The Field Family Newsletter, Edition 14

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The FIELD Family Newsletter

14th Edition, May 2003, Edited by Dorothy Cefarin
Reprinted here with permission

Babies are Beautiful

CONGRATULATIONS

To Susan and Maurice Richardson on the birth of their daughter Grace Anne, born in 2003. Grace is the granddaughter of Ronald and Anne Byron and great granddaughter of Daphne and the late Arthur Byron. A sister for Jordan, Nathan and Meg.

Also to Kerrie and Graham Catt on the birth of Emily Grace born in 2002. Emily is the granddaughter of Patricia and Anthony Catt and great granddaughter of Joyce and the late Arthur Clarke.

(Note: Joyce Clarke and Arthur Byron are brother and sister.... Arthur Clarke and Daphne Byron are brother and sister..)

To Mark and Lee Summers on the birth of their daughter Kiara Lee born in 2003 at Sutherland. Granddaughter of Neil and Christine Strickland (nee Hart). Kiara is descended from Maria Collits/Strickland/Field.

OBITUARY

GRACE CELILIA SHERMAN
26/1/1920 - 11/12/2002

Our sympathy is extended to the family of the late Grace Sherman who passed away suddenly at her home in Flynn, ACT.

Grace has left behind her son Peter and his wife Carol and their children Katherine and Benjamin. Her daughter Carolyn and her husband Bruce (Steele) and their children Kristy, Julie and Cindy. Also her son Trevor and his wife Kerrie and their children Evelyn and Leigh.

Grace was interred in the Lawn Cemetery at Flynn ACT.

Grace was the daughter of Thomas and Melva Wilcox (nee Williamson), Granddaughter of Cecelia and Joseph Williamson and Great granddaughter of James Brown and Lydia (nee Field)

Grace was born in Canowindra and married there in the C of E Church to Harold Sherman. Harold passed away on 27/5/1959 at Parkes. They are now:
"Safe in the arms of Jesus"

WANTED:

Does anyone have any photos of the Field/Rope Family members?

John Rope and Maria Field?

If you do would you please e-mail them to: wynne@mpx.com.au, OR post to; T. Wynn, PO Box 115, Stockton. 2295.

This Newsletter is sent to the Nepean Library at Penrith and also to the Hawkesbury Family History Group. If you wish to read their news sheet, their website is http://www.hawkesbury.net.au/community/hfhg/February2003.html

Some archived newsheets are available to access at http://www.hawkesbury.net.au/community/053.html

I recently had an enquiry from someone that has sought information through the Hawkesbury Family History Group. I am thrilled to learn that I have found another "distant cousin" through the Randall family. He comes down through Alice the daughter of John Randall and Susannah Ravenscroft.

If you need more contacts, do as he has done, look up the above internet addresses.

I have mentioned before that I belong to the Friends of Castlereagh Cemetery and we meet again out there on Sunday 25th May about 10am. I have also joined the Nepean Family History Society and the Nepean District Historical Society for more information but really I'm relying on you to send me items of interest.

Dorothy Cefarin
24 Eggleton Street,
Blacktown 2148 NSW
E-mail: doff202@comcen.com.au

1803-2003 Bi-Centenary

I attended the 1803-2003 Bi-Centenary held at the International Rowing Centre at Castlereagh on 5th April 2003. I had the privilege of planting a tree on behalf of Edward Field. He was one of the first 23 people to be granted land by the Government at Castlereagh. The site is near the lake down past the units that have been installed at the Wesleyan Chapel on Castlereagh Road.

I met quite a few Fields there and had a good chat to many, it was a great day. A big thanks to Jan and Keith Field for watching my stall while I was away planting the tree.

Peter Christian, President of The Fellowship of First Fleeters, was also there and gave me a couple of old newsletters. In one of them is an address given by Carol Herben who is a member of the Illawarra Historical Society. This poem is a extract from Carol's address.

Dear Ancestor
Your tombstone stands among the rest:
Neglected and alone.
The name and date are chiselled out
On polished, marbled stone.
It reaches out to all who care
It is too late to mourn.
You did not know that I exist
You died and I was born.
Yet each of us are cells of you
In flesh, in blood, in bone,
Our blood contracts and beats a pulse
Entirely not our own.
Dear Ancestor, the place you filled
One hundred years ago
Spreads out among the ones you left
Who would have loved you so.
I wonder if you lived and loved,
I wonder if you knew
That some day I would find this spot
And come visit you.

