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Bond of Friendship Hannah Jarvis - Norfolk

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Hannah Jarvis

Date of Trial: 13 August 1816

Where Tried: Norfolk Assizes

Crime: Robbery in a dwelling house

Sentence: Life

Est YOB: 1780

Stated Age on Arrival:

Native Place:

Occupation:

Alias/AKA:

Marital Status (UK):

Children on Board:

Surgeon’s Remarks: A good-for nothing old woman

Assigned NSW or VDL VDL

On 24 August 1816 the Norfolk Chronicle devoted many column inches to the ‘Trials of the Rioters at Downham

and Feltwell’. Indeed, so intense was the public interest in this case, the Chronicle had printed a separate report,

copies of which could be had ‘of the Printers of this Paper, and of all their agents’.1 But the trial proceedings must

be read in the context of contemporary circumstances.

By May 1816, the civil unrest that had already gripped other agricultural areas of the country, had reached the

Fenlands. The unrest was rooted in multiple and compounding causes – low wages, high prices, poor harvests,

shortage of work with the increasing use of machinery, post-war surplus of labour caused by returning ex-

servicemen. Added to this litany was a sudden increase in the price of flour and thus an increase in the price of

bread, the ‘staff of life in every home’2 Grievance translated into rioting – with machine breaking and food riots

being the favoured tactics.

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By 20 May 1820 the agitators had reached the small village Southery, from where they marched six miles north,

through Denver and into Downham Market. While Hannah Jarvis did not have a ‘starring role’, unlike fellow rioter

and Friendship passenger, Amelia Lightharness, she played her part in the May food riot at Downham Market,

which resulted three months later in her appearance, together with others, before Lord Chief Justice Gibbs,

indicted as follows.

Wm. Bell, Amelia Lightharness, and Hannah Jarvis were indicted for having, on the 20th of last May, together


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with various other persons, riotously into and tumultuously assembled at the parish of Southery, in Norfolk, from

whence they proceeded to acts of theft and violence in the town of Downham Market, which were specified by

the evidence.4

Once in the town the rioters had split into groups. The nine women concentrated their attention on the town’s

bakeries and butchers. The following extracts from the Chronicle’s report relate specifically to the events at

Downham and to Hannah Jarvis’ contribution on that day. Francis Wiseman, one of the witnesses, described her

unpleasant experience.

Francis Wiseman stated that she kept a pork and sausage shop in Downham Market; that in the afternoon of the

20th of May, a mob was assembled in the front of her house; that she observed the prisoner, Amelia

Lightharness, looking in at the shop window, and that immediately afterwards the same prisoner opened the

latch of the door, and brought in several of the mob, telling them, "this was the shop for good pork." The witness

further stated, that her shop formed a part of her dwelling-house; that the prisoner Lightharness was the first that

entered, and that at her instigation the mob ransacked the shop of the witness, taking away forcibly a quantity

of pork sausages. The shop window was broken by the violence of the people.

Maria Palmer, Wm. Buxton, and Zachariah Stebbing severally corroborated the first witness, and the latter

proved that all the above named prisoners entered the shop of Mrs. Wiseman, and concurred in the acts of

violence there committed. - Bell and Jarvis severally produced evidence of good character. Verdict - all Guilty.

The hapless William Spinks at Baldwin’s mill was the next victim.

Thomas Thody, Charles Nelson, Daniel Harwood, the same Hannah Jarvis, Elizabeth King, Margaret Jerry, and

Elizabeth Watson.

These prisoners were indicted as forming part of the same unlawful riotous assembly at Southery, as before

mentioned, and for proceeding to assault Wm. Spinks, at Downham aforesaid, and stealing from his person

certain quantity of meal and flour.

Williams Spinks stated that he was apprentice to Mr. Baldwin, a miller, at Downham, and at the time of this riot

had the charge of his mill. That on the said 20th of May last, at about two in the afternoon, he saw a large number

of persons approach the mill, whilst he was on the road about a furlong off; that upon his coming up to them they

demanded of him the key of the mill, which he delivered to them through the impulse of fear; that the persons so

assembled had sticks and cudgels; that upon his delivering them the key of the mill, they proceeded to lay violent

hands upon the meal, flour, and sacks found therein, some part of which they threw about and destroyed, and

other part they carried away with them.

This witness, together with George Gillingham, Susan Stebbing, Pleasance Laws, and Wm. Baldwin, or some

of them, identified the persons of all the prisoners, and proved that Charles Nelson was the first to enter the mill.

