Robert Nash

75

iain Frazier on 14th November 2024

Family connections for Robert (Nash) are: An amendment has been added Dec 2025. NASH The 2xAnn (Hannaway)s mentioned here could be the same person Robert (Nash) was born possibly in London & became a cooper. He married Susanna Sarah (Grey a minor with her fathers permission) & lived at 'Courtyard' Bermondsey Surrey. Susanna Sarah (Grey) was possibly born in Guildford Surrey; she was a Quaker who converted to Anglicanism on the eve of the wedding. Robert (Nash) & Susanna Sarah (Grey) produced perhaps 1child: 1.Robert (Nash) was born on 17 7 1771 & baptised on 4 8 1771 at St Mary Magdalen Bermondsey Surrey & became a miller. He was tried for burglary, on 26 2 1790, & stealing boots etc of Thomas (Plews) at Old Bailey on 24 4 1790, sentenced to death commuted to Life, held at Middlesex Gaol Delivery & arrived in NSW as a convict on 9 7 1791 after a voyage of 6months on Fleet ship ALBEMARLE; he was sent to Norfolk Island arriving on 11 11 1791. He had a relationship with Ann (Hannaway her second relationship), which may have commenced in England. He was Free by Servitude by 1786 & was commended by the Lt. Governor of Norfolk Island for behaving with propriety and advantage to the public, was issued his Conditional Pardon in February 1796 & granted land on which he produced wheat & supplied pork to the government. In 1798 he was made Master of the carpenters. He was issued his Absolute Pardon in 1800. In about 1801 he became the official storekeeper & later Superintendent. He is recorded in February 1805 as settler from convict assistant store supervisor on Norfolk Island. On 3 9 1808 he left Norfolk Island as part of the first evacuation with his family (for which volunteers apparantly had been called with appropriate compensation offerred & for which he may have tried to decline as some successful farmers were asked to stay) on CITY OF EDINBURGH to Derwent Tasmania, arriving on 5 10 1808; he was given 10acres beside the New Town Rivulet where he built a flour mill & lived until flooded in 1809 when he built another flour mill at Hobart Rivulet; then to a grant of 200acres at Pittwater. He was very successful & in 1815 built another flour mill with Government help, which came into operation as a windmill (rather than a flour mill) in 1817. He is recorded as off stores with 1child at Hobart Town on 2 10 1818. He died on 19 3 1819 age48 at Sorell father of perhaps 11children in Van Diemens Land (Tasmania). ..[Some details taken from this Website] ..Ann (Hannaway) was born about 1766. She married firstly in England, perhaps to Daniel (Seymour his second marriage), & produced perhaps 3children. She was tried w/2others for receiving stolen linen sheet etc of William (Hilton) at Old Bailey on 30 12 1789, sentenced to 14years, held at Middlesex Gaol Delivery & arrived in NSW as a convict with 3children on 3 6 1790 after a voyage of 1year on LADY JULIANA-a ship with 228females who easily entertained the whole crew & also sailors at Teneriffe stopover; she was sent to Norfolk Island with her child on CITY OF EDINBURGH arriving on 7 8 1790. She was Free by Servitude by 1802. She was recorded as sentence expired on stores in February 1805 on Norfolk Island. On 3 9 1808 she left Norfolk Island as part of the first evacuation with her family on CITY OF EDINBURGH to Derwent Tasmania, arriving on 5 10 1808; to New Town Hobart Rivulet & Pittwater. She is recorded as off stores at Hobart Town on 2 10 1818. She died on 12 12 1829 age63 mother of perhaps 11children at Sorell Tasmania. ..