Prospect Hill Settlers

Introduction to the inhabitants of Prospect Hill

Many biographies of early settlers in the Prospect Hill area have been published. I have not attempted to repeat all the details of these but have provided references and links where there are on-line sources. I have rather preferred to give brief summaries of the lives of these early inhabitants, concentrating on their connections to Prospect Hill, with a few new details that I may have unearthed.

This Prospect Hill web site will probably always be a "work in progress" and this page shows clearly as such.

John Silverthorn, weaver

John was one of the first group of thirteen ex-convicts who were granted land at Prospect Hill in 1791. His 30 acres was the most northerly block, one of two which lay north of where the Western Highway later ran. It was on the west bank of Greystanes or Giraween Creek on part of the present Fox Hills Golf Course, now in the suburb of Toongabbie. There was a narrow strip of crown land or driftway to the south of his land and beyond that was the next block, that of Thomas Martin. There is now a John Silverthorne Park a short distance to the north of his grant.

He was tried at Salisbury, Wiltshire on 6 March 1784 for assault and highway robbery with a value of 150 shillings. He was sentenced to transportation for 7 years having been originally sentenced to death, and left England on the Alexander aged about 24 at that time (May 1787). His occupation was listed as weaver. He died in 1829.

Notes: Married Mary Wickham on 17 February 1788 (First Fleet 1999).

By December 1791 John Silverthorn had one and three-quarters acres in cultivation according to Watkin Tench who recorded the grant as being of 40 acres. The acreage was probably incorrect as the grant was registered as 30 acres in 1792 (Ryan 1981) and is shown also shown as 30 acres on early parish maps (Prospect map 2).

Thomas Martin, weaver (the Charlotte)

Thomas was one of the first group of thirteen ex-convicts who were granted land at Prospect Hill in 1791. His 30 acres was the second most northerly block, lying immediately north of where the Western Highway later ran. It was on the west bank of Greystanes or Giraween Creek on part of the present Fox Hills Golf Course, now in the suburb of Toongabbie. There was a narrow strip of crown land or driftway to the north of his land and beyond that was the grant of John Silverthorne.

He was tried at Old Bailey, London on 10 December 1783 for stealing linen and clothing with a value of 30 shillings. He was sentenced to transportation for 7 years and left England on the Charlotte aged about 22 at that time (May 1787). His occupation was listed as weaver. He died in 1822.

Notes: Guilty of return from transport following the Mercury mutiny.Report from Dunkirk hulk was “sometimes troublesome”.On 6 September 1788 ordered to receive 200 lashes for stealing trousers (First Fleet 1999).

By December 1791 Thomas Martin had one and a half acres in cultivation according to Watkin Tench who recorded the grant as being of 40 acres. The acreage was probably incorrect as the grant was registered as 30 acres in 1792 (Ryan 1981) and is shown also shown as 30 acres on early parish maps (Prospect map 2).

In 1798 Thomas was granted a block of 50 acres in Toongabbie. At that time Anne Brown was a woman convict in his service. (Dunn 1955 [1798]).

John Nichols

John Nichols (or Nicholls) was born in 1755, possibly in the small village of Birtsmorton in Worcestershire (Family Search web site), in which case his parents would have been John and Patience Nicholls.

He was tried at Old Bailey, London on 21 April 1784 for stealing assorted barber’s tools and aids with a value of 295 shillings. He was sentenced to transportation for 7 years and left England on the Scarborough aged about 27 at that time (May 1787). His occupation was listed as servant. He died in 1822.

Notes: Married Mary Carroll on 24 March 1788 but she was sent to Norfolk Island in October and did not return to him. On record as father to 12 children (First Fleet 1999).

John was granted 30 acres at Prospect Hill on the 18th March 1791. The land is now crossed by the Great Western Highway and the M4 Motorway. It includes part of Fox Hills Golf Course and land south of the motorway as far as the entrance of the industrial estate on Clunies Ross Street.

