INTRODUCTION

 
 
This database attempts to record all births,  baptisms,  marriages, de facto 
relationships, deaths & burials for the third decade  of settlement  in the colony 
of New South Wales, that is  from  1811 until 1820.
 
 
Principle Sources of Information
 
The  major  sources of information presented in  this  work  were derived from:
 
     1. Anglican Churches - New South Wales - Church Registers
     2. Anglican Churches - Van Diemens Land - Church Registers
     3. Catholic Churches - Sydney & Hobart - Church Registers 
     4. Index to Tasmanian Births/Baptisms 1803 to 1840 - Alex Buchanan
     5. The Pioneer Register - Dr C J Smee
 
 
1. Anglican Churches - New South Wales
 
The  sources of information on these churches included;  (i)  the online database 
called the "New South Wales Pioneers Index: 1788-1888"  published by the Royal 
Melbourne Institute of  Technology, (ii)  the Kerrison James Index - an index 
in chronological  order of  all  Anglican church registers from 1788 to 1850,  
(iii)  the individual Parish Registers with all three categories being  held 
at the National Library in Canberra.
 
The   Lake  Macquarie  Family  History  Group  has   conveniently published nearly 
all the parish registers for St Matthews Windsor making  access to their 
information readily available to  a  wide audience. 
 
Yvonne  Brownings book "St Peters Richmond: The Early People  and Burials   
1791-1855"   has  been  most  helpful   on   background information for that 
church.
 
The  book  published  by the  Newcastle  Family  History  Society "Christ  Church  
Newcastle, NSW : 1804-1900" has also  been  most helpful in checking entries 
for this register.
 
 
2. Anglican Churches - Van Diemens Land
 
An  online database held in the National Library of Australia  in Canberra   called  
the  "Tasmanian  Pioneer   Index:   1803-1899" published  by the Archives Office 
of Tasmania was the  source  of information for the two parishes of St Davids 
Hobart and St Johns Launceston. 
 
Even though the settlement at Port Dalrymple in Van Diemens  Land was  founded 
in 1804, no clergyman visited the  settlement  until the  Reverend  Knopwood  
did so in 1811 and  the  parish  records commence  from that year. However in 
the case of St Johns,  given its  particular  historical circumstances, the  43  
baptisms  for 1811, which took place in late February/early March of that year, 
are  assumed  to  have occurred in 1810.  Indeed  in  many  cases information 
from other sources has validated this decision. 
 
Rev Knopwood next visited Port Dalrymple in 1814. Thus the  first baptism for 
the decade did not occur until 1814. It was not until 1819  that  the Reverend 
John Youl was appointed as  a  permanent chaplain to St Johns.
 
Rev  Knopwood performed marriages in his short visits of  1811  & 1814  but  no 
burials. The first burials are recorded  only  from 1819.
 
3. Catholic Churches - Sydney & Hobart - Church Registers
 
The  first  Roman  Catholic church in the  colony  was  St  Marys Sydney.  When  
the  Reverend John Joseph Therry  arrived  in  the colony  in 1820 there was 
of course no Catholic church  building, his  "church" was in effect his registers. 
Thus as  he  travelled around the colony performing baptisms, marriages & burials 
it  is suspected that he only recorded the events in his register  later at  the  
end  of his particular travels,  leading  to  occasional errors of person, date 
and place.
 
There are no records of any burials recorded in St Mary's  church registers  for 
the year 1820. Whether the records have been  lost or  there were indeed no burials 
performed in this  year  remains undetermined at this time.
 
Not infrequently genealogists are confronted with odd  situations in  the  
pursuit of their passion and the case  of  the  Reverend Conolly  and  his  
registers  for St Marys  Hobart  is  one  such example.
 
The Rev. Philip Conolly along with the Rev. John Therry were  the first   
officially  sanctioned  Roman  Catholic  priests  to   be  appointed to the colony 
of New South Wales. They sailed  together in the 'Janus' reaching Sydney on the 
3rd May 1820. Whilst Therry was  allocated to New South Wales, Conolly was 
destined  for  Van Diemens  Land but Governor Macquarie detained him in  the  
senior colony for almost a year.
 
