A Bunch of Convicts and A Couple of Aboriginals

By Neville Turbit

A Bunch of Convicts and a Couple of Aboriginals.

The family history of Neville and Judith Turbit uncovers the secrets about our direct ancestors. It goes back to the first arrivals on the shores of Australia.

Researching the book uncovered 18 who were convicts. They included such obsc

• Language: English
• Publisher: Neville Turbit
• Release date: May 2, 2022
• ISBN: 9780645478716

Book preview

A Bunch of Convicts and a Couple of Aboriginals

The family history of Neville and Judith Turbit uncovers the secrets about our direct ancestors back to the first arrivals on the shores of Australia. Researching the book uncovered 18 who were convicts. They included such obscure people as a Prussian soldier in the British army who deserted in the Napoleonic wars. A previously forgotten, or perhaps hidden, Aboriginal line leading back to King Bungaree. Another ancestor was a sailor who claims to have been a cabin boy on the Endeavour with Cook.

Interwoven through the pages are documents that show what it was like to live in early Australia after the British arrived. What did people think at the time and how did they act towards the indigenous people?

The book covers the two main branches.

The Turbit Family

And

The Settree Family

First Published: April 2022

Published by Neville Turbit

Copyright © Neville Turbit 2022

This book is copyright. It includes certain quoted document and original pictures on which existing copyright is held by the owners. They retain the right to permit or refuse reproduction of their material.

ISBN: 978-0-6454787-0-9

All correspondence to the author:

[e-mail]

Neville Turbit

2 Margaret St.

Russell Lea

NSW Australia 2046

A Bunch of Convicts

and

A Couple of Aboriginals

The Turbit and Settree families in Australia

Introduction

Where did I come from? Who came before me? Which tribe do I belong to? Our present is defined by family, society, country and how many friends we have on Facebook. But the past? What is my origin?

A few thousand years ago the answer was simple. You probably belonged to a tribe and the history and legends within the tribe were known to all. Passed down through generations.

Today, in a world where people change countries over generations, the past is not so clear. Australia, like America, is a land of immigrants. The original inhabitants have a sense of history that goes back tens of thousands of years. For the rest of us, the path may stretch back a single generation to immigrant parents, or perhaps back six, seven or eight generations. My family is one of the latter.

When I started this investigation of my past, I knew there was a convict back there somewhere. I was completely unprepared to find at least eighteen direct ancestors who were convicts.

By direct ancestor, I mean someone who had grandparent in their relationship. It might be great-grandparent or great-great-grandparent or even great-great-great-grandparent. I have not explored uncles, aunts or cousins. The search of cousins and uncles would take two lifetimes, so this book focuses on only direct ancestors

I was also unprepared to find an Aboriginal branch. It was not that far back, but it was never spoken of in the family. Neither my parents nor grandparents ever mentioned it. I would imagine that when I was growing up in the 1950s it was not something you spoke about. Indigenous ancestry was seen as something you swept under the carpet. Today, it is something to celebrate. My son Pat is extremely proud to tell people he has Aboriginal ancestors.

The scope of the book was to trace my family back to the first ancestors to arrive in Australia. There is one exception of course. The Aboriginal branch only goes back to when English settlers started keeping records.

Only one branch came to a stop due to lack of information so, although there are eighteen convicts identified so far, there may be more. In fact, I am reasonably convinced there is at least another convict, but could not prove it. I ran out of information but know the father of the last person I was unable to trace was George Nichols. The most likely candidate was a convict by the name of George Nichols but I cannot prove it. I did not include him in the 18 convicts.

I suspect this book has a very limited target audience. Only family members will be interested. Perhaps others whose tree intersects with mine. On the other hand, some will find the information on attitudes and conditions of 18th century Australia enlightening as I did. I went down many wormholes after stumbling across an obscure fact. I hope it proves a good read for those who share my genes and may lead to further research and discovery.

Of course, this is never going to be a static document. It is a living document that will change as new information comes to light. I apologise in advance to readers for any errors or omissions. If you do want to advise of any corrections or additions, please email me at [e-mail]. I will include additional information in future editions.

I did consider including an index but decided against it. Spelling of family names varied over the years. One person may have many spellings of their surname. Even first names varied. Sometimes they were known by their first, and sometimes middle names. Some even took on new names. It all became too complicated.

Acknowledgements:

There are two books that provided a wealth of information and background on the people in this book. I would like to acknowledge those people and facts I was able to draw on.

