Edward Ridley (bef. 1797 - 1843)

Born before 10 Dec 1797 in West Hoathly, Sussex, England

Husband of Amelia (Collins) Cook — married 27 May 1827 in Slaugham, Sussex, England

Descendants

Died 27 Aug 1843 after age 45 in Central Swan, Western Australia, Australia

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Biography

The master version of this biography, which includes images, is maintained at http://www.dorneyfamilyhistory.net/famtree_web/History_maternal.pdf

Edward was born in West Hoathly, Sussex to John and Mary Ridley and was baptised on 10 December 1797. He had at least four siblings, all older, but one died in infancy and two others had both passed away by 1830.

He was able to read and write in later life so possibly attended school, or perhaps simply received instruction at home.

West Hoathly is situated 20 miles from the coastal town of Brighton, and a little to the east of due north.

Hoathly means a heathery clearing, and comes from the Old English words hāðel, a heathery place, and lēah, a glade, clearing.

He filled out attestation papers at Maidstone to serve in the Royal Marines on 13 January 1818. It's not clear why he never served. From the papers we learn that Edward was 5 foot 5 inches tall, with a fair complexion, blue eyes and brown hair, and was in perfect physical condition. He received two shillings and sixpence on being attested.

Edward appeared at the General Quarter Sessions of the peace in Lewes on 15 January 1820. He was charged with stealing a bushel of barley (a bushel was a unit of volume, but this was about 48 pounds, or about 21 kilograms of barley). He was found guilty and sentenced to a public whipping and three months imprisonment.

Edward married Amelia Collins on 27 May 1827 in Slaugham, a village ten miles or so west of West Hoathly. Amelia already had a son from an earlier, unmarried union. They were both recorded as “of this parish” so Edward must have been living there at the time.

The witnesses were Henry Mitchell and Lucy Collins. Lucy was Amelia’s sister. They would have six children together, all boys. Their children were Thomas (1828-1829), William (1830-1835), Edward (1832), James (1834), George (1837) and Alfred (1839). On 22 March 1841 Edward appeared before the Spring Assizes in Lewes.

Given his conviction two decades earlier, it must have been terrifying to appear before court, with a possible penalty of transportation.

I have to imagine that Edward’s court appearance was a factor in his decision to emigrate the following year.

Either he’d committed the crime, indicating his circumstances were a little desperate, or he’d been falsely accused, which would not be a good environment to be in.

The 1841 Census was conducted on 7 June and Edward is found living with his family in West Hoathly. There were 15 people in the household, which included the Payne family, the Kimber family, as well as Edward’s family.

Edward and his step-son Charles were both recorded as farm labourers in the Census.

Edward and his family came out to Western Australia as assisted immigrants on the Simon Taylor. They appear to have been a late addition to the passengers, their names being recorded in a scrawl on the reverse side of the passenger list. His step-son Charles was indentured to a Mr. Cook for 22d a day, but Edward did not already have a position arranged.

The fare was £4 18s per adult, to be repaid within twelve months of arrival. One pound was to be paid as a surety, a guarantee of intention to embark.

The Simon Taylor departed from London on 29 April 1842, and arrived in Fremantle on 20 August 1842. The ship was quarantined for 16 days on arrival. She had been built in 1824 and this was to be it’s only trip to Australia. It was a vessel of 410 tons displacement, 140 feet (43m) long and 7 feet 6 inches between decks.

There were 242 passengers in all - 5 traveled in the cabins and the rest in steerage. Of the total, 219 were assisted migrants.

There was a large shortage of labour in the Colony, and Edward would not have remained in Fremantle for more than a few days before obtaining work.

From Fremantle they would have taken a boat up river to Guildford.

Guildford is now a suburb of Perth, but at the time was a settlement of equal importance with Fremantle and Perth.

Guildford is situated about sixteen kilometres up river from the centre of Perth. It was the limit of navigation on the Swan River, and the surrounding clay loam soils were sufficient to support agriculture.

From Guildford they would then have travelled by land to Edward’s place of employment.

Edward died on 27 August 1843 at Central Swan, a locality perhaps four kilometres up river from Guildford. His cause of death was described vaguely as debility, suggesting that he may have been ailing for a period.

Sources

• Birth: "England, Sussex, Parish Registers, 1538-1910", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2QQ-52VS : 11 March 2018), Edward Ridley, 1797.
• Marriage: "England Marriages, 1538–1973 ," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NKB4-B8Z : 10 December 2014), Edward Ridley and Amelia Collins, 27 May 1827; citing Slaugham,Sussex,England, reference , index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 918,468, 416,746. There are two possible marriage dates at familysearch, 4 March and 27 May. I've assumed that the earlier date is actually the first reading of the banns.
• Marriage: also in the Sussex marriage index 1538-1837 by the Sussex Family History Group
• Death: WA Death Index 1843/83 as Edward Ribley