With a name like Smith, I had procrastinated on finding her origins, thinking she’d be hard, but thinking the Lovells might be somewhat easier. Ancestry tells me Elizabeth Smith’s father was a John Smith, a convict, but I have to verify this myself, not just trust Ancestry.
Of the 528 entries on the names Index for John Smith Convict, I find 40 in the decade that fits. I find a John Smith, police # 91 on the Lady Castlereagh, and after spending over an hour transcribing his difficult to read, lengthy record, I’m beginning to think something isn’t quite right here. This is what a researcher does, gets the source document and verifies any information. Theres a note on the side “to be hanged” in 1832, with other crimes out of synch with dates I have of John’s marriage. It takes me ages to realise prisoner #90 on the Lady Castlereagh is also John Smith, and this is the one I’m after.
John Smith married Mary Anne Brien (I now have 2 Mary (O') Briens in my ancestry tree) on the 10th
March 1823 by R Knopwood at St Davids, Hobart Town. The certificate indicates
that John was a convict on the Lady Castlereagh and age 28, while Mary was free
and 18. After much searching for these two, I finally found proof that these
were indeed my ancestors. The genealogy gods atop Mt Olympus who look down on
us mortal researchers, smiled on me as I found Mary Ann Smith’s death record.
Mary Ann Smith dies at age 83, a widow, of old age at Franklin in 1887. Her
death was registered by Charles Rose, who states he is her grandson in law, at Franklin. What a gift,
absolute proof that this Mary Smith was ours!
With the correct John Smith, I then find the genealogist’s
pot of gold, someone else who has done all the work, written it up and put it
online there for us all to read, including photos.
John Smith, looking quite the aged gentleman with his velvet collar.
And his daughter Elizabeth, my gggg grandmother, her dress including a very fine train.
Lady Jane Franklin now steps into the picture.
In 1839, John applied for land in what was a new developing
settlement called Huon Fernlands. Fernlands was a 1280-acre property purchased
by Lady Jane Franklin in 1838. As the governor’s wife, Lady Jane was unusually
active in the affairs of the colony. She embarked on some incredibly varied, and perhaps very self indulgent, projects to better the colony, including overland exploration of the south and
west, establishing schools, aiding the female convict cause, erecting a Grecian
temple to further cultural aspirations and (disastrously) adopting and anglicizing
aboriginal girl Mathinna.
Lady Franklin
established Fernlands to aid deserving emigrants better themselves.
It seems Lady Jane had a pretty clear view of who might be
‘deserving’. Preferably Anglican, no Catholics, religious, non-drinkers, no
ex-convicts, folks of a good character reference who would keep things nice.
Lady Franklin was prepared to accept settlers who were
not Anglicans in her new settlement but was worried about the influx of Methodists
“a very ambitious people, aiming to make proselytes to their sect as much as to
the common cause of evangelical Christianity, and they work on the lower
passions of human nature to obtain their objects”. She did find them useful in
that their zeal and activity made them “a very useful bulwark against the
encroachment of popery, and as such I chiefly value them”. She did want to get
the Archdeacon to get his skates on and officially open the new Anglican chapel
lest it become “quite a Methodist Chapel”Lady Jane was extremely involved with her tenants and seemed to be very happy to receive them regularly at Government House, to hear their complaints, to meet wives and children and then, fortunately, comment on the meetings in great detail in her journals. She directly oversaw and took a personal interest in religious matters, rental arrears, housing, schools, roads and the personal lives of her tenants as her settlement grew.
John Smith applied for consideration, after which Lady Jane wrote of him: One John Smith, who had originally been a prisoner- he has been in the colony 22 years and bears an excellent character and is a very religious man. I told him however that by admitting him, I made a singular exception in his favour, contrary to the principle on which I founded the establishment which was for the encouragement of free emigrants, that however I did not think many persons who had come to the colony under similar circumstances could bring me such tests of worth as he could, and if they could, they should have the same advantage.
After John discovered he was knocked back, he
came back to Lady Jane: John Smith came to me this morning to plead his case, having
seen Mr. Waterhouse who had told him
the objections that existed to his settling in the Huon Fernlands. I promised Smith
in consequence of his disappointment to do something for him, at any future
time if able”
The well respected Rev John Waterhouse had recently been appointed General Superintendent of Wesleyan Missions in New South Wales, Van Diemen's Land, New Zealand and the south seas to assist infant churches at the ends of the earth. He was based in Hobart, but travelled widely.
So, John Smith was fighting a bit of an uphill battle for himself,
having both a convict stain and it seemed a Methodist stain too.
Castle Forbes Bay is just south of Franklin, so it must have pretty well bordered Lady Jane’s Fernlands estate.
Once the Smiths had settled in Castle Forbes Bay, others settlers came to the district too. Land was regularly advertised in local papers in the early 1850's. In 1854 an Abstinence Society was formed, so obviously Lady Jane's hopes of a non-drinking community hadn't ensued, in Castle Forbes at least.
By 1855 it was reported there were so many children in the district a school was required, and the Board of Education granted 100 pounds per annum for a school house. John and Mary's youngest son, Isaac was 12 by then, so it was a bit late in coming for the Smith children. Despite this, it was John Smith snr who proposed; and then seconded by Mr Williams, the establishment of a school at Castle Forbes Bay, embracing Shipwrights Point, and, on being put to the Chairman was carried unanimously.
Farming was becoming well established, but it was in the timber industry that these men toiled. By 1856 and 57 Dr Crowthe and James Scully were advertising plenty of employment for sawyers, splitters and bushmen at Castle Forbes Bay. This was probably what drew men like Martin Cupit and Charles Rose to the area. More on this coming up soon.
Libraries
tas name search
www.mickjansen.com.au/page40
accessed 20 Sept 2018
Mackaness,
1977, page 108; AOT, NS 279/2/9, pages 3-4
A History of
the Huon and the Far South , chapter 3 the Tenant Farmers
AOT, NS
279/2/9, page 23
Wooley,
Richie & Smith, Wayne, A History of the Huon and Far South, page 78
A Brief account of the life and activities of Rev. John Waterhouse : more particularly from the time of his arrival in Van Diemen's Land until his death TROVE
Hobart Town
Gazette, 23 Oct 1840; AOT, Kent County Survey Diagram 1/149
Wooley,
Richie & Smith, Wayne, A History of the Huon and Far South, page 78
Any idea of John's life before Australia?
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