Edward Miles was born Edward Moyle at Launceston, Cornwall, England c1757.  In 1785 he along with John Rowe he was convicted of theft at the Cornwall Assizes and sentenced to seven years transportation to the colony of New South Wales.  In 1786 he was being held aboard the hulk "Dunkirk".  In March of the following year he was transferred to the "Charlotte" then a little less than a month later, to the "Scarborough."  It was on this vessel that he made the voyage to Australia with the First Fleet.

The grave of Edward Miles and Susannah Smith at St. Matthew's Church of England, Windsor, New South Wales.

The fleet departed Portsmouth on 13th May, 1787, making first for the Canary Islands then Rio De Janeiro where more supplies were taken on board.  Next the fleet reached Cape Town where more provisioning and repairs were undertaken before the final leg to New South Wales.  On 19th January, the "Scarborough" was one of three ships sighted off Botany Bay by the local Aboriginals.  Finally, on 26th January, the fleet proceeded a little further up the coast to Port Jackson, which it was believed would provide better conditions for the settlement they intended to establish.  The convicts were disembarked over the following days and work on the colony began.

Records show that during the lean years in which the colony was struggling for its very survival, Miles was accused of stealing vegetables from the garden of Captain George Johnson, however the case was discharged for lack of evidence.

In 1797 Miles received a grant of 30 acres of land at Prospect Hill, west of Sydney.  In 1803 he married the convict Susannah Smith at St. John's Church of England in Parramatta.  Susannah had arrived in the colony only eight months earlier aboard the transport "Glatton," which was carrying convicts and supplies for the colony.  She had been put on trial at the Old Bailey, London the previous year, where she received the sentence of 7 years transportation to New South Wales.

Edward and Susannah are believed to have raised four daughters. The eldest, Susannah (married Simon Freebody, Jnr.) was born at Prospect Hill in 1804, followed by a sister Martha (married William Bridle).  Their third daughter, Elizabeth (married William Anderson) was born while the family were living at Macquarie Field, Minto, to the south of Parramatta.  A fourth daughter may also have been born to the couple, however little is known of her, except perhaps that she may have used the married surname of Stedman.

Some time during the late 1820s Edward and Susannah moved further inland to the township of Windsor where they lived until their deaths, only a few months apart, in 1838.  They were buried together at St. Matthew's Church of England, Windsor.

The younger Susannah spent her early years at Prospect Hill and Macquarie Fields with her parents.  In 1820 she married Simon Freebody, son of the Second Fleet convict, Sion Clarkson Freebody (known as Simon).  The ceremony took place at St. Luke's Church of England, Liverpool, but soon after, the couple appear to have been living in the Richmond/Kurrajong region, not far from Windsor.

Their eldest child, Simon (died as an infant) was born in 1823.  His birth was followed by that of a further ten siblings, all born in the Richmond district.  For further details on the children of Susannah and Simon Freebody refer to my Freebody family page.

Some time during the late 1840s Simon and Susannah moved south to the inland township of Cooma, taking all their children with them, apparently with the exception of their eldest daughter Elizabeth.  It was here that they spent the remainder of their lives with many of their children nearby.

Simon died in 1878 at Bolairo near the town of Adaminaby and Susannah in 1883 at Wambrook, also in the vicinity.

If you would like further details of the Miles or Freebody families or have information to share, please email me.

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