By December 1791 John Nicholls already had two acres in cultivation according to Watkin Tench who recorded the grant as being of 40 acres. This acreage was probably incorrect as the grant was registered as 30 acres in 1792 (Ryan 1981) and is shown also shown as 30 acres on early parish maps (Prospect map 2).

In August 1793 John was held prisoner overnight by a band of deserting soldiers. He was one of several Prospect Hill settlers who were victims of crime by runaway soldiers. His grant was later augmented by a further 30 acres when vacant land between grants was allocated to prevent it being used as hideaways by deserters, indigenous guerrilla fighters and escaped convicts.

By 1798 John was one of only six original Prospect settlers remaining. He later became a Trustee of the Prospect Common Lands and chief constable of Prospect Hill. He was also granted a Publican's licence. By 1800 he had 52 acres under crops with 110 sheep 28 pigs and a horse. In 1802 he also had 16 bushels of wheat and 50 of maize in store and supported six free men and two convicts as well as Ann Pugh, a convict assigned to him in 1801, and their first child.

The following year John and Ann were married at St John's, Parramatta (Mary Carroll having died). By now they had two children, a son John (born 1802) and a daughter Ann (born 1803). They were to have another ten children: Charles (born 1804), Sophia (1806), Mary (1808), Martha (1809), Amelia (1811), Susannah (1814), Thomas (1815), Joseph (1817), Eliza (1819) and Sarah (1823).

In 1806 John Nichols leased 48 rods in Parramatta township at ten shillings a year (Ryan 1981). He now held 118 acres of land. In 1809 he acquired 100 acres in Prospect parish (Ryan 1981). After the drought of 1815 he sold his land at Prospect Hill, first the original 30 acre grant in 1813 and 60 acres in 1815, and the family moved to Sydney. He died in December 1822 aged 67.

Ann Pugh

Ann Pugh was sentenced to seven years transportation for theft at Hereford, England, in 1799 and arrived in Sydney on board the Earl Cornwallis in 1801. She was assigned as a servant to John Nicholls and their first child within the year.

The following year John and Ann were married at St John's, Parramatta. By now they had two children, a son John (born 1802) and a daughter Ann (born 1803). They were to have another ten children: Charles (born 1804), Sophia (1806), Mary (1808), Martha (1809), Amelia (1811), Susannah (1814), Thomas (1815), Joseph (1817), Eliza (1819) and Sarah (1823). After the drought of 1815 the family moved to Sydney. Ann lived to see at least 66 grandchildren and died in 1849 aged 75 years.

William Butler

William Butler was a Londoner, born in 1767. He was tried at Old Bailey, London on 7 July 1784 for stealing lead from building with a value of 20 shillings. He was sentenced to transportation for 7 years and left England on the Scarborough aged about 20 at that time (May 1787). His occupation was listed as seaman. He died in 1837(?).

Notes: Partner in the original crime was Andrew Goodwin (First Fleet 1999).

On 30 April 1788 William was found guilty at Parramatta of theft of provisions, and ordered to pay for the stolen goods.

William married Jane Forbes, who was then aged 17, on 13th March 1791 at Parramatta. On 18th March they were together granted 50 acres of land on the northern slopes of Prospect Lookout. Part of their land is now occupied by a large Australia Post building. The upper part of the land is now (December 2009) being built on as part of the Lakeside development at Pemulwuy. William farmed his grant in conjunction with George Lisk from 1791 until the late 1790s.

William and Jane had two children Ann (b. 1792) and William (b 1793) who apparently died in infancy.

By December 1791 William Butler and George Lisk jointly had four acres in cultivation according to Watkin Tench.

In 1800 William Butler and George Lisk were jointly working a farm they had bought in the Hawkesbury district, which they sold in 1805 when Lisk returned to England and Butler moved to Sydney where he worked as a shipwright and carpenter. In 1815 William married Elizabeth Higgins at St Phillip's, Sydney. He died in January 1837 in Sydney Hospital aged about 69 and was buried at St Phillip's.

See Flynn 1997.

