FF3 Family of Susanna Jillett and Charles Dowdell

 

The Descendants of Susannah Jillett and Charles Dowdell

Rebecca Dowdell  married William Belbin
Rosetta Dowdell married Thomas Pattison

Charles Dowdell married Martha Marshall

Within the marriages, existed so many intermarriages.

Rebecca Dowdell and William Belbin's daughter Rosetta Belbin married into the John Morrisby family.

William's sister Ann married William Henry Smith who married Charlotte Jillett and Mary Bradshaw.

Thomas Pattison was the nephew  of  Janet Paterson who married Samuel Gunn

Phoebe Triffitt's brother Henry Edward Triffitt married Mary Ann O'Brien who was cousin of Thomas Pattison

And links to The Lord Mayors of Hobart

1.  Rebecca Dowdell m William Belbin

Rebecca was born in 1822, and she married in 1846, William Belbin

Thanks to Terry Belbin for allowing this information.  The information has been sourced from Reg Wright, in his works written in 1992

James Belbin (Jun) was born on Norfolk Island, 29 August 1803, and, at the age of five years, arrived at the Derwent in October 1808 as the youngest of the five motherless children who came with their father on City of Edinburgh.

 Three years later, when only eight years old, he left Hobart to travel with his father, first to Port Jackson and then to England, returning to Van Diemen's Land in April 1814. In the period between November 1811 and April 1814, he spent over 12 months at sea on the various oceans of the world and lived some 10 months in London and 6 months in Sydney.

In London he acquired a new step-mother; earlier, in 1809, he had witnessed the abuse received by his father at Hobart. With such a background of change and uncertainty one would not have been too surprised if James became a wanderer who sought out distant places. The opposite seems to have been the case, and James Belbin (Jun) apparently spent the whole of his adult life in the Derwent area.

In February 1824, at age 24, he married Caroline Nichols, who gave her age as 20 and was a daughter of William Nichols, the carpenter and early Superintendent of Convicts. As James Belbin (Jun) also became a carpenter, he may have worked for or with William Nichols before the Belbin/Nichols marriage. The official death certificate issued by the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages will show that Caroline died of consumption at Hobart, 11 May 1854, when she was 56 years of age, although William Nichols arrived at Port Phillip on Ocean in 1803 and the Derwent in 1804, with only three children, not including Caroline.

 One has to question the official death record; it seems that Caroline was born at the Derwent early in 1805, and was more likely about 50 years old when she died.

James and Caroline Belbin had at least 9 children:

Elizabeth                       b.27 October 1829             d. 25 June 1880
George Herbert             b. 13 December 1831
Eliza Jane                      b. 3 April 1833                   d. 19 October 1917
Fanny Maria                  b. 5 October 1834             d. 3 October 1867
Marie                             b. 10 October 1836
William James               b. 30 July 1838                   d. 13 October 1895               
James                             b.13 November 1839
Edward                          b. 19 November 1844     d. 10 November 1907
Henry Frederick            b. 25 January 1848           d. 30 September 1921

Two of the Belbin/Nichols daughters married into the Young family at Rokeby, while two sons wed Joseph sisters who were grand daughters of Samuel and Elizabeth Free from Norfolk Island. James Belbin (Sen) and Samuel Free both reached Norfolk island on Salamander in 1791, and then came to the Derwent as free settlers in 1808.

In 1880, James Belbin (Jun) was living on his farm at Cambridge, where James Calder visited him while collecting information on Belbin (sen) for the article the journalist would write in the Mercury of April 1880. Some of the incorrect information about Belbin (sen) enshrined in the Australian Dictionary of Biography (ADB) may well have been provided by his son James (Jun), as the Calder article appears to have been used as a primary document for the ADB.

The Mercury of Saturday 12 July 1884 carried news of James Belbin's (Jun) death on 10 July.

Belbin - At his residence, Cambridge, in the 82nd year of his age, James Belbin. The funeral will leave the "Horse & Jockey", Rokeby, at 2 p.m. on Sunday, July 12.
Friends are respectfully invited to attend.

The Personal column of the paper on the same day had the following:

Death of a Well known Colonist - Mr James Belbin who arrived in Tasmania with his parents in the beginning of the present century, expired at his residence, Cambridge, yesterday, after a residence in the colony of over 70 years, in the 82nd year of his age. The family name has been associated with Tasmania from its earliest days, the father being the first Inspector of Stock in Tasmania, and his youngest son, the present Mayor of Hobart. In early life the deceased was actively engaged in business pursuits in this city; but, preferring rural independence, he settled in the district of Cambridge over a quarter of a century ago, where, until shortly before his death, he was actively engaged in agricultural and pastoral pursuits. He was the father of a large family, and highly esteemed by all who knew him, and few were better acquainted with the history of Tasmania than the late James Belbin, to whom the late Mr Calder was in no slight degree indebted for the valuable information contained in the Historical Records of Tasmania, which appeared in the columns of the Mercury (until his death) two years ago. Mr James Belbin adds one more to the many octogenarians who have died in the last month.

The following comments apply to the family of James (Jun) :

Daughter Eliza Jane (22) married William Young (25), the son of James Young of Rokeby, 30 August 1855, at St. George's Church,

Battery Point. At that time James Belbin (Jun) was listed as a "Contractor of Liverpool St.". Eliza Jane lived her married life at Droughty Point, and the Claremont property at Rokeby. where she died, 19 October 1917, a mere 10 days after her husband's death.

 Since they are considered in some detail elsewhere, her eleven children are only briefly noted here:
 
1. Caroline                   b. 9 July 1857          d. 16 June 1891     m. 24 July 1884 to John Pearsall
2. Isobella                    b. 20 Feb 1859                                        m. 4 Dec 1880 to George Free
3. Elizabeth                  b. 3 Apr 1860         d. 22 Feb 1938        m. 11 Dec 1895 to Ernest Wright
4. James                       b. 29 Aug 1861      d. 22 April 1938      m. c. 1889 to Rosamond Stevens
5. William                    b. 24 May 1863 d. c. 1940 (nm)
6. Phillip                      b. 8 Nov 1864         d. 20 Sept 1946    m. 20 Oct 1891 to Frances Emily Wright
7. Edwin                      b. 8 July 1866        d. 12 April 1931    m. 9 May 1891 to Margaret Matilda Free
8. Sarah                       b. 20 Mar 1868      d. 3 June 1960       m. 10 Sep 1890 to James Hanslow
9. Henry                      b. 29 Jan 1870          d. 1954                m. in New Zealand
10 Lewis                     b. 3 Dec 1871         d. 5 Oct 1876
11. Jessie                    b. 22 June 1876      d. 17 Feb 1929 (n.m.)

James Belbin (Jun)'s eldest daughter, Elizabeth, married late in life on 17 October 1878, when at age 49 she became the second wife of James Young, the father-in-law of her sister Eliza Jane. She died in 1880 from burns after falling into an open fire at the Young homestead at Droughty Point.

At some stage George Herbert moved to New Zealand at Riverton on the far south coast of the South Island. By 1870 he was listed on the Riverton electoral roll, with the status of settler, having two blocks of land at Riverton and another at Jacob's River Hundred.

In 1870 he married a fellow Tasmanian, Emma Rachael Rawlings, the daughter of James and Emma Rawlings of Buckland, Tas., at Riverton. Unfortunately Emma died in 1873 at age 26 leaving George a widower with two small children, Herbert James Belbin (2 years) and Henry William Belbin (2 Months).

George Herbert remarried in Riverton in 1874 when he wed English-born Clarabell, but by the 1890's the family had established itself at Strahan in Tasmania. It is thought that the eldest son, Herbert James, originally went to Strahan, stayed for a time, then returned across the Tasman to convince his father and brother to leave Riverton and move to the West Coast of Tasmania. The Tasmanian Post Office Directory for 1890-91 showed George Herbert Belbin as a Strahan builder, but merely listed Herbert Belbin in the Strahan area.

