George Picking

221

D Wong on 20th May 2020

Native Place: Nantwick.

343

Maureen Withey on 20th May 2020

Colonial Secretary Index. PICKING, George. Per "Little Mary", 1819 1819 May 14 - Re clothing and provisions due to him (Reel 6006; 4/3500 p.111) 1821 Sep 8 - Grass Boats. On list of all persons victualled from H.M. Magazines (Reel 6016; 4/5781 p.110) -------------------------------------------------- Lachlan Macquarie Journal. Thursday 13. May 1819. The Schooner "Little Mary" Commanded by Capt. J. R. Rolls, anchored this afternoon in the Harbour from the Isle of France which She left on the 27th. of February last, touching at the Derwent – which Settlement She sailed from on the 4th. Inst. bringing me Dispatches from Lt. Govr. Sorell. The Little Mary is ladened with sundry merchandize from the Mauritius for this Colony and has brought Two Male Convicts under Sentence of Transportation from that Colony to this. — I have received Dispatches by this Conveyance from my old acquaintance (and Brother Staff in the London District in 1803 & 1804) Major Genl. Ralph Darling, who is at present Acting governor and Commander of the Forces in the Isle of France. Source: https://www.mq.edu.au/macquarie-archive/lema/1819/1819may.html -------------------------------------------------- Colonial Secretary Index. ROLLO, John Wallis. Master, "Little Mary" 1819 May 14 - Re clothes and provisions due to George Picking and Thomas Strettles (Reel 6006; 4/3500 p.111) 1819 May 17 - Re clothing and stores of prisoners at Mauritius (Fiche 3281; 5/3821.6A pp.9-10) 1819 May 19 - Re his tender to supply Govt with wheat (Reel 6006; 4/3500 p.116) 1819 Jun 17, Jul 14 - Bills drawn on H.M. Treasury in favour of (Reel 6049; 4/1745 pp.79-80 & pp.374-5 [second copy]) 1820 May 1 - Captain J Piper informing of necessity to seize "Tuscan Whaler" for breach of licence (Reel 6049; 4/1744 pp.331-3) -------------------------------------------------- The undermentioned prisoners obtained Certificates of Freedom during the last week: Little Mary – George Picking. Sydney Gazette, 10 Feb 1825. -------------------------------------------------- PICKING or PICKERING George George Picking was born at Nantwich, Cheshire, about 1798. While serving as a soldier in the 22nd Regiment on Mauritius, he was convicted on 22 January 1818 and sentenced for a term of seven years. In company with another convicted soldier, Thomas Strettles, he arrived in New South Wales by the schooner Little Mary on 13 May 1819. Then aged 21, he was 5 feet 7 1/2 inches tall, with a dark ruddy complexion, dark brown curly hair, and dark eyes. [AO Fiche 627, p.108] From a letter sent by the Colonial Secretary to Captain Rollo, Schooner Little Mary , Sydney Cove, dated 14 May 1819, we learn that for the voyage Picking and Strettles were outfitted with straw hats, long cloth jackets, long cloth pantaloons, white cotton shirts and shoes. For sustenance on the voyage they were provided with 270 lbs of biscuit, 180 lbs of salt meat, 360 lbs of wood, and nine gallons of rum. [AO Reel 6006, 4/3500 p.111] In September 1821 Picking was employed on grass boats for the Colony, and received 1½ rations from H.M. Magazines. [AO Reel 6016, 4/5781 p.110] At the age of 26, on 3 February 1825, he received his Certificate of Freedom. [AO Reel 601, 4/4423 No.23/3146] George Picking, bachelor, of North Shore, married Martha Day (née Hughes) on 17 November 1833 at the Scots Church, Elizabeth Street, Sydney. Their daughter Susannah is recorded as having been born on 15 August 1834 and was baptized in the same church in October 1834. They continued to live on the North Shore (not North Harbour or Manly) until at least the time of the 1837 muster. The 1841 census lists a George Pickering and family at Middle Harbour in the Parish of Willoughby, but a profile of the 8 -member household (Roman Catholic couple with four children and two others) does not fit very well with other known facts about George Picking. Annes Day, who would have been twelve years old, was not one of the children. Susannah Pickering, by calculation aged 14 years and 9 months, married James Heaton on 21 May 1849. The earliest record that has been found of George and Martha Picking living “in the bush at North Harbour” was in October 1849. [SMH 1 January 1850] By this time the alternative name Pickering was sometimes used. The story of Heaton and