Four weeks after his arrival Conolly performed his first  baptism on the 31st 
May. He continued to baptize children until Macquarie finally released him to 
his duty in Hobart Town. He performed his last  baptism in Sydney on the 23rd 
March 1821. According to  his entry  in the 'Australian Dictionary of Biography', 
Conolly  left for  Hobart in April 1821 arriving on the 14th and upon  checking 
Cumpston's  'Shipping Arrivals & Departures,  Sydney,  1788-1825' the  only ship 
to leave for that southern settlement around  this time  was  the  brig 'Prince 
Leopold'.  He  performed  his  first baptism in Hobart two days later on the 
16th April.
 
So far so good but it would appear that the Rev. Conolly took his register  with  
him to Hobart Town resulting  in  the  intriguing situation of having several 
people born and baptized in New South Wales appearing in records in Van Diemens 
Land!
 
Adding  to the genealogical challenge, Rev Conolly  recorded  his entries in 
Latin, transcribing all the Christian names into  that ancient  language.  
Fortunately most can be  easily  retranslated into  English  although the correct 
transcription  of  "Lamentis" remains a mystery.
 
By  a similar set of circumstances, two marriages by Rev  Conolly performed  in  
1820  in  Sydney,  appear  in  the  Hobart  church registers.
 
There  do not appear to be any surviving records for  burials  in Rev. Conolly's 
register for the year 1820.
 
 
4. Index to Tasmanian Births/Baptisms 1803 to 1840 - A M Buchanan
 
Mr Buchanan in his book indexes all known births for Van  Diemens Land  for  the  
years 1803 to 1840. Being an  'index'  it  simply points  to  the original source 
document and  thus  unfortunately only lists the year of birth and gives no 
further details such as parents  or  place  of  birth. Happily  the  vast  majority  
were baptized at either St Davids Hobart or St Johns Launceston and as a 
consequence are not repeated in the list of births.
 
The problem though is that it is not certain if the children were actually  born  
in  Van Diemens Land. They  may  have  come  from England with their parents 
or be from the mainland.
 
 
5. The Pioneer Register - Dr C J Smee
 
The Pioneer Register project is a collection of family trees  for persons  
arriving in the colony between in years 1788  and  1820. The  project was commenced 
in the early 1970's and to  date  four thousand families have been published 
in over 58 separate  books. The  books are published in two editions, the first 
being a  soft covered  production  containing  100 families.  When  five  first 
edition  volumes have been produced ie 500 families,  plus  their accompanying  
spouse  supplement,  they are  amalgamated  into  a second edition which is a 
more handsome hard covered  production. Four special series volumes have also 
been published as spin offs of  the  main  body of the Register; "First,  Second,  
Third  and Fourth  Fleet  Families  of Australia" their  titles  being  self 
explanatory.
 
The Register aims to collect 33 separate pieces of information on each pioneer:-
 
             1. Christian Name(s)
             2. Surname
             3. Exact Date of Birth
             4. Place of Birth
             5. Christian Name(s) of Father
             6. Christian Name(s) of Mother
             7. Maiden Name of Mother
             8. Exact Date of Arrival
             9. Ship of Arrival
            10. Status upon Arrival
            11. Exact Date of Death
            12. Place of Death
            13. Church/Place of Burial
            14. Exact Date of Marriage
            15. Church/Place of Marriage
            16. Christian Name(s) of Spouse
            17. Surname of Spouse
            18. Status of Spouse 
            19. Total Number of Children
            20. Christian Name(s) of Each Child
            21. Exact Date of Birth of Each Child
            22. Place of Birth of Each Child
            23. Exact Date of Death of Each Child
            24. Place of Death of Each Child
            25. Exact Date of Marriage of Each Child
            26. Church/Place of Marriage of Each Child
            27. Christian Name(s) of Spouse of Each Child
            28. Surname of Spouse of Each Child
            29. Status of Spouse of Each Child
            30. Total Number of Children of Each Child
            31. Christian Name(s) of Each Grandchild
            32. Exact Date of Birth of Each Grandchild
            33. Place of Birth of Each Grandchild
 