Jane Forbes

Jane was convicted on 12 September 1787 at the Old Bailey, London, of stealing eight shillings by pickpocketing. On 3 June 1790 she arrived in Australia on the ill-reputed Lady Juliana after a voyage of ten months. It is reported that she conceived and bore a child during the voyage, the father being William Carlo (presumably a crew member). She married William Butler, on 13th March 1791 at Parramatta when she was 17 years old.

As a married couple, Jane and William were granted 50 acres of land on the northern slopes of Prospect Lookout on 18th March 1791. They farmed it in partnership with George Lisk who had been granted 30 acres.

They had two children Ann (b. 1782) and William (b 1793) who apparently died in infancy. Jane died of burns after falling into the fire while cooking breakfast in 1793.

George Lisk

George Lisk was born in about 1759.

He was tried at Old Bailey, London on 10 September 1783 for assault. He was sentenced to transportation for 7 years and left England on the Scarborough aged about 28 at that time (May 1787). His occupation was listed as watchmaker. He left NSW in 1805 (First Fleet 1999).

GEORGE LISK was indicted for feloniously assaulting John Jeffries on the King's highway, on the 18th day of August last, and putting him in fear and danger of his life, and taking from his person and against his will 9 s. in monies numbered, his property...

Court to prisoner: From the mercy of your prosecutor and the lenity of the Jury, you have escaped with your life, which the offence as stated certainly affects; considering the age and infirmity of the prosecutor and taking his all from him, your offence is very heinous; the Jury have not gone to the exent of the law, but the Court thinks proper to transport you to America for seven years , and if you return and are found at large within that time, you suffer death without the benefit of clergy (Old Bailey, t17830910-50).

George Lisk was granted 30 acres of land on 18th March 1791. It covered the summit and upper north-eastern slopes of Prospect Lookout. He farmed his grant in conjunction with William Butler from 1791 until the late 1790s.

He married Rose Burke, an Irish convict, at Parramatta in 1793. They had no children.

In 1800 George Lisk and William Butler were jointly working a farm they had bought in the Hawkesbury district. They sold it in 1805 and George returned to England.

William Parish

William Parish was probably born in February 1751 in the little village of Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire, England. This was just a mile (1.6 km) from where Phebe Knight was born in 1760 (Fam Srch).

He was tried at Old Bailey, London on 20 October 1784 for assault and attempted highway robbery with a value of 22 shillings. He was sentenced to transportation for 7 years and left England on the Alexander with age unknown. His occupation was listed as seaman. He died in 1817.

Notes: Sentenced on 1 January 1792 to receive 100 lashes for insolence (First Fleet 1999).

He arrived in Sydney aboard the Alexander. By 1786 Phebe was also living in London as Phebe Norton. She was convicted of theft in 1786 and also sentenced to seven years transportation, sailing on board the Lady Penrhyn. William and Phebe were married on 13th February 1788, less than three weeks after arriving at Sydney Cove. For some reason William used the alias Potter at his marriage while Phebe was married as Phebe Norton.

On 17th July 1791 William was granted a 60 acre plot of land, fifty because he was married and another ten because they had a son, Charles, born in 1789. Their land is on the eastern slopes of Prospect Hill, its northern boundary being visible as a line of trees from Prospect Lookout down to Girraween Creek. The grant extended some way beyond the creek, and stretched southwards just past the summit that I have called Greystanes Hill. The higher part of this land is now rough bushland containing eucalypts and Monterey pine trees. It looks set to remain open land. The lower parts have now been built on and contain part of the Nelsons Ridge estate and the Pemulwuy Marketplace shopping mall.

William and Phebe's second son William was born at Prospect on New Years Day, 1792 and their third, James, in 1794. After suffering a devastating robbery in 1795 (for which the culprits were hanged) their circumstances took a downward turn. By 1800 William had sold his grant to John Nichols and the family were living in Sydney.

