William Yardley (1757 - 1805)

Born 1757 in Kingston, Surrey, England

Ancestors

Husband of Catherine (Edwards) Yardley — married 7 Nov 1796 in Parramatta

Descendants

Died 8 Dec 1805 at about age 48 in Windsor, New South Wales, Australia

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Second Fleet, Australia, 1790

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Biography

William Yardley was born in Surrey, England.

William Yardley was a convict on the Second Fleet.

William YARDLEY.^[1]

William Yardley was an English convict transported to Australia on the Second Fleet arriving in 1790 on the Surprize. He was sentenced to death for burglary of a linen draper's shop in South London. The sentence was later reprieved to transportation for life. At the time of the trial he stated he was married.

Some years after his arrival in the colony William Yardley (recorded as Yearley) married Catherine Edwards (recorded as Katherine Everett) on 7 November 1796 at St John's Church of England, Parramatta, in the Colony of New South Wales. They were both living at Parramatta and signed with their marks.^[2][3]

From: Convict Stockade - A Wiki for Australian Convict Researchers.

William was stationer when he was arrested at the age of 28. His accomplice, John Le Ross?, a jackhitt (sic) maker, was aged 34. William and John were both sentenced to death for the burglary of a linen draper's shop at 36 Blackman Street, Southwark in South London. They were both reprieved to transportation for life a few days after their initial sentencing. In an appeal against his sentence William stated that he had a wife and elderly father to care for. He further claimed that the evidence against him had been fabricated as he had spent the evening in question (7 October 1785) entertaining a prostitute - Elizabeth WALLIS. Elizabeth swore that she had been drinking with William at the Admiral Vernon public house in London and had spent the night in bed with him. Several other witnesses corroborated that evidence. The trial judge discounted William's alibi on the basis that other witnesses had reported seeing him and his accomplice John Le Ross? at the scene of the crime as well as the fact that his alibi was supported by testimony from a "common prostitute".

August 1788 - William was transferred from county gaol to the 'Ceres' hulk at Langstone Harbour, Portsmouth.


30 November 1789 - Embarked on the 'Surprize' transport


1793 - William was cohabiting with Catherine EDWARDS? from at least this year.


June 1797 - Granted 30 acres at Seven Hills. William lived on this grant until about 1801.


July 1797 - Received a Conditional Pardon.
9In July 1797, Yardley received a conditional pardon.^{[citation needed]}

1800 - William was mustered as having 15 of his 30 acres cleared and cultivated, owning 15 pigs and having a wife and two children on-stores


1801 - Received a grant of land, larger than his Seven Hills grant, at Lower Portland in the Hawkesbury region of NSW 
 August 1804 - William's 130 acre land grant was registered at Sussex Reach.


March 1805 - William advertised for sale his Seven Hills farm, eventually selling it to Thomas JONES on 22 June for £35 down with another £35 top be paid within ten months or the land to be resold


8 December 1805 - The Sydney Gazette printed a report on an inquest into William YARDLEY's death at his farm. The Hawkesbury District coroner reported that he had been burned to death in a house fire which was assumed to have been started by a lightning strike. His wife and children had escaped but he was trapped inside while trying to save some clothing


March 1806 - William's widow and their convict servant were arrested under suspicion of murdering him and concealing the crime by burning the body in the house. William's body was exhumed and a head wound (covered by a handkerchief, was discovered on the body and Catherine was, for the following few weeks, subjected to intensive questioning over William's death.


5 April 1806 - Both Catherine and the servant were released from custody when it was determined that there was insufficient evidence to mount a prosecution

Murder of William Yardley

Note from 'Hawkesbury Pioneer Register Vol 2.- page 330.

In 1802 William Yardley and his family moved to 'Campbell's Corner' on the Hawkesbury River at Lower Portland. On 1 Oct 1804, William was granted the 130 acres that he occupied at Cumberland Reach. William died on his property when his home was destroyed by fire. Catherine and the assigned convict, Henry Murray were arrested and held for questioning on suspicion of murder. Catherine was released for lack of evidence.

From a Rootsweb post by Lesley Uebel;

A few Sydney Gazette articles about the death of William Yardley. William Yardley arrived as a convict in 1790 on the Surprise and his wife, Catherine Edward on the Queen in 1791.

Sydney Gazette 8th December 1805

On Thursday a Coroner's Inquest assembled at Hawkesbury on the body of William Yardley, a settler down River, whose death was occasioned by the following melancholy circumstances: A considerable time after himself and family were in bed on Wednesday night, the house took fire, and burned with such rapidity as to render their escape difficult; he succeeded nevertheless with his wifes assistance, in snatching his children from the flames, and then unhappily returned to save some little clothing; but the roof falling in, he perished in the attempt. The body of the deceased presented a ghastly spectacle to the jurors, whose verdict was appropriate to the event. As the accident of the house taking fire was most unaccountable and mysterious, many people attributed it to the lightening, which was very vivid at the time; but it is a much more probable conjecture that the disaster originated in the rancour of the Branch natives, to whose excesses his activity was a constant curb, and whose hostile inclinations are as manifest as ever. So long as they content themselves with pillaging the settlers grounds they experience civility and hospitable treatment; but tiring with this comparative moderation, they rush into acts of open and declared hostility; and it is much to be lamented that possibly the want of sufficient caution, the first objects of their treachery have too frequently become its easy victims.

