Stephen (The Younger) Chuter

40

Sandie McKoy on 11th January 2025

Research and story by Sandie McKoy for the Wodonga Cemetery Early Burials Project. From Chains to the Borderlands: The Journey of Stephen Chuter Roots of Struggle in Surrey Stephen was born in the rural village of Frensham, Surrey, to farm labourer Stephen Chuter and Sarah Cole and was baptised at St Mary the Virgin, Frensham, on 26 March 1809. His parents married in 1808 at Farnham, Surrey, and Stephen was the first of four children born to the couple. Just a month after Stephen’s baptism, his father was committed to the Surrey County Gaol for breaching the harsh and unforgiving game laws - laws that protected the hunting rights of landowners while criminalising survival practices of the poor. Unable to pay the steep fine, his father was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, leaving Sarah destitute with an infant and no means of support. She applied for relief from the parish but as she had only been living in Frensham for a short period of time, she didn't have a Settlement Certificate and therefore wasn't legally entitled to relief. The Overseer of the Poor and a Justice of the Peace examined Sarah's circumstances and issued her with a Removal Order, forcing her and Stephen to return to Farnham, her legal place of settlement. Following his father's release from jail, the family once again settled in Frensham. Despite their earlier hardships, they managed to rebuild their lives. Over the next several years, Stephen welcomed three siblings - Thomas, Richard, and Benjamin. Life remained difficult, but the family endured. Work from Boyhood, Loss in Youth Stephen received a basic education and according to his convict record he could read and write. In his early teens, he joined his father in the fields, performing back-breaking tasks such as weeding, clearing stones, tending crops, and gradually learning stock work and horse-handling. His mother likely worked beside them, unpaid but essential to the family’s survival. In 1824, tragedy struck when Sarah died. Stephen, just fifteen, and his brothers had to shoulder the responsibilities of the household, including caring for their youngest sibling, Benjamin, who was only seven. A Crime Born of Desperation On 17 September 1835, the Chuter family’s fragile stability shattered. On 17 September 1835, an event happened that changed the trajectory of the lives of the Chuter men. R. Cole Esq. committed Stephen, his brother Benjamin and a cousin William Chuter to the Winchester Gaol and charged them with 'having, on the 16th day of September instant, at the parish of Kingsley, feloniously stolen from and out of a field, called Rank's Hill, in the county of Surrey, one wether sheep, of the value of forty shillings, the property of Ann Hoare. Ann owned a large amount of land at Kingsley and also rented additional land in the parish from The Rt Hon Lord Sherbourne and Sir Thomas Miller Baronet. The area of Rank's Hill was owned by The Rt Hon Lord Sherbourne and occupied by Ann. Stephen's father was also committed to the Gaol and was accused of receiving from his sons and nephew at Farnham 'one hind quarter, two targets, and several other pieces of mutton, being all parts of a wether sheep, the value of twenty shillings, the property of Ann Hoare, of Kingsley, well knowing the same to have been stolen'. Their trial took place on 20 October 1835 at the Southampton Quarter Sessions in the Winchester Court. Stephen, Benjamin and William were sentenced to transportation for life for sheep stealing and his father was sentenced to seven years transportation for receiving stolen goods. Life on the Hulks and the Long Voyage Out Following their sentencing, the High Sheriff of Hampshire, Sir Charles Hulse, ordered the removal of Stephen and the other Chuter men from Winchester Gaol to the prison hulk York at Portsmouth. The York was a decommissioned warship and, like other water-based prisons, aimed to prevent overcrowding in land based jails. On 27 October, they were received by John Henry Capper Esq, the 'Superintendent of Ships and Vessels Employed for the Confinement of Offenders under Sentence of Transportation by the British Government'. During the five months on the York, Stephen and his family laboured on the Portsmouth docks and harbour during the day and were confined to the cramped and harsh conditions of the floating prison at night. His health and behaviour on the ship were recorded as being good. His brothers Richard and Thomas