James Overton

"3x great grandfather"

"James Overton arrived in Sydney, in the New South Wales colony on December 18, 1819 onboard the convict ship ‘Recovery’ . Earlier that year on March 11, he had been tried for the crime of stealing a horse and saddle valued at five pounds . He had pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to death. This punishment was later changed to transportation for life. After his trial James was assigned to the prison hulk the ‘Justitia’. On June 1, 1819 he was described as prisoner number 3908 . A gaol report, at the same time, said he was of good character. Other personal details about James can be found on the Recovery’s indent and James’ trial details. They include a stated native place being that of Herefordshire, his trade or calling as that of a labourer, his year of birth 1798, his height 5 feet 5 inches (1.625 cm), with a fair complexion, dark hair and hazel eyes. James as also described as having a scar on the third finger of the left hand. The ship that brought James to Australia was on its first trip to Australia and had set sail from Woolwich on July 31, 1819 taking 139 days to reach Sydney. After James’ arrival in Australia the next substantial reference to his whereabouts (other than the general convict muster of 1825 , appears in the 1828 census where James is recorded as being assigned to a William Fuller of North Richmond . A year later on August 4, 1829, James received his ticket of leave, number 29/737, (see Chapter 7), allowing him to work and live in the Hawkesbury District. However, it wasn’t till 1841 that James received his conditional pardon. Personal details recorded on his ticket of leave were similar to those on his transportation documents. On February 1 1836 he married a local 16year old girl, Mary Turner after having received permission from the Governor on December 28 1835 . Mary was also from North Richmond the daughter of George Turner and Mary nee Rogers . James and Mary were married at Saint Peter’s Church of England, Richmond by the Rev. Henry T. Stiles – see Chapter 12 for more on Rev. Stiles. James and Mary had eight children, three boys and five girls all registered as being born at North Richmond on land that they farmed at Kurrajong somewhere on or near Comleroy Road. John the eldest child was born in 1838 and Thomas the youngest child was born in 1861. Birth details for all the children either showed James’ occupation as being that of a labourer or a farmer. Most of James’ children grew up to marry into local Kurrajong families. Kurrajong in the latter half of the 19th century was a small but closely knit farming community, with settlement running along a number of cleared ridges. The farms were small in acreage with orchard farms being the most common . Many of the residents would have been able to trace their family history to include a convict. Other references to James can be found in the early electoral rolls for the district. Including the electoral rolls for 1859-60, 1869-70 and 1874-75 James is recorded as being eligible to vote and residing in either North Richmond or Kurrajong, the later name for the area becoming more commonly used as the century progressed. After what would have amounted to a hard-working and at times difficult life, James was to die at age 78 years on February 8, 1876 . At the time of James’ death, he and Mary had been married for 40 years. James was survived by his wife, seven of his eight children and 27 grandchildren. James is buried at Saint Phillip’s Church North Richmond, his headstone (now almost unreadable) and gravesite is shared by his wife Mary who died some 25 years later, and two Overton children who died as infants ."