Alan Maunder. His self-published book Sailing on the Hibbs Line provided most of the information about Peter Hibbs and Mary Pardoe (chapter 12). I was given a copy in the late 1990s and it is thorough chronology of the Hibbs family. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts I have not been able to track down Alan and ask permission to use extracts of his book. I hope he forgives me wherever he may be.

The second person is Gwen Dundon who wrote, amongst other books, The Boatbuilders of Brisbane Water NSW. I have had a number of fascinating conversations with Gwen over the years. She helped me untangle the Settree family and find my branch. Her knowledge regarding the history of the Brisbane Waters area is enormous. Gwen is a living treasure.

Neville Turbit 2022

Table of Contents

Introduction

Genealogy Information

The Turbit Tree

CHAPTER 1 Henry Turbett (1797-1840) and Eliza Allen (1800-1866)

CHAPTER 2 Terrence Francis McMahon (1760-1801) and Catherine Ann Mooney (1772-1867)

CHAPTER 3 Richard Walker (1768-1832) And Dorothy May Martin (1776-1823)

CHAPTER 4 John Bartholomew McMahon (1801-1850) and Elizabeth Walker (1802-1875)

CHAPTER 5 Richard Charles Robert Turbit (1826-1871) and Maria Anne McMahon (1830 -1859)

CHAPTER 6 Joseph Pearsall (1757-1847) and Martha Soper (1768-1844)

CHAPTER 7 James Pearsall (1832-1874) and Sarah Nicholls (1835-1867)

CHAPTER 8 John Henry Turbit (1856-1920) and Lily Phoebe Pearsell (1859-1923)

CHAPTER 9 King Bungaree (abt 1775-1830 and Matora (abt 1770-1830)

CHAPTER 10 John Lewis Ferdinand (1793-1863) and Sarah (Biddy) Bungaree (1803-1880)

CHAPTER 11 Nathan Shuttle (1804-1865) and Mary Ann Lewis (1834-1915)

CHAPTER 12 Peter Hibbs (1757-1847) and Mary Pardoe (1768-1844)

CHAPTER 13 Francis Byrne (1792-1850) and Sarah Hibbs (1806-1849)

CHAPTER 14 Thomas Crumpton (1770-1841) and Mary Harrison (1771-1864)

CHAPTER 15 John Robinson (1770-1852) and Eleanor McIntire (1772-1824)

CHAPTER 16 Thomas Crumpton (1797-1874) and Eleanor Ellen Robinson (1813-1890)

CHAPTER 17 Andrew Byrne (1834-1879) and Mary Ann Crumpton (1840-1929)

CHAPTER 18 Moses Shattles (1859-1947) and Alice Byrne (1865-1948)

CHAPTER 19 Sidney Isaac Turbit (1887 -1954) and Ellen Elizabeth Shattles (1887–1950)

The Settree Tree

CHAPTER 20 James Settree (1775-1827) and Ann Morrow (1776-1852)

CHAPTER 21 George Henry Bateman (1798-1868) and Ann Kelly (1804-1841)

CHAPTER 22 Alfred William Morrow Settree (1820-1906) and Mary Maria Bateman (1835-1917)

CHAPTER 23 William Sutton (1762-1829) and  Ann Carrington (1763-?)

CHAPTER 24 James Murphy (1769-1820) and Sarah Sutton (1789-1865)

CHAPTER 25 John Woodward (1759-1825) and Sarah Dorset (1765-1838)

CHAPTER 26 James D Woodward (1803-1859) and Margaret Elizabeth Murphy (1813-1887)

CHAPTER 27 William John Woodward (1837-1875) and Mary A Higgins (1832-1899)

CHAPTER 28 Robert Walter Settree (1860-1912) and Mary Woodward (1862-1837)

CHAPTER 29 Andrew Moran (1833-1898) and Mary Byrne (abt 1832-1898)

CHAPTER 30 Anthony Elliot (1800-1889) and Ann Pope (1811-1901)

CHAPTER 31 James Joseph Moran (1863-1933) and Annie Stafford (1868-1942)

CHAPTER 32 Joseph Harold Robert Settree (1893-1960) and Francis Maria Moran (1894-1985)

CHAPTER 33 Sidney Charles Turbit (1916- 2007) and Mary Beryl Settree (1920 -1990)

Genealogy Information

Before reading the book, it is useful to understand how the book is constructed and some general genealogical explanations.

The book is subdivided into the Turbit family, and the Settree family. Each chapter is about a couple and follows a timeline from when each person who made up the couple was born, to when they both passed away.