Herbert James and his eldest son, Cecil, worked the bush seeking timber around the Strahan region for most of their lives; however his wife, Rose, left for Sydney taking with her their two youngest sons, Basil and Vero. Herbert James formed a butchery partnership with Thomas Martin, and two Martin daughters, Agnes Lillian and Flossy May respectively, married brother Henry William Belbin and the latter's nephew, Cecil Belbin.

Henry William was a guard on the Zeehan-Strahan rail line until 1929 when he and his family moved to Moonah. The family consisted of seven children and included a traditional set of Belbin twins. Thomas, who did not marry, was the sole surviving male child; he spent many of his younger years working in the bush with his uncle and cousin at Strahan. He joined the RAAF during WW2 and received instrumentation training before being sent to Borneo. Henry William's grandchildren now live in South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania

William James is assumed to have become the labourer of Collins St. (February 1875 and May 1877) who married Irishwoman Nora (Honora) Lynch, and died, 13 October 1895 at the recorded age of 54 (57 ?). It has been suggested that there were at least eight children in their family.

James Belbin, the grandson of James (sen), has not yet been identified in the Tasmanian marriage or death records.

The Cambridge United Congregational Churchyard (opposite the old airport) contains the graves of a number of James Belbin (Jun)'s children. The most obvious are:

Fanny Maria Belbin who departed this life 3 October 1867 aged 32 years.

This was the spinster daughter of James (Jun). Again,

Henry Frederick Belbin, died 30 September 1921 aged 71 years.

Frederick Henry died at his residence, Larose, York St., Bellerive, but had previously lived at Riverdale, Cambridge. He was the youngest son and at age 22 married Margaret Susan Joseph (18), 1 July 1871. A common grave headstone at the Cambridge cemetery identifies five of the nine children of Henry Frederick and Margaret.

At age 25, Caroline Joseph, a sister of Margaret Susan Joseph, married Edward Belbin (28) on 27 June 1874. This wedding may have been a little unusual in that four witnesses, instead of the more usual two, found it necessary to sign the marriage document. They were James E Joseph, Jane Joseph, Amelia Joseph, and Alfred Joseph. One may be pardoned for thinking that the Joseph family wanted to be quite certain that Caroline was in fact positively and irrevocably married.

After Caroline Belbin (nee Nichols) died in 1854, James Belbin (Jun), (52) married, on the 27 February 1855, Eliza Williams (34) at Trinity Church, Hobart. James outlived his second wife who died 26 June 1882 at the age of 61 years.

James Belbin (Jun) (d.July 1884) and his second wife are buried in a common grave at the Congregational Churchyard at Rokeby. Alongside are another two common graves, each holding one of James' daughters, (Elizabeth; Eliza Jane), her husband (James Young; William Young), and one of James Belbin's grand-children (Arthur Young; Jessie Young). The two sons-in-law were of course, to themselves, father and son.

Although the marriages of James Belbin (Jun) s four sisters Elizabeth (Hanslow), Sarah (Williams), Catherine (Beacroft/ Brown/Collings), Sussanah (Hansen), are not discussed in detail here, one cannot ignore his half-brother William who was a product of Belbin (Sen) s final marriage.

The children from James Belbin s (Sen) marriage to Elizabeth Poulter were all Tasmanian born, whereas their older half-siblings from the Belbin-Meredith union were born on Norfolk Island.

As in the first marriage, there were also five surviving children from the final marriage, with the youngest the only boy, William, about whom most is known. Brief details of each of the children in the Poulter/Belbin family are:

Maria was born at Hobart 24 November 1814, baptised 26 December 1814 at St. Davids, and married David Garside.

Frances was born at Hobart 1 February 1817, was baptised 4 March 1817, and married Richard Flemming.

Ann was born at Hobart 11 July 1819, was baptised 9 August 1819, and married William Henry Smith.

Jane Mary was born at Hobart 3 April 1822, and married William Short.

William was the youngest and the most outstanding of James Belbin s (Sen) many children from his different associations.  William was born at Hobart, 7 Feb 1825, and was 21 when he made his first marriage, on 13 August 1846, to Rebecca Dowdell (22), the daughter of his future business partner.

The ten children from this marriage were:

1. Rositta Victoria                           b. May 1847;        m. 8 Sept 1856 to Tasman Morrisby; d. 1928
2. William Charles                          b. April 1849;            d. 11 June 1853 aged 4 yrs 2 mths.
3. Elizabeth Emily                           b. 15 Jan 1852;                      m. 15 Nov 1877 to Joseph Morris
4. Anne Rebecca                              b. July 1854;               d. after 1892
5. Isabella Maria                              b. April 1856;             d. 24 July 1857
6. Frederick William                       b. c. 1858;                             m. 28 April 1886
7. Ada Alice                                    b. 18 Oct 1862;                     m. 9 April 1884 to Edwin Rogers.
8,9 Twins                                        ;           

 Constance Isabella                          b. 31 Jan 1866                            d.10 Feb 1866;            

 Arthur Edwin                                  b. 31 Jan 1866                             d. 28 Mar 1866.
10. Henry Percival                           b. 21 July 1870;                           d. 17 Feb 1871

Thus five of this group did not survive childhood, and only four were still living when their father died in 1892.

Rositta Victoria married a Morrisby and is buried at St. Matthew s, Rokeby. She had a number of children and twin grandchildren. The surviving twin, a retired N.S.W. Police Officer, lived in Ryde, NSW, in 1982.

William Charles died of Scarlet Fever at the age of 4 years.

Elizabeth Emily (25) married Joseph Henry James Morris (23), a clerk, 15 November 1877, in the Manse of the Chalmers Free Church, Hobart. Witnesses were her sister Rositta and husband Tasman Morrisby.

Anne Rebecca does not seem to have married.

Frederick William married Margaret Jane Peacock in the house of George Peacock on 28 April 1886. Frederick was classed as a merchant of Hunter St., Hobart, when daughters Doris and Madge were born, 21 April 1891 and 19 November 1892 respectively. A son, Frederick Bertram, and another daughter, Irene Margaret, were born earlier, about 1889 and 1890 respectively.

It seems likely that Frederick had his residence in the IXL jam factory, which was originally owned by the Peacock family. On 21 November 1890, there was a disastrous fire on the Old Wharf, which rendered ninety people homeless. In the aftermath of the fire it was reported that for the victims, "Miss Peacock and Mrs. Belbin, who lived at the jam factory, provided a meal".

Ada Alice Belbin (21), married Edwin John Rogers (26), a commission agent, at St. George s Church, Hobart on 9 April 1884.

Young Henry Percival Belbin died at the age of seven months from "inflammation of the membrane of the brain".

After his wife Rebecca died in 1888, William Belbin remarried.

The new wife was a widow, Mary Angelina Finigan, with the maiden name of McMahon, so providing William with a relationship to "Mr McMahon of The Point, North Sydney".

Michael McMahon of McMahon s Point was an Irishman, born in Limerick in 1831, who gained notoriety as a flamboyant alderman and Mayor of the tiny Municipality of Victoria, which occupied the Blues Point area of North Sydney in the 1880 s.

McMahon was Mayor of Victoria for several years between 1884 and 1886 and still occupied that position in 1890 when several municipalities amalgamated to form the North Sydney Council. McMahon then became one of the alderman of the first North Sydney Council. According to the 27 March 1886 North Shore Times and Manly Press, McMahon arrived in Australia aboard Coromandel about 1849/50.

