Lewis Tarrant - formal essay

This is the formal assignment I submitted for the University of Tasmania subject, HAA007. I wrote about Nav's 5th great grandfather, Lewis Tarrant. I got a mark of 84/100 for this essay which was pretty generous seeing how fragmented it became.

Lewis Tarrant was born in the small village of Froxfield, Wiltshire. One of at least ten children born to John Tarrant and Elizabeth Goodall, when he was baptised on 22 April 1792 the vicar noted that he was a pauper.[1]

Little is known of Lewis' early years. However, he and his family were frequently afoul of the game laws. His father and elder brothers were regularly fined or imprisoned for poaching pheasants, hare and fish.[2]

In 1812, Lewis (20) joined the navy. Between 15 August 1812 and 11 May 1816, as one of around 300 sailors on board the fifth rate frigate HMS Narcissus, Lewis sailed across the northern Atlantic and down to the Caribbean.[3]

By 1818 he was living back in rural Wiltshire, where on 20 October he had an assault charge dropped against him.[4] Then on 29 October 1818, Lewis and five others travelled north to the Faringdon fair.[5] On their return, they stole a quantity of hens and a pheasant from a farmer William Arkell at Ashbury, around 16.5 kilometers from Froxfield.[6]

Apprehended two days later, they were tried at the Epiphany Berkshire court sessions in Reading. Lewis, four of his brothers and his cousin were each sentenced to seven years transportation.[7] The magistrate described them as "notorious bad characters, desperate and dangerous men, and a gang that had terrorised the district around Hungerford".[8]

Soon after, Lewis and his brothers were handcuffed and chained together, and at two in the morning they were taken from the prison and marched 75 kilometres from Reading to Portsmouth.[9]

On 12 January 1819, Lewis, his brothers and cousin boarded the prison hulk Leviathan.[10] Once a 74 gun warship who had been involved in the Battle of Trafalgar, she was "floating with two broken masts and a large wooden shed built onto the top" at Portsmouth, housing between 500 to 600 convicts.[11]

From the hulks, convicts were usually sent ashore each day to perform hard physical labour. Despite the austere conditions, they were not usually flogged or treated harshly.[12]

Lewis, his brothers and cousin were imprisoned on Leviathan for 98 days. On 20 April 1819, Lewis was transferred to the merchant ship John Barry, built in 1814 in Yorkshire. This was her maiden voyage to Australia.[13]

As well as Lewis, 79 other convicts from Leviathan and 60 convicts from Laurel, the other prison hulk moored at Portsmouth were brought on board John Barry that day.[14]

The day after boarding, the convicts were brought onto the deck, mustered, and assigned to various duties. There is no record of the specific duties assigned to Lewis. The men were allocated clothes, beds and blankets for the voyage, and on the second day after boarding their beds were brought on deck while the lower decks were fumigated.[15]

Three days after Lewis came on board, two more convicts were brought onto John Barry from Leviathan, bringing the total complement of convicts to 142, all men. Over the next few days, provisions came on board, and on 29 April, a bag of letters and despatches for Governor Macquarie.[16] Also on board John Barry was John Thomas Bigge, the Commissioner of Inquiry into the colony of New South Wales.[17]

During the voyage, Bigge asked Lewis' brother Decimus about his choice to be transported to New South Wales, rather than remain on the prison hulk. Decimus said he'd "heard a good account of it".[18]

On 30 April, after 10 days preparing for the voyage, John Barry finally sailed at noon.[19] It was the practice of many convict ships to sail direct from England to Australia without stopping.[20] John Barry passed Madeira, but didn't anchor there. However on 2 July, she anchored at Rio de Janeiro, where she stayed for 15 days. They took on a supply of fresh beef, vegetables and fruit for the convicts, along with casks of water. From Rio, her voyage continued uneventfully until 6 September 1819, when the ship narrowly escaped being burned by a smoking candle.[21] However, John Barry escaped unscathed and at 10 o'clock on 26 September 1819, she anchored in Sydney Cove and was saluted by 13 guns.[22]

The convicts remained on board John Barry until 7 October 1819. They were brought ashore, Governor Macquarie addressed them and they were sent off to commence their assignments.[23]

There are no online records regarding Lewis' first assignment on  arrival in New South Wales. His next appearance in online records is at the general muster in 1822. Three years after arriving in the colony, Lewis was still assigned to hard physical labour, working on a road building gang for Cummins at Liverpool.[24]

