BARTHOLMEW REARDON AND FAMILY - Part 1
by Anthony (Tony) Coulter FFF member #8100
MY FIRST FLEETER: BARTHOLOMEW REARDON SENIOR (to distinguish him from his son). My direct line to my First Fleeter is as follows: Bartholomew Reardon/Frances Williams/ Richard Williams/ Susannah Williams/ George Biggs/ Elsie Biggs/Sydney Featherstone/ Jean Coulter/ Tony Coulter.
Bartholomew Senior who was born at Winchester, Hampshire, England in 1724 the son of Daniel and Mary Reardon (nee Harrington). He worked as a shoemaker at Gosport near Portsmouth, England. He married Katherine Wood on 20/7/1781 at Gosport. In view of his age at this wedding (57) this may not be his first marriage. Katherine did not accompany him to Australia.
Bartholomew Snr was convicted of stealing a hair trunk and sentenced to 7 years transportation on the Scarborough as part of the First Fleet. Two years later with the Colony facing severe food shortages, he was sent on the Sirius to Norfolk Island where he met Hannah Rowney. They were married on 5/11/1791 and produced 5 children between 1791 and 1799.
Bart Snr’s role on the Island was as a servant to Captain Piper (at left) the Commandant of Norfolk Island, for whom he managed a piggery. He was also bell ringer, i.e. more like a town crier. He became a free settler in 1790. Bart Snr died on Norfolk Island on 1 May 1807, aged 83.
In recent years his grave has been significantly upgraded including the placement of a First Fleeters Plaque. However, a photo of his grave site supplied by [email protected] (marked as reardon1807jpg) looks to be upside down and has no resemblance to my recollection. A First Fleeter colleagues from the Central Coast reported that the headstone was upright, in good condition and had a "First Fleeter" engraving attached.
HANNAH ROWNEY was born in 1755 in Greater London, England to John and Mary Flinger. Hannah was charged with stealing a bible and prayer book and sentenced to 7 years transportation. She came out to Australia on the Lady Juliana, part of the Second Fleet ". Her husband, Patrick Rowney, escaped capture and remained in England.
On arrival in Sydney she was shipped off almost immediately for similar reasons to Norfolk Island in the ship Surprize, arriving in 1791, 15 months after Bart Snr. She left Norfolk Island on 9/11/1807, arriving in Hobart on 29/11/1807.
The seven-sided monument at St. David's Park Hobart (shown at left) lists the passengers returning from Norfolk Island to Hobart on the Lady Nelson in September 1807 including Hannah and her daughter Frances but not her other daughter, Ann. Her son Bart (Junior) remained there until 1810. Son-in-law (to be), Thomas Williams is shown in a different place. The third side shows the dedication of the memorial by the Very Reverend Kenneth N Reardon, Dean of Hobart (perhaps another descendant of Bart Snr?). Further research is needed to prove whether he a distant relative.
On 20/9/1813 she was given 20 acres at Queensborough (Vol 2 p111), elsewhere identified as Sandy Bay and nowadays is a very desirable part of Hobart. No evidence has been uncovered as to what happened to it. Her second marriage was to William Horne, another convict, on 20/5/1809 and they farmed at Pittwater near Hobart. She died on 4/11/1829 at St Georges Pittwater above Sorell.
BARTHOLOMEW REARDON JUNIOR (at left) was born on 15/12/1791. He showed such considerable aptitude for farming in his youth working his father's seven acres that Captain Piper asked him to stay on Norfolk after his family left. (Captain Piper went on to accumulate considerable wealth and Sydney's exclusive suburb, Point Piper, was named after him). Bartholomew Jnr didn't move to Hobart till 1810. His talents led to him being granted substantial land grants: 600 acres at Macquarie River, 23 acres at Green Hills, and one quarter share of 11,000 acres at Emu Point (North West of Campbell Town).
He married Elizabeth Nash, also born on Norfolk Island, in 1/1/1812. She died in Hobart in 1878. They had 9 children. One of these was named Edward Lord Reardon after his father's friend and benefactor Edward Lord. One hundred years later the Hobart Mercury dated 19/1/19/11 quoted Bart Jnr that his father had gained land grants through the good offices of Lieutenant Governor Edward Lord.
Author, Robert Hughes, includes in his book The Fatal Shore, page 227, the following assessment of Edward Lord.
Edward Lord (1781-1859), a Welsh marine officer who in 1803 built the first private house in Hobart, was the most powerful man in the early settlement next to Collins, and its largest stock owner. An arrogant land-grabbing troublemaker who burned all the Government House papers when Collins died in 1810 in order to cover his business tracks.
Collins was the Lieutenant Governor of Tasmania – Edward Lord succeeded him for a short but fateful period. Lord was seen as using and abandoning his protégé as Bart Jnr’s business was failing. Bart Jnr quarrelled with his neighbour, he was drinking to excess and he stole a cow worth three pounds for which he was given 7 years in gaol at Macquarie Harbour.