He commenced a very a successful business making brooms and brushes which were sold from his shop in the City at 410 George St. He had a government contract for brushware and also specialised in the manufacture of brushes made from exotic Australian timbers, including Huon Pine. At the Intercolonial Exhibition in Melbourne in 1867, he took the bronze medal with his brushware exhibits.

Sometime in the 1870 s McMahon became bankrupt, with the blame laid on the speculation of an employee and a fire that destroyed his premises. By 1886, he had been a member of the NSW Parliament and was then considered a speculator in property in the North Sydney area.

Michael McMahon was a fervent Catholic and on one occasion in October 1889, he chartered a steamer, the Jenny Lind, to entertain the clergy from the Marist Brothers School, the convent, the sisters of St. Joseph and other institutions in the North Sydney area.

He took an active part in the intensive lobbying of the 1880 s to have the harbour bridged to North Sydney; his enterprise in obtaining an amazing 11,500 signatures on a petition for a North Shore Bridge may well have been stimulated by the general belief that, when built, the bridge would come through McMahon s Point and cause property values to skyrocket. Residents of the North Shore had to wait another 50 years before the bridge was eventually available at Milson s Point.

It seems that Michael McMahon and his wife Angelina may have had two children called Mary Angelina. Presumably the girl born in 1850 died, allowing the name to be reused for another born in 1851. Mary would have been 38 when she married William Belbin in 1889.

Although William Belbin married in North Sydney about 1889 when he was roughly 64 years of age, he continued to live in Hobart where a son, Francis Aubrey, was born 17 October 1889. In 1862, William s address was Battery Point, and in 1889 it was given as 5 Battery Square. In April 1891 he moved to N.S.W. to retire in North Sydney with his new family.

At William s death in 1892, it was noted that only 5 of his 11 children were alive. One son, the 2-year-old Francis, was then living in Middle St., North Sydney, while the other, 34-year-old Frederick William, resided in Hunter St., Hobart.

William seems to have had a varied career, but certainly earned the title of the most distinguished member of the Belbin family. Although classed as a joiner in 1847, soon afterwards he became the licensee of the City of London Arms, a pub in lower Campbell St., directly opposite  the City Hall or the old vegetable markets.

The City of London Arms had disappeared from view by about 1867. Sometime between 1847 and 1852, William Belbin swapped licences with Joseph Oakley (also related to the Jillett Family) and so became the licensee of the Victoria pub, which is more readily  remembered by its 1870 s name of the Terminus. The Terminus was in Lower Collins St. directly opposite Sun St.

The January 1852 birth certificate for daughter Elizabeth Emily notes that William is a Licensed Victualler of Collins Street. His period as a publican may have lasted no more than five years, for In 1852 Belbin became a Timber Dealer with his father-in-law, *Charles Dowdell, and was still classed as such when he was nominated as an executor of the will of Thomas Hudson who died in 1868.

The new Dowdell/Belbin family partnership may have been a complicated arrangement, as for a short time William Dowdell, the son of Charles Dowdell, became the licensee of the Terminus pub. Later on, William Belbin was considered an importer and ship owner, with at least one ship called Mary Blair.

William Belbin appears to have lived for a time in the Wapping area of central Hobart, as did several other Belbin families. The family was living in Collins St. when William (Sen), still a joiner, reported his father s (James Belbin (Sen)) death in 1847, and was still there when the first son, young William, died of scarlet fever in 1853. However, from 1862 onwards, birth certificates for the children give William's address as Battery Point.

The McPhails Directory shows that in 1867, William's home was in Battery Square, only a short distance from his New Wharf business at the timber yard. Walch's Tasmanian Almanacs give further information, stating that in 1865 William was an auditor for the Hobart Town Municipality.

In 1882 and 1877, he is shown as an Alderman due to retire in 1883, and is also listed as the South Hobart member of the House of Assembly since 1872. Although he was a City Alderman, a member of parliament for 19 years, and Mayor of Hobart for 1880, 1883, and 1884, his NSW death certificate acknowledged him as a "retired merchant" only.

William had the distinction of having several death notices and obituaries in the papers of two colonies. Thus:

Sydney Morning Herald - Tues. 28 June 1892.
Belbin -June 26 at his residence, Maude Ville, North Sydney, William Belbin (Late MHA for Hobart for 19 years), aged 68 years - "Rest in Peace".

Sydney Morning Herald - Wed 29 June 1892.
Mr William Belbin, a native of Hobart, Tasmania, died on Sunday at North Sydney, after a Public career of 66 years. For 19 years he was a member of the House of Assembly in Tasmania, and for three years he held the position of Mayor of Hobart. Mr Belbin was related to Mr McMahon of The Point, North Sydney. The remains were forwarded yesterday by steamer for burial in the family vault, Cornelian Bay, Hobart.

The Mercury - Tues 28 June 1892.
On Sunday at his late residence North Sydney, William Belbin, formerly of Hobart aged 67.

Obituary.

News has been received that Mr William Belbin, late of Hobart, died on Sunday last at Maudeville, North Sydney, and amongst his many old friends and acquaintances, the news was received with regret. The deceased has been identified for many years with this port and his name as a timber merchant and shipowner was well known throughout Tasmania and the Australian Colonies, including New Zealand.

He was born in 1825 and educated in the late Mr Cowle s school, entered business with the late Mr Charles Dowdell in 1852, and dissolved partnership in 1879. For many years he represented South Hobart in the House of Assembly. He was first elected in September 1871, re-elected in August 1872; June 1877; May 1882; and July 1886, and only retired from active legislative service at the last election on account of failing health.

He was a Territorial Magistrate, having been appointed in December 1882 and was an alderman of the city from 1867 to 1875, and again from 1881 to 1886. He filled the Mayoral chair in 1883 and 1884. He also held the position of member of the Central Board of Health, and was a trustee of the Hobart Cemetery.

As an active business man he held his own for many years in Hobart, and only recently retired to Sydney to enjoy a well-earned repose. He was twice married, and was the father of 11 children, five of whom survive him. His son, Mr F Belbin, is now in Sydney, and was probably present at his father s demise. He will be buried on Friday next, at 2 O clock, from the residence of his son, Hunter Street, the body being brought to Hobart per S.S. Oonah.

The Mercury - 1 July 1892

On Sunday June 26 at his late residence North Sydney NSW, William Belbin formerly of Hobart aged 67. The funeral will leave the residence of his son, Hunter St., this day Friday at 2.30 p.m.

Today the property Maudeville cannot be found in Middle St., North Sydney, and was no doubt demolished many years ago to make way for some of the flats overlooking Lavender Bay. Few residences now appear to accept a Middle St. address, and prefer to be known as "Back of No. ... Blues Point Rd.", or "Back of No ... East Circuit".

Middle St. is less than 250 metres long, but at its lower end it provides truly spectacular views of the harbour from Gladesville to the Opera House. From the Sands Directory and the Council Rate Book, it appears that Maudeville may have been on the corner of Parker and Middle Streets.

James Belbin (Sen) would have been very proud of his son William. The Belbin saga appears as a "Log Cabin to White House" promotion, or more realistically, from convict to community Leader in one generation. One wonders if William occasionally looked out across the water from his North Sydney home, to the spot where the Salamander, with father James Belbin aboard as a convict, would have swung at anchor 100 years earlier.

The various Sands Directories reveal a little more information about the McMahon and Belbin families. Michael McMahon, J.P., was shown at his home, McMahon s Point, East Crescent Rd. in the 1892, 1893 and 1894 editions, but ceased to be an alderman of North Sydney Council in 1893, and had disappeared from the register by 1895. The 1892 Directory showed William Belbin at Middle St., North Sydney, however a Mrs Belbin was also listed in Blues Point Rd. between East Crescent Rd. and Parker St. By 1893, the Middle St. home of William Belbin was listed under the name of Mrs Belbin, but Mrs Belbin still remained as an addressee in Blues Point Rd

2.   Rosetta Dowdell  m  Thomas Patterson.

Rosetta was born 12th December 1825, in Hobart and married at age 21, Thomas Patterson, aged 22, a Mariner, in Hobart in 1846.