may have visited them during this time and may have been able to bring a small amount of money or food. In late April, Stephen and his family were transferred to the convict ship Moffatt. The ship took on 300 convicts from various hulks at Portsmouth, while another 100 boarded from hulks at Woolwich. When the ship finally set sail on 5 May 1836, it carried 399 convicts guarded by a small detachment of the 28th Regiment. The Moffatt made a direct voyage to Australia, without stopping for fresh supplies, water or fruit. Of the 399 prisoners aboard, 161 were placed on the ship's sick list and cared for by the ship's surgeon, John Smith. It's unclear if Stephen was among those listed. Upon arriving at Port Jackson, New South Wales, on 30 August 1836, the ship faced potential disaster. No pilots had been organised by the Government to guide the ship safely into the harbour, leaving the ship and its total of 498 passengers at risk of sinking. After narrowly avoiding disaster and eventually being guided to a safe place where they could disembark, Stephen and his family could breathe a sigh of relief. Before disembarking, Stephen's physical condition was recorded in the prisoner's indent record. He was 5 feet 3.5 inches tall, had dark sallow skin, brown eyes and dark brown hair, a missing front tooth, and several scars. He also had two tattoos - a ship and anchor on the inside of his lower right arm and a flower pot on the inside of his left arm. He may have had the tattoos inked by other prisoners during his time on the York or Moffatt. The Loss of a Father and the Life of an Assigned Man Once disembarked, Stephen and his family were taken to the Hyde Park Barracks where they were processed and prepared for assignment to a free settler or to Government works. A few days after their arrival, the 396 prisoners from the Moffatt (three had died during the voyage) attended a Divine Service at St James' Church. After this, their period of forced labour began. Stephen's father sadly didn't begin an assignment. His health had deteriorated on the hulk and the journey out and he died at the Sydney District Hospital on 19 September 1836, barely three weeks after arriving in the Colony of New South Wales. It's unclear where Stephen was assigned initially. The 1837 Muster doesn't record where he was located, but with his skills in farm labouring, he was probably assigned to a landholder. He had been assigned to Goulburn by at least 1840 and was recorded in the NSW Government Gazette as having absconded from his master (surname – Savage) on 18 May 1840 and being apprehended on the 3rd of June. Goulburn was a small town in 1840 with a population of only 665 people in 1841 (444 men) and his two weeks on the run would have been tough. Stephen received an indulgence for good behaviour in 1844 in the form of a Ticket of Leave. This document enabled him to live and work in the Goulburn area for a period of 12 months and earn a wage. He wasn't allowed to leave the area, but the Ticket incentivised him to continue with good behaviour and gave him the opportunity to earn his own money. A Stockman, a Horseman, and a Free Man At some point, he was employed by Alexander Turner Esq. at Gurrundah (near Goulburn). Alexander had a large estate and Stephen worked as a stockman there breaking horses and managing cattle. He was listed in a newspaper advertisement in 1847 as being the point of contact for Alexander concerning a stolen or strayed horse. He was later listed in an 1857 court trial concerning a stolen horse that had his brand. At the trial, the son of Alexander Turner advised that Stephen was a former stockman for his father, that he bred and sold his own horses and that he had worked for his father at Gurrundah for several years. By 1848, he was working for 'Mr Chisholm' at the Oven's River in Victoria. He received a second ticket of leave which bound him to remain at the Oven's River 'in the service of Mr Chisholm for 12-months', but he could work for other people to earn an income. A Carrier of the Colonies He received his second indulgence in the form of a Conditional Pardon in 1849. Now a free man, he was able to travel and live anywhere in the world except the UK. He set up a business as a carrier and carted goods for companies and private citizens between towns, often travelling long distances through rugged bushland. He and his brother purchased land at Gundagai in 1855, although I don't believe they ended up collecting the deeds and the land was eventually forfeited. He