to Helensburgh, where she was to spend the remainder of her life.

Annie married James Jeffrey, a miner, in Sydney on 1 May, 1897 and they had a large family of eight children, three daughters and five sons, namely, Lillian, Elsie, Robert, James, John (Jack), William, Valma and Walter.

James died on 20 February, 1942 at the age of 70 and Annie on 4 April, 1955 at the age of 73 years. Both are buried at Helensburgh Cemetery.

Annie and James' eldest daughter, Lillian married Jack Lewis and moved to Musswellbrook near Newcaste. They had two children, a son, Lewis and a daughter, Elsie. Lillian, Jack and their children are all deceased.

Elsie, Annie and James' second daughter was born in 1900. She married Archibald Moore and they had one son, also named Archibald who married and had a daughter named Charmaine. Elsie died about 1984, her husband and son both died many years ago.

Annie and James' first son, Robert was born in 1902. He married Margaret Watson and they had two daughters, Shirley and Lila. Lila married Thomas Higgins and they had two sons. Robert died on 6 October, 1946 at just 44 years of age, his wife Margaret died 8 May, 1975.

James Hugh Jeffrey, Annie and James' fourth child, was known as Jim. He was born in 1904. He married Daphne Hodson and they had only one daughter, Elsie. Elsie married Harold Judson and they had four children, William, Adele, James and Narelle. The family now reside in Nambour, Queensland. James died on 18 June, 1951 at 46 years of age and is buried at Helensburgh Cemetery.

James and Annie's fifth child was another son, although given the name John, he was known as Jack. He married Violet Burn and they had one daughter, Norma. Norma married Arnold Decker and they had three children, Paul, Cindy and Terri. Paul was married to Naomi Perry and they have four children, Cindy is married to Alan Thompson with three sons. John (Jack) died on 27 July, 1984 and he too is buried at Helensburgh Cemetery.

William or Bill as he was known was James and Annie's sixth child and was born in 1912. He married Emily Burn and they had two children, Sheila and William. Sheila is married to Brian Hunt and they have three children. Their daughter Debra married John Dowling and has one daughter, Alicia. Their other daughter, Kerry married David Pearson and they had two children, Amanda and Luke. Sheila and Brian's son, Jeff married Kerry Quirk and they have two daughters, Tamarah and Jade. William and Emily's son, William married Elizabeth Betts in 1959 they have three children, Kay Elizabeth, Wendy and Michael, all of whom are single. William Senior died on 31 May, 1949 at just 37 years of age. Like his parents, he too is buried at Helensburgh Cemetery.

Valma was James and Annie's youngest daughter and she was born in 1924. She married William (Bill) Simpson and they had no children. Valma died in 1984, in her 60th year.

James and Annie's youngest child, Walter married Patricia Jagquar. They had only one son, Robert who is married to Diane Hill and has one daughter Melissa. Walter died on 6 March, 1984 and is buried at Helensburgh Cemetery.

Known descendants of Hannah Keziah and her husband James Jeffrey are detailed in Family Tree Chart 6.

Robert was Isabella and Robert's eldest son. He was born at Clifton on 20 February, 1883.

Robert first appeared on Electoral Rolls in 1906, a resident of Helensburgh, his occupation was shown as Miner. Robert remained in the South Coast area for many years and in 1909, on the 6 February, he married Emma Sarah Metcalfe, a young widow, at the home of his step-father, Benjamin Batey. The witnesses to the marriage were Robert's brother, John and his sister, Isabella.

Robert's wife, Emma, the daughter of George Reeks and Maria Salisbury, was born at Bulli on 26 August, 1885. In 1904, Emma had married Bartholomew Metcalfe, also a miner, however, he was killed in a mining accident at South Bulli Colliery, just eight months after their marriage.

Robert and Emma had five children, Olive, Ivy, Robert, Myrtle, John and Alfred. Olive, Ivy, and Robert were all born at Helensburgh.

By 1914, Robert, Emma and their children were living at Coledale. Myrtle Annie was born here on 28 August, 1914 and was baptised later in the year at Helensburgh on 23 November. At the time, Robert's occupation was noted as Sanitary Man. Myrtle died at just 15 months of age of heart failure following broncho pneumonia, which she had suffered for four days. She was buried two days later at Bulli Cemetery.

In July, 1916, Robert purchased a block of land, Lot 597 in Boomerang St, Helensburgh from his brother-in-law, Charles Campbell which he later sold in 1918 [49].

Robert and Emma's two youngest children, John Concord and Alfred William were born in the Sydney suburb of Concord, in 1917 and 1918 respectively, the family having moved some time after Myrtle's death.