The chapter has three sections. Those sections cover:

The man from birth to marriage without trying to repeat too much of the previously covered information.

The woman from birth to marriage, and,

The couple from their marriage until they were both deceased.

In the case of multiple partners, the couple, or third section, are the two who produced the next link in the ancestry chain. In some cases, one party or the other had multiple partners so the partners before the one who would be the parent to the next ancestor are carried in the first two sections, and subsequent partners are covered under the couple section. All very confusing but it will make sense when you read it.

The reader will come across information that may not make sense unless some conventions are understood. There are peculiarities in how information was captured and stored in early Australia, and it will help if you understand some of the sources and terminology.

Births, Deaths and Marriages (BDM) were captured in early Australia by churches. They were passed on to the Government and recorded as written records and now in a database that is available online. A birth may have been recorded in a parish church, and the records copied and forwarded to the district church. Both copies may end up in government records. You will see multiple references to a BDM event in records which is duplication within the government records.

There are limits on records. Only births more than 100 years ago are available. For deaths, it is 30 years and for marriages 50 years. This is why some later information is not referenced.

The format for logging records is a reference number followed by a year. For example, a birth record 100/1830 was the one-hundredth birth recorded in 1830. The birth may have taken place in 1829 but sometimes the information is not recorded until the following year. When we refer to reference numbers, they are all NSW Births, Deaths and Marriages unless otherwise stated.

Where documents are quoted in this book, we have tried to use the original wording and punctuation which is sometimes very different to that used today. For example, Sussex Street is often written as Sussex-street.

The early settlement records of those who lived in Australia were called a Convict or Population Muster. The first Census was not until the 1820s.

The physical detail regarding convicts was usually in their Certificate of Freedom. It listed their height, complexion, hair colour and eye colour. Sometimes it listed their occupation. Not all certificates survived. There is a big gap in the early 1800s so we have no physical description of some convicts.

Many of the trials were conducted at the Old Bailey. This was a court in Surry and serviced London. There are good records of most trials. It is sometimes referred to as Middlesex which is the county in which London is located.

We have been able to trace some trial transcripts. Those who were tried in the Old Bailey are not difficult to trace but others are more problematic. In some cases, we don’t even know the crime.

Many early settlers could not write so the spelling of their name was determined by how it was written by someone else. For example, Henry Turbett who was the first of that name to arrive evolved through Turbet and finally Turbit within his lifetime in Australia.

A major source of information from early Australia is the Colonial Secretary’s Papers. These were notes taken on decisions made by the Governor of the time. They range from allocation of land to convict details to food allocation. Almost anything decided by the Governor was included in these papers.

You will find the term memorial used in many places. A potential settler would write a memorial, or letter, to the Governor requesting land. It may be supported by another prominent person or might simply state what a wonderful person I am.

The Governor may allocate land and the usual arrangement was that the settler would have to commit to clear the land and plant crops or put it to some use that would contribute to the colony. In many cases, there was an annual fee to be paid for a certain number of years to retain the land.

A memorial was not only used to obtain land, a memorial could be used for any request to the Governor. In one case it was in this book it is used to request a pardon.

Convicts were assigned to settlers or iron-gangs to work during their term. The iron-gangs built roads and government buildings while those assigned to free settlers often spent their time in rural agriculture.

The term relict is often used. It means the widow or widower of a deceased person.

The term sable is a term not used in the same context today. In those days it meant black. A phrase like his sable Majesty Bungaree meant his black Majesty Bungaree. Whether it was derogatory or insulting I will leave it up to you to decide. It should be seen in the context of the day rather than through the prism of the current world.

We have reproduced documents verbatim including some text that may seem strange today. Newspapers had some conventions that I changed in the interest of readability. For example, there was much more frequent use of semi-colons than we would use today. I have retained the use of semi-colons however they were preceded by a space and followed by a space. In most cases, I removed the preceding space.

Another difference to newspapers today is that the use of paragraphs was limited or non-existent. I have added paragraphs to some documents to make them more readable.

One major source of where a person was living was the Sands Directory. This was an annual listing of all households between 1858 and 1923 in Sydney. It is a major tool in tracking who was living where.

In columns, the term do is meant to repeat the column above. Similar to using quotation marks today. It was used in place of ditto in English at the time.

Many of the online references are from the Ancestry Library. It is available free in many libraries and can be accessed through an online subscription. During Covid it was free, and still is in some cases. I am unclear why some people can access it freely.

At the end of each chapter, children are listed. The one in bold type is the one who will continue the family tree.