Just under a month later, Lewis' assignment changed. On 8 October 1822, Lewis Tarrant was appointed as the overseer of 22 convicts from the Sydney Convict Barracks to clear 100 acres of land for George Hall, a free settler at Windsor.[25]

Lewis' reward for this work was based on each acre cleared. He would earn three shillings and sixpence, as well as a share of what was provided to the party as a whole. The reward for the clearing party was either five shillings and fourpence, or an allocation of lager, tea, bread and tobacco.[26]

The work had finished by December 1823, when Lewis was awarded a Ticket of Leave at Parramatta. In the same week, his brother Decimus received a Ticket of Leave at Minto.[27] They had been in the colony for just over four years. In May of 1824, Lewis was living with Richard Hyde, and apparently his ticket of leave was carried away by other convicts.[28] A replacement was issued on 16 September 1824.[29]

On 12 January 1826, along with his brothers George, Decimus, William and Thomas, and his cousin Thomas Pithouse, Lewis was granted a Certificate of Freedom.[30] Aged 33, 5'8 1/2 inches tall, with brown hair, hazel eyes and a sallow complexion, labourer Lewis Tarrant was free to work and live where he chose in the colony of New South Wales.

On 5 November 1838, at St Peter's parish in Richmond, Lewis (46), married Jane Jackson (29), who had arrived free on the female emigrant ship Canton in 1835.[31] They lived in Kurrajong, 11 kilometers above Richmond in the Blue Mountains.[32] Lewis and his brother Thomas lived on land owned by William Lawson. The brothers grew fruit and vegetables. Thomas also operated a licensed premises.[33] His brother Decimus and cousin Thomas Pithouse also lived at Kurrajong.[34]

Between 1839 and 1849, Lewis and Jane had six children.[35] On 23 July 1857, Lewis died as a pauper at the Windsor benevolent asylum.[36] He was buried at St Matthew's Anglican cemetery.[37]

Bibliography

Barry's ship owners and shipbuilders of Whitby, Whitby Literary and Philosophical Society, Yorkshire.

Bennet, Henry Grey, Letter to Viscount Sidmouth: on the transportation laws, the state of the hulks and the colonies in New South Wales, J Ridgway, London, 1819.

Bennett, J.M., 'Bigge, John Thomas (1780–1843)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/bigge-john-thomas-1779/text1999, published first in hardcopy 1966, accessed online 4 June 2018.

Bowman, J, Surgeon and Superintendant, John Barry, UK, Royal Naval Medical Journals, 1817-1857. The National Archives ref ADM 101/38/1, Ancestry, Accessed 4 June 2018.

Burials in the Parish of St Matthew in the County of Cumberland 1857.

Butts of Certificates of Freedom. NRS 1165, 1166, 1167, 12208, 12210, reels 601, 602, 604, 982-1027. State Records Authority of New South Wales, Kingswood, New South Wales. Ancestry. Accessed 4 June 2018.

"Canton" arrived 8 September 1835, New South Wales Government. Persons on early migrant ships (Fair Copy). Series 5310, Reel 1286. State Records Authority of New South Wales, Kingswood, New South Wales. Ancestry. Accessed 4 June 2018.

Copies of letters sent within the Colony. Series 937, Reels 6004-6016. State Records Authority of New South Wales. Kingswood, New South Wales, Australia. Ancestry. Accessed 4 June 2018.

Gallop, Alan, Six for the Tolpuddle Martyrs, Pen and Sword, 2017.

General muster, Home Office: Settlers and Convicts, New South Wales and Tasmania; (The National Archives Microfilm Publication HO10, Pieces 5, 19-20, 32-51); The National Archives of the UK (TNA), Kew, Surrey, England. Ancestry. Accessed 4 June 2018.

HMS Narcissus, British Royal Navy Allotment Declarations 1795-1852. The National Archives, ADM 27/20.

Jackson, R. V. 2006. "Sickness and Health on Australia's Female Convict Ships, 1821-1840." International Journal Of Maritime History 18, no. 2: 65-84. Historical Abstracts, EBSCOhost accessed June 4, 2018

Jones, Eric L., Landed Estates and Rural Inequality in English History, Palgrave Pivot, Cham, 2018 p85, 89-92. Springer Link ebook.

