Jacob Whitfield was born in February 1759, son of the Quakers Thomas and Elizabeth Whitfield of Finnelly, County Tyrone, Ireland. [1]
He married Eleanor Douglas in a Quaker ceremony in Grange, County Tyrone on 7 September 1787.[2] They had a son, Thomas, in 1788. Eleanor died on 11 April 1790.[3]
On 13 January 1796 Jacob married Jane Stewart of Dungannon in a Quaker ceremony in Castleshane, County Monaghan.[4] They had two children, Eleanor (1798) and John (1799). There is no record of Jane's death.
According to some secondary sources, Jacob married a third time, probably around 1806, to Mary or Mary Ann Gowrie, and they had six children together -- John (c.1807), Mary (c.1808), Joseph (c.1809), William (c.1812), James (c.1814), Ann (c.1817).[5][6]
In July 1820, aged around 60, Jacob was convicted in Tyrone of assault and sentenced to transportation to Australia for life.[7][8] In 1821 he was an inmate of Kilmainham prison in Dublin, Ireland.[9] He was transported to Australia on the ship "Isabella" in 1822[7] at which time he was described as follows:
He next appears in a note in 31 May 1824 which permitted him to pass from Windsor to the farm of Mr Earl in the County of Durham with servant & cattle.[10]
According to some sources, Jacob sent for his wife and children, and Mary and four of the children sailed from Cork on the emigrant ship "Thames" on 14 November 1825 and arrived in Sydney on 11 April 1826. Two children, Ann and James, died on the voyage and the mother died shortly after arrival in the Colony but William (age 7) and Mary (age 13) survived. It is also claimed that Jacob made application in 1848 to bring his sons John and Joseph to the Colony but no record has been located of their arrival.[11][12]
In 1832, aged 72, Jacob was refused permission to marry Anne Lindsay, a 22-year-old convict who had recently arrived from Ireland.[13] Later the same year, however, he received permission to marry another convict, Jean Cornel, who was 32.[14] Jean was serving a 7-year sentence.[14] They were married on 2 April 1832 in Sydney; the groom declared his age as 60.[15]
Then in 1840, at the age of 80, he received permission to marry Elizabeth Smith, age 49.[16] Elizabeth, a widow, was serving a 7-year sentence. They married on 11 April 1840 in Parramatta.[17]
Finally, on July 1, 1841, at the age of 82, Jacob Whitfield received a pardon.[18]
According to some some secondary sources, he died in Sydney in 1851.
There are two Jacob Whitfields, both transported to Australia, but different years and dates. And some are confusing the two in their trees.
The Jacob Whitfield from Cavan, Ireland. Ireland, Petty Sessions Court Registers Name: Jacob Whitfield Event Type: Court Event Date: 22 May 1852 Event Place: Cavan, Ireland County: Cavan Role of Individual: Defendant Court: Cootehill Affiliate Publication Number: CSPS 1/3135-3198 , Digital Folder Number: 004582044 , Image Number: 00796
This is not the same Jacob Whitfield born 1759, tried in Tyrone and transported to Australia on the Isabella in 1822.
It is unclear whether the Quaker Jacob Whitfield, who married the first two wives listed in his profile above, is the same man who married Mary Ann Gowrie and was sentenced to transportation to Australia. There are two pieces of circumstantial evidence suggesting these were two different men. First, there is a death record in the Quaker records for a Jacob Whitfield in 1832.[19] The age in this record is almost right (our Jacob was 73 in 1832, not 76) and the place of death, Finnelly, County Tyrone, is where many of the Whitfields lived. The second piece of evidence is a Quaker record of a Jane Whitfield who removed from the Grange to the Lisburn meeting in May 1843[20] and who died in Lisburn sometime before December 1843.[21] If Jane really survived until 1843, this means that her husband Jacob probably is not remarry in Ireland, and was therefore not the same Jacob Whitfield who was transported to Australia.
The problem is, of course, that most of the Irish records were destroyed in a fire in 1922. The Quaker records were among the few that remained. There were presumably many people named Jacob Whitfield whose records have not survived. Perhaps more research will establish the truth of the matter.
Name: Jacob Whitfield Role of Individual: Prisoner Event Type: Prison Event Date: 1821 Event Place: Kilmainham, Dublin, Ireland Age: 59 Birth Year (Estimated): 1762 Prison: Kilmainham Offense: Convict From The County Tyrone County: Dublin Item Number: 9 , Book Number: 1/10/50 , GS Film number: 2356764 , Digital Folder Number: 004492664 , Image Number: 00855
Citing this Record "Ireland Prison Registers, 1790-1924," Database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KM3F-GBF : accessed 28 June 2015), Jacob Whitfield, 1821; from "Irish Prison Registers 1790-1924," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing Kilmainham, Dublin, Ireland, Kilmainham Prison, item 9, book 1/10/50, images provided by FamilySearch International; FHL microfilm 2,356,764.