When our APC group toured Tasmania in 2018 I visited Port Arthur where a video presentation of prominent Tasmanian criminals included Bart Jnr. In a rather unusual conversation afterwards, one of the staff told me that things were not exactly as they had been portrayed e.g. questionable deals done by Lord and others. Of particular interest was that the video mentioned that Bart Jnr had dinner with Governor Macquarie. Bart Jr. died on 1/1/1849.
FRANCES REARDON, eldest daughter of Bart Snr, was born on 12/10/1794. She returned to Hobart with her mother on the Lady Nelson arriving on 29/11/1807. Shortly after she married another convict, Thomas Whellan Williams on 8/8/1808 - she was still only 13! I hold a copy of the Marriage Certificate which both participants signed with a cross, meaning that they were probably illiterate. At left is a picture of the happy couple.
My sister’s research revealed that Thomas Williams had received a 14 year sentence (we have yet to discover what his crime was to get double the usual term). On the St. David's memorial in Hobart, Williams is mentioned as a later arrival in 1808 – perhaps Thomas and Frances had met before Hobart. It was a bountiful union as the couple produced 10 children. Frances died on 3/9/1862, Thomas on 10/1/1853.
ANN REARDON, second eldest daughter of Bart Snr and Hannah. This is where it gets interesting. Ann was born on 12/5/1796. I had recorded her as returning to Hobart with her mother and sister and then dying in Hobart when she was 15. The FFF records show her as dying in Norfolk Island with two different dates in 1807. A family member asserts that she did come to Hobart. Around 1811 some major occurrences, not necessarily all in this sequence - she got pregnant, had her baby, got married possibly in November to George Munday, died on 4/1/1812. If she did indeed come to Hobart in 1811, she is not listed the St. David's Monument and we have no evidence at this time. More research needed to establish the true facts.
STEVEN AND DANIEL REARDON, sons of Bart Snr:
Steven was born in 1798 and died on 8/5/1801. Daniel was born in 1799 and died on 11/1/1801. The two boys are buried in Norfolk Island cemetery near their father, Bartholomew Senior. Their graves share a unique headstone with their names carved on. How very sad to lose both young boys in such a short time. Below is a photo of their headstone and other family photos.
Sources: Family archives
Images from the internet
© Arthur Phillip Chapter of Fellowship of First Fleeters 2022-
Internet links:
https://www.geni.com/people/Bartholomew-Reardon-Convict-Scarborough-1788/6000000020186099801
http://hmssirius.com.au/bartholomew-reardon-convict-scarborough-1788/
https://firstfleetfellowship.org.au/convicts/bartholomew-reardon/
https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/reardon/bartholomew/130899
by Anthony (Tony) Coulter FFF member #8100
MY FIRST FLEETER: BARTHOLOMEW REARDON SENIOR (to distinguish him from his son). My direct line to my First Fleeter is as follows: Bartholomew Reardon/Frances Williams/ Richard Williams/ Susannah Williams/ George Biggs/ Elsie Biggs/Sydney Featherstone/ Jean Coulter/ Tony Coulter.
Bartholomew Senior who was born at Winchester, Hampshire, England in 1724 the son of Daniel and Mary Reardon (nee Harrington). He worked as a shoemaker at Gosport near Portsmouth, England. He married Katherine Wood on 20/7/1781 at Gosport. In view of his age at this wedding (57) this may not be his first marriage. Katherine did not accompany him to Australia.
Bartholomew Snr was convicted of stealing a hair trunk and sentenced to 7 years transportation on the Scarborough as part of the First Fleet. Two years later with the Colony facing severe food shortages, he was sent on the Sirius to Norfolk Island where he met Hannah Rowney. They were married on 5/11/1791 and produced 5 children between 1791 and 1799.
Bart Snr’s role on the Island was as a servant to Captain Piper (at left) the Commandant of Norfolk Island, for whom he managed a piggery. He was also bell ringer, i.e. more like a town crier. He became a free settler in 1790. Bart Snr died on Norfolk Island on 1 May 1807, aged 83.
In recent years his grave has been significantly upgraded including the placement of a First Fleeters Plaque. However, a photo of his grave site supplied by [email protected] (marked as reardon1807jpg) looks to be upside down and has no resemblance to my recollection. A First Fleeter colleagues from the Central Coast reported that the headstone was upright, in good condition and had a "First Fleeter" engraving attached.
HANNAH ROWNEY was born in 1755 in Greater London, England to John and Mary Flinger. Hannah was charged with stealing a bible and prayer book and sentenced to 7 years transportation. She came out to Australia on the Lady Juliana, part of the Second Fleet ". Her husband, Patrick Rowney, escaped capture and remained in England.
On arrival in Sydney she was shipped off almost immediately for similar reasons to Norfolk Island in the ship Surprize, arriving in 1791, 15 months after Bart Snr. She left Norfolk Island on 9/11/1807, arriving in Hobart on 29/11/1807.
