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WILLIAM EGGLETON & MARY DICKENSON
1788 -
William Eggleton, alias ‘Bones’, was a convicted
thief, transported from England to the Penal Colony of
New South Wales, as a convict. He arrived at Sydney
Cove on the 26th January 1788, aboard the
transport ship Alexander. This vessel was
one of the eleven ships that made up the First Fleet
that established an English settlement in Australia.
His trial had
been held at the Surrey Lent Assizes that commenced at
Kingston upon Thames on Wednesday the 22nd
March 1786, before Sir Henry Gould, Knight and Sir
William Henry Ashhurst, Knight.
He was tried on
the morning of the 23rd March 1786 and
charged with –
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‘a) Committed 23 January 1786 b) … that
William Eagleton otherwise Bones late of the
parish of Saint Saviour within the borough
of Southwark labourer and James Spencer late
of the same …. Upon the 12th day
of January … with force and arms at the
parish aforesaid … the dwelling house of
Edward Warren feloniously did break and
enter … and one Deal Box of the value of 2s.
one Iron Padlock of the value of 6d. three
woollen cloth Coats of the value of £3 one
pair of Jean Breeches of the value of 5s.
one pair of Corduroy Breeches of the value
of 4s. one pair of Nankeen Breeches of the
value of 3s. one Shag Waistcoat of the value
of 4s. one silk Waistcoat of the value of
4s. one dimity Waistcoat of the value of 2s.
one black Silk Gown of the value 15s. one
muslin Gown of the value of 20s. one printed
cotton Gown of the value of 10s. and one
black silk Cloak of the value of 20s. of the
goods and chattels of the said Edward Warren
feloniously did steal’
‘Not Guilty of breaking and entering, guilty
of stealing goods v 39s. no chattels. Trans:
7 years beyond the sea.’ |
Occupation: Labourer Age: 26
1
Mary
Dickenson
also arrived at
Sydney Cove on the 26th January 1788. She
was a convict who had sailed from England aboard the
First Fleet transport ship, Lady Penrhyn.
Her trial had
been held at Southwark, Surrey, Quarter Sessions on the
8th January 1787 where she was charged with –
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a) Committed the 23rd day of
November, 1786, by T. Waterhouse, Esq,
charged on the oaths of Elizabeth Marin,
Richard Marks, John Hall and Richard Jackson
on suspicion of feloniously stealing, taking
and carrying away, from the shop of Richard
Marks, on the 22d inst, in the parish of St.
Saviour, in this County, eleven waistcoats,
the property of the said Richard Marks.’
‘b) … Convicted of Felony and … ordered to
be transported for the Term of Seven Years …
to such parts beyond the Seas as His Majesty
in his Privy Council shall be pleased to
appoint and direct.’
2 |
Occupation: Barrow-woman Age: 26
2
On the 17th
February 1788, just three weeks after arriving in their
new country, William Eggleton and Mary Dickenson were
married. Theirs was one of fifteen similar ceremonies
performed by the Rev. Richard Johnson, Chaplain
of the First Fleet, on that day.
The couple’s
first daughter Sarah was born on the 25th
December By 1790 the colony was desperately short of
provisions so Governor Arthur Phillip decided to
establish a new farming district at Prospect with a view
to supplying the starving settlement with much needed
food and grain. He selected twenty six of the most
reliable convicts, with proven good character, to begin
the new endeavour.
‘None but ye
industrious and sober were allowed to become farmers’.
William Eggleton
was one of the chosen convicts and in 1791 started
farming on a sixty acre property at the foot of Prospect
Hill, on what is now Old Toongabbie Road.
On the 16th
October 1791 a son William was born to William
and Mary. The child died on the 5th June in
1792.
A second son,
also called William was born on the 12th
May 1793.
The sixty acre
property at Prospect that William had named
Eggleton’s Endeavour’ was granted to him by
Lieutenant Governor, Francis Grose on the 28th
May 1793.3
On the 1st April
1794, William Eggleton was granted a lease, on a seven
acre property at Petersham by the Lieutenant Governor,
Francis Grose. This land was described as being -
‘nearly at
the foot of Petersham Hill’.4
In July of 1794
William sold his 60 acre grant at Prospect to Thomas
Daveny for 60 guineas.
On the 18th
February 1796 a second daughter, Elizabeth was
born to William and Mary Eggleton.
On the 25th
August 1799, Mary Eggleton died and was buried in the
Old Sydney Burial Ground, (where the Sydney Town Hall
now stands). William apparently reared his children
single-handed from this time.
On the 19th
November 1799, William was appointed by the Governor to
check the quality and quantity of grain supplied to the
Government stores in the Sydney and adjacent areas. The
appointment was worded –
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‘The
Governor has thought proper to appoint
the Person Hereunder named to take an
accurate Survey of the grain which has been
produced this season on the farms of
Officers or others. It is his desire that
each person of that description will without
any let of hindrance give a true and
faithful account to the persons herby
authorized to receive the same according to
the plan which they have received for that
purpose, and it is expected and insisted
that every person attend the examination on
his own ground and give every information.’ |
It was recorded
in 1802 that William held 80 acres, by purchase, in the
Field of Mars area. Seventy acres were cleared with ten
sown with wheat and eight ready for maize. He owned
nine hogs and held 20 bushels of maize. By 1806 he
again had ten acres of wheat in addition to a vegetable
garden and 38 acres of pasture on which he ran eight
sheep, two goats and ten hogs. There is no record of a
wife, however three children are noted.
In the 1811
Muster, William Eggleton and Family are listed as being
landholders and living in the Windsor area.
By 1814 William
was working on additional land he had received at
Airds. This area of 60 acres was granted to him on the
received at Airds. This area of 60 acres was granted to
him on the 18th January in 1817, and was
situated behind the present Macarthur Shopping Square at
Campbelltown.
Between 1816 and
1820 William was recorded several times in the Colonial
Secretary’s correspondence on the Return of Horned
Cattle issued from the Government herds.
In 1820 William
Eggleton wrote a memorial to Governor Thomas Brisbane
requesting a further land grant. He said in part -
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‘I
arrived in the Colony about 36 years ago and
have been a free man for 20 years during
which time my conduct has been uniformly
good. The petitioner has not ever had his
name brought into question’.
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The Governor
responded to the request by granting William 50 acres at
Bargo, now Wilton. The land grant was gazetted on the
30th June 1823. The family farmed the ground
well into the 1840s. This land was situated close to
the present Wilton Parachuting School.
In the 1822
muster, William Eggleton was listed as employed by
Robert Lack on his property near Liverpool. This
farm was located in what is Campbelltown today.
William Eggleton
was not listed in the 1828 Census. Apparently he died
between 1825 and 1828. His death was not recorded and
his gravesite is unknow.n
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Endnotes |
1 Crimes of the
First Fleet Convicts John Cobley page 83
2 Crimes of the First Fleet Convicts John
Cobley page 77
3 Land Grant #114 Book A1 page 60
4 Land Grant #180 Book A1 page 93 |
Bibliography
William Eggleton by Shirley White
General Muster of New South Wales 1814
General Muster and Land & Stock Muster of New South
Wales 1822
Census of New South Wales November 1828
Ian Palmer |