Thomas was born in Sorrell, in 1824, the son of William Paterson and Elizabeth O'Brien. They were married in 1818, by Rev Knopwood.

Thomas Paterson - An Interesting Life and a Pioneer in two Countries

The marriage of Rosetta and Thomas may not have been as interesting as that of the Dowdell/Belbin marriage, but one thing stands out, despite his hardships, he made a success.  Also the family relationships were certainly cemented together.

In 1849, he was insolvent.  

Britannia and Trades' Advocate (Hobart Town, Tas. : 1846 - 1851), Thursday 30 August 1849, page 4

---

INSOLVENT COURT,

Before E. Macdowell , Esquire, Commissioner.

23rd August.

In re Thomas Patterson .

The Insolvent was examined on oath, and 'underwent a rigorous examination, conducted by-Mr. Roberts, of the firm of Allport and Roberts, -on tho behalf of Mr, Smith, when he admitted the following facts-: —

 that he was due to Mr. Smith of Hobart Town the sum of £50 for 600 corn sacks, purchased by tho insolvent from him in the month of January last, for which he gave his bill, and the sacks were sold a mouth afterwards along with his interest in his vessel the Fortitude to his father-in-law. That the sacks were all branded with the letters T. . being the initials of his name, and the sacks although sold still retained the same marks. Tho insolvent admitted that he still continued in the possession of the vessel and sacks, which he sold to his step-father.

In the mouth of December he sold all his furniture at the auction-rooms of Messrs. Lowes and Macmichael, and it was sent to them for sale under a false name, being that of Mr. Oakley, his step-father. The insolvent bought tho vessel for £100, and afterwards expended £50 on her. The sacks bought from Mr. Smith cost £60, for which he had given his promissory note, and all this property, of the value of £200, he had sold to Mr. Oakley for £100.

In the month of April he had sold his horse Little Wonder, to his brother William Patterson, and the horse could now be bought for the same .amount. Being asked what he had done with the price of the vessel, which he had partly received in bank notes, theo insolvent stated that he had paid it away to various creditors, amongst whom was Mr. Oakley."

 The insolvent paid the latter £5 per month for board. The insolvent had to support eleven persons of a family for six months, and he put down their expenses in his schedule at £10 per month, keeping no accounts of the terns. He rented the vessel from his step-father, and carried on the same trade as ho had done before. The items of expense in the schedule amounted to £145 7s., whilst the insolvent could only account for little more than £90.

Thirty of the corn sacks are at Mr. Drurv's, and the remainder in the possession of Mr. Oakley, with whom the insolvent resides. His brother is half owner of the Fortitude, and the half of the corn 'sacks belong to him along with a half share of the vessel. In answer to a question from Mr. D. Moses, the insolvent said he had paid Mr. Pearson in preference to other creditors because he was threatened with an action at law.

The meeting was adjourned until tho 6th of September, and the Commissioner hinted that the insolvent might not then get his discharge; the transaction with Mr. Smith looked very like a trick, which after all might not be successful.

Note that Mr Rowlands was the solicitor for the insolvent, was this the same Mr Rowlands who had court action 20 years before with his father-in-law?

He was fortunate, and was discharged.

By 1855, another Thomas Patterson now trading as a tobacconist is insolvent.

Then he is mentioned again with John Smith who was insolvent.  

By 1861, he is purchasing a steamer, "Pirate" and he was then advertising for sale at his Store, Old Wharf, items from the ship

But in 1862, his ships had been wrecked.

 This time he lost the vessel Caroline.

He was fortunate he was insured

We are sorry to have to record the loss of two vessels on the East Coast, at the Seymour CoaI Mines;  the Caroline belonging to Mr Thomas Patterson, and the Foster Fyans to Messrs. Andrewartha and Gibbs of the Huen ; the Foster Fyane is not insured. The Caroline in insured for £600, being valued at £1000   .......................from the Newspapers

The cutters Foster Fyans and Caroline[1] were loading coal at Seymour, or Long Point on the Tasmanian east coast, on the evening of 10 May 1862 when a very heavy gale set in, with huge waves breaking about quarter of a mile offshore. At about 10 pm Foster Fyans parted from its cables and went ashore, immediately starting the break up. When it appeared that her crew were doomed, the mine’s manager offered £5 to anyone who would get a line out to the vessel. At length this was done, and all hands were saved.

Caroline remained secure at moorings for some time until being struck broadside on by a huge sea, after which the vessel rolled over and sank within seconds. Two of the crew were washed away and drowned, but the other two were rescued by Captain Nichols of the Foster Fyans in a small boat, at great personal risk.

For his bravery Nichols was later awarded a silver medal, paid for from a subscription raised in Hobart. Excess funds were given to the destitute widow of the Caroline’s mate, one of those drowned.

The wreck of the Caroline was sold to Peter Oldham, a well-known salvager of wrecked vessels, but by the time he arrived at Seymour his purchase was spread along several miles of beach-front, including part of the upper works that became entangled in the wreck of the iron steamer Pirate.

On 19 January 1863 the harbourmaster at Hobart wrote to the Marine Board’s master warden to inform him that Peter Oldham had reported finding wreckage lying about half a mile south-east of Long Point. The end of a spar, probably a gaff or yard, became visible at low tide in fifteen fathoms directly in the path of vessels sailing up the east coast.

This was undoubtedly wreckage from either the Foster Fyans of Caroline.

Caroline, ON 32,006, was a cutter of 40 tons, 55.1’ x 16.9’ x 7.4’, built at Port Cygnet in 1855 and was registered at Hobart in the name of Thomas Paterson, being mortgaged with a previous owner, Alexander Rheuben, for £300.

In 1864, his father died, and then he was involved in a court case, charging John Alexander with stealing a horse from his father's paddock.

In 1876, his life had taken a turn as indicated in the following Court Case, but by now, he is operating his business from Dunedin, New Zealand.

 With this story is very long, it is of importance in understanding the family relationships, and of course the way it was in 1876.

LAW. Supreme Court. CIVIL SITTINGS. TUESDAY, June 13th, 1876. BEFORE His Honour Sir Francis Smith Chief Justice. PATTERSON V. EVANS.

The Tasmanian Tribune (Hobart Town, Tas. : 1872 - 1876) Wednesday 14 June 1876

Weekly Examiner (Launceston, Tas. : 1872 - 1878), Saturday 17 June 1876, page 11

The Civil Sittings of the Supreme Court took place on Tuesday, before Sir Francis Smith, Chief Justice. Only one case was set down, Thomas Patterson v. Hubert Beard Evans, to recover £300 damages, for breach of contract. It appeared that the parties entered into a written contract some time in 1875, by which Mr H.B. Evans was to deliver at the wharf, Lyttelton, New Zealand, 200,000 feet of timber at 17s per 100 feet, and Mr Patterson agreed to purchase. Payment to be made before delivery on the wharf at Lyttelton by draft at sight, with bills of Jading attached.

The written contact did not state on whom the bills at sight were to be drawn, but defendant's version was that they were to be drawn on a firm named McIlroy and Co. Mr Patterson left Hobart Town and proceeded to Lyttelton, and from there wrote Mr Evans that one of the firm of Mcllroy having got into a law suit the bills had better be drawn upon himself. To this Mr Evans objected, as he stated that he «"SL negotiate bills drawn upon Mr Patterson, as he was not a permanent resident at New Zealand, and he therefore declined to send in the timber.