To give an historical perspective, below are some relevant dates.

1770. – Cook discovers Australia.

1788. – First Fleet under Governor Philip arrives and sets up a Colony. The fleet consisted of 11 ships and about 1,530 people (736 convicts, 17 convicts' children, 211 marines, 27 marines' wives, 14 marines' children and about 300 officers and others).

There were 11 ships but only 2 (The Sirius and Supply) remained in Sydney. Those two were Navy ships assigned to Philip. The others were contracted to the Royal Navy and returned to England.

One of the first things Philip did was send the two ships to Norfolk Island to set up a settlement. Cook had seen Norfolk Island on his first voyage and thought it a fertile land for farming. The Sirius was wrecked on a beach on Norfolk Island on that voyage. It was after the boats were unloaded and loss of life was minimal.

1790. The Second Fleet arrived. Over a quarter perished on the voyage. This was eight years after the first fleet.

1791. The Third Fleet arrived.

1793. The first free settlers arrived.

1804. Lt.-Col David Collins established a successful settlement at Hobart in February with a party of about 260 people, including 178 convicts. (Collins had previously attempted a settlement in Victoria.) Convict ships were sent from England directly to the colony from 1812 to 1853 and over the 50 years from 1803 to 1853 around 67,000 convicts were transported to Tasmania.

1824. Brisbane founded.

The Turbit Tree

A picture containing timeline Description automatically generated

CHAPTER 1

Henry Turbett (1797-1840)

and

Eliza Allen (1800-1866)

Where else would you start than with a pair of convicts? Henry Turbett and Eliza Allen arrived in the early 1800s for petty crimes in London. Seven years seemed the minimum sentence and was handed out for anything from stealing a handkerchief to a few shillings.

It was a quick romance, and they were married within a few months of knowing one another. This was not uncommon. There was a general shortage of women in the colony and at one stage, there were five men for every woman. Finding a wife was not an easy business.

A general feeling coming through all the research is that after the initial shock, many convicts decided it was better to stay in the colony and make a new life than to return to their country of origin. Given how alien Australia must have seemed, it says something about the conditions in their countries of birth.

It should be recognised that some convicts were never able to return. There were different forms of pardon. A conditional pardon meant you were free but could never return to your country of birth. An absolute pardon allowed you to return home. In this book, only one or two ever returned to their country of birth.

So on with Henry. A thief, a publican, an artist a significant landowner in what is now Sydney’s Chinatown and all packed into 45 years.

1797 - Henry Turbett

Henry Turbett was born about 1797 around London. We only know his birth date because when he was arrested in 1815, he said he was 18 years old. Not very reliable, but no birth records have been found and there is no clear indication of who his parents may have been.

He was tried in Middlesex which is the county where London is located so he probably grew up in the area. He may have had a middle name of Charles.

He could not write and once again it was through another source, we found this. On his marriage record, he signed his name with an X. Since he could not spell, his surname may have been spelt differently. It could have been Turbit, Turbet or Turbitt. There is reason to believe it was not Turbett because he later changed it when he learned to write.

It was not uncommon at the time to have names spelt incorrectly. As a convict, his name would have been written down by someone else and their spelling reflected the pronunciation of the prisoner.

1815

He first comes to notice when on 10th May 1815 he appeared in the Middlesex Court charged with stealing a lady’s shawl. He was sentenced to 7 years overseas holiday. All expenses paid including 6th class accommodation on a cruise to Australia.

After committing his first crime on the 12th of April and being convicted on the 10th of May, he then stood trial for theft on the 1st of May and was convicted on the 24th of May.

Initially, he was imprisoned on the convict ship "Retribution". There is a record dated 3 Aug 1815 listing Henry amongst the prisoners.³ Someone must have had a sense of humour in naming the ship Retribution.

1816

He came to Australia on the convict transport ship "Mariner" in May 1816. Henry had already spent a year in Middlesex goal. The Mariner arrived in Sydney Cove on 11th October 1816 with 146 convicts.

Henry Turbett is noted on a convict assignment record on 10th May 1815. Occupation is Cabinet Maker.⁴ He was probably sent to the convict barracks in Liverpool to work as a carpenter. In his marriage document, he is said to be from Liverpool. Perhaps he worked on the Parramatta Female Factory which was built around that time.

Before he did get released, he was married. Henry was working in Liverpool and met Eliza Allen who was in the Parramatta Female Factory. Her story follows.