Picking’s attack on James Heaton’s father at this time is recounted under James Heaton. In 1840 Charles Whitney had been granted allotments 19 and 20 in the Township of Balgowlah, which had been promised to and previously occupied by John Fincham and Robert Tiffin. Whitney, who was a Sydney publican, does not appear to have lived on or used his Balgowlah allotments. It is not surprising, therefore, to find that George and Martha Picking moved in, perhaps as early as 1849, certainly in the early 1850s. In a Statutory Declaration dated 5 October 1889 Anna Selena Owen (born Hannah Selena Heaton on 24 May 1850) stated that she recollected the land from her earliest infancy, and lived with her grandfather George Pickering and his wife upon the said land until she was 12 or 13 years of age. [LTO PA 7900] Pickering had a cottage on the land, the two lots were enclosed, he cultivated part of the land and had fruit trees on other parts. The location of the cottage, with the name Pickering and the word “garden”, is shown on a map drawn up by surveyor J.C. Drake, dated 22 July 1856. [LTO Map 4 - 1245] George Picking died on Friday, 19 April 1867, aged 69 (not 82 or 84). The Sydney Morning Herald of 23 April 1867 gave an account of his death: “CORONER’S INQUEST. An inquiry was held yesterday at the Steyne Hotel, Manly Beach, respecting the death of an old man, eighty-two years of age, named George Picken. Deceased was a fisherman, and had for many years resided near Brown’s Creek, North Harbour. From the evidence it appears that he was in the habit of going to Manly Beach almost daily, and in order to get there it was necessary for him to pass over some cliffs, and the road was also in a very dangerous state. He left home between 3 and 4 o’clock on Friday for Manly Beach, and on his way home in the evening it is supposed he missed his footing and fell into Brown’s Creek, where his body was found on the following morning by his wife, lying amongst the rocks. Dr. Shaw stated that he had examined the body, and found a wound over the left eyebrow, which might have been inflicted by deceased’s head [hitting] a rock, he believed death to have been occasioned by asphyxia by drowning. Verdict: accidentally drowned.” Martha Picking continued to reside on the Whitney grants for a further twelve months, and then James Heaton, their son-in-law, assumed possession. Martha Picking died in 1874, aged 78 years (not 89). Their ages as shown on their gravestone in Manly Cemetery, and in the official death records, are incorrect, as family members believed that the couple was in their eighties. The claim on the gravestone, that they were the first white people to settle in Manly in March 1814, is not supported by any historical evidence. Source: PROFILES OF THE PIONEERS IN MANLY, WARRINGAH AND Pittwater, By Shelagh and George Champion. https://silo.tips/download/profiles-of-the-pioneers-in-manly-warringah-and-pittwater -------------------------------------------------- ASSAULT WITH ATTEMPT TO ROB James Heaton and George Pickering were indicted for that they, on the 29th October, feloniously entered the dwelling-house of one James Heaton, armed with fire arms - with intent to rob the said James Heaton. Mr. Purefoy defended the prisoners. Mr. C. B. Lyons, Attorney. Hannah Blood, daughter of James Heaton, deposed-two men whom she could not identify - but who were spoken of as the prisoners - came to the door of the house. They had their faces muffled up. They demanded money, and each one presented pistols - the prisoner Heaton was the brother of witness - did not recognise the voices of the prisoners. The man she took for her brother went out. (In the first instance the witness said - her brother went out.) The other man said he would shoot her father, and he put a pistol to his head and snapped it : thought the other man was the prisoner, Pickering ; thought the other prisoner was her brother, but could not swear it. On the pistol being snapped at her father, he got out of bed and went up to the prisoners. Her brother and Pickering were living in the bush at North Harbour. Her brother had been living away from her father about three weeks. Her brother was a boatman by trade. Cross-examined by Mr. PUREFOY ; The men stayed in the house about two minutes ; they had handkerchiefs tied round their heads ; the reason why she thought it was her brother, was that