As Mr Patterson was under a contract to other parties to supply the timber he telegraphed to Messrs Belbin and Dowdell, who supplied the timber at  a higher price and Mr Patterson sought to recover the loss he was put to through Mr Evans's breach of contract. For the defence it was argued that Mr Patterson having withdrawn Mcllroy and Co.'s name as the drawee for the bills, defendant was justified in not shipping. The jury found for the plaintiff, damages £145 0s 8d.

The brother-in-laws were all involved in the trading. 


Thomas and Rosetta had several children, some died young
Henry Patterson                                     1848     1848
Susannah Rebecca Patterson                 1849  -  1853
Alice Elizabeth Patterson                      1851 - 1872
Charles Thomas Patterson                    1853     1918                 Dunedin NZ
Emily Rosetta Patterson                        1855     1934                 m  James Horne  m William Dind
Percy Belbin Patterson                          1860     -           1867
Isabel Charlotte Louisa Patterson          1863                 1944     m Richard Barrett Christchurch NZ

Charles Thomas Paterson

The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954) Thursday 21 March 1889

NEW ZEALAND FRUIT MARKET OVERSTOCKED.-Messrs. ' C. E. Knight und Co.

have received the following cable message from Messrs. Thomas Patterson and Co., of

Dunedin :-" Stop shipping fruit for the present. , Market overstocked. Publish this telegram in Mercury."

Thomas died in 1884 in Dunedin.  Rosetta died in 1891.  They were living in Dunedin.

The following story from the Otago Daily Times 23 April 1900, tells the story of Thomas Paterson & Co.

                                    from the Otago Daily Times, Issue 11714, 23 April 1900, Supplement

THOMAS PATERSON & CO.  PRODUCE AND FRUIT COMMISSION AGENTS, Etc.
:No industry can be more valuable to a community than that which encourages and is bound up in local production, where the true wealth lies. This produce and fruit merchant, while conducting his business to his own personal advantage, confers a. benefit upon the people, because it is he, chiefly, who creates or discovers a market for local products, bringing the producer and consumer into immediate touch with each other.

In tracing the history of any industry, the names of those' most prominently and lengthily connected with it serves landmarks. The produce and fruit industry of Otago presents no better known name than that of Thomas Paterson and Co., a. firm which has been established in Dunedin since the year 1876. At that time tile local production of fruits and produce was in its infancy, and it is largely due to the efforts (of the present proprietor, Mr C.T. Paterson, that the industry has progressed so rapidly during later years.

 Mr Thomas Paterson, who founded the firm came to this colony from Tasmania where he had gained a large experience of the fruit and general produce- trade. ' Here he at first carried on business as a shipbroker and shipowner, combined with general agency trade. On the death his father in 1881 the present proprietor took up the business and started in Crawford street. At that time most of the wholesale business was done by the larger retailers, but Mr C. T. Paterson' saw that there was an opening for a wholesale agency business and gradually developed the concern to its present proportions. As the business increased he removed to premises in Manse street. The present buildings in that street, wherein the business is now carried on, were erected by Mr Charles T. Patterson. These have a frontage of about 33ft to Manse street, by a depth of about 50ft, and within are stored all descriptions of local and imported fruits and produce.

Tropical fruits, such as bananas, "etc., are imported from the South Sea Islands and Australia, whilst from the latter country oranges and other fruits are also obtained. The scope of the business extends: throughout New Zealand, and a large fruit, trade is transacted in country orders. Herein the locally-produced fruits have a large share of patronage, for in their season strawberries, raspberries, etc., are in great demand.
 During this present summer, in the month of December alone, the turnover of Messrs Patterson and Co. resulted in no less than 20 tons of strawberries for. the districts of Waimate, Teviot, and outskirts of Dunedin. exclusively.
The business transacted by Messrs Paterson and Sons is entirely wholesale. They supply storekeepers, fruiterers, hotels, etc. Of late years, the growth of the trade has been particularly rapid, and every year the consumption of locally-grown fruit and produce; is "showing a large increase. -In- addition they do a large general produce agency business, receiving consignments of. all descriptions from farmers.
The firm have, therefore, to employ a large number of ' hand's, and to have delivery vans constantly traversing the city and suburbs, whilst the interior of the colony is served in consignments by rail. Mr Charles Thomas Paterson is a native of Tasmania. He came to this colony 24 years ago, and for a "period of eight- years; was devoted to  seafaring, trading principally between Hobart and London, and passing all the stages of navigation until he became a master mariner.

As already stated, he took over the fruit and produce business on the. death of his. father, and soon became intimately associated with the progress of the industry, He developed the business as he saw the demands increasing, and he now undertakes .large' agencies on commission, besides supplying in any quantities direct from his stores. Mr Paterson has taken an active interest in fostering the fruit-growing industry. It, was largely due to his instigation that the Otago Fruit brokers' Association was formed, and ever since its inception he has occupied the position of chairman. He has thus 'publicly and privately helped materially to build up a great industry. :

PATERSON - June 20, at Dunedin, N. Z., in her 66th year,
Rosetta Paterson, relict of the late Thomas Paterson, merchant, of Dunedin (both formerly of Hobart), and be-loved mother of Mrs. W. F. Dind, Mossman's Bay.

Emily Rosetta Paterson  married James Horne.

He was the son of Thomas Addison Horne of New Norfolk, and his wife Jean McGregor.  Thomas Addison Horne was a butcher at New Norfolk, and he became insolvent.   He later became a publican in 1859, City of London Arms, in Campbell Street Hobart. 

James seems to have been a Captain.

After his death she moved to Sydney and married William Forster Dind.  He was involved in the theatre.

She visited New Zealand in 1913 and had her cabin broken into and her belongings stolen before leaving Sydney

At the time of her death, she was living at 58 Spofforth Street Cremorne.

Her sister Isabelle Charlotte Patterson was born in 1863 in Hobart.

She married Richard James Barrett on 29th December 1886 in Dunedin.

They are buried at the Northern Cemetery Dunedin.  He died in 1941, and Isabelle in 1944

.  Charles Derwent Dowdell

Charles Derwent Dowdell[1] was born in 25th April 1828 in Hobart

He married Martha Marshall in 1853. 

She was the daughter of Henry Stuart Marshall and his wife Mary Ann Warner.

 He died in 1894    He was the licensee of the Dusty Miller Hotel, in 1876 .  

Her brother was Captain Frederick Marshall, who plied between Lyttleton and Melbourne

Tasmanian News (Hobart, Tas. : 1883 - 1911), Tuesday 16 July 1901, page 1

On Dit.

That Captain Frederick Marshall, an old Tasmanian,  lost his life in the recent gales on the Sydney coast. That Fred, was one of the best practical seamen that ever sailed out of the port of Hobart. That he was chief officer of the ill fated Tasman when she struck the Hippolyte rock. That Fred, went down to the sea in ships when smoky forecastles and evil-smelling slush-lampi and dripping-curlins were in in rogne. That some of his contemporaries are still in Hobart, and respect his memory.

Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954), Thursday 18 July 1901, page 2

THE LATE CAPTAIN MARSHALL.


Captain Frederick Marshall, a native of Hobart, was one of those who perished in the disastrous gale on the coast of New South Wales on the 1st of the present month. He was in charge of the Steamer Alexander Berry, which w as totally wrecked on Long Point, Shell Harbour, only one of the crew of five, Walter Pearce, a fire-man, escaping The statement from the survivor described the storm experienced, together with several incidents, the fol-lowing being an extract -"The men gathered round each other and said good-bye. 'Tell my dear wife and family to go home,' said the captain to me The other married men sent loving messages to their families. Just when the pathetic farewells had been exchanged, the steamer crashed on the reef, and the seas tumbled over us." Captain Frederick Marshall was well known in the port of Hobart, where he was extremely popular.
He was for some years connected with the Tasmanian Steam Navigation Company, up to the time of the wreck, on the Hippolyte Rocks, 30th November, 1883, of the steamer Tasman, of which he was chief officer. i

South Australian Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1858 - 1889), Monday 3 December 1883, page 5

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WRECK OF THE TASMAN.

