John Medhurst (bef. 1803 - 1887)

Born before 30 Jan 1803 in Milton-next-Gravesend, Kent, England, United Kingdom [uncertain]

Husband of Catherine (Shaw) Medhurst — married 1833 in Lower Hawkesbury, New South Wales, Australia

Descendants

Died 18 Nov 1887 after age 84 in Wyoming, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

John Medhurst was born in Kent, England.

John Medhurst migrated from England to New South Wales.

John Medhurst was baptised on 30 Jan 1803 at Milton-next-Gravesend, Kent in England to John Medhurst (senior) and Elizabeth Piggot. ^[1]

John arrived in the colony of New South Wales in 1824 travelling of the convict ship the "Phoenix" travelling as part of the steerage crew.^[2] The Phoenix sailed from Portsmouth, England on 29 Mar 1824 and landed in Tasmania 21 Jul 1824. It then carried the first successfully acclimatised importation of European bees to Sydney ^[3], where on 26 Aug 1824 it ran aground on the Sow and Pigs reef while entering Port Jackson, where it was eventually sold to the colonial government to be used as a prison hulk off Goat Island. ^[4] John was likely to still have been part of the crew when this occurred.

It is unknown, whether John had intended to stay in the colony or continue sailing with the ship. However, he did stay and he is recorded as fathering a child, Elizabeth Medhurst, born on 13 Jan 1830, with the mother being John's future wife, Catherine Carpenter, nee Shaw. Elizabeth's birth was registered at Patrick's Plains (Singleton), which suggests that he had settled north of Sydney town. At the time Catherine was still married to Thomas Carpenter

John was admitted to Parramatta goal on the 30 Sep 1831. He was described as a Protestant labourer and was sentenced to 18 months labour in an iron gang. After few days, he was sent to Windsor goal on 4 Oct 1831.^[5] From here, he appears to have been sent to Maitland to work in a convict road gang, despite arriving in the country a free man. His crime was described as larceny ^[6]. Interestingly his second child, John Medhurst was born 15 months into his 18-month sentence.

Nevertheless, John married Catherine Carpenter nee Shaw in 1833, registered at Lower Hawkesbury. ^{[7] [8]} He would go on the have three more children with Catherine, Ann (b. 1835), George (b. 1838), and Sophia (b. 1840).

On 18 Oct 1839, John Medhurst of the Wollombi was granted 100 hectares of land near Wollombi village in Northumberland.by George Gipps. The property was named Mount Pleasant and was described as:

Commencing at the south-east corner and bounded on the south by a line west, forty-two chains commencing on the sugar loaf of Wollombi Brook: to the west by a line north of twenty-five chains: on the north by a line east of sixteen chains to the sugar loaf or Wollombi Brook: and on the east to that brook on the sout-east by corner one said^[9]

In 1841, John is recorded as the head of a household in Wollombi, New South Wales of 17 people, including 7 males and 10 females. ^[10], including two married couples, six children, under 15 years of age (2 boys and 4 girls), one female adolescent (aged under 21), six adults aged between 21 and 45 (4 male and 2 female); four women aged between 45 and 60, and one male aged over 60. This list appears to include two convict labourers assigned to the property and five people who arrived as convicts but were not free (4 males and 1 female).

He passed away in 1877 at Wyoming near Gosford.^[11] and was buried at Brady's Gully Cemetery, North Gosford^[12][13]

Research Notes

Some sources related to the passengers on the Phoenix include

• The National Archives (TNA): HO 11/5, pp.127-137
• Bateson, Charles & Library of Australian History (1983). The convict ships, 1787-1868 (Australian ed). Library of Australian History, Sydney: pp.358-359, 384