[Some details taken from this Website] AND With the help of Smees records: Ann (Hannaway) arrived in NSW as a convict with her child on 29 6 1790 after a voyage of 6months on Fleet ship NEPTUNE; a voyage noted for extreme brutality of prisoners with a high death rate. [Some details taken from this Website] [1.James (Hannaway) was born in 1789 in England. He arrived in NSW with his mother on 29 6 1790 after a voyage of 6months on Fleet ship NEPTUNE; a voyage noted for extreme brutality of prisoners with a high death rate; he would have went to Norfolk Island with his mother on CITY OF EDINBURGH arriving on 7 8 1790. He is recorded as child off stores on Norfolk Island in February 1805. He left Norfolk Island on 3 9 1808 on CITY OF EDINBURGH to Derwent Tasmania arriving on 5 10 1808: he was granted land at Pittwater.] [2?.another child mentioned on Website. A Maria (Hannaway) is recorded as child >2yrs on stores in February 1805 on Norfolk Island-could she be Maria (Nash) mentioned below?] [3?.another child mentioned on Website.] .. ..Robert (Nash) & Ann (Hannaway) produced perhaps 6children: mostly girls ..1.Elizabeth (Nash) was born on 9 3 1793 on Norfolk Island. She is recorded as child >2yrs on stores in February 1805 on Norfolk Island. On 3 9 1808 she may have left Norfolk Island as part of the first evacuation with her parents on CITY OF EDINBURGH to Derwent Tasmania, arriving on 5 10 1808; to New Town Hobart Rivulet & Pittwater. She married Bartholomew (Reardon/Readon) on 1 1 1812 at St Davids CofE Hobart & lived in Pittwater area & produced perhaps 8children. She was recorded as off stores on 2 10 1818 at Hobart Town, with 3children. She was imprisoned for some time with her brother after being accused as an accomplice in one of her husbands crimes. In 1829 she was living at Green Hills, she had not been able to send her children to school & had to hire a teacher. She died on 14 8 1878 age about85. ....Bartholomew (Reardon) was born on 15 6 1791 on Norfolk Island. He was recorded in February 1805 as child >2yrs on stores on Norfolk Island. He left Norfolk Island as part of the first evacuation on 9 11 1807 with his mother to Tasmania, arriving on 28 11 1807-according to Ref:'People...' but did not leave according to Ref'Forgotten...'. He was granted 600acres at Macquarie River & 230acres at Green Hills by Governor (Macquarie) & also 1/3rd of 1,100acres at Emu Point. He employed Ram John (Conn) as stockman at Eastern Marshes. In 1818 he was fined 40lb (paid by Thomas (Peters)) & ordered to keep peace after rowdy session at Great Wharf. He was recorded as off stores on 2 10 1818 at Hobart Town. He became prone to drinking & in debt causing him, in 1823, to sell 1,700acres at Macquarie River to Bartholomew (Reardon) in return for payment by instalments & bequeathing of the property to his (Reardon)s sons. By 1829 he was sentenced at Supreme Court & gaoled for stealing a steer of James (Little) (dreadful crimes) & gaoled for 7years at Port Arthur & Macquarie Harbour. He died in 1849 age about58 & was buried at St Johns Richmond. ....Details of Bartholomew (Reardon)s family are given in entry for Bartholomew (Reardon SCARBOROUGH 1788) on this Website. ..2.Susanna (Nash) was born on 3 5 1795 on Norfolk Island-see Susannah also below. On 3 9 1808 she left Norfolk