William Nicholls

75

iain Frazier on 7th September 2025

Family connections for William (Nicholls) are: NICHOLLS William (Nicholls) was born in 1771 or 1780. He was tried with 1other for burglary at Middlesex Gaol Delivery, sentenced to 7years & arrived in NSW on 7 10 1792 after a voyage of 4+months on Fleet ship ROYAL ADMIRAL. He arrived on Norfolk Island on 22/3 12 1792 on PHILADELPHIA. He married Elizabeth (Hayward/wood her first (1of3) marriage). His applications to settle in NSW in 1802 are said to be in 'Banks Papers' & 'PRO microfilms'. He died on 3 11 1813 age about33 & was buried at Old Sydney burial ground St Phillips CofE Sydney. [Noted a William (Nicholls) senior is recorded at Hobart Town on 2 10 1818] [Some details taken from this Website] Elizabeth (Hayward/wood) daughter of Samuel (Hayward) & Elizabeth (???), perhaps sister of Nicolas, was born on 20/30 7 or 11 12 1773, baptised on 30 7 1773 at St Mary Whitechapel Tower Hamlets Middlesex & became orphanned early. She became a servant/apprentice clogmaker. She was tried at age13 w/1other for stealing clothing of her master Thomas (Crofts), on 19 12 1786, at Old Bailey on 10 1 1787, sentenced to 7years, held at Middlesex Gaol Delivery & arrived in NSW as a convict on 22 1 1788 after a voyage of 12months on First Fleet ship LADY PENRHYN; she was sent to Rose Hill. She was employed by Ministers wife Mrs (Johnson). In February 1789 she was sentenced at age14 at Port Jackson to 30lashes for insolence to church minister. She arrived on Norfolk Island on 13 3 1790or92-(Ref:'People...') or 23 12 1792 on HMS SIRIUS (shipwrecked on reef near Kingston Pier Slaughter Bay 17 3 1790) & became a farmer. She married? secondly (2of3) George/Joseph (Lowe) on Norfolk Island-not shown in Smees records-& produced 3children. She was Free by Servitude by 1796. She may have had a third relationship with George (Collins). She was recorded as sentence expired on Norfolk Island in February 1805; she bought a house in this year. In 1810 she was recorded by OIC Captain (Piper) as settler landowner time expired. She moved, as Elizabeth (Lowe), to Port Dalrymple Tasmania as part of the second evacuation on 20 1 1813 on HMS LADY NELSON with children George (age11?) & Margaret (age17?), arriving on 1 3 1813; then to Norfolk Plains. In 1820 she was at Port Dalrymple with children George & Margaret. She was recorded with Joseph (Lowe) & 2children in 1820 at Port Dalrymple muster. She died on 29 10 1836 age62/65-the oldest living person from the First Fleet-at Launceston mother of maybe 10children & was buried at Old Cypress St CofE cemetery Launceston-now the site of Broadland House School. [Elizabeth (Hayward) is also recorded as daughter of Edward (Hayward) cooper & Ann (???) of Crowcher’s Ropewalk, Stepney. born on 11 12 1773 & baptised on 16 1 1774] [Some details taken from this Website, where there are 4entries for her. This Website implies that Elizabeth pleaded guilty as she was planning to join her brother (Edward?) by this means.] William (Nicholls) & Elizabeth (Hayward/ood) produced maybe 4children: 1.Elizabeth (Hayward/ood/Nicholls) was born on 2 3 1794or6 on Norfolk Island. She was recorded as child >2years on stores on Norfolk Island in February 1805. She had a first relationship about 1809 at age about16 with John (Piper his fourth relationship in a society where young girls were taken by men of the ruling establishment) soldier & produced 1child. In 1810 she was recorded by the same OIC Captain John (Piper) as free owner of 10 sheep 1cow. She had a name change on 18 10 1811 to (Haywood). She is recorded in 1812 living on 15acres plot on Norfolk Island. She left Norfolk Island as Elizabeth (Nicholls) with her son Norfolk (Piper/Nicholls) as part of the second evacuation on 18 2 1813 on MINSTREL to Port Dalrymple Tasmania arriving on 4 3 1813sic; she received cash for her abandoned dwelling.