In 1802 William set sail for England, leaving his family in Sydney. From there he sailed to Port Phillip Bay (Melbourne) as an Overseer of Convicts on board the Calcutta which was sent to found a settlement there. He seems to have started a friendship with Judge Advocate David Collins during this voyage. He had appeared before Collins on an assault charge in 1792 but would also have met him when the latter visited the Prospect Hill farmers in 1794 when Collins reported that Prospect Hill proved to be most productive, some grounds there returned 30 bushels for one.

From Port Phillip, William Parish sailed to Hobart, again as an Overseer of Convicts. He decided to settle there and went to Sydney to fetch Phebe and their sons. Initially William was a Convict Overseer at Newtown near Hobart, a Goverment farm employing 24 female convicts. He was later granted 70 acres of land at Geilston Bay. Again things were going well when William was robbed by bushrangers. Again they were caught and executed. In 1812 William sold his grant and the family suffered further violence during a robbery at their home in Hobart. By 1814 the family had finally settled in Sydney. William died there in 1817 a few days short of his 66th birthday.

Phebe Norton (nee Knight)

Phebe Norton was born as Phebe Knight in the village of Cranfield, Bedfordshire, England in 1760 just a mile (1.6 km) from Marston Moretaine where William Parish had been born in 1751. She probably married William Hillyard at the age of 17 in Kempston, about five miles away (Fam Srch)

She was tried at Old Bailey, London on 25 October 1786 for stealing household goods with a value of 29 shillings. She was sentenced to transportation for 7 years and left England on the Lady Penrhyn aged about 31 at that time (May 1787). Her occupation was listed as servant. She died in 1820 (First Fleet 1999).

By 1786 Phebe was living in London as Phebe Norton. In that year she was convicted of theft and sentenced to seven years' transportation, sailing on board the Lady Penrhyn. She had a lucky escape while the ship was at anchor at Cape Town during the voyage to new South Wales. As reported by Surgeon Arthur Bowes Smyth:

1st Novr. [1787] This day Phebe Norton, one of the convicts on board the Lady Penrhyn fell overboard about 10 o'clock in the forenoon. She went down once and was going down a second time but Topham, one of the sailors on board, and a carpenter's mate from the Sirius who was at work on board jumped into the water and seized upon and brought her into the pinnace which they had got from the stern. She remained senseless for several hours but at 3 o'clock p.m. was in a fair perspiration and likely to do very well (Bowes 1787, Part 66).

Phebe married William Parish on 13th February 1788, less than three weeks after they had both arrived at Sydney Cove. For some reason William used the alias Potter at his marriage while Phebe was married as Phebe Norton.

On 17th July 1791 Phebe's husband was granted a 60 acre plot of land, fifty because he was married to Phebe and another ten because they had a son, Charles, born in 1789. Their land is on the eastern slopes of Prospect Hill, its northern boundary being visible as a line of trees from Prospect Lookout down to Girraween Creek. The grant extended some way beyond the creek, and stretched southwards just past the summit that I have called Greystanes Hill. The higher part of this land is now rough bushland containing eucalypts and Monterey pine trees. It looks set to remain open land. The lower parts have now been built on and contain part of the Nelsons Ridge estate and the Pemulwuy Marketplace shopping mall.

William and Phebe's second son William was born at Prospect on New Years Day, 1792 and their third, James, in 1794. By 1800 William had sold his grant to John Nichols and the Parish family were living in Sydney.

In 1802 William set sail for England, leaving his family in Sydney. He later sailed to Port Phillip and from there to Hobart where he decided to settle. He went to Sydney to fetch Phebe and their sons. By 1814 the family were back in Sydney. William died there in 1817 and Phebe died in 1820 aged 60.

William Kilby, and his wife Husbandman

Edward Pugh, wife, and two children, Carpenter

Samuel Griffith

John Herbert

Sharon (shazfromaustralia) writes:

John Herbert is my 5th Grandfather who was granted land at Prospect Hill... John Herbert arrived in Australia in 1788 (First Fleet) on the Convict Ship Charlotte. He married my 5th Great Grandmother, Deborah Ellam (also a first fleeter on the Prince Of Wales convict ship) on the 2nd April 1788.