Verdict - All Guilty.

In all there were seven indictments, only two of which involved Hannah. But, as the Chief Justice explained to the

Jury:

… in tumultuous assemblies of this nature, not only the parties which commit any acts of violence are answerable

to the law, but likewise all persons who, by joining a mob, give a sanction to their unlawful proceedings, were in

the eye of the law equally guilty of any outrage which was committed by any of such mob, with the party by

whose hand the fact is actually done.

In their defence, most of the prisoners had provided some form of character reference, and these were referred

to by the Chief Justice, who asserted:

… with respect to the honesty and peaceable habits of their former lives, the Judge emphatically observed, that

nothing could more clearly shew the necessity of suppressing such disorderly and mischievous proceedings as

were subjects of these trials. Persons who had heretofore acted honestly, and had been good members of

society, had now, by deluding one another in the vain hope of addressing those grievances which their

proceedings only tended to aggravate, evinced their peaceable dispositions by unlawfully assembling to the

terror of well-disposed persons, and their honesty by forcibly seizing the property of others.

However, in directing (leading?) the Jury, His Lordship further stated:


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… that where facts were so clearly proved as they had been in most of the above cases, the character of the

parties ought to have no weight in the verdict of a Jury, although in measuring the punishment of the offenders,

their respective characters would not be forgotten. It was in cases of doubt only in which the former characters

of prisoners should weigh in the minds of Juries.

Sixteen of the Downham offenders, including Hannah Jarvis and Amelia Lightharness, were capitally convicted

for rioting and they were all sentenced to death. However, in passing the sentence the Chief Justice, without

wishing to raise any hopes, stated that, in some cases, he was prepared to consider a recommendation for

‘relaxation of their punishment’, but not for those who ‘had excelled their fellows, and stood foremost in the

execution of their misguided and wicked actions’. In the end all but two of the men were reprieved by Royal

Warrant dated 27 August 1816. Widow Hannah Jarvis could look forward to transportation for life.5 She spent

almost a year incarcerated in Norwich Castle – the County Gaol. Readers of the Norfolk Chronicle were informed

that on Sunday [31 May 1817] she and Amelia Lightharness had been removed and were ‘now on board the

Friendship, at Deptford, now waiting for orders to sail to the Bay, both to be transported for life’.6 On arrival at Port

Jackson, and having been mustered, Hannah Jarvis joined the other Friendship women who were on-shipped to

Van Diemen’s Land per the Duke of Wellington. Hannah kept a very low profile, her blank Conduct sheet evidence

that she managed to keep herself out of trouble, for which she had been granted a ticket of leave by 1822 and

was subsequently ‘rewarded’ with a free pardon, the granting of which was announced in the press on Christmas

Day 1830.7

Hannah may have been the Mrs. Jarvis, resident at the Union Tavern, Campbell Street, as listed in the 1827

Tasmanian Almanack.8 And she may also have been the Mrs. Jarvis who was the victim of an altercation with an

intoxicated constable, the unfortunate event being reported in a local newspaper of 9 February 1827.

A most scandalous transaction, which must shew the necessity of establishing a regular Night Police, took place

on Monday evening. As a respectable female, Mrs. JARVIS, of the Union Tavern, Campbell-street, who has for

several years resided in Hobart Town was going to Dr. SCOTT, to call his assistance to a poor woman, then

labouring under the accumulated pangs of accouchement, she was met by Constable Dutton, who was in a state

of intoxication, and by him knocked down several times, her clothes torn, and, otherwise inhumanely maltreated;

after which she was shamefully dragged to a common watch-house, and placed under the charge of Mr. CAPON,

the Chief Constable. Immediately on the circumstance being known, two Gentlemen, Mr. J.C. UNDERWOOD and

Mr. C.R. NAIRNE, repaired to the watch-house and first remonstrated with the Chief Constable, on the conduct

of Dutton; but he said, with the greatest sang froid, that he could not be accountable for the conduct of his petty

Constables. The Gentlemen then offered to become bail to any amount for her appearance, to answer any

charge which might have been laid against her; to which they were answered by the Chief Constable, that he

could not accept bail. Dr. Scott, being a Magistrate also, was then applied to, and immediately sent an order for

her liberation; when Mr. Capon said “he had not right to release her even upon Dr. Scott’s order,” although it

expressly stated the nature of the charge. However she was liberated, and the next morning preferred a charge

against Dutton for the assault, before the Magistrate. It appeared that she was walking quietly along the street,

when the above occurrence took place. The constable was therefore dismissed from his situation.9