Island as part of the first evacuation with her parents on CITY OF EDINBURGH to Derwent Tasmania, arriving on 5 10 1808; to New Town Hobart Rivulet & Pittwater. She died in 1876 age81. ....Noted Smees records show Susannah (Nash) born on 3 5 1805 & baptised on 7 7 1805 on Norfolk Island. She died on 8 5 1876 age71+. ..2a.Sarah (Nash) was born about 1795 (on Norfolk Island-see Sarah also below. She died in 1796 age8m & was buried at Kingston cemetery. ..3.Maria (Nash) was born on 30 4 1796 on Norfolk Island. A Mary (Nash) is recorded as child >2yrs on stores in February 1805 on Norfolk Island-could she be Maria (Hannaway) mentioned above?. On 3 9 1808 she left Norfolk Island as part of the first evacuation with her parents on CITY OF EDINBURGH to Derwent Tasmania, arriving on 5 10 1808; to New Town Hobart Rivulet & Pittwater. She was baptised on 11 11 1812 age16 at St Davids CofE Hobart. She married firstly Nathaniel (Ayres his first relationship) on 17 4 1813 at St Davids CofE Hobart.>>> ....Nathaniel (Ayres) was born about 1791. He arrived in Australia free. He had a first relationship with Catherine (Gardiner). He died on 13 12 1817 age26 father of 4children & was buried at St Davids CofE Hobart. ...[Nathaniel (Ayres/Ayers) & Catherine (Gardiner) produced 1child:] ...[1.Nathaniel (Ayres) was born in 1813 & baptised on 13 4 1813 at St Davids CofE Hobart.] .. ....Maria (Nash) & Nathaniel (Ayres) produced perhaps 3children: ....1.Henry (Ayres) was born in 1814 & baptised on 20 2 1814 at St Davids CofE Hobart. He died on 2 12 1816 age2 & was buried, with mother named as Martha, at St Davids CofE Hobart. ....2.Maria (Ayres) was born on 26 10 1815 & baptised on 15 9 1815 at St Davids CofE Hobart. ....3.Henry (Ayres) was born on 24 5 1817 & baptised on 16 6 1817 at St Davids CofE Hobart. .. >>>.Maria (Nash) married secondly James (Innis) on 4 9 1820 at St Davids CofE Hobart. She died in 1881 age about85 mother of 1known child. ....James (Innis) was born about 1792. ....[Noted a James (Ennis) was tried at Stafford Assizes, sentenced to 7years & arrived in NSW as a convict in 1792 (on 14 2 1792 in fact) after a voyage of 8.5months on PITT. It is possible that he, or a child he produced in 1792 (though not recorded in Smees records) is the person referred to here] ....[These details taken from this Website] .. ..4.Robert (Nash) was born about 1798 on Norfolk Island & died age0. He was buried at Kingston cemetery. ..4a.??? (Nash) is recorded as born on 14 10 1801 in Smees records-no parents given. ..5.Sarah (Nash) was born in January 1802 on Norfolk Island-see Sarah also above. She is recorded as child >2yrs on stores in February 1805 on Norfolk Island. On 3 9 1808 she left Norfolk Island as part of the first evacuation with her parents on CITY OF EDINBURGH to Derwent Tasmania, arriving on 5 10 1808; to New Town Hobart Rivulet & Pittwater. She married John (Wood) on 14 9 1819 at St Davids CofE Hobart & produced at least 1child. She died on 6 9 1879 age77. ....John (Wood) was born on 18 4 1793 & baptised on 21 4 1793 at St Johns CofE Parramatta. ....Details of John (Wood)s family are given BELOW. ..5a.Susannah (Nash) was born on 3 5 1805 & baptised on 7 7 1805 on Norfolk Island. see Susannah also above. ..6.James (Nash) was born in 1806. On 3 9 1808 he left Norfolk Island as part of the first evacuation on CITY OF EDINBURGH with his parents to Derwent Tasmania, arriving on 5 10 1808. He married