It would appear the marriage was not a happy one and Emma filed for divorce, which was granted on 23 November, 1926. Unfortunately, although a request was made to the Supreme Court, the details of the divorce were not made available for the purpose of family history research.

Emma and the children remained in Sydney and lived at 30 Hannan Street, Arncliffe.

By 1925 Robert had reappeared on Electoral Rolls at Helensburgh and it is believed that around this time he married again. His second wife, Eileen Moon, gave him another two children, a daughter named Eileen, and another son, named Robert John.

In 1932 it is noted that Robert appeared in the Sands Directory and at that time was living at 27 Pentland Ave, Punchbowl. It is believed that at some stage he had property in the vicinity of Waterfall, however, he later moved to Bathurst and resided at Perthville. He died on 22 September, 1957 at Macquarie Homes, Bathurst, however, was buried at Woronora Cemetery on 24 September. A funeral notice appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald of 24 September, 1957:

No mention of his death could be found in the Bathurst papers of that time. Robert did not leave a will, however, his son by his second marriage, Robert John, made application to the Supreme Court to administer his father's estate. This was granted 1 June, 1961 [50].

Of Robert's children, his eldest daughter, Olive Isabella, was born 30 May, 1909. She married Reuben Loveday, who was 19 years, her senior on 27 June, 1936. They lived at Appin and had two sons, Albert and John. Albert was born in 1938, he married Lynnette Jones and they had four children, Allan, Ronald, Glen and Karen. Olive and Reuben's son, John was born in 1945, he married Lynne O'Connel and they had three children, Sandra, Peter and Robert. Olive's husband Reuben died on 14 June, 1967. She was married again to John Howson, a family friend, and they moved to Thirroul. Sadly, Olive was killed in a motor vehicle accident in October, 1980.

Robert and Emma's daughter, Ivy Sarah was born 21 November, 1911. On 23 November, 1944, she married Lionel Davies at Arncliffe. Ivy and Lionel had no children of their own, however, they adopted a son, William, and also had placed in their care a State Ward, Kenneth. Ivy and Lionel are now both deceased.

Robert and Emma's first son, Robert George Hails, was born at Helensburgh on 18 June, 1912. A labourer, he married Doris May Anshaw on 5 December, 1931 at St. Davids, Arncliffe. Robert and Doris lived at Arncliffe and they had five children. Some time during the 1940's the family moved to Orange. Their only daughter, Shirley May who was born in 1932, married Darrel Gunton at Orange in 1955. Shirley and Darrel had two daughters, Julie and Karen, both of whom are married with children. Robert and Doris' eldest son, James Frederick was born in 1934, he married Judy Keegan at Orange in 1956 and they have three children, Mark, Suzanne and Peter. Both Mark and Suzanne are married with children. Ronald George, Robert's next son was born in 1937, he became a school teacher, but disappeared in October, 1975. Leslie Allen, Robert and Doris' fourth child was born in 1939, he died in Sydney Hospital at 18 years of age, having broken his back in a sporting accident. Richard John who was born at Orange in 1947, joined the RAAF. He married Carol Lane at Fairfield in 1968 and they have two children, Rodney and Jason. Robert and Doris' youngest child, David Arthur was also born at Orange, in the year 1952. He married Genevieve Chubb at Rooty Hill in 1975 and they have two daughters, Louise and Marion. Robert George Hails died at Orange on 12 February, 1958.

John Concord Hails, Robert and Emma's fourth child was born at Concord on 2 July, 1917. A labourer, he married Dorothy Ada Salt on 24 March, 1929 at Arncilffe and they had two children. Barry and Beverley. Barry was born in 1940 at Arncliffe, he is married to Leonarda and they have four children, Leanne, Brett, Scott and Simone. The family resides at Leeton, in southern New South Wales. Beverley was born in 1943, also at Arncliffe. In 1964 she married Max Eather at Penshurst and they have one son, Darren. John is now retired, he and his wife Dorothy live on the Central Coast at Berkley Vale.

