Matthew Lock

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D Wong on 24th February 2014

Matthew Lock was born in London Middlesex England around 1763. He was an educated craftsman who worked as a plasterer around the London area. In 1787 he was changing his lodgings to be more conveniently located nearer his work when he was accused of stealing from his landlord. Matthew was convicted on the charge of theft at The Old Bailey on 12th September 1787 and sentenced to 7 years transportation to the colonies. He spent the next 7 months in the overcrowded Newgate Gaol before being moved to one of the Hulks, Stanislaus, for another 18 months. On the 16th November 1789 Matthew was again moved, this time to the transportation ship, Surprize, to await transportation to the colony of New South Wales. Two years after Matthew Lock arrived in the colony, 19 year old Eupham Graham arrived per Pitt. Not long in the colony, Eupham settled with Matthew Lock and although they were unable to marry, due to the laws relating to convict marriages, they lived as man and wife. Matthew Lock and Eupham Graham became settlers on the Hawkesbury River. It was here that Eupham gave birth to there children. Twins, Thomas Graham and Elizabeth Graham were born on 2nd June 1794 followed with the birth of Mary Graham on 16th September 1795. The children always went by their mother's surname due to the fact their parents weren't married. Matthew Lock received a grant of 30 acres at Mulgrave Place on 19th November 1794, which lay isolated on the left bank below Green Hill. Eupham Graham died on 27th April 1797 at the age of 25 leaving twins Thomas and Elizabeth, aged 2 years 10 months, and daughter Mary, aged 1 year 7 months, without a mother. The problem with raising the children was short lived when on 17th July 1797, less than 3 months after the death of Eupham, Matthew Lock married Alice Burrows at St John's Church in Parramatta. No children were born from this marriage. In the following years Matthew would play an important leadership role in the fledgling settlement. By 1802 he was the privileged owner of a horse and had received a further land grant of 50 acres at Mulgrave Place on Robinson's Lagoon. In 1803 he aided his good friend, Constable Andrew Thompson, in the round up of fifteen Irish escapees from Castle Hill robbing and looting their way towards the Hawkesbury. Sadly that year also saw the death of his daughter, Elizabeth Graham, at the age of 9. Another land grant of 30 acres at Mulgrave Place was given to Matthew in 1804. Floods were a devastating reality to the early settlers of the Hawkesbury, many of which nearly wiped out the settlement. Matthew Lock was rewarded for his efforts in the 1806 floods, when in 1808 he was appointed District Constable. In 1809 the Hawkesbury's plethora of liquor licences were curtailed to a few respectable characters such as Matthew Lock, Matthew Everingham and William Bowman. There was also another flood that year this time carrying off some of Matthew's horses. New Year's Day 1810 saw the swearing in of a new Governor, Lachlan Macquarie, who ten days after his arrival in the colony appointed Andrew Thompson as Chief Magistrate of the Hawkesbury District. On 23rd January 1810 Thompson recommended the promotion of Matthew Lock to Chief Constable of the Hawkesbury District to which he was appointed the following day. Although unsalaried prior to 1814 the office carried benefits such as rationing, a percentage of local fines and fees as cattle inspector. Andrew Thompson's continued exposure to dampness during the floods of 1809 brought on a long illness and his health gradually declined. Nearing his death in 1810 he called in Matthew Lock as one of the witnesses of his will. He died on 23rd October 1810. Matthew Lock's term as Chief Constable was short but during which time he was seen as a generous and kind man who understood the needs of the black people as well as the settlers. In 1811 when some aboriginals complained to Chief Constable Lock of being fired on by Richmond Settlers he personally arrested the whites responsible. It was this kindness that left Matthew Lock's farm undisturbed by the local Aboriginal people, or if there were levies on the corn they were tolerated by him. Matthew Lock resigned as Chief Constable on 21st May 1812, handing over the reins to his replacement James McGrath, for his farming was a full-time and profitable occupation. Further land grants were given to Matthew Lock when in 1816 he received 60 acres at Kurrajong and was promised 100 acres at Kurrajong in 1821 and granted in 1827. On 13th September 1813, Matthew's son, Thomas Graham married Mary Maria Hodgetts at St Matthew's Church of England in Windsor. Five years later on 25th January 1818 Mary Graham married Thomas Maloney also in St Matthew's. In his latter years, Matthew Lock saw the death of his daughter Mary Maloney nee Graham and also the death of two, and the marriage of three, grandchildren. Matthew Lock died on 8th April 1836 at the age of 73 survived by 1 child, 18 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren. He was buried at St John's Cemetery in Wilberforce.

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Vic Farrell on 23rd February 2014

http://trees.ancestry.com.au/tree/66338839/person/481532779