James Castles

Joseph Morley

John Williams, and his wife

Charles Bishop

Charles Bishop was perhaps the first free settler to take over one of the original grants, that of William Kilby and his wife. Bishop was born in March 1764 at Portsmouth, Hampshire, and, having joined the Navy in his teens, became a merchant adventurer. After a sequence of maritime and business escapades across the Pacific where trade was just starting to open up, he arrived in Sydney in 1801, too ill to continue at sea. He purchased 110 acres at Prospect Hill, including William Kilby's grant, which he held until about 1808 when he was declared insane. In 1809 was repatriated to England where he is thought to have died in 1810 at the age of about 46. (ADB 2006, Charles Bishop).

John Rowe

Lazarus Graves

John Kennedy 1754–1826

by Warren Sharpe

Unlike their more famous namesakes in America, the Australian Kennedys originated in England, not in Ireland.

The first of this branch of the Kennedy clan to arrive in Australia was John Kennedy, in 1794 on the ship Surprise, at just 14 years of age. He had emigrated here with his maternal uncle, Matthew Pearce who settled in the Toongabbie/Parramatta area on a farm now known as Bella Vista. The patriarch of the Kennedy family, however, was John’s father James Raworth Kennedy.

James was born in Kent, around 1757, to John Kennedy (1737–1819) and Mary Kennedy (née Gascopodi). Through childhood, James appeared destined to join the church, in the footsteps of both his father and grandfather before him. However, on reaching manhood he decided that this was not his vocation and pursued other activities. Why is unknown! He married his childhood sweetheart Elizabeth (Lydia) Pearce (1760–1794) around 1779 and fathered "six to eight children" (his words not mine). At least four of these children were alive when their mother passed away in 1794 – John (1780 – 1843), Elizabeth Charlotte (1783–1843), Jane (1785–1859) and Louisa Sophia (1790–1837). It was after the death of Elizabeth, the loss of his fortune (2000 pounds in 363 days) in poor trades, the emigration of his son John and the re-marriage of his father, that James also decided to emigrate to Australia, with his remaining three daughters and his sister Elizabeth Moore Kennedy (1760–1847). They arrived in Sydney in 1795 on the ship the Royal Sovereign.

On arrival, Elizabeth obtained a matronship at an orphanage at Parramatta and held this role until after her marriage to Andrew Hamilton Hume, at Parramatta in 1796, and their first son was Hamilton Hume (1797–1873) became the first Australian-born explorer in the colony.

A "Jonathan" Kennedy was granted 160 acres of land at Prospect Hill in May 1799, known as Nettlestead Farm and it has been thought that this was James' son John. However, Nettlestead is where Elizabeth Moore Kennedy appears to have been born and, therefore, where James had grown up. Also a list of free settlers in 1801 lists the owner as John Kennedy "per Sovereign" as the holder of the 1799 grant. Together with the 1799 Kennedy letter, which proves that James was resident at Prospect Hill, these records would indicate that it was James R Kennedy who was the holder of the 1799 grant, although it may have been a "family" grant which included his three daughters, as well as John, whom we know from James letters, worked on the farm with his father.

At Nettlestead Farm, James and family lived in a small two room "wattled and plastered" hut, with a thatched roof (infested with mice). The home had no glass windows and the shutters and doors had "crevices" large enough for James to "put his hand through" them. He did not appear to mix with his emancipist neighbours and also appears to have been at odds with the administration of the colony.

Although James attempted to grow all varieties of fruits and vegetables in his farm garden, his first attempts at general farming (wheat, maize, potatoes and onions) were a failure. His 1799 and 1800 seasons' crops were destroyed by wet weather and he was forced to sell his little flock of sheep and goats to cover his debts. His children (assumed daughters) were taken from him and placed in the Orphan School in Parramatta under Mrs. Hume (their aunt). His 1803 wheat harvest was affected by "blight" and an excessive drought totally ruined his corn (maize) crop. By 1808 James had acquired a strong interest into the "raising and culture" of hops, having planted out 1000 or more plants. However, it is unknown if this was at Nettlestead or at Windsor.