Alfred William Hails, was the youngest of Robert and Emma's children. He was born at Concord on 25 October, 1918. On 20 July, 1935 he married Esther Rose Lillian Rake, the daughter of two English immigrants, Arthur Samuel Rake and Clara Lillian Phibbs. Alf and Esther had two sons, Trevor William and Colin Frederick. Alf served with the Royal Australian Navy during WWII and was onboard the Canberra when it was sunk by the Japanese in 1942. After the war, Alf and Esther separated and divorced, Esther reared their children on her own. Alf married a widow, Lillian Tapp, however, they had no children. Lillian died in May 1977. Alf and Esther were re-united and were remarried at MacMasters Beach on 14 December, 1980 in the presence of their children and grandchildren. Their eldest son, Trevor was born on 14 December, 1936, a builder, he married Heather Jessie McLeod at Bankstown on 19 April, 1958. Trevor and Heather have three children, Steven, Jeffrey and Sandra. Steven is married to Sandra McNab and they have one daughter, Bianca Elsie Esther. Jeffrey is married to Leanne Sloanne and they have three daughters, Renee Louise, Samantha and Jenna Lea. Sandra is married to Alexander Bierach and they too have one daughter, Heather-Marie. Alf and Esther's youngest son, Colin Frederick was born at Merrylands on Christmas Eve of 1939. He became a motor mechanic but is now a Technical Officer. On 14 January, 1961 married Caroline Martin who had immigrated from Scotland with her parents in 1951. Colin and Carol have two daughters, Vicki Lee (the writer) and Joanne who married Mark Richard Kalebic in January, 1987. Neither Vicki or Joanne have any children.

Of Robert's children from his second marriage, it is known that his daughter, Eileen married a Mr. Pethybridge. They were living at Bathurst at the time of Robert's death, however, it is understood they now live in Queensland.

Robert's son, Robert John, was born 4 August, 1927. He married Rose Gunning in 1950, and they had three sons, David, Ian and Peter, all of whom are married. Whether Robert John is still living is not known, as he and his wife are estranged.

Known descendants of Robert Hails are detailed in Family Tree Charts 1 and 7.

Mary Hails was Robert and Isabella' third child. She was born on 15 June, 1885 whilst the family were living at Adamstown. At the age of 17, she married a 29 year old miner, Charles James Campbell on 20 December, 1902 with the consent of her mother. Mary's brother, Robert and sister, Isabella were the witnesses to the marriage. Charles also a resident of Helensburgh, was born at Bathurst the son of James Campbell, a dealer and Matilda Staynes.

Although Mary gave birth to two children, Esbert Robert James in 1903 and Eileen Amelia in 1911, both died in infancy. Esbert on 22 April, 1904 at 6 months of age and Eileen on 25 November, 1911 at 3 months of age.

Mary's husband, Charles died at 69 years of age on 22 May, 1943. Mary lived a long and healthy life and later moved to the Sydney suburb of Gymea where she died in her 85th year on 30 July, 1970. The following have been extracted from the Sydney Morning Herald of 1 August, 1970:

Mary, Charles and their children are buried together at Helensburgh cemetery.

Known descendants of Mary and her husband Charles Campbell are detailed in Family Tree Chart 6.

Robert and Isabella's fourth child, another daughter, was named Isabella. She was born on 15 September, 1887 at Clifton, and her grandmother, by this time, Mrs Isabella Goundry, was also present at her birth in the capacity of nurse.

On 25 January, 1911, at the age of 23, Isabella married Gavan McCulloch at the home of her step-father, Benjamin Batey. The marriage being witnessed by Isabella's brother, John and Gavan's brother, Andrew.

A the time of his marriage Gavan McCulloch was described as a dairy farmer, and it is noted the family lived at Blue Gum, Helensburgh. He was born at Woodburn near the Richmond River in New South Wales in 1887, the son of John McCulloch, a grocer and Jane Bruce.

Isabella and Gavan appeared on Electoral Rolls in 1913, still residents of Helensburgh, and at that time Gavan was described as a wheeler. Gavan and Isabella had two children, Gavan and Dorothy.

Their son, named Gavan Hails McCulloch, was born 3 May, 1916 at Helensburgh. He moved to Sydney with his parents in about 1920. Gavan married Rose Osmond and they had two sons, Gavan Bruce born in 1942 and David John born in 1944. Young Gavan married Helen Stranger in 1963 and they have three children, Robert, Heather and Elizabeth. David was born on his grandmother's wedding anniversary in 1944, he died in December, 1962. Following the death of his wife, Rose, Gavan was married again in 1967 to Evelyn Darke, however, they had no children. Gavan sufferred from heart trouble for many years and died late in 1986.

Dorothy Isabella was born 12 February, 1920. She married Ronald Henry Ernest Mann and they had one daughter, Cheryl Dorothy, who was born in 1946. Cheryl married Eric James Shoesmith in 1967 and they have two daughters, Janelle and Belinda.

Isabella died in 1967 and the following were extracted from the Sydney Morning Herald of 21 August:

Known descendants of Isabella and her husband Gavan McCulloch are detailed in Family Tree Chart 6.