The seven-sided monument at St. David's Park Hobart (shown at left) lists the passengers returning from Norfolk Island to Hobart on the Lady Nelson in September 1807 including Hannah and her daughter Frances but not her other daughter, Ann. Her son Bart (Junior) remained there until 1810. Son-in-law (to be), Thomas Williams is shown in a different place. The third side shows the dedication of the memorial by the Very Reverend Kenneth N Reardon, Dean of Hobart (perhaps another descendant of Bart Snr?). Further research is needed to prove whether he a distant relative.
On 20/9/1813 she was given 20 acres at Queensborough (Vol 2 p111), elsewhere identified as Sandy Bay and nowadays is a very desirable part of Hobart. No evidence has been uncovered as to what happened to it. Her second marriage was to William Horne, another convict, on 20/5/1809 and they farmed at Pittwater near Hobart. She died on 4/11/1829 at St Georges Pittwater above Sorell.
BARTHOLOMEW REARDON JUNIOR (at left) was born on 15/12/1791. He showed such considerable aptitude for farming in his youth working his father's seven acres that Captain Piper asked him to stay on Norfolk after his family left. (Captain Piper went on to accumulate considerable wealth and Sydney's exclusive suburb, Point Piper, was named after him). Bartholomew Jnr didn't move to Hobart till 1810. His talents led to him being granted substantial land grants: 600 acres at Macquarie River, 23 acres at Green Hills, and one quarter share of 11,000 acres at Emu Point (North West of Campbell Town).
He married Elizabeth Nash, also born on Norfolk Island, in 1/1/1812. She died in Hobart in 1878. They had 9 children. One of these was named Edward Lord Reardon after his father's friend and benefactor Edward Lord. One hundred years later the Hobart Mercury dated 19/1/19/11 quoted Bart Jnr that his father had gained land grants through the good offices of Lieutenant Governor Edward Lord.
Author, Robert Hughes, includes in his book The Fatal Shore, page 227, the following assessment of Edward Lord.
Edward Lord (1781-1859), a Welsh marine officer who in 1803 built the first private house in Hobart, was the most powerful man in the early settlement next to Collins, and its largest stock owner. An arrogant land-grabbing troublemaker who burned all the Government House papers when Collins died in 1810 in order to cover his business tracks.
Collins was the Lieutenant Governor of Tasmania – Edward Lord succeeded him for a short but fateful period. Lord was seen as using and abandoning his protégé as Bart Jnr’s business was failing. Bart Jnr quarrelled with his neighbour, he was drinking to excess and he stole a cow worth three pounds for which he was given 7 years in gaol at Macquarie Harbour.
When our APC group toured Tasmania in 2018 I visited Port Arthur where a video presentation of prominent Tasmanian criminals included Bart Jnr. In a rather unusual conversation afterwards, one of the staff told me that things were not exactly as they had been portrayed e.g. questionable deals done by Lord and others. Of particular interest was that the video mentioned that Bart Jnr had dinner with Governor Macquarie. Bart Jr. died on 1/1/1849.
FRANCES REARDON, eldest daughter of Bart Snr, was born on 12/10/1794. She returned to Hobart with her mother on the Lady Nelson arriving on 29/11/1807. Shortly after she married another convict, Thomas Whellan Williams on 8/8/1808 - she was still only 13! I hold a copy of the Marriage Certificate which both participants signed with a cross, meaning that they were probably illiterate. At left is a picture of the happy couple.
My sister’s research revealed that Thomas Williams had received a 14 year sentence (we have yet to discover what his crime was to get double the usual term). On the St. David's memorial in Hobart, Williams is mentioned as a later arrival in 1808 – perhaps Thomas and Frances had met before Hobart. It was a bountiful union as the couple produced 10 children. Frances died on 3/9/1862, Thomas on 10/1/1853.
ANN REARDON, second eldest daughter of Bart Snr and Hannah. This is where it gets interesting. Ann was born on 12/5/1796. I had recorded her as returning to Hobart with her mother and sister and then dying in Hobart when she was 15. The FFF records show her as dying in Norfolk Island with two different dates in 1807. A family member asserts that she did come to Hobart. Around 1811 some major occurrences, not necessarily all in this sequence - she got pregnant, had her baby, got married possibly in November to George Munday, died on 4/1/1812. If she did indeed come to Hobart in 1811, she is not listed the St. David's Monument and we have no evidence at this time. More research needed to establish the true facts.
STEVEN AND DANIEL REARDON, sons of Bart Snr:
Steven was born in 1798 and died on 8/5/1801. Daniel was born in 1799 and died on 11/1/1801. The two boys are buried in Norfolk Island cemetery near their father, Bartholomew Senior. Their graves share a unique headstone with their names carved on. How very sad to lose both young boys in such a short time. Below is a photo of their headstone and other family photos.
Sources: Family archives
Images from the internet
© Arthur Phillip Chapter of Fellowship of First Fleeters 2022-
Internet links:
https://www.geni.com/people/Bartholomew-Reardon-Convict-Scarborough-1788/6000000020186099801
http://hmssirius.com.au/bartholomew-reardon-convict-scarborough-1788/
https://firstfleetfellowship.org.au/convicts/bartholomew-reardon/
https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/reardon/bartholomew/130899