Five years later, on 15 and 22 February 1832, the following notices were placed in The Hobart Town Courier and

the Colonial Times. William Williams of Sorell River had ‘lost’ his servant Hannah Jarvis.10

Who was this William Williams? He was one of the two men of that name who, with just over 300 other male


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convicts, had left England’s shores in February 1803 on board the ship Calcutta. Accompanied by the supply

vessel Ocean, the Calcutta was to be the first convict ship to land at Port Phillip where, under the command of

Lieutenant-Colonel Collins, a penal settlement was to be established. It was not long however before Collins

realised that Port Phillip was not suited for its originally planned purpose. In early 1804 Collins transferred the

expedition to Sullivan’s Bay on the Derwent, where he gained renown as the founder of Hobart.11

On 1 July 1801 twenty-seven year old William Williams from Caernarvon had appeared at the Old Bailey, charged

as follows.

WILLIAM WILLIAMS was indicted for breaking and entering the dwelling-house of Henry Lord Mulgrave, about

the hour of eleven in the night of the 6th of June, and feloniously stealing two cloth coats, value 30s. a great

coat, value 10s. a pair of breeches, value 1s. a pair of leather breeches, value 5s. a waistcoat, value 1s. four

shirts, value 10s. and nine pair of stockings, value 9s. the property of John Doling.12

Acquitted of breaking and entering he was nevertheless found guilty of stealing the goods and sentenced to

death.13 In November 1801 the sentence was commuted to transportation for life and he was removed from the

New Prison and delivered on board the hulk Prudentia at Woolwich on 20 August 1802.14 Having served ten years

in the colony he was granted an absolute pardon on 25 January 1813.15

By this time William was a married man with a family. On 6 November 1809 the marriage took place at St David’s

Church, Hobart Town between William Williams, single man and Mildred Harrison, single woman, ‘both of this

Town’. The Reverend Robert Knopwood, who incidentally had also arrived on the Calcutta, officiated. Both groom

and bride signed the register with their mark X.16

Mildred had been born in Louth, where her parents Francis and Mary Harrison had her baptised on 6 March

1781.17 Under the name Mindred Rose she was tried at the Old Bailey, on 16 September 1801, two months after

William and, coincidentally, also on a charge of stealing clothing – two aprons valued at one shilling and a child’s

petticoat, worth sixpence. She was sentenced to seven years transportation, and arrived at Port Jackson on the

Glatton on 11 March 1803.18 In 1804 she was granted an absolute pardon, and it was on 28 February the following


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year that her son Charles Harrison Menzies was born in Sydney, the result of a brief liaison with Lieutenant

Charles Menzies of the Royal Marines.19 In early 1806 Mildred was transferred to Van Diemen’s Land per the

Estramina. There she formed a relationship with Lieutenant James Michael Johnson, Royal Marines, by whom,

as Mildred Harrison, she had a daughter Maria who was baptised at Hobart on 18 January 1807. While the father

was not recorded on the baptism record he did provide for his daughter when he quitted the colony – devising to

her a property in Macquarie Street.20 Sadly this child burnt to death in August 1809 and, as Maria Johnson, was

buried by the Rev Knopwood on 17 August 1809.21 Thus Mildred brought one child to the marriage when she wed

William Williams, and they went on to have three of their own – Robert, baptised 24 September 1810; Isabella,

baptised 15 November 1812; and Mary, born 27 March 1815.22

It would have come as a shock to the Hobart community to read in the 21 June 1817 Hobart Town Gazette of the

tragedy that had befallen the Williams family.

Accident – On Wednesday last the wife of Mr. Williams, an inhabitant of Macquarie-street, was dreadfully burnt

by a spark catching her clothes on lifting an iron-pot off the fire; and had not assistance, fortunately, arrived at

the moment the sufferer would inevitably have perished. It is a remarkable circumstance that about 10 years

back Mr. Williams had a son nearly lost his life by his apparel taking fire; and, lamentable to relate, two years

afterwards had a beautiful little girl literally burnt to death. Mrs W. we are sorry to add, lies now in a very

deplorable state.23

And she was in that state for some considerable time, because it was not until Saturday 6 September that the

Hobart Town Gazette reported:

Died, on Wednesday, after a lingering and painful illness of 12 weeks, which she bore with exemplary fortitude,

Mrs. Williams of Macquarie-street … She has left a young family to bewail her loss.24

