Trying sea journey

Mary Dixon nee Pickering was a very strong woman who travelled from London to Tasmania, a three month journey over seas and oceans, when she was pregnant with my great great grandmother Anne Dixon. Mary and her husband David also had a child under three years old with them.

Through possible DNA matches, it appears both David and Mary lived and met near Hull in East Riding of Yorkshire. I have found possible births matching them both in Hull area at the right time period.

So far there is no marriage record found but on the arrivals index held at the Tasmanian Archives and found online through Libraries Tasmania, there is one married male adult, one married female adult and one female child under 3 arriving under the name David Dixon, aged 24 and a farm servant.  Source CB7/9/1/1/ page 15 – TAHO

They were supposedly 45 bounty immigrants on board (but I think children were counted twice under age and sex) and David and his family went to the property of Mr Stevenson at Curramore near Launceston. The date of the application for bounty immigrants was 22 June 1840 and they arrived in Launceston from London on the ship Andromeda on 30 August 1841. Four months later my great great grandmother was born.

It was in 1840 when the assignment system for convicts was changed to a probation system. Settlers now didn’t have convicts assigned to them immediately so many needed to have skilled farm servants, blacksmiths etc brought over from England to work their farms. Working as a farm servant or shepherd could be difficult in Van Diemens Land (VDL) at that time with many reports of attack by bushrangers, escaped convicts or aboriginals. Mary, who was three months pregnant, and her two young daughters were involved in one robbery incident early in their time in VDL as mentioned in this newspaper report.

Over the next 11 years four more children were born to the couple Eliza Rachel in 1843, Hannah 1846, Thomas 1850 and Sarah 1852. Sadly Sarah only lived three weeks and died of influenza in mid December in Evandale where the family were now living.

In 1853, there was a David Dixon departing on the ship Clarence to Melbourne from Launceston. I could only find one David Dixon residing in Tasmania at that time, so am assuming he is my great great great grandfather. Elizabeth Dixon, the eldest daughter, was married in 1862 near Ballarat in Victoria so maybe this is where David headed to.

By 1869, David had either disappeared maybe to the goldfields of Victoria or had died and Mary was now considering herself a widow. She had a double wedding with her daughter Hannah. Mary Dickson married George Histead who was a widower, while Hannah Dickson married Jesse Lloyd a bachelor. The event took place at the manse in Evandale. Richard Burton, the husband of Rachel, was also there as a witness.

After 14 years of her second marriage, Mary Istead died age 69 in Perth, Tasmania in 1883 from inflammation of the lungs, and two years later George followed with death from disease of the liver.

 

Letter F challenge

In the early days of the colonies of Australia, there were three groups of people arriving – convicts, military and

Typical free settler hut

Free Settlers

The first free settlers came in 1793 and were Thomas Rose and his family on the ship Bellona. The government in Britain was trying to promote Australia as a place to go for keen and experienced farmers.

The first free settlers in Tasmania arrived with Lieutenant Governor Collins in 1804. The Maritime Museum had a display about early migration into Tasmania and one of my troublesome free settlers was mentioned on it.

Unlike the convicts, the government did not collect or keep good records of these early free settlers. Maybe they were mentioned by name on shipping lists or in personal papers of the people they worked for or if they got into trouble then there were in the government gazettes.

Often the shipping records would only mention the county they were from in England so it makes it difficult to try and find them back in the old country especially if they have a common surname.

My free settlers are:

John DAVEY – John was born in Devon, England. He was brought out to Tasmania as a servant to George Meredith on the East Coast of Tasmania.  He arrived in Hobart Town on 13 February 1855 on board ‘Wanderer‘.  John was occasionally mentioned in the ‘Meredith papers’ which are housed in the State Library Archives in Hobart.  He was recorded last at ‘Cambria‘ in January 1857.  His wages at this time were 7 pounds and 10 shillings per quarter.  Source: Meredith papers NS 123/1/69 TAHO – Tasmanian Archives and Heritage Office  In the 1851 English Census there were over 50 possible John Davey born around 1834. I have narrowed it to a possible 7.

William SMITH – Lots of posts I have written about this ancestor who arrived in Tasmania sometime in the 1850’s from the Navigator Islands (Samoa) and was given the name William Smith. What is his Samoan name?

David DIXON – David and his wife Mary (nee PICKERING) arrived on 30 August 1841 on the ship ‘Andromeda’ with their young daughter Elizabeth. He was age 24 and a farm servant. The family arrived as bounty immigrants applied for by Mr Stevenson at Curramore property near Cressy.  Source CB7/9/1/1/ page 15 – TAHO

William CHANDLER – worked at a nursery at Enfield near London before coming to Australia with another family in the sailing ship Fortitude on 15 February 1855. They settled at Monavale in the midlands where he was the estates gardener. He was then employed as gardener at Government House but left to establish a garden south of Granton. After his marriage he returned to Government House as Head Gardener then before retirement worked at the Grange Taroona. (Mercury 23 July 1985)

Caroline BRYANT – arrived on the La Hogue which was a steamer, then on the Tasmania finally arriving in Hobart  19 Jan 1856 with her mother Charlotte Bryant (nee BULL).

William WYATT – my grandfather who I know nothing about except he married my grandmother and had my father. He then deserted the family and we think headed to New S0uth Wales.

Readers: Please leave a comment about my post or something beginning with F that relates to your family history or your research.

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