had unclaimed letters at places such as Gundagai, Hay, Goulburn, Beechworth and Albury which suggests that he spent time and travelled extensively across New South Wales and Victoria. He also purchased or was granted land at Corowa and South Wangaratta. At some point, he moved to Wodonga, Victoria, and settled there. He continued to operate his business and was in an excellent position to do this living on the border of New South Wales and Victoria. A Sudden End at the Halfway Hotel On 3 April 1877, Stephen was drinking with friends and fellow carriers George Hunt and Samuel Richardson at the Wodonga Hotel. At around 2pm they left on horseback and headed towards Albury. Stephen lost control of his horse and fell off near the Wodonga Bridge. George Borrowcliff (grazier residing at Wodonga) saw him fall and organised for him to be placed into a wagon and taken to the Halfway Hotel. He sadly died at the Hotel, where he had spent so much of his time over the years. An inquest was held the next day at the Halfway Hotel by District Coroner Benjamin Jackson Bartley and 12 men from Wodonga. Local landowner William Christy McFarland served as the jury foreman. Stephen was laid to rest in the Wodonga Cemetery on the 4th of April. Undertaker Charles Werther organised his burial and William Christy McFarland and William Stephens served as witnesses. A Life Unmarked but Not Forgotten Stephen died intestate and the Curator of Estates of Deceased Persons, Theyre Weigall Esq., administered his estate. According to the licensee of the Halfway Hotel, Thomas Weeks, Stephen told him that many years ago he had adopted a boy named Richard Pickering and that he wanted his estate to be given to him. This didn't occur and his personal effects of 6 draught horses, wagon, saddle horse, saddlery, and harness were sold at auction at Bambrick's Hotel, Wodonga, on the 17th of April and his 210-acre property at South Wangaratta was sold by auction on the 6th of July to Messers E. and W. Flynn for £2 per acre. Though he left no descendants and lies in an unmarked grave, Stephen’s life tells a powerful story of endurance. From impoverished beginnings and penal servitude, he rose to become a respected worker, horseman, and landholder. His story - etched not in stone, but in the land he traversed - deserves to be remembered. Sources Baptism of Stephen Chuter, baptised March 1809, St Mary's Church, Frensham, Surrey, Surrey Church of England Parish Registers, FREN/1/1, Surrey History Centre, in Surrey, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812, Ancestry.com. Marriage of Stephen Chuter and Sarah Cole, married 31 January 1808, Parish of Farnham, Surrey, England, in England Births and Christenings, 1538–1975 (index only; no image currently available), Ancestry.com. Stephen Chuter, Midsummer 1809, Surrey Quarter Sessions 1780-1820, Surrey History Trust, Find My Past. 'Part Five: Chuter Family Tree', Boardman Moss Family Tree blog, 15 February 2016, https://boardmanmoss.blogspot.com/2016/02/part-four-chuter-family-tree.html. Burial of Sarah Chuter, buried 4 October 1824, Surrey Church of England Parish Registers, FREN/5/1, Surrey History Centre, in Surrey, England, Church of England Burials, 1813-1997, Ancestry.com. Samuel Chuter [the younger], 17 September 1835, Winchester Gaol, Hampshire: Calendar Of Trials At Quarter Sessions For The County Of Southampton, PCOM 2/421, in England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment, 1770-1935, Find My Past. Ann Hoar, IR29 Tithe Commission and successors: Tithe Apportionments, The National Archives, in Tithe Apportionments, 1836-1929 [database online]. TheGenealogist.co.uk 2025. Samuel Chuter, 17 September 1835, Winchester Gaol, Hampshire: Calendar Of Trials At Quarter Sessions For The County Of Southampton, PCOM 2/421, in England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment, 1770-1935, Find My Past. Trial of Samuel Chuter [the younger], 20 October 1835, Home Office: Criminal Registers, England And Wales, 1805-1892, The National Archives (UK), HO 27, piece 49, in England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment, 1770-1935, Find My Past. Samuel Chuter, 27 October 1835, Home Office: Correspondence And Warrants, The National Archives (UK), HO 13, piece 68, in England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment, 1770-1935, Find My Past. Stephen Chuter, York [1835], Home Office: Convict Hulks, Convict Prisons And Criminal Lunatic Asylums: Quarterly Returns Of Prisoners, The National Archives (UK), HO 8, piece 47, in England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment, 1770-1935, Find My Past. Stephen Chuter Junr, Moffatt [1836], Convict Transportation Registers 1787-1870, The National Archives (UK), HO 11/138, p 271, Find My Past. Jen Willetts, 'Convict Ship Moffatt (2) - 1836', Free Settler or Felon, Convict and Colonial History website, https://www.freesettlerorfelon.com/convict_ship_moffatt_1836.htm. The National Archives' website, Discovery, ADM 101/55/2/1, Folio 1: Sick book of the Convict Ship Moffatt 1836. John Smith Surgeon, ADM 101/55/2/1, https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C10550458. 