Once again the services of the Rev. Knopwood were called upon, this time for the burial of Mildred Williams on 5

September 1817.25 And the family suffered yet another heartbreaking accident with the death of daughter Isabella

five months later. She was one of the passengers ‘a fine little girl about 6 years of age, the daughter of Mr. William

Williams of Macquarie-street’ who drowned when a boat owned by Richard Burrows (Snr) foundered in the River

Derwent.26 This was the same accident that also claimed the life of young Friendship woman – Mary Smith.27

William Williams did not remarry after the death of Mildred, but the question arises as to when Hannah Jarvis

became his housekeeper and, noting the earlier possible 1827 Almanack references to a Hannah Jarvis, the

periods for which she was so employed. We know that a Hannah Jarvis was in his service in early 1822 from the

following item in the 11 May Hobart Town Gazette.28

The case of these men was just one of the many matters that came before a Special Criminal Court which sat in

Sydney from 1 to 18 June. The quartet was charged with:

Robbery in the Dwelling House of Richard Burroughs at Sorell River, Van Diemen’s Land and to putting Richard

Burroughs and other persons in said House in bodily fear.

And also

Robbery in the Dwelling House of William Williams at Sorell River and to putting Hannah Jarvis and other persons

in said House in bodily fear.


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The Court, having ‘duly proceeded to enquire of and to hear the Evidence adduced in respect of the said charges

and in defence of the several prisoners have upon Trial of the said Offenders adjudged and determined thereon

as follows’. In the case of Cox and his three accomplices the verdict was ‘Guilty’ and the sentence ‘Death’.29 One

of those summoned to give evidence was Hannah Jarvis. After her short visit to Sydney she, together with the

other witnesses, and several condemned men, returned to Van Diemen’s Land on the Elizabeth Henrietta.

Interestingly, the Colonial Secretary, in his instructions to Lieutenant Governor Sorrel, regarding the Elizabeth

Henrietta passengers, lists the names of the ‘Evidences’. Second on the list is .Mrs. Hannah Jarvis & Daughter’.30

Could the 'daughter' have been in fact Mary Williams, born to Mildred and William Williams in 1815?

However, two years later Hannah did have two of her own children with her in the colony - a daughter and a son

- children she had not seen for seven years. Born respectively about 1801 and 1804 in Norfolk, William and

Hannah Jarvis arrived at Hobart Town on 16 April 1824 on board the Hope which had left England on 19

September 1823.

Within eighteen months both of the Jarvis offspring had married. Hannah, aged 21, married Charles Harrison

Menzie (registered as Minsey) and also aged 21, at Hobart on 11 July 1825. Neither were able to sign their name.31

Charles, step-son of William Williams, was the son of Mildred Rose Harrison and Lt Charles Menzie.

Three months later William Jarvis and Sarah Pyers (registered as Piers) were married at St David’s Church,

Hobart, on 17 October 1825. Both were free, the groom’s age being 24 and the bride’s 21. Again, neither partner

could sign their name, nor could one of the witnesses – William’s now brother-in-law Charles Menzey [sic]. The

other witness may have been William Williams’ eldest son Robert.32

Sarah had been born on Norfolk Island in 1804, a daughter of convict Samuel Pyers and his wife Mary (Johnson).

The Pyers family relocated from Norfolk Island per the City of Edinburgh in 1808. Samuel received a land grant

at Black Snake Rivulet [later South Bridgewater and now Granton] as compensation for the land at Norfolk Island

which they had forfeited.33


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A very brief mention in the death notices marked the passing of the man who was familiarly known as “Coachie

Williams”.

On Saturday last, at Sorell Creek, Near New Norfolk, Mr. William Williams aged 80 years.34

He had died at home on 24 April 1853. The cause of death was dropsy and the informant was his grandson

William John Williams.35

William Williams had drawn up his will on 6 November 1852 and appointed his son Robert as his sole executor.

The important role of Hannah Jarvis in his life is documented in the provisions of the will.