Author Unknown

SUSANNAH RAVENSCROFT

Hannah (as she was commonly known) Ravenscroft aged 17 years was tried and convicted at the Old Bailey, London, on 15th September 1802, for stealing from her employer, Mr. Israel Watts, a hairdresser of Church Street, Mile-end. On 21st June 1802 she stole a shift, value 1 shilling and a night gown value 1 shilling and 6 pence. She was found guilty and sentenced to Transportation for seven years

On 24th June 1804, the ship EXPERIMENT 1 reached Port Jackson Sydney with prisoners, all but 2 of whom were women. She was a 3 decker of 568 tons built at Stockton in 1798. She sailed from England on December 4th, 1803, but ran into a violent gale in the Bay of Biscay and sustained considerable damage, springing her bowsprit and carrying away her main top gallant mast. In no condition to continue her voyage, she limped back to Cowes to repair the damage. Sailing again on 2nd January 1804 with a convoy of 150 West India men, from whom she departed in the Western Ocean, she encounted favourable weather, except for adverse winds which prevented her from entering Port Jackson for 3 days. She was 65 days on passage to Rio and dropped anchor in Port Jackson 173 days out of Cowes. She had several deaths to report and landed with 21 sick prisoners. Her master was Francis J. Withers.

Hannah, aged 19 years was one of the female convicts on board the EXPERIMENTAL 1 when it arrived in Port Jackson. In the NSW Muster-Mutch Index 12th August 1806 Hannah is shown as being indented as a servant to Thomas Hobby at the time. John Randall her future husband was also indented to Thomas Hobby.

Alice Randall was born about 1804/5 but there is no Baptism or birth record. There is some speculation as to whether she is the daughter of John Randall. On 14th July 1808 Louisa Randall was born and was baptised on 24th June 1810. Baptisms records are under both Ravenscroft and Randall.

In a letter dated 7th August, 1810, Governor Lachlan Macquarie gave his permission for John Randall, prisoner and Susannah Ravenscroft, free, to marry after publishing of Banns by the Reverend Rob Cartwright of the Hawkesbury.

Susannah Ravenscroft and John Randall were married at St. Matthew's Church of England, Windsor on 13th August 1810.

A Certificate of Freedom was issued to Susannah on 1st February 1811.

Susannah Randall died 24th October, 1851 and was buried 27th October 1851. She was aged 70 years and was residing at Castlereagh, NSW. The burial was performed by Rev. Benjamin Lucas Warson, Minister of the Parish of St. Stephen's Church of England, Penrith.

Thomas Hobby married Mary Rope, daughter of Anthony Rope and Elizabeth Pulley,: Mary Rope's brother John Rope married Elizabeth Field and their daughter Ann Rope married John Randall, son of John Randall and Susannah Ravenscroft, and as mentioned at the beginning, Elizabeth Randall, daughter of John Randall and Susannah Ravenscroft 'married' William Field.

WHAT A LIFE.......

Elizabeth Randall

She was born on 30th August, 1812. On about 26th January, 1828 she married a Samuel L'Andre (now known as Landers). (She was 15 1/2 years old). When the census was taken in November, 1828 Samuel was in goal and would not divorce her so Elizabeth was living with George Field.

She had a child George to George Field on 14th February, 1831 but it died on 10th May, 1831. Later she lived with William Field and their first child John was born 18th April, 1832.

Elizabeth had eight children to William Field, the last being Joseph born on 24th August, 1846. Elizabeth died less than a year later on 19th March, 1847 aged 34 years. What did she die of besides exhaustion, does anyone know?

Imagine leaving eight children under 12 years.

While living with Elizabeth, William also had a child (Elizabeth, Born about 1837) to a Margaret McMahon (from Ireland) whom he married on 17th February 1848, just 11 months after Elizabeth died. William and Margaret had 4 more children, the first being Maria Jane on the 24th November 1848. The last being born on 25th October, 1853.

William died on 22nd November, 1853 just one month after his last child was born, he was aged 47 years. He is buried at Mt. York NSW. William fathered 13 children.

Margaret would have had to take care of so many. How they survived and lived is a mystery, if anyone knows their story please let me know.

