John Abell of Marcham, Berkshire – my 3x great grandfather

John Abell was born in 1811 at Marcham, Berkshire. He was the son of Edward Abell (a horse dealer) and Esther Tims¹. 

A Mare at the Fair – Crime and Conviction

On 29 April 1837, John bought a mare at the Alton Fair from a servant of a gentleman who resided at Steep near Petersfield, paying with a 10 shilling note of the Old Newbury Bank. Not liking the look of the note, the servant’s brother-in-law went to the Alton Bank where the note was discovered to have been forged. John was pursued and overtaken near the Good-Intent Beer Shop. John’s pocketbook was located by the constable and upon being searched, was found to contain several banknotes of the Old Newbury Bank. The constable, asking if John knew the pocket-book, received the following resigned reply –

That queers me altogether – I am in a rum place…

On 13 July 1837, John was tried at the Western Circuit in Winchester and sentenced to transportation for life. 

John was held on board the Leviathan, a prison hulk. The prison hulk register noted his occupation as ‘tramper’ and the Gaoler’s Report noted his character and connections as ‘bad’. His prisoner number was 3396. Under a column coldly titled ‘How disposed of’ is recorded ‘VDL 6 April 1838.’

Farewell to Old England Forever

On 6 April 1838, John departed England on board the Lord William Bentinck² in the company of 319 fellow convicts, and arrived in Van Diemen’s Land, now known as Tasmania, on 26 August 1838. 

His details were recorded as follows: 

Also written on this record is a note that John had two brothers and two sisters living, and a reference to ‘Marcham, Berkshire.’

Arrival in Australia: Van Diemen’s Land

On arrival in Van Diemen’s Land, John was assigned to Dr. Arthur (Deputy Inspector General of Hospitals), where he was employed for nearly two years. Following this, he was assigned to Mr. William Windsor Esq. (Deputy Ordnance Storekeeper), whom he remained in the employ of at Sandy Bay in Hobart town, through to 1842. In 1843, he was appointed to the role of Javelin Man at the new gaol in Longford. Recommendation for appointment to this position was made in 1842, with John’s conduct being described as “good”, and accompanied by a written recommendation from Mr. Windsor.

Permission was granted for John to marry Blanche Labele on 13 January 1844. They do not appear to have had any children together, and it is likely that Blanche passed away this same year, as John Abell then married Charlotte Roe in August 1844. John and Charlotte had twelve children together (Charlotte, John, William, Mary Ann, Edward, Esther, Robert, David, Alfred, Richard, Frederick and James) – born in Tasmania and Victoria. 

In 1845, John was part of a group of Javelin-men at H.M. Gaol, Launceston, who submitted a petition to the Lieutenant Governor against a proposed reduction in their pay. Their petition argued that they were subjected to particular expenses (not incurred by Javelin-men at other gaols within Van Diemen’s Land) and further that their duties were increased by “…attendance at the Supreme and Quarter-Session Courts.” The petition was ultimately successful.  

John resided at Windmill Hill in Launceston, from 1846 through to 1851. In 1846, he was employed as a Javelin Man. From 1847-1851, he was employed as a gardener. 

See image above

On 26 August 1848, notification was published in the ‘Launceston Examiner’ newspaper that pardon had been granted to John Abell, among others, “…upon condition that they shall not return or be found within the countries in which they were severally convicted during the remaining term of their transportation.” The possibility of any return to England was closed off to John Abell forever.

Victoria

From 1856 through to 1880, John resided at Daisy Hill (later to be known as Amherst) in Victoria. In 1852, a discovery of gold had led to a gold-rush in the area and a subsequent influx of “tens of thousands” of hopefuls (Wikipedia, 2022). In 1856, John tried his hand at mining, with his occupation being listed as ‘gold-digger’ on his son Robert’s birth certificate.

Descendants

John Abell died on 9 April 1880, at the age of 69, at Talbot, Victoria and was buried according to the rites of the Church of England at the Amherst Public Cemetery. At the time of John’s death, his surviving children were named as Mary Ann, Robert, Richard and James. 

John’s son Richard is my great-great grandfather. He was a shearer, a miner and a soldier. He enlisted to serve in World War 1, at the age of 52 years old (he stated that he was 43 years old). His three sons, Richard James, Sydney Clem and Terence Alfred also enlisted – Terry was 15 years old but stated he was 18.