The  family trees only extend as far as the grandchildren of  the Pioneer and 
this was decided upon for three reasons. Firstly,  it allowed  for a 
straightforward layout of the family tree, on  one page in most cases, which 
is, both simple and clear. Secondly, in many  ways  the two generations represent 
a  'functional'  family unit.  No  doubt many of the Pioneers would have heard  
the  wish expressed  at their nuptial service that they should live to  see their  
children's  children.  Even today  the  vast  majority  of families consist of 
grandparents, parents and children so what is presented in most cases, 
represents the family that the  original Pioneer  actually knew. That is not 
to say however that  in  some families  further  generations are not shown, as 
when  a  Pioneer married  the  daughter  of an earlier Pioneer,  for  example  
the grandchildren of Thomas Carpenter are the great-grandchildren  of William 
Shaw, and in the case of James Boyce who married Margaret Shortland, his 
grandchildren are the great-great-grandchildren of John  Shortland.  Thirdly, 
two generations will see  most  family trees,  if  not all, past 1856 when  
compulsory  registration  of births,  deaths,  and marriages began in New South  
Wales.  After 1856  genealogical  research  is  comparatively  easy  using  the 
facilities  of  the Registrar General's Department,  whereas  pre 1856  details  
need access to sources such as those held  by  the Mitchell   Library,  the  State  
Archives  and  the  Society   of Australian  Genealogists,  which are not  readily  
accessible  to people  outside the metropolitan area and require some degree  
of skill  in  handling.  It is hoped that the  Register  acts  as  a genealogical 
service to such people.
 
The  third edition volumes are divided into four  sections;  the main  body  of 
the work containing the family trees,  the  spouse supplement, the son & 
daughter-in-law index and the chronology.
 
The  number  of families published in the Register  thus  far  is 4,000.  When 
one adds the spouses to these 4,000  Pioneers,  plus their  14,000 children and 
over 47,000 grandchildren, plus  5,000 sons  & daughters-in-law, one arrives 
at a total of  over  73,000  names, making  the Pioneer Register project one  
of  the  largest genealogical works ever published in this country. 
 
The  research  on The Pioneer Register project  has  resulted  in numerous 
individuals being identified whose births did not appear in any of the other 
sources. By approaching the problem from  the other  end  as  it  were, descendants 
have  been  able  to  trace themselves  back to individuals who obviously must  
have  existed but were not otherwise identified anywhere else.
 
Over  one  hundred  deaths were also identified  by  the  Pioneer Register project 
and even twelve marriages, which admittedly  may be of doubtful veracity.
 
 
Miscellaneous Sources of Information
 
A  minority of entries presented in this work were  derived  from  three minor 
sources of information on birth details:
 
    1. Various Early Churches - Burial Registers
    2. Various Musters & The 1828 Census
    3. Other Churches - Baptismal Registers
 
 
1. Various Early Churches - Burial Registers
 
There  were  171  burials of children taken  from  various  early colonial  churches,  
but principally St Phillips  Sydney  and  St Johns  Parramatta burial registers, 
for whom no parents could  be identified.  Unlike  in the previous two  volumes 
only  eight were merely  designated  as "infants" in the register,  (all  from  
St Johns) and as no corresponding baptism entry has been found,  the not  
unreasonable assumption has been made that they died  before they could be 
baptized and the year of birth has been recorded as the same as the year of death.
 
 
2. Various Musters & The 1828 Census
 
The colonial musters were searched for all colonial born children and childhood 
arrivals: New South Wales for the years; 1822, 1825 & 1828 and Van Diemens Land 
for the years; 1818, 1819 & 1822.  Of those  individuals found, most were 
identified as belonging to  a known  family  but  some 305 children were not 
and  it  is  these mystery individuals who have been collected under this heading.
 
 
3. Other Churches - Baptismal Registers
 
As many of the third decade children were not baptized until they were  somewhat  
older, several churches which  were  not  founded until  after 1820 contain 
baptisms relating to children  born  in the  relevant  period. The most prominent 
of  which  include;  St Peters  Campbelltown  (1821), St James Sydney (1824),  
St  Thomas Port  Macquarie (1824), St Thomas Sackville Reach (1826)  and  St 
Johns  Wilberforce  (1827).  As well as  the  first  Presbyterian church register 
at Scots Kirk Sydney (1826).
 