Place of Conviction: Tyorne Co, Ireland. 1820.
Jacob Whitfield Ticket Date: 26 Apr 1834 Immigration Year: 1822 Vessel: Isabella . ( Which makes Jacob aged 63 years old.)
New South Wales, Australia, Gaol Description and Entrance Books, 1818-1930 for Jacob Whitfield. Description - Jacob Whitfield birth place said to be Tyrone Ireland. Description - Height - 5'11" Complexion - Fair. Eyes - Grey. Unable to read description of hair Colour ....
Occupation - Ploughman.
Charge - Assail ? meaning to Assault. ( hard to read ) . Sentence - Life. Trail - Tyrone, Ireland.
Assigned to...
Name: Whitfield Event Date: 12 Dec 1822 Event Description: On list of persons receiving an assigned convict Comments: Of Princes Street Page: 9 Source Citation Series: NRS 898; Reel or Fiche Numbers: Reels 6020-6040, 6070; Fiche 3260-3312
Name: Whitfield Event Date: 31 May 1824 Event Description: Permitted to pass from Windsor to the farm of Mr Earl in the County of Durham with servant & cattle Comments: Of Sydney Page: 335 Source Citation Series: NRS 937; Reel or Fiche Numbers: Reels 6004-6016
Seems Jacob continued his life of crime, bad behaviour and womanizing in the colony of Australia. He is mentioned a few times in News Articles in the early 1800's.
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Jacob Whitfield was a very busy man !
Documents show he had married 4 times ! Twice in Ireland and twice in Australia. A marriage to Mary -source not found. And one rejected application to marry in the colony of N.S.W.
* Jacob married ..
Denomination : Society Of Friends.
Jacob was said to be a widower when he married Jane Stewart.
And is the young 22 year old Anne Lindsay mentioned in Jacobs application of marriage, which was refused. The Ann mentioned in Jacob Whitfield's son William Whitfield's death index ? Anne Lindsay would be the same age as William, so not possible. Looking at the information I have come to the conclusion that Mary and the Ann mentioned as mother in William Whitfield's death index is the same person - Mary Ann Gowrie.
Note : I Have as yet found No evidence that a marriage took place between Jacob Whitfield and a Mary Gowrie ? Some tree's have them marrying in Ireland others in Australia. Others have her as deceased before she reached N.S.W on board ship. * More research needed.
* Mystery Petition ?
Jacob Whitfield - Other tree's have a Mystery Petition ? - ( I have not found, as yet this petition ) Stating - Mary (Gowrie), Jacob’s wife. In November 1823 Jacob had petitioned Governor Brisbane to have his wife and six children join him in the colony. ( This is impossible if they where with him on his journey from Ireland to N.S.W in 1822, as stated in his arrive papers - see attached docs )
William Whitfield Vessel: Baring Province: New South Wales Title: General muster Year(s): 1822 Source Citation Class: HO 10; Piece: 36 Source Information Ancestry.com. New South Wales and Tasmania, Australia Convict Musters, 1806-1849 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.
Son - William Whitfield - Death cert gives Jacob as father, but is blank for mother. ( So suggests Mary his mother may have died during her immigration to N.S.W ? )
Name: William Whitfield Death Date: 1897 Death Place: New South Wales Father's name: Jacob Mother's name: Ann Registration Year: 1897 Registration Place: Sydney, New South Wales Registration Number: 10326
* No marriage has been found as yet for Jacobs wife Mary Anne Whitfield. ( More research needed to find these missing docs. If there was in fact a marriage or relationship was de facto. )
* Death of Mary yet to be found.
Name: Jacob Whitfield Age: 73 Birth Year: Abt 1759. Spouse: Anne Lindesay Request Status: Refused Date of Permission/Refusal: 22 Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia, Registers of Convicts' Applications to Marry, 1826-1851 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2009.
Source Citation State Archives NSW; Series: 12212; Item: 4/4508 Source Information Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia, Registers of Convicts' Applications to Marry, 1826-1851 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2009.