[By Telegraph.] Hobart, December 2.

The Tasmanian Steam Navigation Company's S.S. Tasman, which was due on Friday, from Sydney, struck on Hippolyte Rocks while attempting to pass through the narrow passage between the rocks and the mainland, and foundered. The passengers and crew were landed at Fortescue Bay. The news of the disaster was brought in by the fishing-boat Foam.

Captain J. W. Evans reports that the steamer struck on a sunken reef between the two Hippolytes before daylight, and sank. There were 29 passengers on board and 75 head of cattle, The company are their own insurers, and their loss by the wreck is estimated at £30,000. [Later Telegram. ] No little sensation was caused in Hobart on Friday night when it became known that the Tasmanian Steam Navigation Company's steamer Tasman had foundered about thirty miles off Derwent Heads. She was due here about 9 o'clock in the morning, and a good deal of anxiety was caused by her non-appearance, especially as it was known that the Corinna had passed her off Falmouth.

 She left Sydney at 1 o'clock on Tuesday evening, having on board 29 passengers and 75 head of cattle. At about half-past 5 o'clock on Friday morning the vessel struck upon a sunken reef between the Hippolytes and the mainland. She filled with water immediately, and sank in about fifteen minutes. As soon as she struck the (boats were lowered, and the passengers and crew were all safely landed in Fortescue Bay. As soon as the news of the disaster reached town a meeting of the directors of the T.S.N. Company was held, and it was decided to dispatch the Corinna to the scene to bring up the passengers and crew. It was also decided to allow no one to go with her but servants of the company, and even reporters for the press were told that they could not accompany her.

On being urgently remonstrated with, however, the directors gave way on this point, and reporters were allowed on board. The Corinna left the wharf at 11 o'clock, and arrived in Fortescue Bay about 4 o'clock next morning. The passengers and crew were taken onboard, and brought to Hobart, where they arrived shortly after 10 o'clock. The ship sank so quickly after striking that with one or two trifling exceptions the passengers had no time to save any portion of their luggage, and some of the ladies and children were only partially clothed. The news of the disaster caused great excitement in town. 

The Tasman was built at Glasgow in 1873, and her engine was supplied by the firm of Blackwood & Gordon. She sailed from the Clyde on the 21st of June, 1873, in charge of Captain Gilmore. Her registered tonnage was 491 tons, gross tonnage 720 tons, and her engines were 115 horsepower. Kew engines were put in but year by Mort & Co., of Sydney. A- F. Shorland, the well-known sculler and bicyclist, was a passenger by the Tasman, he had with him his racing boat, sculls, &c, valued at about £50, all of which are lost;

Charles and Martha had a large family. They lived at Mona Street Battery Point

  

Children

Clara Dowdell                                       1855 - 1887        m  Henry Hancock

Louisa Madeline Dowdell                     1856     1925     m Colin Matcham Pitt

Amy Mona Amelia Dowdell                 1858     1948    m  Angel Money

Ella Emmeline Dowdell                        1860 - 1864

Dr Charles Seymour Dowdell               1861-    1929

Frank Percival Dowdell                         1863     1941  m  Annie Frances Theresa Meredith

Jessie Isabel Dowdell                             1865     1951 m  George Gabriel Henderson

Leslie Gerald Dowdell                           1867  -  1948  m  Ethel May Peers

May Gertrude Geraldine Dowdell          1869     1948

Monite Anita Dowdell                            1870 - 1929

Douglas Ludlow Dowdell                      1872      1960 m Enid Karin Oliphant  General Manager of the Orient Steamship Line

Charles's life in addition to that shared in the Dowdell Family History, can be followed by his numerous mentions in the newspaper.

He was in partnership with firstly his step father, Joseph Oakley, and then his brother in law William Belbin for almost 50 years.  Both died within a couple of weeks of each other.

He was very involved within the local community, served on many of the town's committees, and was not afraid to take a stand, in his position with the Hospital Board.  He organised Regattas, and even paid for the patients to attend.

He also was involved in insolvency, due to the loss of his mining interests.  He owned ships, and ran his business from the New Wharf at Hobart.

Tasmanian Times (Hobart Town, Tas. : 1867 - 1870), Thursday 27 May 1869, page 3

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THE LATE HOSPITAL CASE.

To the Editor of the Tasmanian Times.

SIR,—We beg to hand you the "accompanying correspondence for publication in the Tasmanian Times. At the request of several gentlemen, early in March last, we endeavoured to induce the Colonial Secretary to order an official inquiry into the whole circumstances of the mutilation at the General Hospital, the exhumation and removal from St David's burial ground, of the mortal remains of the late William Lanney. the last male aboriginal native of Tasmania. We succeeded, at a personal interview with the Premier, in extracting a promise to that effect from Sir Richard Diy ; and, after the lapse of what seemed to us a sufficient interval (or its fulfilment, we endeavoured to ascertain whether such promised enquiry had been instituted. Having failed to obtain any satisfactory reply to our enquiries on this head from the Colonial Secretary—who has not, we think, treated us fairly by refusing explanation, and declining to reply to our interrogatories on a question of great public interest —we have thought it best to publish the correspondence. We are, Sir, Yours obediently,

CHARLES DOWDELL.

Hobart Town, May 26th, 1869. W. FISHES.

Hobart Town, 24th April, 1669.

 SIR, —On or about the 11th ultimo we had the honour to wait on you at the Colonial Secretary's Office, as a deputation from a number of respectable citizens to enquire of you whether it was the intention of the Government to institute an investigation into the mutilation and exhumation of the body of the aboriginal William Lanney, with a view to satisfying the public mind, then much agitated by the recent occurrence of those deplorable events. In reply you were good enough to state that, inasmuch as Dr. Crowther had charged yourself with complicity with the Royal Society in the matter, it would be impossible for the Government to institute an official enquiry ; but that you would appoint a Board, or Commission, of gentlemen unconnected with the Government, to make a full investigation of the whole case from first to last. We would now respectfully enquire whether such an investigation into all the circumstances of this remarkable case has been instituted, in accordance with your promise? And, in the event of your bong able to answer this enquiry in the affirmative, whether you will obligingly favour us with the result of that investigation, which cannot but prove a matter of very general interest to the whole community. We have the honour to be, Sir, Tour obedient servants.

(Signed) CHARLES DOWDELL, WILLIAM FISHER.

To the Hon. the Colonial Secretary. Colonial Secretary's Office, 27th April, 1869. GENTLEMEN,—I have this day received your letter of the 24th instant, enquiring whether an investigation has been made into all the circumstances attending the mutilation and exhumation of the body of the late William Lanney, and in reply I have the honour to inform you that what took place at the General Hospital has not only been enquired into, but has been made public. It was my wish and intention that the whole of the circumstances attending this case should, if possible, be brought to light; but a very little reflection showed me that for me to carry the enquiry beyond what took place in the hospital—an institution under the control of this department—would be to assume functions inconsistent with the office which I hold, and to take upon myself the duties of others. I have the honour to be, gentlemen, Tour obedient servant,  Richard Darby

Charles Dowdell and William Fisher, Esqs. Hobart Town, 3rd May, 1869.

Sir—We have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter, under date the 27th ultimo, which we have lost no time in submitting to the consideration of the parties from whom we originally derived our authority as a deputation. In reply we beg to say that we are aware that " what took place at the Hospital"—up to a certain point—"has been enquired into and has been made public." But we wish to remind you that your promise to us distinctly pledged the Government to an enquiry into " the whole case from first to last," without any reservation as to locality or time.