Apart from these churches there were numerous churches from other denominations 
which were founded as the colony grew and  expanded and some of them may well 
have had entries for children  baptized later  in  life  but  whose birth in  
the  colony  has  not  been confirmed at the time of writing. 
 
 
The Paracencus of New South Wales - James Donohoe
 
This  discussion  on  the sources of  information  could  not  be concluded without 
mentioning Mr Donohoe's major opus, documenting births, deaths & marriages in 
the colony from 1788 to 1828, which has  been  of  immense  assistance  in  solving  
many  of   those tantalizing  mysteries which one constantly encounters  in  early 
colonial genealogical research.
 
 
With regard to the Births the aim was to identify the parents  of each child 
by researching when they arrived in the colony and  in what  capacity.  There  
were  6,081  births  recorded  and  4,067 baptisms. The identities of 73% of 
the fathers were found and 71% of the mothers.
 
With  regard to the Marriages the aim was to identify each  bride and  groom 
by researching when they arrived in the colony and  in what capacity as well 
as determining their age at marriage. There were  1,920  marriages  recorded. 
The identities of  91%  of  the grooms were found and 91% of the brides.
 
Since  around a third of the births were illegitimate, it  seemed important  to  
include  the  De  Facto  Relationships  as   well. Obviously  only those 
relationships which produced  children  are included.  There were 601 
relationships recorded. The  identities of 75% of the 'grooms' were found and 
73% of the 'brides'.
 
With  regard  to the Deaths the aim was to identify each  of  the deceased  by 
researching when they arrived in the colony  and  in what  capacity as well as 
determining their age at death. In  the case  of the colonial born the aim was 
to identify the  names  of their  parents.  There  were  2,830  deaths  recorded  
and  2,711 burials. The identities of 86% of the deceased were found.
 
A  particular  type  of death,  namely  Judicial  Execution,  was thought to 
be of particular interest to the modern reader and all 24  known  hangings have 
been collected in the  Appendices  along with their crimes if known.
 
For  completeness Childhood Arrivals have been included  for  the 711 children 
who were not born in the colony but arrived as young children.  After all, those 
who arrived very young would have  an early  life  experience  not  very  dissimilar  
from  the  actual colonial  born  and were often their siblings.  For  no  specific 
reason the age of ten has been selected as the cut off point  for inclusion in 
this category.
 
 
Local Historical Developments
 
Colonel  Lachlan Macquaire continued as governor for  the  second decade of the 
nineteenth century, although the arrival of Special Commissioner J T Bigge in 
1819 would cast a shadow over the  last years  of his administration and no doubt 
created great  interest in the colony.
 
After the death of Colonel David Collins RM in 1810 there was  an interregnum  
in the Lieutenant Governorship of Van  Diemens  Land with Lt. Edward Lord, Capt. 
John Murray and Lt.Col. Andrew Geiles filling the role until Colonel Thomas Davey 
RM arrived in 1813 to  be followed by Colonel William Sorell in 1817.
 
The colonist were no doubt pleased to have proper legal  services when the the 
Supreme Court of New South Wales was established  in 1814  with Jeffery Hart 
Bent as the first judge but less  pleased when  he  refused to open the court. 
It would not  operate  until Baron Field replaced Bent in 1817.
 
The  major histo-geographical development during this decade  was the  crossing  
of  the Blue Mountains  by  Blaxland,  Lawson  and Wentworth  in  1813,  the  
construction of  the  road  over  the mountains by Lieutenant Cox in 1815 and 
the establishment of  the first  inland  settlement at Bathurst by Captain Lawson  
in  1817 with  the  consequent  opening  of the  vast  western  plains  to settlement.  
This ended the confinement of the infant  colony  to the  Cumberland  plain  and  
brought to an  end  first  phase  of settlement as it were.
 
Sadly the settlement at Norfolk Island which was so important  in the early days 
of the colony and touched the lives of so many  of the First Generation was finally 
abandoned in 1814.
 