James’ children started to marry and leave home and by 1816 he had relocated from Prospect Hill to Windsor to be nearer to them. He also convinced Rev. Cartwright to plant hops, as more growers were required to meet the colonial requirements. Although he appears to be improving his personal situation, he expresses concern at the plight of some of the older (70-90 years of age) colonists. James is now the centre of a growing family nearing forty (children, grand children, nephews and nieces) and hopes to live long enough to see this double. His situation appears to improve over the next few years and he believes that the colony has generally improved since the arrival of Governor Lachlan Macquarie. However, monopolies were still prevalent.

James appears to have become a close friend and confidante of Mr. John Howe, one of his sons-in-law. Howe even named his 200 acre farm "Raworth" in honour of James and this now exists as the town of Raworth, situated between Maitland and Morpeth in the lower Hunter Valley.

James passed away in Windsor in 1826 and was buried in St Matthews’s cemetery in Windsor.

Many thanks to Chris Sharpe for contributing this biography to the Prospect Hill website.

Edward Miles (Moyle)

William Slaughter

George Stanbury

William Cummings Officer NSW Corps

William Lawson

William Lawson was born in 1774 in Finchley, Middlesex, of Scottish parents. Sailing to New South Wales as an ensign in 1800, he was posted first to Norfolk Island. In 1806 he was transferred to Sydney with his common law wife Sarah Leadbeater.

He was promoted lieutenant and served in various military posts and was granted 500 acres at Prospect in 1808 where he built Veteran Hall which was his main residence until his death. William and Sarah were married at St Johns, Parramatta, in 1812.

In 1813 along with Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth, Lawson prospected a route over the Blue Mountains that was suitable for the construction of a wagon track. This enabled the hinterland around Bathurst and beyond to be opened up to farming and Lawson built up vary large land holdings in the area while retaining his grant at Prospect Hill. In 1819 he became commandant of the new settlement of Bathurst and made further explorations from there, opening up the area around Mudgee where he held a property of 6000 acres. In 1824 he retired to Veteran Hall.

Lawson was a staunchly religious man and founded two presbyterian churches in Sydney and Parramatta. He was also the main force behind the building of St Bartholomews Anglican Church at Prospect. He was also a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1843 to 1848.

After his death in 1850 his eldest son William took over his estates including Veteran Hall. The third son son Nelson Simmonds Lawson already owned the house called Grey Stanes about a kilometre away to the east on the crown of Prospect Hill.

(ADB 2006, Vol. 2, pp 96-97: William Lawson).

Sarah Leadbeater

Sarah Leadbeater was born in England in 1780 and transported to New South Wales in 1801. She was sent to the settlement at Norfolk Island where there was considered to be a gross gender imbalance. Here she met William Lawson (see previous article). They had two chidren on Norfolk and a third, named Nelson Simmonds Lawson, who was born on the vessel the Lady Nelson (Captain Simmonds) as they sailed to Sydney in May 1706.

Sarah and William had settled at Prospect by 1808 in the original house on the site where Veteran Hall was built in about 1821. In 1812 they were married at St Johns, Parramatta, and they were to have eleven children in total. Sarah died in 1830 and was buried on the Veteran Hall property. Her grave was discovered with its lead-lined coffin during the building of Prospect Reservoir in the 1880s and her remains were re-interred in the family vault at St Bartholomews Churchyard, Prospect, the parish church for which William had been the chief fund-raiser.

D’Arcy Wentworth

D'Arcy Wentworth merits inclusion in this list as his large (2200 acres) grant of land stretched from the edges of Parramatta across Wentworthville and down to (possibly just across) Girraween Creek on to the lower slopes of Prospect Hill. It thus adjoined the grants of some of the 1791 settlers such as William Butler, George Lisk and William Parish.

He is of interest to my wife and me as he was born near Portadown, Ireland, where we were classmates together in the 1950s. He started his medical career as an apprentice to Dr Patten of the nearby town of Tandragee.

(ADB 2006, D’Arcy Wentworth).

[To be continued...]