Summary
Personal Information
Voyage
Transportation
James Macarthy was transported on the Boddingtons, departing 15th Feb 1793 and arriving 7th Aug 1793 with 129 passengers.
The Boddingtons was Built in 1781. She departed Cork Ireland on 15 February 1793 bound for New South Wales.
Boddingtons (generic)References
| Primary Source | NSW Gov Records. Irish Convicts. |
Claims
No one has claimed James Macarthy yet.
Photos
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Convict Notes
NSW 1828 Census Index. James McCarthy, age 56, F.S. Per Boddingtons, 1793. Catholic, Farmer. Evan district. Has 400 acres, 115 are cleared and 65 acres cultivated. Has 9 horses and 150 head of horned cattle. James McCarthy, jun, age 24, B.c. Owen McCarthy, age 23, BC. Elizabeth McCarthy, age 19, B.C.
Irish Convict Database, by Peter Mayberry James McCarthy, alias McCartin, McCarlin.age on arrival, 20, per Boddingtons (1793), Tried at Antrim, 1792, 7 years sentence. DOB, 1773. Landholder. Died 1851 at Cranebrook. Lived with Mary Rigney, (d 1821). References: Censuses: 1801, 1806, 1811, 1814, 1825, 1828. Donohoe- Catholics of NSW: page 272. Hall – Of Infamous Character: p124-128.
Family connections for James (McCarthy) are: Some amendments added Aug 2025. MACARTHY James (Macarthy) was born about 1773 in Ireland & became a landlord. He was tried for deception by harbouring Irish Priests at Antrim court Ireland, sentenced to 7years & arrived in NSW as a convict with William (Spalding) on 7 8 1793 after a voyage of 6months on BODDINGTONS: he was staunchly Catholic. He had a relationship with Mary (Rigney). He was Free by servitude by 1804. He was a good farmer & was granted 100acres at Castlereagh. In 1819 he purchased 50acres more on Nepean River which he named 'Cranebrook Farm'. In early 1800s he donated 1acre as a cmetery. He supported the Catholic leaning community & from 1808-1818 he was a lay Catholic. From 1824 he cared for Eleanor & Michael (Minton), abandoned children of Mary (Spalding), with assistance from their fathers estate until 1828 when the Court stopped the payments & asked the orphanages to take them. He died on 26 6 1851 age78/80 at 'Crane Brook' & was buried at Macarthys cemetery. In 1986 McCarthy Catholic College was established at Penrith. [Noted a James (McCarty BODDINGTONS 1793) emancipist is recorded as dying on 19 7 1803 & buried on Norfolk Island] Details of the (Minton) family are given in entries for William (Spalding BODDINGTONS 1793) & Michael (Minton HERCULES 1802) on this Website. Mary (Rigney) was daughter of a free settler. However she is recorded in Smees records as arriving in Australia as a convict in 1801 on ANNE. Mary (Rigney) does not have an entry on this Website as yet, & the actual ship ANNE is not identified. James (McCarthy/Macarthy) & Mary (Rigney) produced perhaps 3children: 1.James (McCarthy) was born in 1804. 2.Owen (McCarthy) was born in 1805. He had a relationship with Frances (Eaton). He was recorded in 1826 as a shoemaker. ..Frances (Eaton) arrived in NSW as a convict on 10 7 1825 after a voyage of 4months on MARINER. ..Frances (Eaton) does not have an entry on this Website as yet-added by me ..Owen (McCarthy) & Frances (Eaton) produced 1child: ..1.John (McCarthy) was born on 12 5 1826 in Sydney & baptised on 14 7 1826 at St Marys RC Sydney. .. 3.Elizabeth (Macarthy/Macarthy) is recorded as born in 1806-no parents given-& dying on 4 3 1806 & was first to be buried at the Macarthys cemetery. 4.Elizabeth (Macarthy) was born in 1809. ..1.Eleanor (Minton) was baptised in July 1822. Her mother abandoned her after 1824 when her father was murdered; she was cared for with assistance from her fathers estate by James (McCarthy) Catholic settler of Windsor who had arrived in 1793 with Mary (Minton)s father, William (Spalding)-until 1828 when the Court stopped the payments & asked the orphanages to take her. She married Charles (Parker) in 1837. Reference: Craig James Smee 'Births and Baptisms Marriages and Defacto Relationships Deaths and Burials New South Wales 1788-1830' ..a complete listing from church & other records in the early colony.
Buried at McCarthy's Cemetery https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2589958/mccarthy's-cemetery
Extract from the Sydney Morning Herald Monday 30 June 1851. At Crane Brook, near Penrith, on the 26th June 1851 after an illness of several weeks, Mr. James McCarthy, sen., aged eighty years, a resident in this colony for upwards of fifty eight years.
Born - Ireland. Crime - Harbouring Irish priests. Marriage - James married Mary Rigney, the daughter of a free settler, who he met through his association with Father Dixon, one of the colony’s first priests. James McCarthy excelled as a farmer and was given a land grant of 100 acres in the district of Castlereagh. In 1819 they made their first purchase of land – 50 acres adjoining their 100 acres, Cranebrook (named after the abundance of cranes on the property) Farm, on the banks of the Nepean River McCarthy Catholic College was established in 1986 as a senior secondary college in the greater Penrith region and the following is an extract from their Feb 2011 News Letter - The McCarthy’s lived their existence in a new and hostile land – droughts and floods were common in the region. They experienced a great number of personal challenges and risks. Their children died at early ages. The small cemetery in the McCarthy’s home is a reminder of James McCarthy’s faith. In the early 1800’s he donated an acre of his land as a cemetery (not exclusively Catholic) for the Castlereagh community. In 1806 his daughter Elizabeth was the first to be buried there. One tradition says that Governor King allowed Fr Dixon to live on parole with the McCarthy’s from 1800-1803, where he could celebrate mass on a restricted basis. After the Castle Hill (Irish) Rebellion in 1804 the Governor withdrew this privilege. Fr Dixon is said to have remained with the McCarthy family, administering the faith in secret. The McCarthy homestead was the centre of priestly contact in an oppressive English and Protestant era. The McCarthy’s, as lay Catholics, played a substantial role from 1808-1818, when the catholic population of Sydney had no priest. It was a time when the faith was kept alive by people such as the McCarthy’s.