 
International Historical Developments
 
King  George III continued upon the throne of England, albeit  in an  occasional  
state of porphyria induced  lunacy.  The  British prime  ministership passed 
from Spencer Percival in 1812 to  Earl Liverpool.  With  the  promotion  of  
Liverpool,  the  office  of Colonial Secretary, so vital to the young colony, 
passed to  Earl Bathurst whose name would soon be liberally sprinkled around  
its shores.
 
The loyal subjects in the colony would no doubt have reflected in the  glory 
of the Duke of Wellington with his monumental  victory over  the  Emperor Napoleon 
at the Battle of  Waterloo  in  1815. Britain  was  now  supreme on land as well 
as at  sea.  The  more educated  of  the  colonists  would no  doubt  have  taken  
great interest in the Congress of Vienna which would define the borders of the 
nation states of Europe for the next one hundred years and the  restoration  of 
the monarchy in France in  1815  under  King Louis XVIII.
 
Perhaps  the less loyal subjects may have heeded the  warning  of not messing 
with the British Empire by the destruction by fire of Washington in the United 
States by the British Army in 1814. 
 
 
 
The abbreviations used in this book are explained below:
 
                    d = de facto                            SDH  = St Davids Hobart VDL                  
                    m = married                             SDPA = St Davids Port Arthur VDL             
                                                            SGS  = St Georges Sorell VDL                 
                    CF = came free                          SJL  = St Johns Launceston VDL               
                    GS = government servant (convict)       SJP  = St Johns Parramatta                   
                    FS = free by servitude (emancipist)     SJPT = St James Pitt Town                    
                    AP = free by absolute pardon            SJS  = St James Sydney                       
                    CP = free by conditional pardon         SJW  = St Johns Wilberforce                  
                    EX = exile                              SLL  = St Lukes Liverpool                    
                    NC = native of colony (aboriginal)      SLR  = St Lukes Richmond VDL                 
                    NE = never emigrated                    SMH  = St Marys Hobart VDL                   
                    -- = unknown                            SMK  = St Michaels Kelso - Catholic          
                                                            SMNN = St Matthews New Norfolk VDL           
                    Eng  = England                          SMS  = St Marys Sydney                       
                    Gib  = Gibralta                         SMW  = St Matthews Windsor                   
                    Ire  = Ireland                          SMWR = St Matthews Windsor - Catholic        
                    Mal  = Malta                            SPC  = St Peters Campbelltown                
                    Sct  = Scotland                         SPCO = St Pauls Cobbitty                     
                    Wal  = Wales                            SPR  = St Peters Richmond                    
                                                            SPS  = St Phillips Sydney                    
                    Cam  = Cambridgeshire                   STPM = St Thomas Port Macquarie                                                                                                                                                        
                    Crn  = Cornwall                         STSR = St Thomas Sackville Reach             
                    Dub  = Dublin                                                                        
                    Dvn  = Devonshire                       NI   = Norfolk Island                        
                    Esx  = Essex                            VDL  = Van Diemens Land                      
                    Ham  = Hampshire                                                                                                                                                                                 
                    Knt  = Kent                             Bapt = Baptist VDL                           
                    Ldn  = London                           Cla  = Clarence VDL - Anglican               
                    Mdx  = Middlesex                        GP   = Green Ponds VDL - Anglican            
                    Sfk  = Suffolk                          I-RC = Illawarra - Catholic                  
                    Sry  = Surrey                           M-RC = Maitland - Catholic                   
                    Ssx  = Sussex                           Pet  = Cooks River, Petersham - Anglican     
                    Stf  = Staffordshire                    SKB  = Scots Kirk Bathurst                                                                                                                                                            
                    Wwk  = Warwickshire                     SKPH = Scots Kirk Portland Head              
                                                            SKS  = Scots Kirk Sydney                     
                    CCC  = Christ Church Castlereagh        WMH  = Wesleyan Methodist - Hobart           
                    CCN  = Christ Church Newcastle          WML  = Wesleyan Methodist - Launceston       
                    HTK  = Holy Trinity Kelso               WMS  = Wesleyan Methodist - Sydney           
                    SAKP = St Annes Kissing Point           WMW  = Wesleyan Methodist - Windsor          
                    SAS  = St Andrews Sydney                                                             
                                                            *    = duplicate entry               


Return to 1811-1820

Return to Home Page

This work is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Enquiries should be made to the publisher.