Sources

1. ↑ Ancestry.com. England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 [database on-line] Name: John Medhurst Gender: Male Baptism Date: 30 Jan 1803 Baptism Place: Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Milton Next Gravesend, Kent, England Father: John Medhurst Mother: Elizabeth FHL Film Number: 0992511, 0992512-13
2. ↑ 'Tasmanian Company', Hobart Town Gazette and Van Diemen's Land Advertiser (Tas. : 1821 - 1825) Fri 28 Jan 1825 Page 3
3. ↑ Bee Hives to Sydney 1824 in the convict ship Phoenix
4. ↑ Patterson River History (n.d.) 'The Phoenix hulk' Accessed on 14 Apr 2019
5. ↑ New South Wales State Archives; Roll: 174, cited in Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia, Gaol Description and Entrance Books, 1818-1930 [database on-line] Name: John Midhurst Place of Origin: Gravesend Arrival Year: 1824 Arrival Country: Australia Vessel Arrived In: Phoenix Date of Admission/Photo: 30 Sep 1831 Gaol: Parramatta Gaol Location: North Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia
6. ↑ State Archives NSW; Roll: 174, cited in Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia, Gaol Description and Entrance Books, 1818-1930 [database on-line] Name: John Midhurst Birth Year: 1803 Age: 29 Arrival Year: 1824 Arrival Country: Australia Vessel Arrived In: Phoenix Date of Admission/Photo: 1832-1833 Gaol: Newcastle Gaol Location: Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia Record Type: Description Book
7. ↑ New South Wales Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages, Marriage Certificate 381/1833 V1833381 17 Groom: MEDHURST, JOHN Bride CARPENTER, CATHERINE District CY
8. ↑ Pre-1901 Gosford Pioneer Register. PNR-2250. Gosford, New South Wales, Australia: Central Coast Family History Society cited in Ancestry.com. Gosford, New South Wales, Australia, Pioneer Register, 1788-1900 [database on-line]. Name: John Medhurst [John Meadows] Relationship to Head: Head Birth Date: 30 Jan 1803 Birth Place: Milton, Kent, England Spouse Name: Catherine Shaw Marriage Date: 30 Jul 1833 Marriage Place: Wollombi, New South Wales, Australia Arrival Date: 26 Jan 1825 Vessel: Phoenix Death Date: 18 Nov 1887 Death Place: Wyoming, New South Wales, Australia Burial Date: 20 Nov 1887 Burial Place: Bradys Gully Cemetery, North Gosford, New South Wales, Australia Status and Religion: Free Church of England Occupation: Storekeeper Farmer Labourer Father Name: John Medhurst Mother Name: Elizabeth Piggott Parent Marriage Date: 19 Sep 1799 Parent Marriage Place: Milton, Kent, England
9. ↑ Registers of Land Grants and Leases. Microfilm Publication 2560–2561, 2846, 2548–2550, 2700–2702, 2704–2705, 11 rolls. Record Group NRS 13836. New South Wales, Australia. Registers of Land Grants and Leases Counties of Northumberland and Hunter 1836-1840 (Vol. 9), cited in Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia, Registers of Land Grants and Leases, 1792-1867 [database on-line]. Name: John Medhurst Date of Grant: 18 Oct 1839 County: Northumberland
10. ↑ New South Wales Government. 1841 Census: Abstract of returns. CGS 1282, Reels 2222-2223. State Records Authority of New South Wales. Kingswood, New South Wales, Australia. New South Wales Government. 1841; Census: Householders’ returns and affidavit forms. CGS 1281, Reels 2508-2509. State Records Authority of New South Wales. Kingswood, New South Wales. Australia Abstracts, Wollombi, Northumberland, cited in Ancestry.com. 1841 New South Wales, Australia, Census [database on-line] Name: John Medhurst Town or Parish: Wollombi County: Northumberland District: Wollombi State: New South Wales Country: Australia
11. ↑ New South Wales Death Certificate 13318/1887 Name: MEADOWS, JOHN Father: JOHN Mother: ELIZABETH District: GOSFORD
12. ↑ Pre-1901 Gosford Pioneer Register. PNR-2250. Gosford, New South Wales, Australia: Central Coast Family History Society, cited in Ancestry.com. Gosford, New South Wales, Australia, Pioneer Register, 1788-1900 [database on-line]. Death Age: 84 Birth Date: abt 1803 Death Date: 18 Nov 1887 Cemetery: Bradys Gully Park Cemetery Location: Gosford, New South Wales
13. ↑ Central Coast Family History Society Inc, cited in Ancestry.com. Australia Cemetery Index, 1808-2007 [database on-line]. Name: John Meadows [John Medhurst] Death Age: 84 Birth Date: abt 1803 Death Date: 18 Nov 1887 Cemetery: Bradys Gully Park Cemetery Location: Gosford, New South Wales

• State Records Authority of New South Wales Returns of the Colony, “Blue Books” 1822-57. Kingswood, New South Wales, Australia: Series 1286, 176 rolls, cited in Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia, Returns of the Colony, 1822-1857 [database on-line]. Name: John Medhurst Location: Wollombi, Northumberland Publication Year: 1852