It is for you to judge whether "to carry the enquiry beyond what took place in the Hospital would be to assume functions inconsistent with your office, or to take upon yourself the duties of others." But we desire to call your attention to the fact that " what took place in the Hospital" has not yet been fully enquired into. A reference to the published accounts of the enquiry held by Messrs Tarleton, Colvin, and Wright will show that your own authority was specially interposed to prevent any enquiry into what took place with reference to Lanney's remains subsequently to their' removal from the Hospital for interment in St. David's burial-ground.
Yet it has been publicly stated—and not denied by the Government or the Hospital authorities—that Lanney's mutilated remains were brought back to the Hospital by servants of that institution after interment, and that they were dissected at the Hospital on a Sunday by the Resident Surgeon ; while the disposition of the skeleton is still a subject on which no definite information has yet been vouchsafed to the public. Even, then, if we were disposed to concede that your official obligations in respect to this case were satisfied by the institution of the enquiry held by Messrs Tarleton, Colvin, and Wright; and that you are not called upon to enquire into the circumstances attending the exhumation of Lanney's remains on the Saturday night—after your promise to Messrs Colvin, Bayley, and McArthur that the grave should be protected by police until Monday morning ;—we must still complain that what took place in the Hospital,  which you acknowledge to be within the scope of your official cognisance, has not yet been subjected to such a full and sufficient investigation as was implied in your promise to ns, and as, in your letter of the 27th ultimo, you admit it was your " wish and intention"—as it was clearly your duty—to institute into "the whole of the circumstances attending the case."

We are constrained to express our opinion that the promised enquiry has not been carried out, even to the limited extent to which you admit your obligations on that head, in your letter of the 27th ultimo. We therefore feel ourselves justified in asking you to reconsider your decision, as we are unwilling to assume that by closing inquiry at this point you intend to leave your promise to ourselves and your duty to the public alike unfulfilled.
We have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient servants, CHARLES DOWDELL. WILLIAM FISHER. To the Hon. the Colonial Secretary-(D. 127.)

Colonial Secretary's Office, 12th May, 1S69. GENTLEMEN,—I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 3rd instant, and in reply I regret to inform you that the tone of that communication is such as to make it incumbent on me to decline further correspondence on the subject to which it refers. I have the honour to be, gentlemen, Your obedient servant,



Messrs Dowdell and Fisher. RICHARD DABY. Hobart Town, May 26, 1869.

SIR.—We have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 12th instant, and regret that you should deem "the tone" of our previous communication such as to induce you " to decline further correspondence on the subject to which it refers." We owe it to ourselves, under these circumstances, to state the reasons which induced us to enter upon this correspondence, and to press for  reply to our enquiry whether you had taken any steps to redeem your promise made to us on the 11th March, to the effect that the proceedings which formed the subject of our interview should be submitted to a full and particular investigation.

You now practically disavow any intention of redeeming that promise. We regret your decision on this point for your own sake, as well as on public grounds. We must still maintain that it was your duty to submit  the whole proceedings from first to last yo a rigid inquiry; and we must profess ourselves unsatisfied and unconvinced by the reasons given in your letter of the 27th ultimo for stopping enquiry precise  at the point where, if pursued further, it must have connected an officer of the Government with a series of disgraceful proceedings, which have caused great public scandal, and have involved the Royal Society, the Hospital Board, and the Government itself in a common suspicion of complicity with the authors of an act of lawless outrage and revolting indecency. Our original application to you for official enquiry was dictated by a desire that the whole circumstances should be brought to light and the really blameworthy parties lie dealt with as they deserved.

Proceedings directed honestly and impartially to that end would have reflected credit on the Government and satisfied the public. But it soon became apparent that the sole object of the Government was to convict a single individual—and that individual a political opponent—of an act that would seem to warrant his expulsion from the General Hospital. This object the Government appears to have accomplished to its own satisfaction, with the assistance of the Hospital Board.

All other persons known to have been implicated in the lawless and indecent outrage to which we refer, have been screened by the Government and the Hospital Board from the condemnation due to their offences, and have been retained in the employment of a public institution " under the control of your department."
Thus the case presented itself to the public and to our minds. But before arriving finally at this conclusion we were anxious to learn whether any official enquiry had been instituted into the conduct of those officers and servants of the Government who have been so seriously incriminated by direct published accusations. as delinquents in connection with the proceedings under notice.

We therefore addressed you on the 24th ultimo, in hopes of eliciting from you an assurance that you had redeemed your pledge to us, and instituted a strict and exhaustive investigation of the whole case from first to last. We are now reluctantly reduced to the conclusion that you have done neither. We can only express our surprise that you should consider such a course of conduct consistent with your official obligations to the public as Colonial Secretary and Premier. 

We have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient servants,
CHAS. DOWDELL, W. FISHER.

The Hon. the Colonial Secretary, &c.

His son Charles Seymour Dowdell, was awarded a Scholarship to study in England, and he became a Doctor.

DEPARTURE OF A TASMANIAN SCHOLAR FOR ENGLAND.-By the s.s. Tasman, which left Hobart last night at 8 o'clock for Melbourne, Charles Seymour Dowdell, son of a well known citizen, Mr. Charles .Dowdell, left for Melbourne etn route to England, there to prosecute his studies as a Tasmanian scholar. A number of Mr. Dowdell's friends, including many old Hutchins school boys, were present on tho wharf to wish him bon voyage. Mr. Dowdell commenced his studies at the Hutchins School, where he took the Macnaughton, Boyd, and Newcastle Scholarships. He next passed the Melbourne matriculation and civil service examinations. He took his A.A. degree in 1879, at the same time securing the gold medal. He then commenced to study at Christ's College for the Tasmanian Scholarship examinations. In 1881 he obtained 2168 marks, being more than 500 above the required standard. He did not, however, gain a scholarship as two candidates secured more marks than he did, and gained the coveted positions. Our readers are too well acquainted with the efforts made by Mr. C. Dowdell to secure a scholar-ship for his son, and it is only necessary to add that in 1882 the Parliament of Tasmania, taking all the facts into consideration, granted him a scholarship of £200 per annum for four years. During the year 1882 Mr. Dowdell was a student at the General Hospital. He leaves Melbourne by the s.s. Cuzco on the l6th inst. for London, where he intends to enter the London University, and then proceed with his medical studies at one of the London hospitals.

Some notes on the Family Home

Our house at 10 Marine Terrace was built in 1855 for timber merchant and ship owner Charles Derwent Dowdell. The grandson of a convict and son of a whaler, Dowdell rose through the ranks to become a substantial citizen and merchant of Hobart Town, a member of the Executive Committee of the Hobart Regatta and a Churchwarden and member of the Parish Council at St David’s Cathedral. For some years, he was a partner in the firm Belbin and Dowdell, whose house flag can be found in the Maritime Museum.
Charles and his wife Martha lived in Marine Terrace until 1866. During this time, they had seven children, six of whom survived and became substantial citizens in Tasmania and on the mainland.

The last Dowdell child to be born in the house was Jessie. In adulthood, she moved to Melbourne where, as Jessie Henderson, she became a leading philanthropist, social reformer, and women’s and children’s rights activist. In 1937, Jessie was created a Commander of the British Empire.

When adding insulation to the roof cavity soon after moving in, we discovered an old shoe hidden beside one of the chimneys. It had been common practice in Europe from the late Middle Ages to conceal shoes as magical charms to protect the occupants of the building against evil influences such as demons, ghosts, witches and familiars. We are pleased to report that we have not been visited by any of these influences in the time we have lived in the house!