Sarah (Kane). He was imprisoned for some time with his sister after being accused as an accomplice in one of Bartholomew (Reardon)s crimes. He died in 1850 age about44? in Tasmania. .. ....Noted a Sarah (Kaine), born about 1814, is recorded as arriving in NSW as a child in 1820 on MORLEY & married at age15 Michael (Humphries) who was born in the colony in 1803-at St Marys RC Sydney on 26 10 1829. ....Details of Michael (Humphries)s family are given in entry for John (Hence NEPTUNE 1818) on this Website. ....An examination of Smees records does not reveal a Sarah (Kaine) arriving as a child on MORLEY, although she would have been 6yo at the time. There are, however 6mothers named Sarah & 2others who could be-which isn't helpful. ....However, Sarah (Hence) was born about 1814. She arrived in NSW free with her mother on 30 9 1820 after a voyage of 4.5months on MORLEY. She married at age15 Michael (Humphries) on 26 10 1829 at St James CofE Sydney & produced at least 1child. Could she have associated with a (Kane/Kaine/Cane) also? She died on 22 3 1905 age about91. ....Smees baptism records show Mary (Kaine) baptised on 26 10 1829 at St Marys RC Sydney-hard to reconcile ....Details of Sarah (Hence)s family are given in entry for John (Hence NEPTUNE 1818) on this Website. Noted a James (Nash) is recorded as child off stores in February 1805 on Norfolk Island. ....& a ??? (Nash) is recorded as born on 14 10 1801-no parents given in entry for Robert (Nash ALBEMARLE 1791) on this Website. WOOD John (Wood) arrived in NSW as a convict on 9 7 1791 after a voyage of 7months on Fleet ship MATILDA. He married, as John/James (Wood/Jarvis), Jane (Weldon/Wheeldon) on 16 10 1791 at St Johns CofE Parramatta.>>> John (Wood is one of the 6so-named convicts on this ship & cannot be identified at this time.. John (Wood) & Jane (Weldon/Wheeldon) produced 2children: 1.John (Wood) was born on 18 4 1793 & baptised on 21 4 1793 at St Johns CofE Parramatta. He married Sarah (Nash) on 14 9 1819 at St Davids CofE Hobart. ..Sarah (Nash) was born in January 1802 on Norfolk Island. She is recorded as child >2yrs on stores in February 1805 on Norfolk Island. On 3 9 1808 she left Norfolk Island as part of the first evacuation with her parents on CITY OF EDINBURGH to Derwent Tasmania, arriving on 5 10 1808; to New Town Hobart Rivulet & Pittwater. She died on 6 9 1879 age77. ..Details of Sarah (Nash)s family are given ABOVE. ..John (Wood) & Sarah (Nash) produced at least 1child: ..1.Jane (Wood) was born on 11 11 1820 & baptised on 19 12 1820 at St Davids CofE Hobart. She died on 19 12 1858 age38. .. 2.William (Wood) was born on 5 2 1798 & baptised on 2 11 1798 at St Phillips CofE Sydney. ..Noted a William (Wood), a veteran, married Ann/Hannah (Stoddart) on 18 6 1827 at St Johns CofE Parramatta. ..Hannah/Ann (Stoddard) was born about 1796. She was tried at Derby Borough Quarter Sessions, sentenced to 7years & arrived in NSW as a convict on 23 1 1827 after a voyage of 4.5months on GRENADA; on the voyage she was recorded on sick list for 10days with diarhoea. ..[Some details taken from this Website] REFERENCES 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. Irene Schaffer & Thelma McKay 'Exiled Three Times Over! Profiles of Norfolk Islanders Exiled in Van Diemens Land 1807-1813' James Hugh Donohoe 'Norfolk Island 1788-1813-The People and Their Families' Reg Wright 'Forgotten Generation of Norfolk Island & Van Diemens Land'