New South Wales Government. 1841 Census: Householders’ returns and affidavit forms. CGS 1281, Reels 2508-2509. State Records Authority of New South Wales. Kingswood, New South Wales, Australia, Accessed 4 June 2018.

Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages New South Wales.

Special Bundles, 1794-1825. Series 898, Reels 6020-6040, 6070; Fiche 3260-3312. State Records Authority of New South Wales. Kingswood, New South Wales, Australia. Ancestry. Accessed 4 June 2018.

State Archives NSW; Series: NRS 12200; Item: [4/4060]; Fiche: 753. Ancestry. Accessed 4 June 2018.

Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser

Tarrant to Watts, email, 4 June 2018.

'UK, Prison Hulk Registers and Letter Books, 1802-1849', Home Office: Convict Prison Hulks: Registers and Letter Books; Microfilm, H09, 5 rolls. The National Archives, Kew, England. Accessed 6 May 2018.

Wiltshire Church of England Parish Registers, Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre, Chippenham, Wiltshire, England.

Windsor & Eton Express.

Windsor and Richmond Gazette

Final Author's Note.

While researching Lewis Tarrant for this biographical sketch, I reached out to people via Facebook groups and email addresses posted on Ancestry boards. At the eleventh hour, I received a wealth of information from a descendant of Lewis' brother Thomas Tarrant. This included information about a book recently published by a friend of his, Professor Eric L Jones from Latrobe University. There is a small reference to the Tarrant brothers in this book. I was not aware of the existence of this book until 4 June 2018, and I fear it was too late at that stage to change the subject of my assignment. I hope that my sketch demonstrates that I have done my own research, and I have not relied solely on the research of an accomplished and distinguished author in the compilation of my assignment. 

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[1] Baptism of Lewis Tarrant. Wiltshire Church of England Parish Registers, Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre, Chippenham, Wiltshire, England.

[2] Eric L Jones, Landed Estates and Rural Inequality in English History, Palgrave Pivot, Cham, 2018 p85, 89-92. Springer Link ebook.

[3] Registers of allotments and allotment declarations, HMS Narcissus, British Royal Navy Allotment Declarations 1795-1852. The National Archives, ADM 27/20

[4] Mike Tarrant to Jillian Watts, email, 4 June 2018, original held in author's possession. Contains research conducted jointly between Mike Tarrant and Eric L. Jones, with reference to Berkshire court records.

[5] Tarrant to Watts, email, 4 June 2018

[6] Reading, Windsor & Eton Express, 10 January 1819 p4

[7] Reading, Windsor & Eton Express, p4

[8] Tarrant to Watts, email, 4 June 2018

[9] Jones, Landed Estates and Rural Inequality in English History, 2018

[10] Ancestry, Prison Hulk Leviathan register for Lewis Tarrant, 'UK, Prison Hulk Registers and Letter Books, 1802-1849', Home Office: Convict Prison Hulks: Registers and Letter Books; Microfilm, H09, 5 rolls. The National Archives, Kew, England. Accessed 6 May 2018.

[11] Alan Gallop, Six for the Tolpuddle Martyrs, Pen and Sword, 2017 p97

[12] Henry Grey Bennet, Letter to Viscount Sidmouth: on the transportation laws, the state of the hulks and the colonies in New South Wales, J Ridgway, London, 1819 p28

[13] Lewis Tarrant, Prison Hulk Leviathan register; Records of Barry's ship owners and shipbuilders of Whitby, Whitby Literary and Philosophical Society, Yorkshire

[14] Ancestry, J Bowman, Surgeon and Superintendant, John Barry, UK, Royal Naval Medical Journals, 1817-1857. The National Archives ref ADM 101/38/1, Accessed 4 June 2018

[15] Ancestry, J Bowman, Surgeon and Superintendant, John Barry

[16] Ancestry, J Bowman, Surgeon and Superintendant, John Barry

[17] J. M. Bennett, 'Bigge, John Thomas (1780–1843)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/bigge-john-thomas-1779/text1999, published first in hardcopy 1966, accessed online 4 June 2018.