My great grandmother was Lydia, the fifth child of William and Elizabeth, born on 21st October, 1841.

She married John Broom (from England) on 11th October, 1859 in St. Johns C. of E. Hartley NSW and they shifted to 'Manwonga' near Forbes. They were the first white people on that part of the Lachlan River. Manwonga is on the Condobolin side of Bedgerebong, they built a mud house and were surrounded by Aboriginal Tribes who had lots of pigs.

Below is an item that was printed in the first edition of The Field Family Newsletters, plus a few additions here and there. This interview was with Rita Allison, my mother's sister and the granddaughter of Lydia Field... I also went to the same one teacher school at Derriwong that my Aunty Rita, her brothers and my mother Vera went to.
By Dorothy Cefarin

"Lydia was a great woman, no doubt about that, she had to be seeing we are her descendants. She was blind for many years, cataracts. She was a wonderful woman, rather nuggetty, but a big woman, we use to sit with her near a big open fire place, she sat on a little stool especially made for her and she would rock backwards and forwards and tell us all these stories of her life. It was very interesting only then we didn't realise how interesting it was for anyone later on. She loved telling stories. I wish I could remember more of them.

I don't really know how they survived in those days, they would have grown vegies and have a few chooks also they would have caught wild game including pigs.

Later they shifted to Derriwong, 12 miles out of Condobolin towards Parkes, when their children started growing up. The boys, Edward, Ernest and James became farmers and had properties around in that area, one was called 'Evergreen'. Ours was an old place where we lived, a wooden house near Lydia. Theirs was like a bag hut down by the creek. That's where Lydia got a lot of her rheumatism from, she was all crippled up Oh, so bad.

Dad (Lydia's son Ernest) was a gentleman and hated wearing work clothes and farming so he left us and went to Sydney in about 1916, Laurie was only about 3 years old and I was about 5, the other 3 were a bit older. He got a job with CSR Sugar as a Security Guard and did pretty well, scab labour they called it. We later shifted to another house 3 miles out of Derriwong towards Parkes and we had to walk to and from school every day, going wasn't so bad but walking home after running round at school was terrible, we used to drag ourselves along. The school was one room and we had one teacher for all the classes, school went in at 9 0'clock but didn't get out till 4.

Our clothes were quite good as mum was a dressmaker and she made all our clothes out of bits of material dad would send up. Mum (Frances Jane, nee McMurray) use to teach sewing once a week at the school and received ten shillings for it.

In the time of drought nothing much would grow, even the grass for the animals, we children had to go round the paddocks and gather all the dead bones and horse hair we could find so it could be sold in Condobolin, I was told it was sent to Sydney and they made hair combs out of the bones and stuffed mattresses with the horse hair, we had quite a few horses. Life was hard in those days.

Mum found it darned hard after dad left, she would get up at 4 o'clock every morning to milk the cows by hand and she would send the milk away to Orange after separating the milk from the cream, we had about 16 cows. We never helped her as we were still in bed, she would come in at 7 0'clock after she had finished outside and wake us up.

We never got into mischief, not us... But when mum had to go to town Phyllis was in charge of us, Laurie, Herb and I used to climb up to the top of the windmill that pumped water up to the tank so we had water at the house, it was a lovely view of the swirling flood waters below us, we didn't realise just how dangerous it was, one slip and... we wondered why Phyllis was so upset. Oh well some of it was fun. Laurie and I got into a bit of mischief, Gran had a lot of turkeys and some chooks, but Laurie and I were fascinated by all these lovely big turkey eggs and decided to make some cakes with them. We picked up the turkey eggs and got some mud and mixed them together and these were our cakes. We were caught and taken up to Gran, she put us across her knee, she took off her shoe and belted us. We never touched turkey eggs again after that.

I would like to thank Pan Wilcox, Judith Strickland, Margaret Young and Les and Gwen Field for contributing information for this addition.

The last page, see over, is the death certificate of Joseph Field, the last child born to Elizabeth Randall and William Field.

Inscription on Headstone:

WILLIAM FIELD
b. 1806 Parramatta
d. 1853 Hartley

Pause Traveller, Pause As You Pass By,
As You Are Now, So Once Was I,
What I Am Now Soon You Will Be,
Prepare Thyself To Follow Me.