Familysearch.org - gives Jacob as aged 60 years. Application to marry documents from Ancestry have Jacob aged 72. - which is correct going by birth date given at conviction and documented proof
Name: Jacob Whitfield Birth Date: 1772 Age: 60 Spouse's Name: Jean Cornell Spouse's Birth Date: 1800 Spouse's Age: 32 Event Date: 02 Apr 1832 Event Place: St. James, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Marital Status: Married Familysearch.org : Indexing Project (Batch) Number: M13536-5 , System Origin: Australia , GS Film number: 993950
Name: Jacob Whitfield Spouse Name: Elizabeth Smith Marriage Date: 1840 Marriage Place: New South Wales Registration Place: Parramatta, New South Wales Registration Year: 1840 Volume Number: V B
Source Information Ancestry.com. Australia, Marriage Index, 1788-1950 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Compiled from publicly available sources.
Familysearch.org.
Jacob Whitfield mentioned in the record of Jacob Whitfield and Elizabeth Smith Name: Jacob Whitfield Spouse's Name: Elizabeth Smith Event Date: 11 Apr 1840 Event Place: St. John, Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia Indexing Project (Batch) Number: M31025-5 , System Origin: Australia , GS Film number: 993953
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Death and Burials :
Death date and place unknown - Jacob is found still living in 1851 according to a news article. This would make him 92 years old !
Death and Burials : Friends Burial Ground - Old Devonshire Street Sandhills Cemetery, reference : “Burial Notes missing : Jacob Whitfield” no indication of his date of death or burial.
Burial Ground - Old Devonshire Street Sandhills Cemetery, reference :
“Burial Notes missing : Jacob Whitfield” no indication of his date of death or burial. Burials took place in the Friends Burial Ground from after 1851 ..
The Devonshire Street Cemetery (also known incorrectly as the Brickfield Cemetery or Sandhills Cemetery) was located between Eddy Avenue and Elizabeth Street, and between Chalmers and Devonshire Streets, at Brickfield Hill, in Sydney, Australia. It was consecrated in 1820.[1] The Jewish section was used from 1832.[2] By 1860, the cemetery was full, and it was closed in 1867.
In 1901, the cemetery was resumed to allow for the development of Central railway station, Sydney and representatives of deceased persons buried in the Devonshire Street cemetery were given two months to arrange for exhumation and removal of remains from the cemetery. All reasonable costs were borne by the Government of New South Wales. The remains that were unclaimed were relocated to a purpose-built cemetery named Bunnerong Cemetery. Remains that were claimed were transferred to a number of cemeteries as listed below. Bunnerong Cemetery, south of the city, had a tram line constructed to make the removal of recasketed remains as simple as possible. Bunnerong Cemetery was next to the Botany Cemetery and, in the early 1970s, was absorbed by that cemetery to create the Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devonshire_Street_Cemetery
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Suburbs_Memorial_Park
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After some investigation on Jacob Whitfield I found the information on the web - which does not seem to be backed by any sources for birth date and place of birth could only be incorrect. After a search on ROOTSIRELAND.ie I found a Jacob Whitfield who fits all ages at dates given for conviction,musters, and transport to Australia from Ireland. His baptism date and place have been updated to fit with my findings. Birth - Baptism date being 1759 .
The parents for Jacob Whitfield are also incorrect ? in other trees available on the internet -Needs more investigation. Only one Baptism for a Jacob Whitfield I have found in Ireland that fits his age in recorded convict documents for age and place of birth given as Tyrone Ireland.
Note : I Have as yet found No evidence that a marriage took place between Jacob Whitfield and a Mary Gowrie ? Some have them marrying in Ireland others in Australia. Who is the mother of Jacob's children is open to debate, until proven otherwise.
Jacob Whitfield Petition - Mary (Gowrie), Jacob’s wife. In November 1823 Jacob had petitioned Governor Brisbane to have his wife and six children join him in the colony. ? It is said she died on the journey to Australia or died before boarding back in Ireland ?.... Evidence found via immigration of Mary Anne Whitfield and children, wife of Jacob Whitfield.
See also:
Original data: Home Office: Settlers and Convicts, New South Wales and Tasmania; (The National Archives Microfilm Publication HO10, Pieces 5, 19-20, 32-51); The National Archives of the UK (TNA), Kew, Surrey, England.
Operations, Inc., 2012. Original data: "Ireland Prison Registers, 1790-1924," Database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KM3F-GBF : accessed 28 June 2015), Jacob Whitfield, 1821; from "Irish Prison Registers 1790-1924," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing Kilmainham, Dublin, Ireland, Kilmainham Prison, item 9, book 1/10/50, images provided by FamilySearch International; FHL microfilm 2,356,764.
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Categories: Irish Quakers | Grange Monthly Meeting, County Tyrone | Convicts After the Third Fleet