[18] Jones, Landed Estates and Rural Inequality in English History, 2018 p91

[19] Ancestry, J Bowman, Surgeon and Superintendant, John Barry

[20] R.V. Jackson,. 2006. "Sickness and Health on Australia's Female Convict Ships, 1821-1840." International Journal Of Maritime History 18, no. 2: 65-84. Historical Abstracts, EBSCOhost accessed June 4, 2018

[21] Ancestry, J Bowman, Surgeon and Superintendant, John Barry

[22] J. M. Bennett, 'Bigge, John Thomas (1780–1843)', Australian Dictionary of Biography

[23] "Sydney", Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, 9 October 1819, p.3.

[24] Ancestry, Lewis Farrant, General muster, Home Office: Settlers and Convicts, New South Wales and Tasmania; (The National Archives Microfilm Publication HO10, Pieces 5, 19-20, 32-51); The National Archives of the UK (TNA), Kew, Surrey, England. Accessed 4 June 2018. The name Tarrant is often transcribed as Farrant in online records.

[25] Ancestry, New South Wales Government. p347. Copies of letters sent within the Colony. Series 937, Reels 6004-6016. State Records Authority of New South Wales. Kingswood, New South Wales, Australia. Accessed 4 June 2018.

[26] , New South Wales Government. Copies of letters sent within the Colony

[27] "Public Notice", The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, 4 December 1823, p1

[28] Ancestry, p127-128, New South Wales Government. Special Bundles, 1794-1825. Series 898, Reels 6020-6040, 6070; Fiche 3260-3312. State Records Authority of New South Wales. Kingswood, New South Wales, Australia. Accessed 4 June 2018.

[29] Ancestry, Ticket of Leave for Lewis Farrant [Lewis Tarrant], State Archives NSW; Series: NRS 12200; Item: [4/4060]; Fiche: 753. Accessed 4 June 2018.

[30] Ancestry, Certificate of Freedom for Lewis Farrant, New South Wales Government. Butts of Certificates of Freedom. NRS 1165, 1166, 1167, 12208, 12210, reels 601, 602, 604, 982-1027. State Records Authority of New South Wales, Kingswood, New South Wales. Accessed 4 June 2018.

[31] Marriage certificate of Lewis Tarrant and Jane Jackson, married 5 November 1838, Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages NSW 614/1838 V1838614 157; Ancestry, "Canton" arrived 8 September 1835, New South Wales Government. Persons on early migrant ships (Fair Copy). Series 5310, Reel 1286. State Records Authority of New South Wales, Kingswood, New South Wales. Accessed 4 June 2018.

[32] Marriage certificate of Lewis Tarrant and Jane Jackson, married 5 November 1838.

[33] "Some Ups and Dows of an old Richmondite, Mr Alfred Smith, Chronicled by Robert Farlow, Windsor and Richmond Gazette, 6 August 1910, p14

[34] Marriage certificate of Decimus Tarrant and Martha Mann, married 1838, Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages NSW 609/138 V1838609 157; Ancestry, Census record for Thomas Pithouse, New South Wales Government. 1841 Census: Householders’ returns and affidavit forms. CGS 1281, Reels 2508-2509. State Records Authority of New South Wales. Kingswood, New South Wales, Australia, accessed 4 June 2018

[35] Birth Certificate of Lewis Tarrant, born 19 July 1839, Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages NSW 25/1839 V183925 158; Birth Certificate of Thomas Tarrant, born 28 December 1841, Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages NSW 1009/1841 V18411009 26A; Birth Certificate of Esther Tarrant, born 9 March 1844, Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages NSW 261/1844 V1844261 158; Birth Certificate of Mary Tarrant, born 26 March 1845, Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages NSW 1331/1844 V18441331 30A; Birth Certificate of Elizabeth Tarrant, born 19 December 1847, Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages NSW 1209/1847 V18471209 33A; Birth Certificate of Decimus Tarrant, born 26 September 1849, Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages NSW 1792/1849 V18491792 34A

[36] Death Certificate of Louis Tarrant, died 23 July 1857, Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages NSW 4701/1857. Note that the first name is spelled incorrectly with the alternative spelling of Louis instead of Lewis, and age is given as 70 years. The informant was the warden of the Benevolent Asylum, and it appears he did not have many personal details. Jane Tarrant and her children had relocated to live near Wollombi at that time, so she was not available to provide more detail for the death certificate.

[37] Extracted from "Burials in the Parish of St Matthew in the County of Cumberland in the year 1857". A copy of this document was supplied to me personally by a family friend. Parish records are not yet available online, although details of marked graves at St Matthew's are available, Lewis/Louis Tarrant is not listed.