This is the last Will and Testament of me William Williams of Sorell Creek near New Norfolk Van Diemen’s Land

Farmer –

First I declare that my Housekeeper Hannah Jarvis shall be entitled during the term of her natural life to reside

in and occupy one of the two Houses belonging to me situate at New Norfolk with all land and appurtenances

thereunto belonging or to receive the rents and profits thereof. And I further declare that the said Hannah Jarvis

shall be allowed two Calendar Months from the time of my decease to elect which of any said two Houses she

will occupy or receive the rents of as aforesaid but that if she does not make her election within that period then

my said Son shall be at liberty to assign one of the said two Houses to her the said Hannah Jarvis as aforesaid

and she shall thereafter have no claim on the other of them. And I give to the said Hannah Jarvis for her natural

life an annuity of five shillings per week to issue as a rent charge out of my Farm lands and premises situate at

or near Sorel Creek aforesaid and whereon I now reside and to be paid on Saturday in every week the first

payment to be made on Saturday next after my decease.36

He bequeathed to his daughter Mary, the widow of Thomas Walton, a legacy of £500, and the residue was to go

to his son Robert.

After years of faithful service it was such a pity that Hannah did not live long enough not only to enjoy her bequest,

but not even long enough to decide which of the two houses to live in. Her death was the next entry in the New

Norfolk death register. She died aged 73, just two weeks after William, the cause being old age and infirmity. The

informant was grand-daughter Sarah Menzie.37

Twelve children were born to William Jarvis and his wife Sarah – six daughters and six sons – Eliza (1826); William


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(1828); Thomas (1830); Alfred (1832); Henry (1834); Elizabeth (1836); Sarah (1838); David (1840); Mary (1842);

Hannah (Anne) (1844), Emma (1847); and George (1850) – all of whom except David, who died in 1842, lived to

adulthood. The family settled in the New Norfolk area where William acquired sizable landholdings, and achieved

some success as a farmer.38 He also had some interest in the public house trade, having held (and subsequently

transferred) the licence for the “Old Fox Inn”, Glenorchy, and the “Woolpack Inn”, Hamilton, the licence of which

he transferred in 1853 to his son Thomas.39 As notified by the Tasmanian Times, William Jarvis died on 25 April

1870.40 He was buried at St Mary’s Anglican churchyard.41

The entry in the Hamilton death register confirms that William Jarvis would have suffered considerably in his final

years. It was his son Henry who was the informant.42 At some stage after William’s death his widow Sarah had

moved in with her daughter Mary and son-in-law Thomas Charles Ryly, and it was at their home that Sarah died

on 15 July 1892 of old age. The informant was a friend of the family, Louisa Wright.43 Sarah Jarvis was buried at

St. Luke’s, Richmond.44


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Following their marriage, between 1825 and 1847, Hannah and Charles Menzie produced a bevy of children –

Charles Archibald (1825); William (1827); Mary Ann (1828); David Charles (1830); Emma (1832); Frederick

Menzie (1833); Sarah (1836); Isabella Louisa (1838); Emma Elizabeth (Betsy) (1841); Eliza (1844); Thomas

(1844); and Robert Charles (1847). Three of these died at birth or in infancy – Emma (1832) and twins Eliza and

Thomas (1844).45 Hannah Menzie died on 15 January 1879 at her home in New Norfolk, her death being reported

in The Mercury.

MENZIE.-On January 15, at her residence, High-street, New Norfolk, Hannah, the beloved wife of Charles

Menzie, aged 72 years, a colonist of 55 years’ standing, having arrived here in ship “Hope” in 1824 with her

brother the late W. Jarvis. She was beloved and respected by all who knew her. The funeral will take place at

New Norfolk, at 5 p.m. on Sunday, 19th instant.46

The death register records that she died of bronchitis, and was the wife of a butcher. The informant was her

husband, who was still unable to sign his name.47

Within weeks of his wife’s death Charles put his High Street residence and shop on the market for let.48

In December 1882 Roberts & Co, through the pages of The Mercury, alerted the public of two forthcoming sales

to be held on the instructions of the owner, Mr. C. Menzie. The first sale, of a ‘Valuable Property in High-street,

New Norfolk’, which was scheduled to be conducted on Tuesday 9 January 1883 at the auctioneer’s mart, Murray

Street, was advertised as being particularly ‘Important to Butchers and Tradesmen Generally’.49 The auctioneer

was pleased to announce the next day that the butcher’s shop and six-roomed dwelling with other buildings,

known as Menzies, had been sold to a Mr. George Leatham for £510.50


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The second sale referred to was conducted on 18 January – a lock, stock and barrel disposal of household

furniture and effects.51 In its weekly sales report, Roberts & Co advised that the whole of Mr. Menzie’s household

furniture and effects had been sold at satisfactory prices.52

In September 1883 Charles Menzies took his leave of New Norfolk, the place where he and Hannah had spent

their married life and where they had brought up their family. However, his departure was not of his choosing, and

he left under less than happy circumstances, his farewell notice signifying that his time there had become

increasingly ‘difficult’.53

What the grounds of his bitterness were are not clear and may never be publicly known if Charles was the plaintiff

in the case of Menzie v Gill, heard at the Police Court in Hobart in March 1884 in which the plaintiff sought £7 for


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breach of contract for failing to publish an advertisement agreed to be printed in the Tasmanian News. The

defendant successfully pleaded that the advertisement was a libel.54

Charles Menzie spent his final years in Hobart, living with his daughter Isabella McPherson. It was at her residence

at 156 Melville-street, that he died.