'THE SHIP MOFFATT', Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, 6 September 1836, p 3, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2206435. Stephen Chuter, Moffatt, 1836, annotated printed indent, New South Wales State Archives, NRS 12189, pp 111–112, in New South Wales, Australia, Convict Indents, 1788–1842, Ancestry.com. 'The Sydney Herald. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1836', Sydney Herald, 8 September 1836, p 2, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12855124. Death of Stephen Chuter, died 19 September 1836, Moffatt, 1836, Convict Death Register, 12213/690, New South Wales Government, in New South Wales, Australia, Convict Death Register, 1826-1879, Ancestry.com. Stephen Chuter, Moffatt [1836], 1837, Settlers and Convicts, New South Wales and Tasman, The National Archives (UK), HO 10/32, in New South Wales and Tasmania, Australia Convict Musters, 1806–1849, Ancestry.com. 'Government Gazette Notices', New South Wales Government Gazette, 27 May 1840, p 518, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230137705. 'Government Gazette Notices', New South Wales Government Gazette, 3 June 1840, p 553, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230137800. Ransome T. Wyatt, The history of Goulburn, N.S.W., Landsdowne Press, Sydney, 1972, p.46. Stephen Chuter, Moffatt, 1836, Ticket of Leave, 14 November 1844, Ticket of leave butts, New South Wales State Archives, NRS 12202, in New South Wales, Australia, Tickets of Leave, 1810-1869, Ancestry.com. 'Advertising', Sydney Morning Herald, 6 January 1847, 4, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12900811. 'Quarter Sessions', Goulburn Herald and County of Argyle Advertiser, 14 October 1857, p 2, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article118310315. Stephen Chuter, Moffatt, 1836, Ticket of Leave, 28 March 1848, Oven's River, Ticket of leave butts, New South Wales State Archives, NRS 12202, in New South Wales, Australia, Tickets of Leave, 1810-1869, Ancestry.com. Stephen Chuter, Moffatt, 1836, Conditional Pardon, 9 June 1849, Card Index to Letters Received, Colonial Secretary, 798/1250, New South Wales State Archives, in New South Wales, Australia, Convict Registers of Conditional and Absolute Pardons, 1788-1870, Ancestry.com. Stephen Chuter, Gundagai, 27 July 1855, New South Wales, Australia, Government Gazettes, 1853-1899, Ancestry.com. Death registration of Stephen Chuter, died 3 April 1877, Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Victoria, 6868/1877. Inquest of Stephen Chuter, inquest held 4 April 1877, PROV, VA 2889 Registrar-General's Department, VPRS 24 Inquest Deposition Files, P0000, 1877/293. Death Certificate of Stephen Chuter, died 3 April 1877, obtained from the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Victoria, by Sandie McKoy. Probate of Stephen Chuter, grant of administration 8 May 1877, PROV, VA 2624 Master in Equity, Supreme Court (also known as Master in Equity and Lunacy 1867-1923), VPRS 28 Probate and Administration Files, P0000, 1877/293. 'Advertising' Albury Banner and Wodonga Express, 14 April 1877, p 1, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article257952261. 'Advertising', Ovens and Murray Advertiser, 5 July 1877, p 3, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article198225446.

338

Penny-Lyn Beale on 14th August 2023

1849 - Conditional Pardon. 20 October 1849. No; 49/1044 Name Stephen Chuter Age 42 [born about 1807] Origin Place Surrey Conviction Date 20 Oct 1835

338

Penny-Lyn Beale on 14th August 2023

New South Wales, Australia, Convict Indents. Indent No; 36 - 1671. 263 Age; 29 years old Able to read and write. Status; Single FAMILY; Son to 36 - 1673 Stephen Chuter. Age; 60 years old. Brother to 36 - 1671. Benjamin Chuter. Age; 19 years old. Cousin to 36 - 1672. William Chuter. Age; 25 years old.