John Hails was Robert and Isabella's second son. He too was born at Clifton on 29 August, 1889.

John first appeared on Electoral Rolls at Helensburgh in 1913 as a wheeler. He later moved to Lithgow and then some time before 1922 moved to Melbourne, Victoria.

On 30 March, 1922 he married Martha Harris at Balaclava, Victoria. At the time, John was described as a mechanic. His present residence was given as Federal Coffee Shop Melbourne, however, his usual residence was noted as Lithgow, New South Wales.

His wife, Martha, the daughter of Joseph Barclay Harris, and engine driver and Ellen Bell was born at Stawell in Western Victoria in 1896.

John and Martha settled at Annandale, Victoria, where they had two sons. John born in 1925 and John Robert born in 1929. To save confusion, the younger of the two boys, has always been known as Bob.

John died in Melbourne on 4 June, 1948 after having suffered a stroke at the age of 59. He is buried at Springvale Cemetery.

Nine months later in March, 1949 John Jnr. married Lorna Millard. John and Lorna have one daughter, Heather Denise, born in 1950, she married Peter Dowling in 1971 and they have three daughters, Belinda, Jacinta and Nicole. John was a Personnel Officer, however, he is now retired.

Bob married Dawn Rica Watt in 1953. They had a relatively large family of five children. Robert Noel, their eldest, was born in 1953 at Maffra, he married Karen Golthorne in 1976, however, they have no children. Douglas John who born in 1954 is now married to Suzanne Knight and they have two children, Luke and Jade. Twins, Donald Shane and Verena Joy were born at East Malvern in 1957. Verena married Timothy Rust in 1981. Moya Dawn, their youngest daughter, was born in 1959, she was married in 1981 to Andrew Shakespeare.

Known descendants of John Hails and his wife Martha Harris are detailed in Family Tree Chart 6.

Robert and Isabella's sixth child, Rose, was born on 10 September, 1891 at Clifton. As mentioned previously, she died as a baby on 25 November, 1892 and was buried at the Church of England Cemetery, Bulli on 26 November.

Sarah, the last of Isabella's children to Robert was born on 24 October, 1893 at Cawley's Creek near Helensburgh. She died at six years of age of pneumonia on 3 May, 1899 and was buried at the Church of England Cemetery, Helensburgh on 4 May that year.

Isabella's daughter, Violet, was born in 1897. She married Stanley Smith during WWI and they had four children. Sidney, Stanley, Freida and Patsy. Unfortunately, it has not been possible to contact any of Violet's descendants and this has proven to be more difficult due to the prevalence of the family surname.

Known descendants of Violet Hails and her husband Stanley Smith are detailed in Family Tree Chart 6.

Dorothy, Isabella's first child to her second husband, Benjamin Batey, was born at Helensburgh on 14 November, 1900. She married Cuthburt Spergent Wallbank and they had one child, a son Ernest Arnold, who was born in 1926. Ernest married Betty Stenhouse and they had two children, David and Dianne. Dianne married Charles Micallef in 1980 and they have two children, Chantel and Aaron. Ernest died in October, 1983, however, his mother, Dorothy is still living in the Sydney suburb of Gymea.

Known descendants of Dorothy Batey and her husband Cuthbert Wallbank are detailed in Family Tree Chart 6.

Isabella and Benjamin had only one son, Benjamin. Named after his father, he was born on 27 July, 1904 at Helensburgh. Young Benjamin was born prematurely and died of gastritis at just 9 weeks of age on 16 September. He was buried at the Church of England Cemetery, Helensburgh 3 days later.

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S. Colwell The Family History Book - A Guide to Tracing Your Ancestors Phaidon Press Ltd, 1980.

B. Cottle Dictionary of Surnames Penguin Books, 1986, 2nd Ed.

N. Gray Compiling Your Family History ABC Enterprises & Society of Australian Genealogists, 1985, 16th Ed.

N. V. Hall Tracing Your Family History in Australia Rigby Publishers, 1985.

G.M. Hibbins, C. Fahey and M.R. Askew Local History - A Handbook for Enthusiasts Allen & Unwin, 1985.

J. Reakes How To Trace Your English Ancestors Hale & Iremonger, 1987.

H.J. Shaw 200 Facts About Historic Illawarra Illawarra Historical Society, 1970.

C.C. Singleton Railway History in Illawarra, New South Wales Illawarra Historical Society, 1984.