MENZIE – On September 2, 1895, at his daughter’s residence, 156, Melville-street, Charles Harrison Menzie, in

the 97th year of his age.55

The entry in the death register noted that he was a ‘gentleman’ and that he had died of senile decay. Incorrectly,

his place of birth was recorded at Tasmania.56 The death of Charles Menzie was noted in the Evening News of

Sydney, which published the following obituary. The early history is somewhat confused and confusing – but may,

of course, reflect the version handed down to the family.57

Of the two Downham rioters, Hannah Jarvis and Amelia Lightharness, it was Hannah who fared better. Aged 39

on arrival and with no stated trade or calling, she nevertheless belied Surgeon Cosgreave’s dismissive comment

of her as ‘a good-for-nothing old woman’. Although she did not marry, Hannah found employment and some

security as the housekeeper for William Williams. It was through her children - William and Hannah – that she

would have had the joy of welcoming a large brood of grandchildren into the world. It was also through her children

and their descendants that we can appreciate Hannah’s contribution to the place of her transportation. Today

there is a widespread extended family who can rightfully claim Hannah Jarvis as their matriarch.


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Postscript

A number of online Ancestry family trees ascribe one Robert Jarvis as the husband of Hannah, and suggest her

maiden name was Piper, and that both hailed from Hampshire. Some of these trees (many just replicated) are a

bit muddled – e.g. suggesting that Hannah and Robert married in 1825, in Hobart. The Hampshire Register of

Marriages includes a marriage between a Robert Jarvis and Hannah Piper on 22 April 1810.58 Fairly consistently,

however, they place Robert’s death as occurring in 1868 at Hobart.

A man of that name did arrive in Van Diemen’s Land on 11 May 1819 per Hibernia, but he was only age 24 on

arrival.59 Another man of the same name arrived at Hobart per Georgiana on 20 April 1829. This man had been

tried at ‘Lincoln, Liberty of Grantham with the Soke of Peace and Gaol Delivery’ where, on 28 October 1828 he

had been found guilty of stealing four shirts and sentenced to seven years’ transportation. He was 37 years old

when he committed his felony and we learn from the Appropriation List that he was a native of Great Pontford,

near Grantham.60 From July 1829 to December 1842, the last entry in his conduct record, Robert Jarvis ‘chalked

up’ a litany of misdemeanours, which earned him a variety of punishments ranging from time in the stocks to stints

in gaol.61 This Robert Jarvis may also be the man buried on 15 October 1868 at Hobart. 62

This man was a pauper, aged 84, who had died from “senilis” at the Brickfield’s Depot. The entry was annotated

‘(Born England)’.However, it is questionable as to whether he was the husband of Hannah Jarvis, particularly as

the header of his conduct record includes the comment “wife & ch in Yorkshire. Married 3(?) ch”.63

NOTES

1 Norfolk Chronicle, 24 Aug 1816, p.3. 2 For further reference, see Glenda Goulden, “Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths In & Around the Fens”, Pen & Sword, Wharncliffe, 2008.

A History of Downham Market, Downham Riots 1816, http://www.downhammarkethistory.co.uk/downham-riots-1816. 3 Historical Maps, A Vision of Britain Through Time, http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/maps/. 4 Norfolk Chronicle, 24 Aug 1816, p.3. 5 Findmypast (FMP), England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment, 1770-1935, Correspondence and Warrants. 6 Norfolk Chronicle, 7 Jun 1817, p.3. 7 TAHO, Conduct Register, CON40/1/5 image 162. Ancestry, New South Wales, Australia, Settler and Convicts Lists 1787-1834. The