the servant man cried out, " Jim, Jim, would you shoot your own parents?" the person she thought her brother immediately turned off from the house; could not say whether the pistol that was snapped at her father was flint or percussion. John Heaton : Was the son of James Heaton ; was at home on the night of the 29th October ; remembered on that night two men coming in to the house armed with pistols; one of the persons was the prisoner Pickering, the other was his brother; could not swear to them ; but from their voice and appearance had no doubt they were the men ; both prisoners entered the house, and the prisoner Heaton presented a pistol at his father, saying, deliver your money or you are dead ; the other prisoner, Pickering, had a pistol in his hand, and addressed the same words to his mother; Pickering then drew the curtains of James Heaton's bed on one side and put a pistol in, and said he would shoot him; Heaton said " shoot away," and immediately after both prisoners made their escape by the door. Hannah Blood, recalled: On the Friday previous to this occurrence her bother was tipsy, and had some words with her; he had a cannister of powder with him, and her brother asked him to give it up to him; he said no, I mean to do something with this before Monday night's over. James Heaton: Remembered the night of the 29th October; was in bed; heard his daughter say "Father, father, bring your pistols, here's Jim ;" a man came and drew the curtains of his bed and presented a pistol and snapped it ; he immediately made off, and witness got up to go after them ; he saw two men about fifteen yards from his hut, but could not say who they were. Anne Heaton, sworn: Remembered the night when two men came to her father's house with pistols ; could not say that she knew anything about either of them; did not know either of them: could not swear that either of the two prisoners were the men who entered her father's house. Thomas Charlesworth: Was a servant at Heaton's ; remembered the night when two men came in armed with pistols ; did not know the prisoner Pickering at all ; remembered one of the men asking the old man for his money, when he (witness) said " Jim, Jim, are you going to kill your parents ?" He said so, because he recognised his voice ; he believed the man was James Heaton; he had no doubt of it; he was the first man that came in and presented a pistol at Mrs. Heaton; the other man came in and ordered all hands to bail up ; he then went to the bed side of Heaton and drew the curtain, and said he would blow his brains out if he did not bail up; Heaton said "Blow away," and the man snapped his pistol; he then went out of the house and both parties ran up the hill ; as soon as witness said " Jim, will you shoot your parents?" the man he took to be James Heaton the younger went away; the whole occurrence did not last more than two minutes the night was dark and the men were disguised. Mr. PUREFOY addressed the Jury for the defence, and contended, that even though the identification of the prisoners was made out there was no proof of attempt to rob. He then called the mother and daughter of Pickering, the latter being the prisoner Heaton's wife, to prove that the prisoners were both at home in North Harbour on the night in question. The SOLICITOR-GENERAL replied; and His HONOR having summed up, the Jury retired for a few minutes, and returned with a verdict of guilty of an assault. His HONOR, in passing sentence, said that he would repeat what he had said at the early part of the sessions,-that it was his intention to pass the most severe sentence of the law in all cases of robbery with violence, particularly if committed in the night time. The prevalence of this crime rendered strong measures necessary; and he gave notice, that any person convicted of such offence before him might expect to receive the term of fifteen years' hard labour on the roads, several years of which would be passed in irons. He believed that since he had the honour of a seat on the Bench his sentences had not been over severe, but in regard to this crime, he was determined, as far as in him lay, to put it down. His Honor then sentenced each of the prisoners to twelve months' imprisonment with hard labour, intimating that had they been convicted of felony, he would have sentenced them to ten years on the roads. Sydney Morning Herald, 1 Jan 1850.