Sydney Gazette 9th March 1806

From the observation of persons resident in the neighbourhood of the late unfortunate William Yardley, who was supposed to have perished in the flames by which his habitation was consumed, a suspicion arose that he was destroyed by human hands and the house afterwards set on fire intentionally to conceal the wilful murder. On the first disclosure of the suspicion every probable means of determining it were promptly restored to by Thomas Arndell, Esq. Magistrate at the Green Hills; with who the active aid and perseverance of Mr Thompson, Chief Constable for the district, collected such information as at the present juncture to justify the strong presumption of his inhuman murder; in which we are shocked to state his wife was implicated on strong suspicion, and after undergoing a long examination before Mr Arndell, was committed to the county gaol yesterday fortnight. A Bench of Magistrates was yesterday convened, before whom a further investigation of this lamentable affair took place; when one principal circumstance in establishing the fact upon evidence appeared, that when the mutilated remains of the deceased were found among the ruins, the head alone remained uninjured by the flames; that the appearance of blood at that time visible about the lower part of the face, which was very reasonably attributed to a violent blow from part of the building falling in upon him; but in consequence of the subsequent suspicion, the interred remains were taken up and more minutely examined; when a handkerchief tied firmly about the head being unbound, discovered to the astonished spectators a large and ghastly aperture in the skull, which might indeed have been attributed to the above cause, did not the cavity appear to have been filled with cloths, and covered with a bandage, as was also the hair of the deceased, which was very much stained with blood. A man servant to the deceased, also in custody pleaded an alibi, but was, with the woman, sentenced for further examination.

Sydney Gazette 16th March 1806

Mary Yardley and her servant Henry Murray underwent another examination for the suspected murder of the late unfortunate William Yardley

Sydney Gazette 6th April 1806

Mary Yardley, who was confined and underwent examination in consequence of some inexplicable circumstances that attended the death of her late unfortunate husband, was liberated by order of the Bench, as from the strictest enquiry no proof had been adduced to constitute grounds of prosecution.

Sources

1. ↑ Biography and sources updated Veronica Williams 05:11, 3 December 2013 (EST). As William is of interest in my DNA research, please do not hesitate to contact me should you wish to collaborate on this profile (click on my name link and send me a private message).
2. ↑ NSW Government, Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages Online Index Death YEARLEY WILLIAM and EVERETT KATHERINE Date 07 Nov 1796, Parish CB - St. John's Church of England, Parramatta, Registration No: 145/1796 V1796145 147A
3. ↑ New South Wales, Australia, St. John's Parramatta, Marriages, 1790-1966 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Reference Number: REG/COMP/1; Description: Vol 01, Baptisms, 1790-1825; Marriages, 1789-1823; Burials, 1790-1825; Parish: St. John's Anglican Church Parramatta. Vol 01, Baptisms, 1790-1825; Marriages, 1789-1823; Burials, 1790-1825
   • Ancestry.com
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• Tom Croucher, Years of Hardship (Hurstville, Parker Pattison Publishing, 2002), Tom Croucher, 4 Burnett Place, Sylvania, NSW, 2224, The Story of Catherine Edwards.
• Hawkesbury Pioneer Register, Rouse Hill Library, HAYMAN Richard, Page 131.
• Parramatta Pioneer Register, Settlement to 1920, Library - Baukham Hills, Dural, HAYMAN Richard; p213.
• Reakes, J., comp, Australian Convict Index, 1788-1868 (Provo, UT, USA, The Generations Network, Inc., 2001), www.ancestry.com.au, Database online.
• Australian Convict Transportation Registers \u2013 Second Fleet, 1789-1790 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007), www.ancestry.com.au, Database online.
• New South Wales, Australia,Convict Registers of Conditional and Absolute Pardons 1791-1867 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009), www.ancestry.com.au, Database online.
• OneWorldTree (Provo, UT, USA, The Generations Network, Inc.), www.ancestry.com.au, Database online. Record for Ruth Yardley.
• NSW State Records, http://www.records.nsw.gov.au, Shipping records "Surprise".
• Hawkesbury Pioneer Register, Rouse Hill Library, YARDLEY William, Page 330.
• Jack Brook, The Seven Hills; A village divided, a suburb united (, 2004), Rouse Hill Library.
• NSW BDM, V18246273 2B/1824.
• Parramatta Pioneer Register, Settlement to 1920, Library - Baukham Hills, Dural, p246.
• Family Tree - Roots Webb, T Hinchcliffe.
• Tim Sheens Family Tree, accessed 24 Nov 2014. Extensively sourced research.