Hobart Town Courier, 25 Dec 1830, p.2. 8 The Tasmanian Almanack, 1825, Andrew Bent, Government Printer. Whether this Hannah Jarvis is ‘our’s’ is speculative, but no other

person of that name and time frame has yet been identified. 9 Colonial Times and Tasmanian Advertiser, 9 Feb 1827, p.2. 10 The Hobart Town Courier, 11 Feb 1832, p.3; Colonial Times, 15 Feb 1832, p.1. 11 Charles Bateson, The Convict Ships 1787-1868, Library of Australian History, North Sydney, 1988. 12 Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org, version 7.2, 19 October 2017), July 1801, trial of WILLIAM WILLIAMS

(t18010701-33). 13 The other William Williams, aged nineteen, had also been tried at the Old Bailey in April 1801 of stealing, and using for his own

purposes, 200 pound weight of lead. He had been found guilty and sentenced to seven years’ transportation - Old Bailey Proceedings

Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org, version 7.2, 07 March 2018), April 1801, trial of WILLIAM WILLIAMS (t18010415-118). 14 Ancestry, England & Wales, Criminal Registers, Middlesex 1791-1892, England, Middlesex, 1802. 15 Ancestry, Colonial Secretary’s Papers, 1788-1856, Series: NRS 1177; Reel 774. 16 TAHO, Hobart marriages 1809, RGD31/1/1 1809/42. 17 Ancestry, England Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975. 18 Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org, version 7.2, 20 October 2017), September 1801, trial of MINDRED ROSE

(t18010916-103). 19 Ancestry, Australia Birth Index, 1788-1922, V1805880 4. Charles Menzie had arrived per the Calcutta. In 1805 he was appointed as

the commander of the new settlement at Newcastle. He took up his appointment the day after his son was baptised on 23 June. Neither

Mildred nor Charles junior accompanied him to Newcastle. Subsequently, on his return to England in 1806, Charles Menzies forged an

illustrious career, progressing through the ranks. General Sir Charles Menzies KCB, KH, died at Hastings in 1866. He maintained no


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contact with his colonial-born son – Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Menzies_(Royal_Marines_officer). However, a one-

line obituary of the death of General Sir Charles Menzie was published in the Launceston Examiner, 13 Nov 1866, p.3. 20 TAHO, Hobart baptisms 1807, RGD32/1/1 no 28. During his posting to Van Diemen’s Land, Lieutenant Johnson was promoted to

Captain and, according to the 1806 Hobart Town Settlers’ musters, he had been granted 100 acres. 21 TAHO, Hobart deaths 1809, RGD34/1/1 no 83. 22 TAHO, Hobart births 1810, RGD32/1/1 no 118; Hobart births 1812, RGD32/1/1 no 252; Hobart births 1815, RGD32/1/1 no 403. 23 The Hobart Town Gazette and Southern Reporter, 21 Jun 1817, p.2. 24 The Hobart Town Gazette and Southern Reporter, 6 Sep 1817, p.2. 25 TAHO, Hobart deaths 1817, RGD34/1/1 no 247. 26 TAHO, Hobart deaths 1818, RGD34/1/1 no 265. 27 The Hobart Town Gazette and Southern Reporter, 28 Feb 1818, p.2. See also the Bond of Friendship account of Mary Smith, one of

the ‘Middlesex Girls’. 28 The Hobart Town Gazette and Southern Reporter, 11 May 1822, p.2. 29 Ancestry, Colonial Secretary’s Papers, 1788-1856, Series: NTS 898, Reel 6020-6040, p.55. 30 Ancestry, Colonial Secretary’s Papers, 1788-1856, Series: NRS 937; Reels 6004-6016; The Hobart Town Gazette, 10 Aug 1822, p.2. 31 TAHO, Hobart marriages 1825, RGD36/1/1 no 809. 32 TAHO, Hobart marriages 1825, RGD36/1/1 no 820. 33 Australian History Research, Samuel Pyers and Sarah Johnson, http://www.australianhistoryresearch.info/samuel-pyers-convict-

active-1791-and-sarah-johnson-convict-britannia-1798/. Ancestry, Pearce Jarvis Online Family Tree, https://www.ancestry.com.au/family-

tree/person/tree/37971720/person/19164780504/facts. 34 The Tasmanian Colonist, 28 Apr 1853, p.2. 35 TAHO, New Norfolk deaths 1853, RGD35/1/22 no 165. 36 TAHO, Wills, AD960/1/3 Will No 509. 37 TAHO, New Norfolk deaths 1853, RGD35/1/22 no 166. 38 His land acquisitions and dealings are well documented through the TROVE newspapers and in his will – TAHO, Wills, AD860/1/8 Will