Eliza Allen

Before 1800

Eliza’s parents were Robert Allen born in 1776 and Sarah Stone born in 1775 at St Clement Dane, London, Middlesex, England. Robert also had a Father Robert Allen 1750-1853 and his mother was Sarah Tanner.

1800

Mary Eliza Allen was born about 1800 in London. According to records on Ancestry, there is a record for her birth at Saint Anne Soho, Westminster, London.⁶

1818

She came to the notice of the law when caught stealing handkerchiefs from a store – Messrs William White & Smith Greenwell of Blackfriars Road, linen drapers - and went to trial on 17 June 1818 in Surry Quarter Sessions. This is my best shot at deciphering 200-year-old handwriting.

She obviously hoped for a verdict of snot guilty for stealing handkerchiefs.

It was not long before she was in trouble again. On 27 July 1818, she was caught stealing several articles. It seems there was considerable alcohol involved. You can draw your own conclusion as to what was happening between a drunken sailor and two 18-year-old girls. It was bound to end in tears.

1820

Eliza Allen was sentenced to 7 years overseas holiday and transported in May 1819 on the good ship Lord Wellington with 86 other convicts. They arrived on 11 Mar 1820,

There is mention on the sick list during the trip.⁸

To jump ahead to 1825, in her certificate of freedom9 we have a physical description of Eliza Allen.

Initially, she was sent to work in the Parramatta Female Factory.¹⁰ The Parramatta Female Factory was multi-purpose. It was a place of assignment, a hospital, a marriage bureau, a factory, an asylum and a prison for those who committed a crime in the Colony.

The reason it is called a factory is that it manufactured cloth - linen, wool and linsey-woolsey. Linsey-woolsey (less often, woolsey-linsey or in Scots, wincey) is a coarse twill or plain-woven fabric woven with a linen warp and a woollen weft.

It was also the site of the colony's first manufactured export producing 60,000 yards (55,000 m) of woven cloth in 1822. The women also did spinning, knitting, straw plaiting, washing, cleaning duties and if in third class, rock breaking and oakum picking.

The factory was built between 1818 and 1821 mainly by convict labour. This is how it was described by J. C. Byrne in a book.¹¹

It seems Henry had visitation rights.

Henry and Eliza

1820

It must have been a whirlwind affair with Henry. They were married on 11 September 1820 only six months after Eliza arrived. The marriage took place at St, Johns Parramatta. Once again, age is a lottery. Henry was born in 1797 which would have made him 23 at the time. He is said to be 21.¹²

The Marriage Certificate was difficult to track down as the official records transcribed his name as Tinlett. It had the following details:

One point to note is that Henry is in the parish of Liverpool and Eliza in the parish of Parramatta. Henry as a carpenter may have been involved in the building of the factory and probably met Eliza there. At this stage, neither Henry nor Eliza could write their name. Nor could the witnesses.

1822

Henry is still a carpenter in Liverpool. He is mentioned in the census of 1822. In the right column, he is Carpenter Lpool.

Their first child, a son John Turbitt was born.¹³

1823

Daughter Mary Turbitt was born.¹⁴

1824

Son Henry Steven Turbett was born.

In 1824 Henry Turbett was assaulted and there is a court report.¹⁵

It appeared to be about a debt owed by Klensendorlffe to Henry.¹⁶

Henry and Eliza were given a land grant for 2 acres 3 roods and 6 perches.¹⁷ In today’s terminology that is about 1.13 hectares or just under 3 acres. It was in Liverpool so was probably between when his convict sentence ended in 1822 and when he went to Newcastle in 1825.

1825

Son Richard Charles Robert Turbett was born. Richard is important in the story as he was to provide the next link in the ancestry chain.

The couple next turn up in 1825 in Newcastle. A muster or census was held. Henry and Eliza were included in the Newcastle, Hunter region. The next mention is in Wallis Plains in 1825.

In the Colonial Secretary Index 1788-1925 which is a list of documents by person, the following entry refers to Henry:

A memorial was a request for a grant of land.

Wallis Plains was on Wallis Creek which is a tributary of the Hunter River in Newcastle. Founded as a settlement for convicts (1818–21), it was called in turn The Camp, Molly Morgan Plains, and Wallis Plains.

A second town, surveyed in 1829 on higher ground on the east side of Wallis Creek and called Maitland, later became East Maitland. The older settlement continued to be called Wallis Plains until 1835 when it was renamed, West Maitland. Both townships were defined in 1835; East Maitland became a municipality in 1862 and West Maitland in 1863. The city was formed in 1944 by uniting eight towns.¹⁸

There was a reference to him in a document on the history of Newcastle.