>>> ..John (Piper) son of Hugh (Piper) & Sarah (Chambers) was born on 20 4 1773 at Maybole Ayrshire Scotland. He enlisted in NSW Corps on 20 4 1791 in United Kingdom as an ensign & arrived in NSW as an ensign on 14 2 1792 after a voyage of 8months on PITT. In 1793 he volunteered/was posted to Norfolk Island as lieutenant where he was granted 100acres at Petersham Hill. He gained the rank of Lieutenant on 6 5 1795 & in 1796 he was in Sydney where he was granted 60acres at Parramatta on 1 5 1797 after which he returned to United Kingdom. He returned to Parramatta NSW in 1799 where he leased 3acres 135rods at Parramatta on 24 10 1799. In 1800 he gained the rank of Captain. ('People & Their Families' has him arriving in NI in 1801.) In 1801 he seconded Mr John (McArthur) for duel with Mr John (Paterson). He was court martialled in 1802. He was sent again to Norfolk Island as 2nd in command in 1803 where he gained the rank of acting Commandant in August 1804 serving until April 1810. He had many relationships. He died on 8 6 1851 age78 father of perhaps 19children at Westbourne/Sydney & was buried at Presbyterian Bathurst. ..Details of John (Piper)s family are given in entry for James (Shears SCARBOROUGH 1788) on this Website. .. >>>Elizabeth (Hayward/ood/Nicholls) married secondly David (Gibson) on 16 1 1819 at St Johns CofE Launceston, produced 10children & lived at 'Pleasant Banks' Evandale. She died on 28 1 1872 age77 mother of 11children & was buried at Evandale Presbyterian church burial ground. David (Gibson) was born on 26 4 1778 & became a farmer. He was tried for stealing gold watches etc at York Assizes Yorkshire on 6 3 1802, sentenced to Life, held on hulk COROMANDWL PERSEUS &/or LAUUREL at Portsmouth Harbour Hampshire & arrived at Port Phillip (now Victoria) as a convict on 4 10 1803 after a voyage of 7+months on HMS CALCUTTA with HMS SUPPLY (an expedition that settled in Tasmania); he would have camped at what is now Sorrento/Sullivans Bay. This expedition rejected Port Phillip for a settlement at this time & he was moved to Risdon Derwent Van Diemens Land (Tasmania) on 27 1 1804 (arriving on 15 2 1804) on OCEAN or HMS LADY NELSON or leaving on 24 3 1804 (arriving on 25 6 1804) on OCEAN. He was Free by Servitude by 1814 & was issued his Absolute Pardon before 1819. He lived with his family at 'Pleasant Banks' Evandale. After his mother died in 1836 he bought Wellington St Launceston property from his father-in-law Joseph (Lowe) in 1840. He died on 15 4 1858 age79/82 at Snake Banks-much respected. [Some details taken from this Website] .. 2.Rebecca (Nicholls) was born on 21 1/11 1795 on Norfolk Island. She had a name change on 18 10 1811 to (Haywood). She may have left Norfolk Island with her mother as part of the second evacuation on 18 2 1813 on MINSTREL to Port Dalrymple Tasmania arriving on 4 3 1813sic. .. 3.Robert (Nicholls) was born on 21 11 1795also on Norfolk Island. 4.William (Nicholls)-[Noted a William (Nicholls) is recorded as came free at Hobart Town on 2 10 1818] It is possibly he who, with Edward & William (Kimberley) & Daniel (Stanfield), was robbed of 200sheep by William Henry (Morgan) at Tin Dish Holes near York Plains on 16 2 1819: & with Nathaniel & John (Lucas), Joseph (Field) & 2others requested a pound/prison be established at Browns River in September 1828. 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' Pamela Statham 'A Colonial Regiment-New Sources Relating to the New South Wales Corps-1789-1810'

221

D Wong on 13th March 2014

William Nicholls was 21 years old when convicted along with Edward Vaughan alias Purcell (also on board) for stealing to the value of 39s. William went to Norfolk Island in December 1792 in the American trader 'Philadelphia'. There he had a child with Elizabeth Hayward, a daughter Elizabeth born 1794, they had another child 21/1/1795 which seems to have died, as there is no further mention of it and then another daughter Margaret born 1796. George then disappeared from the records in Norfolk Island also in 1796. There is a death for a William Nicholls who dies in 1813, aged 33 and buried at the Old Sydney Burial Ground, this would make him born in 1780. Dates I find are always a little out, however, nothing else found on William Nicholls.

4

Taniqua on 12th March 2014

William married Elizabeth Hayward and had three kids. Elizabeth born on 2nd March 1794, Margaret born in 1796 and Robert D.O.B unknown.