4

Jill Watson on 16th June 2023

I’d like to correct the belief that Robert Nash was born at Edenbridge, Kent. This belief is derived entirely from suppositions and wishful thinking by Nash descendant, Roy Bridges, in his 1948 book, “That Yesterday was Home”, where he says “My mother, telling Gran’s stories to us when we were children, did not know where in Kent, and I have no other notion than Edenbridge, for while in England in 1926 I spent several weeks there with my friend … Headstones in the churchyard showed Nash names for generations. I care to fancy that this village in Kent… was the home of the boy Nash.” A family Bible, owned by the Reardon family (Nash’s daughter Elizabeth married Bartholomew Reardon) contains a birthdate for Robert Nash of 17 July 1771, which corresponds exactly to the baptism record of a Robert Nash (b. 17 July 1771, baptised 4 August 1771, at St Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey, son of Robert Nash, a cooper, and Susanna Sarah Grey, who lived in “Courtyard” Bermondsey, Surrey. As far as I have been able to determine, Robert Nah’s father was a Londoner, born and bred, while his mother, Susanna Grey, comes from Quaker stock, originating in Guildford, Surrey. She converted to Anglicanism on the eve of the wedding so that she could marry Nash, with her father giving consent to her marrying as a minor. Robert Nash and Ann Hannaway had 6 children altogether, all born on Norfolk Island. Two died in infancy, and their gravestone still survives in Kingston Cemetery, NI, though broken, with parts of the death dates missing. Sarah would have been born c1795, and died in 1796, aged 8 months. The other child was Rob(ert), who died at “Age 0”, sometime after Sarah, probably c1798, in a month beginning with M. The surviving children were Elizabeth (1793-1878), Maria (1796-1881), Sarah (1802-1879) and Susanna (1895-1876). My husband is descended from the second Sarah (as was Roy Bridges, mentioned above.)

221

D Wong on 8th May 2014

Old Bailey 24/4/1790: ROBERT NASH was indicted for burglariously and feloniously breaking and entering the dwelling house of Thomas Plews , about the hour of ten in the night, on the 26th of February last, and burglariously stealing therein, twelve pair of leather boots, value 12 l. fourteen pair of leather shoes, value 50 s. his property . From the Australian Dictionary of Biography by F C Green: Robert Nash (1771-1819), miller, was born at Edenbridge, Kent, England, the son of a millwright. In February 1790 he was convicted at the Old Bailey, London, of breaking and entering a shop and stealing boots and shoes to the value of £14 10s. He was given a good character and his death sentence was commuted; transported for life, he reached New South Wales in the Albemarle in October 1791, and was sent to Norfolk Island. Before this he married Ann Hannaway, who in January 1789 had been sentenced to fourteen years transportation for receiving stolen goods, had come out in 1790 in the Neptune in the Second Fleet and been sent to Norfolk Island with her three children; later she bore him four daughters who went to Van Diemen's Land with their parents. On Norfolk Island in 1795 Nash was commended by Lieutenant-Governor Philip Gidley King for 'having ever behaved with propriety and advantage to the public'; in February 1796 he was conditionally pardoned, and received a grant of land. By the end of the year he was supplying pork to the government. In 1798 he was made master of the carpenters and built a house, which in 1801 he rented to Rev. Henry Fulton. Granted an absolute pardon in 1800, two years later he was made store-keeper, and soon afterwards a superintendent; as a 'deserving' character with a large family, Governor King gave him a cow from the government herd when he was 'discharged' upon the reduction of the settlement. In 1808, when the Norfolk Island colonists were deported, Nash moved to Hobart Town and was given ten acres (4 ha) beside the New Town Rivulet. Here he built a flour-mill which in 1809 was carried away by a flood. Next year he built a second one on the Hobart Rivulet. As the food requirements of the settlement increased, wheat-growing extended to the rich lands towards Pittwater, where he was granted 200 acres (81 ha). Like many of his neighbours he suffered from attacks by bushrangers in 1815, but in 1817 he was one of the largest contractors for the supply of wheat to the commissariat. In 1815, when he built a mill at 'his own expense' Lieutenant-Governor Thomas Davey asked Governor Lachlan Macquarie to let him have a pair of mill-stones, which Macquarie sent down in December 1816. 'As an encouragement to his future industry', Nash was asked to pay only by grinding wheat for the government, when required, at not more than 1s. a bushel, until the debt was liquidated. On 8 February 1817 the Hobart Town Gazette reported with satisfaction that 'the first wind-mill erected in this Settlement' had begun operation. Nash's health suffered from his continuous hard work under the primitive conditions of the early settlement, and he died at Sorell on 19 March 1819, aged 48.