We are the eighth owners of the house, having lived in it since 1984. We have met several people with connections to the house, including a very elderly gentleman who told us he had been born in the back bedroom. We would very much like to meet descendants of Charles and Martha Dowdell.

We love the old place and have no intention of moving.

http://www.batterypointhall.org.au/making-good-while-making-babies/

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[1] ewaltersrice originally shared this on 23 May 2010

William Garth - His Parents

When the Garth children were out and about playing on Norfolk Island, with the Jillett children, they would have no idea that a few decades later, their lives would dissect.

Edward Westlake was selected  as one of a founding party of 23 persons to settle Norfolk Island from Port Jackson sailing on the "Supply", 15 Feb 1788, under the command of Lieut. Philip Gidley King.

King had promised that they could return to England after their sentences were complete.

Those people going were:

Jamieson, Surgeon s Mate of the "Sirius";

Mr James Cunningham, Master s Mate of the "Sirius"

Mr T. Altree, Assistant Surgeon;

two seamen- Roger Morely & William Westbrook;

two Marines from the "Sirius"-Kerridge & Batchelor;

Six female convicts-  Elizabeth's Lee, Hipsley & Colley, Olive Gascoin, Ann Inett and Susan Gough;

Six male convicts      Charles Mc Lellan, Richard Widdicombe, Edward Garth, Edward Westlake, John Mortimore, Noah Mortimore, Nathaniel Lucas and two other names not known.

King discovered Lord Howe Island en route and arrived off Norfolk Island on the 28th of February and landed on the island on 6 Mar 1788.

Austral-Asiatic Review, Tasmanian and Australian Advertiser (Hobart Town, Tas. : 1837 - 1844), Tuesday 29 June 1841, page 2

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DEATH.—On Thursday last, at her residence, Sandy Bay, aged 78, Mrs. SUSAN GARTH, mother of Mrs. Maum and Mrs. Bellett, of Clarence Plains, and Mrs. Ballantyne, of this town. Mrs. Garth embarked from England in Her Majesty's store ship Guardian, Captain Sir Edward Rion, which, it will be recollected, was nearly lost by striking on an island of ice, between the Cape of Good Hope and New Holland; she was afterwards the first female who landed at the original settlement of Norfolk Island. Mrs. Garth was much regarded by all the old inhabitants, a numerous and respectable body of whom attended her funeral yesterday.

Edward Garth was indicted for feloniously stealing on the 29 October 1784, two live cows, being the property of Thomas Rhodes the younger. He was sentenced to death but reprieved on 3 March 1785 to transportation to Africa for seven years. His reprieve was based on witness accounts who described him as a hard working lad in the 14 years he had known him while another offered to employ him if he was acquitted.

Following time spent in the prison hulk Ceres, he was sent to Portsmouth for embarkation on Scarborough. Immediately on arrival at Port Jackson, Edward was selected to go with the first group to settle Norfolk Island. On 12 February 1788 Phillip Gidley King was appointed Superintendent and Commandant of the settlement at Norfolk Island. King landed at Norfolk Island with soldiers, convicts which included six female and eight male convicts and supplies on 5 March 1788. Here Edward married Susannah Gough a convict. The settlement of Norfolk Island had three distinct periods. The first two were penal settlements, 1788-1814 and 1825-1853. Edward was on the island from March 1788 until 1807 and during different times in the first period more people were sent to the island to relieve the strain on the mainland colony where food was scarce.

During the time on Norfolk Island people were classified into 1st, 2nd and 3rd class inhabitants. Edward was an assigned second class settler and as such was entitled to be victualled and clothed for two years at public expense and was allowed two convicts for one year and two convicts for fifteen months longer. Edward was variously described as conducting himself well and had a large family of a wife and seven children with 30 acres of cleared land. His house on the island was described as shingled, boarded and floored and had three outhouses of logs all valued at 65 pounds. Thus, through his diligence in the colony he came to own substantial holdings. He also became a nightwatchman and a member of the Norfolk Island Settler Society.

In 1807 Edward and his family were sent on the second embarkation on the 26 December 1807 to Van Diemen’s Land on HMS Porpoise. On this journey he was allowed to take fifteen male sheep and seven grown sheep to restart his new life in VDL. Porpoise arrived in VDL on 17 January 1808, twenty years after the first fleet had arrived in Sydney Cove.

On arrival in Hobart Town Edward was granted 93 acres at Sandy Bay which he farmed with his growing family. Here there was at one time a headland known as Garths Point. The family remained on the land for 115 years from 1808 to 1923 and are remembered by the naming of Garth Ave in the area. In 1813 he received a further grant of 33 acres and during his remaining years had extensive holdings at Clarence Plains & Browns River.

Edward died on 13 December, 1823 at his farm at Sandy Bay/Brown’s River now called Kingston, aged 55 and is buried at St Davids Hobart. Tasmania.

At the time of his death Edward and his four surviving sons had 500 acres of land, 270 head of cattle and 3,650 sheep. The family also had grazing licenses.[1]

Susannah Garth/Grates/Gough was born in 1763 and was one of the female convicts being, indicted, on the 9th August 1783, for feloniously stealing, nine one-guinea coins and one half-guinea coin, the monies of William Waterhouse and charged as having been stolen, privily from his person. Some money was found on Susannah and her accomplice, Elizabeth Dudgeon. Reports in Mollie Gillen’s Founders of Australia state ‘interestingly Susannah swallowed eight guineas which promptly made her sick and she later brought them up’. She was found guilty of stealing and sentenced to seven year’s transportation.

Some reports suggest that while waiting aboard the hulk Mercury she was one of 66 prisoners who scrambled down the side of the hulk as part of the mutinous escape but was recaptured and sent to Exeter Gaol. Later she was sent to the Dunkirk hulk and from there to Friendship on the 11 March 1787. However, family history research conducted suggests, that she has at times been confused with her later accomplice, Elizabeth Dudgeon because as she was tried in 1783, the ‘mutineers’ were from the time of 1782 trials. Thus this is most likely not the Susannah Garth mutineer but her accomplice, Elizabeth Dudgeon using her name as an alias. Susannah Garth (of this story) did embark on Friendship on the 11 March 1787 bound for Botany Bay. At Rio on the 11^th August, she was one of six women exchanged and transferred to the Charlotte.

Later reports on arrival in the colony of New South Wales indicate Susannah’s subsequent behaviour as much improved. Immediately following the First Fleet’s arrival in 1788, at Sydney Cove, she was selected/ volunteered as one of the group of women convicts to go to Norfolk Island with Philip Gidley King. Her volunteering is believed to have been in place of Nancy Yeats/Yates, partner of Judge advocate Collins, who wished to remain behind with Collins.

At Norfolk Island in 1795, Susannah married Edward Garth and over the following years seven children were born to them, with one dying at Norfolk Island. The children were five sons (four surviving infancy) and two daughters. With her husband and six children, she left Norfolk Island on 27 December 1807, for Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania), by Porpoise and lived on lands at Clarence Plains and Queensborough, Tasmania.

At a later time in her life Susannah had the distinction, as recorded in other family history reports in From Chains to Freedom by Thais Mason, of being the first woman to set foot on Norfolk Island (p17). This statement was made under oath when she was a witness at a hearing in Hobart in 1836.

Following Edward’s death in 1723 Susannah was left a widow but his property was bequeathed to her and two sons and a daughter. She remained on the family property for the rest of her life.

Susannah died on 24 June 1841 at Hobart, age given as 78.

Sources: Mollie Gillen : The Founders of Australia;

Thais Mason : From Chains to Freedom : A history of the Garth Bellett Family 1788-1982.

#8430 Logan Cherry

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[1] http://www.fellowshipfirstfleeters.org.au/edwardgarth.htm

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[1] http://www.environment.gov.au/shipwreck/public/wreck/wreck.do?key=6975