No. 1424. 39 Colonial Times, 12 May 1840, p.7; Tasmanian Weekly Dispatch, 7 Aug 1840, p.8; The Courier, 16 Feb 1853, p.3. 40 The Tasmanian Times, 27 Apr 1870, p.2. 41 Gravestone of William Jarvis, Graveyards of Tasmania,

http://www.gravesoftas.com.au/municipalities/Bothwell/Images/Gretna%20St%20Marys%20Anglican/3/Jarvis,%20William.jpg. 42 TAHO, Hamilton deaths 1870, RGD35/1/39 no 195. 43 TAHO, Richmond deaths 1892, RGD35/1/61 no 614. Tasmanian News, 16 Jul 1892, p.1. 44 Gravestone of Sarah Jarvis, Graveyards of Tasmania,

http://www.gravesoftas.com.au/municipalities/richmond/Richmond%20St%20Lukes%20Anglican/3/Jarvis%20Sarah.jpg. 45 Ancestry, Pearce Jarvis Online Family Tree. Note – the obituary for Charles Harrison Menzie states that there were thirteen children. 46 The Mercury, 17 Jan 1879, p.1. 47 TAHO, New Norfolk deaths 1879, RGD35/1/48 no 397. 48 The Mercury, 24 Jan 1879, p.1. This was not the first time he had advertised the property for let. 49 The Mercury, 22 Dec 1882, p.4. 50 The Mercury, 10 Jan 1883, p.2. 51 The Mercury, 11 Jan 1883, p.4. 52 The Mercury, 23 Jan 1883, p.2. 53 The Mercury, 8 Sep 1883, p.1. 54 Launceston Examiner, 7 Mar 1884, p.2. 55 The Mercury, 7 Sep 1895, p.2. 56 TAHO, Hobart deaths 1895, RGD35/1/15 no 293. 57 Evening News (Sydney). 12 Sep 1895, p.3. 58 Ancestry, Hampshire: Register of Marriages, 1586-1812. Falkenmier Online Family Tree, https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-

tree/person/tree/44638746/person/6284237327/facts. 59 Biographical Database of Australia (BDA), Biographical report for Robert Jarvis. 60 FMP, England and Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment, 1770-1935. TAHO, Appropriation List, CON27/1/4 image 7. 61 TAHO, Conduct Record, CON31/1/23 image 157. 62 TAHO, Hobart deaths 1868, RGD35/1/7 no 7588. 63 TAHO, Conduct Record, CON31/1/23 image 157.


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SOURCES

Genealogy Websites

Ancestry

Australia Birth Index, 1788-1892

England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892

England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1875

Hampshire: Register of Marriages, 1586-1812

New South Wales, Australia, Colonial Secretary’s Papers, 1788-1856

New South Wales, Australia, Settler and Convict Lists, 1787-1834

Online Family Trees

Findmypast

England & Wales, Crime, Prison & Punishment, 1770-1935

Other Websites

A History of Downham Market, http://www.downhammarkethistory.co.uk/

A Vision of Britain Through Time, http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/

Australia History Research, http://www.australianhistoryresearch.info/

Biographical Database of Australia (BDA), http://www.bda-online.org.au/

Female Convicts Research Centre, https://www.femaleconvicts.org.au/

Graveyards of Tasmania, http://www.gravesoftas.co.au/

LINC Tasmania, https://www.linc.tas.gov.au/

Old Bailey Proceedings Online, http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/

Tasmanian Archives and Heritage Office, https://www.libraries.tas.gov.au/archive-heritage/

Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/

Online Newspapers

British Newspapers (Findmypast)

Norfolk Chronicle

TROVE

Colonial Times

Colonial Times and Tasmanian Advertiser

Evening News (Sydney)

Launceston Examiner

Tasmanian News

Tasmanian Times

Tasmanian Weekly Dispatch

The Courier

The Hobart Town Courier

The Hobart Town Gazette and Southern Reporter

The Mercury

The Tasmanian Almanack

The Tasmanian Colonist

Publications

Bateson, Charles, The Convict Ships, Library of Australian History, North Sydney, 1988

Goulden, Glenda, Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths In & Around the Fens, Pen & Sword, Wharncliffe, 2008.

© Leonie Fretwell, 2019

http://www.downhammarkethistory.co.uk/

http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/

http://www.australianhistoryresearch.info/

http://www.bda-online.org.au/

https://www.femaleconvicts.org.au/

http://www.gravesoftas.co.au/

https://www.linc.tas.gov.au/

http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/

https://www.libraries.tas.gov.au/archive-heritage/

https://en.wikipedia.org/

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