Chapter 8.1
Farquharson family 1
 |
| Farquharson Family Coat of Arms “Fidelity and Fortitude” |
The Farquharson families left Dundee on the Mathesis arriving in Sydney on 30 January 1842. On board were Andrew, 41, and wife Jane, 35, and their children John, 16, Harry, 15, Andrew Jnr, 9, Charlotte, 13, and Jane, 11. It was a sad trip because Andrew died of delirium tremens (alcoholism) only 17 days before arrival in Sydney.
Also on board were cousins Harriet and her stepbrother William who had left their parents and 12 siblings behind in Scotland.
As Jane’s children grew up they mostly settled and married in the Newcastle/Hunter region and started families. Harry had 6 children, Charlotte 7, Jean 5, and Andrew 7.
Harriet’s stepbrother 23 year old William had responsibility for 20 year old Harriet. Jane was their Aunt and her children were cousins. William’s mother apparently died in childbirth and his father remarried one month later, but of course local records in the late 18th century are not always reliable. In any event William would have been brought up in Harriet’s household and would be her big brother.
Harriet, Charlotte , and William were assigned to different employers. Harriet would be paid £15 annum and Charlotte £12 per annum as domestic servants and William £60 per annum as a farm worker. There was no equal pay in those days. Within a year they all appear to be employed by Archibald Mosman either in Sydney or his properties on the Williams River.
One report suggests that William became Archibald’s overseer. He almost certainly became close to Archibald as William is able to acquire land in the Morpeth area. Only two years after arrival when he is 25 he marries 23 year old Sophia Fairhall at Morpeth. Sophia had arrived from England 5 years previously. A year later they have their first child with four more children arriving in following years.
While William’s family life is going well, his farm is not financially successful and he has to declare bankruptcy. Archibald must have been concerned as one of his close business friends steps in to help. It has been suggested that because of the financial strain William’s health deteriorates and he dies in 1854 at the young age of 36. Sophia is left with five young children and, probably from necessity, within the year she has married Thomas Spinks a 50 year old bachelor from Morpeth. Over the next ten years they have five daughters.
Harriet’s father Hary died in 1853. The exact date is not known but it was probably early in the year However when her children grew up and some had left home to get married Jean decided to bring the remaining single children to Australia. Harriet would have probably have paid their way and she had plenty of room at Bank Cottage to welcome them. Jean arrives in Australia on 2 September 1853 with Robert 34, Flora 27, Charlotte 17. and George 16. Ada, 20, was not shown on the passenger list but certainly arrived about that time.
Within months Robert marries 24 year old Jane Thain in Sydney, who had arrived in Australia only a few months before. They settled in Sydney and had two children. Robert set up business in Pyrmont and later in Manly as a saddle and harness maker, an occupation he had learned when in the military in Scotland. The business didn’t do well and he had to declare insolvency in 1867 and died in 1870.
Harriet’s mother and sister Flora didn’t stay long and returned to Scotland leaving Ada and Charlotte at Bank Cottage. Sadly they both had short stays, Ada dying of typhoid in 1856 at age 23, and Charlotte of tuberculosis in 1860 at age 24. It was a very sad time for Harriet with Archibald soon to have a stroke and would die in 1863. Her youngest brother George had married in 1860 and moved to the Tamworth area and was starting a large family.
It’s George’s life and that of three of his eldest boys that merit a chapter of their own.
Next Chapter - 8.2 Farquharson family 2