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MARRIOTT: Suffolk to Tasmania
A SEVEN GENERATION HISTORICAL SYNOPSIS
Compiled by Wayne & Marie McCulloch
At the time
of compiling this account of Ellis or Elias Marriott (hereon written as Elias) and
his Tasmanian descendants, information has been traced as far as 1797 in Eye, County of
Suffolk, England. Working back through the records to a brother and sister. Elias 1st,
married Mary Nunn 19/12/1797 and Elizabeth married William Hines 05/08/1797, both
at Eye, Suffolk It is this Elias Marriott whose descendants settled in Tasmania's Derwent
Valley. There will be information added regarding what is known of the descendants of
Elizabeth. It was common to give Christian names to children the same as other relatives,
and this gives rise to some confusion and takes a lot of research and logical surmising to
put the pieces of information together. Elias and Mary had a daughter named Lucy who gave
birth to Elias 2nd -Marriott who was baptised 11/01/1818 in Eye, Suffolk. Lucy
married James Hines (1st cousin) 22/08/1820 in Eye, Suffolk. Hence the convict
records that state "Marriott alias Hines". He reverted to his mother's maiden
name.
Living standards in Britain at this time were difficult for all but the gentry and
wealthy. It appears that Lucy and James were born into the category of hard working,
struggling lower middle class. This is surmised from their adherence to baptismal and
marriage rights on record and their being able to sign legal documents denotes that they
had some formal education.
ELIAS MARRIOTT, alias Hines (son of Lucy), was tried in the Suffolk Courts on the
20th October, 1837, for house breaking. He was sentenced to Van Dieman's Land Penal colony
for 14 years hard labour. He arrived in Hobart Town aboard the "Augusta Jessie"
in 1838 to serve his sentence. On arrival his trade was listed as being a carpenter. From
December 1838 until June 1842 he served his sentence in Hobart Town working on the Custom
House Gang. In reading his conduct report, one could imagine that he was strong-willed and
rebellious. During his time in Hobart Town he was charged with additional punishment for
being absent without leave, drunk, misconduct, absconding, being disorderly, and for being
in possession of a half-crown. For these misdemeanours he received solitary confinement,
bread and water, hard labour in chains, 36 lashes, 14 days on the tread wheel, and
additional time added to his original sentence. All of this resulted in him being removed
and taken to the Port Arthur Penitentiary. After six months at Port Arthur, he had two
more counts of misconduct and his sentence was extended for another three months. His
rebellious behaviour had mellowed slightly as he was rewarded by being transferred back to
Hobart Town to work on the Public Works Gang. Twelve months later he absconded and had his
existing sentence extended by 18 months and was returned to Port Arthur on probation. Ten
years later and nearing the end of his sentence he was transferred from Port Arthur to
serve 3 months in the Royal Engineers Yard before qualifying for a Probation Pass and
early in 1847, he was granted a Ticket-of-Leave…He wasted no time in applying to
marry Mary Laird (nee McKay),convict, born 1815, Edinburgh, Scotland. It is not difficult
to suppose that the many times of being absent without leave and absconding, that Mary was
some part of these escapades. On 05/04/1847 Elias 2nd, and Mary were married at
Bethesda, St Georges District, Hobart. Elias's employment was still listed as carpenter.
ELIAS AND MARY (McKAY) MARRIOTT(ex-convicts)
It is on record that Mary gave birth to a son in 1848. It is an assumption that this child
was named James. Oral comment has been sourced that there were recollections of James
being a "sickly child'. There are two possibilities, he may have died as a young
child, in which case there are no records or secondly a theory where the dates match - The
death of a James Marriott in 1907, aged 59 years. He was listed as working as a labourer
at a charitable institution in New Town. This is high possibility but there is no other
evidence. Robert was born 26/01/1851 at Barrack Street, Hobart. And it was about this time
that Elias and Mary headed for the goldfields in Victoria. Lucy was born in 1852-53 (?)
and Mary died, most probably in childbirth. Elias returned home with his young family
Robert and Lucy. From1853-1862 he owned land at Sandy Bay.
It is also on record that Elias, in 1860, aged 42 years listed as a carpenter and a
joiner, married Martha Gray Farmer at Francis Street, Hobart according to the Church of
Scotland (Presbyterian). Elias's children by his first marriage would now have been James
-12 (no records), Robert-10, Lucy-8 There is no evidence of any children from this second
marriage. They resided at Glenora - Bushy Park where they had a shop.It is believed now to
be a renovated home just west of the swimming pool.
ROBERT MARRIOTT Snr.
"PIONEER OF THE DERWENT
VALLEY"
On 28/04/1870 Robert married Matilda Blanche Fenton at the residence of Reverend Simmons,
287 Liverpool Street, Hobart - according to the Congregational Church. Robert and Matilda
lived in the River Styx and Uxbridge area where their four children were born:
Elias 3rd, 16/10/1870 at the Falls, Glenora.
Mary, 04/12/1872
Robert, 09/12/1874
Charles, 28/08/1876 at the River
Styx, New Norfolk District
Two days before their seventh wedding anniversary,
Matilda developed an abscess in the ear and was taken by bullock dray from Uxbridge to
obtain medical treatment. She was lying the wrong way when the abscess burst and she died.
The children were now 6, 4, 3, years and 7 months old. Many family members remarked on
seeing photos of Matilda Blanche of how beautiful she was. Whilst Robert continued
as a carrier and farmer, it must have been very difficult to care for his four young
children. He employed Louisa Busch to care for the children and sixteen months after the
death of Matilda he married Louisa Busch at New Norfolk according to the Wesleyan
Church.
Louisa was the daughter of Andrew and Wilhelimenia Busch who arrived in Van
Dieman's Land aboard the ship "Wilhelmanburg" from Hamburg May 19th 1855.
Children
listed: Christopher 10yrs, Louisa 8yrs, August 6yrs, Maria 4yrs, Francis 6 months. Andrew
Busch was an employee of the owner of the Glenora Hotel and is listed as the licensed
victualler. There are discrepancies in regards to the correct spelling of the surname. The
'c' may have been dropped due to some discrimination towards "foreigners".
Several family members (now deceased) recalled a close association with the Bush Inn -
could have been Busch, at New Norfolk. This establishment is renowned as the oldest
operational licensed hotel in Australia.
Robert and Louisa lived at Glenora where Elias and Martha ran the general store and the
mail contract from Glenora to New Norfolk until the opening of the Derwent Valley Railway
in 1888. (In 1881 Elias aged 63 years, died at Glenora from general debility of the
stomach, his 2nd wife Martha, seven yrs later married a William Russell.)
Robert and Louisa moved to Tyenna in 1890 with the four children of Robert
and Matilda Blanche: Elias 3rd , Mary, Robert Jnr, Charles and
children of Robert and Louisa:
Percival, 24/07/1879
Archibald, 09/06/1881
Frank, 09/12/1882
Douglas, 13/11/1884
Kenneth, 06/06/1887
Dudley, 21/02/1890
Robert
carried the mail on horseback from Glenora to Tyenna. Later when the railway was extended
he went to National Park to collect it.
Robert
Marriott Snr and his family went on to make their name in the Derwent Valley as
true Pioneers. (More)