J. Turner Photo's of Old Newcastle Hunter History Publications, 1979.

J. Turner Photo's of Old Newcastle From Stockton to Minmi Hunter History Publications, 1980.

C.R. Humphrey-Smith (ed.) The Phillimore Atlas and Index of Parish Registers, 1984.

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Guide To Convict Records in the Archives Office of New South Wales. Guide to the State Archives of New South Wales Guide No. 14.

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England:

1. Church of England Parish Registers, Kingston Deverill, Wiltshire, England 1706-1982 (Filmed by the Church of Latter Day Saints [LDS], 1984) LDS Reel 127370, Item 31-38.
2. Wiltshire Settlement & Removal Papers - Index compiled by Mrs. J. Hall of Shrewton, Wiltshire.
3. Kingston Deverill Church Documents, Wiltshire Record Office [WRO] WRO/662 researched by Mr. P. S. Newman of Chippenham, Wiltshire.
4. Wills, WRO researched by Mr. P. S. Newman of Chippenham, Wiltshire.
5. Nimrod Index - Index to Wiltshire Marriages 1538-1837, compiled by Dr. B.J. Carter of Swindon, Wiltshire.
6. Wiltshire Quarter Session Records - Goody's & Baddy's Index compiled by Mrs. J. Hall of Shrewton, Wiltshire.
7. Land Tax Records, WRO researched by Mr. P. S. Newman of Chippenham, Wiltshire.
8. 1841 Census of Kingston Deverill, LDS Reel 464201.
9. 1851 Census of Kingston Deverill, LDS Reel 220997.
10. Post Office Directory. 1855. Wiltshire. page 42.
11. St. Catherine's House Index (Index to Civil Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages of England and Wales) Filmed by the Church of LDS.
12. Church of England Parish Registers, West Knoyle, Wiltshire, 1718-1983 (Filmed by the Church of Latter Day Saints) LDS Reel 1279350.
13. Church of England Parish Registers, Mere, Wiltshire, England 1650-1856 (Filmed by the Church of Latter Day Saints) LDS Reel 0950236.

Australia:

14. Index to Convicts Arriving, 1788-1842, Archives Office of New South Wales [AO], AO Fiche No. 5101.
15. Convict Indents, Mary II, AO Reel No. 395.
16. Convict Assignments, Mary II, AO Reel No. 1032.
17. 1822 Muster, AO Reel 1252.
18. 1828 Muster, AO COD 245.
19. Register of Certificates of Freedom, AO Reel 602.
20. NSW Registers of Births, Deaths and Marriages, AO Reels 5001-5048.
21. NSW Pre 1856 Index to Baptisms, Marriages and Deaths.
22. NSW Index to Births, Deaths and Marriages 1856-1905.
23. Shipping Indent Emigrant 1850. AO Reel 2461.
24. Probate Index, Supreme Court of New South Wales.
25. Shipping Indent Lord Stanley 1850. AO Reel 2461.
26. Shipping Indent Castellian 1858. AO Reel 2477.
27. Various NSW Civil Registration Certificates obtained from the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Sydney.
28. Report of Vessels Arrived, Champion 1852. AO COD 100.
29. Convict Indents, Emma Eugenia, AO Reel No. 908.
30. Ticket of Leave Butts, Nov. 1845-Mar. 1846. AO Reel No. 958.
31. Newcastle Directory and Almanac, 1880, State Library of New South Wales [SLNSW].
32. NSW Electoral Rolls 1869-1894, SLNSW.
33. NSW Gazetteer, 1866, A.O.10.
34. Queensland Shipping Index. AO.
35. Victorian Shipping Index. AO.
36. Vendor's and Purchaser's Index, Land Titles Office [LTO]
37. Intestate Index, A.O. Reel 40.
38. Sands Directory, SLNSW.
39. Certificates of Title 934/125, 1243/31, 2054/103, LTO.
40. Commonwealth Electoral Rolls 1903-1925, SLNSW.
41. Insolveny Papers No. 22677, A.O. 2/10397.
42. Certificate of Title 1919/34, LTO.
43. Shipping Indent Windsor Castle 1876, A.O. Reel Q.M1697.
44. Insolvency Papers No. 2150, A.O 10/22626
45. Insolvency Papers No. 6178, A.O. 10/22840
46. Registers of Coroner's Inquest No. 206, A.O. Reel 2225.
47. Shipping Indent Duke of Westminster 1886, A.O. Reel Q.M1702
48. Certificates of Title 1732/99, 1613/133, 1796/174, 1389/198, LTO.
49. Certificate of Title 1740/92, LTO.
50. Application for Administration, Supreme Court of New South Wales. No. 535263.