Chapter 5
George Mosman 1799-1868
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| George Mosman |
In 1829, about the time the partnership ended, George Mosman bought 640 acres of land on the bank of the Williams River near Seaham. There was easy water access from Newcastle and the Hunter River and from the early 1830’s a regular steamer service from Raymond Terrace to Sydney. He added to his landholdings buying nearby land. Archibald had adjacent land.
With the assistance of 6 convicts and 6 free settlers George built a brick house and named the property Burrowel. Over the years he bought property adjacent to and near Burrowel and built a house for Archibald.
In the beginning from the 1830’s to the 1840’s George spent time in Sydney probably helping Archibald with his business interests. His Manager James Gilchrist kept a diary of daily events at Burrowell in 1839 showing some of George’s travels but also his continued detailed involvement in the running of the property. At the time the property ran cattle and was experimenting with growing tobacco.
The diary documents that in 1839 there were 6 hired servants and 29 convicts on the property. This suggests that considerable clearing and building was happening. At that time the property was probably at its peak staffing and farm development.
In the early 1840’s one of George’s servants was a young girl Jane Blanch who had come to Australia with her family in 1838 at age 7. In her teens she soon became an “indispensable member” of the household and when she was 16, in 1847 gave birth to George’s first child. Like Charlotte before her the child was baptised and registered as base born with no father shown. Two more children were born under similar circumstances in the next three years, one died in infancy. In 5 August 1852 Jane (21) married George (42) at Raymond Terrace, signing the register with an x mark. Nearly four weeks later Jane gave birth to Doreatha Mosman, their fourth child.
In 1844 George became a permanent resident at Barrowel and took over management of the property. The next few years were challenging ones for Barrowel as freed convicts became wage labourers and recent settlers preferred to be tenant farmers. George advertised several small farms “to let on reasonable terms”.
Financially things became so difficult that for a few years George mortgaged the property to a family member in Scotland, but by 1859 the mortgage was cleared.
From all reports George and Jane’s unusual marriage was a good one with a total family of nine children, seven surviving. Jane was reported as “a fine woman with reddish hair”. She outlived George by nearly 6 years and it was said she died at Burrowel at age 42 of a broken heart. While she still had several young children to rear it would have especially lonely as Jane apparently still couldn’t read. When she died her remaining young children were brought up by the Blanch family.
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| Jane Mosman/Blanch |
Burrowel is still in family hands and there are many who are proud to be descendants of George and Jane Mosman.
Next Chapter - 5.1 Burrowel and Brandon