James Ridley

2

Rosemary Millow on 23rd December 2017

James may not have known his English wife died within a few years. His mother survived until 1820. Very sad regarding separation. James may have been thinking of his English daughter Sarah when he names his Australian daughter Sarah. I am descended from his English daughter Sarah who married Joseph HOdged a shoemaker. Their grand daughter Elizabeth Hodges married Samuel Shepherd Some of their descendants now live in New South Wales. The rest of us are sprinkled around England and Jersey, Channel Island.

2

Jethro Lyndon Sutherland on 29th January 2014

Robert Luke, you have insulted me. But nevertheless, you are right, there is no proof she was an "alcoholic", but who knows, her children died young, and she drank - possibly to drown her sorrows; she obviously drank enough to steal children's clothes, from the very back of the children, so I have read somewhere, leaving them in a field? (So I have read somewhere). Nevertheless, I don't do this when I consume alcohol, which is rare, only on New Years Eve, so obviously there was an issue there. I am a 6th great grandson of James Ridley and Martha Luke's, through their son James Luke. Also, I have recently discovered, in the 1825 convict muster, there was a woman lised "Eliz. Ridley (or Radley)" as being a daughter of James Ridley, yet she was listed separate from James's other children, all listed "Ridley" instead of "Luke" as they were named at birth, and used within their lives, and Eliz.'s age was 21, thus she was born in 1804, as the muster was 1825. An Elizabeth Luke died in Parramatta in 1858, and her mother is listed as "Martha", and the father isn't listed. Martha arrived in Sydney in 1806, and as Elizabeth was born in or about 1804, she must have came to Australia with her mother, on the convict ship. Her father could have been her mother's husband John Luke, the father of her siblings Hannah Luke, born 1801 and died 1803 in London, and John James Luke born 1803 and died 1804, in London.

221

D Wong on 19th December 2013

Reading Mercury 27/3/1797: James Ridley for stealing a sheep, the property of Thomas Field of Henlow. In the 1828 Census: James was alive, 66 years old and free by servitude. 1855: James died and was listed as John Ridley V18551029 43A/1855. Sydney Morning Herald Fri 2 Feb 1855 p. 5 Text: LONGEVITY. - Mr. James Ridley, for many years an inhabitant of Toongabbie, in this district, arrived in the colony 56 years ago, in the ship Barwell; he was a man of steady and industrious habits, has reared a family, and witnessed his great-grandchildren. Mr. Ridley generally enjoyed good heath till within the last six weeks, when the [sic] complained of slightly ailing, and died a few days since at the advanced age of 102 years. It is remarkable, that Mr. Ridley retained his sight and the use of his faculties till the last; he actively assisted in getting in the harvest of last year.

11

Robert Luke on 19th December 2013

The death date, (1830) as supplied by Jethro Sutherland is yet to be confirmed as there is no record of his death listed in the NSW BDM records. Mervyn Walken Brown's research for his book "My Four Families" states that James Ridley died from an illness whilst acting as stockmaster taking livestock (sheep & cattle) across the Blue Mountains, for the Pearce, Best, Pye & McDougall families who James was working for in the Seven Hills area. This information was supplied by researcher, writer and artist, Collinridge Rivett as told to him by Edwin Maundrell who in turn was told by John Cuffe, an old resident of the Parramatta & Seven Hills district whose grandfather also worked for the Pearce family at the time James was there. It is widely excepted that James Ridley died at Kelso, near Bathurst, around 1830, most likely around 1832 when James was 68 years old.

11

Robert Luke on 19th December 2013

The comments made by Jethro Sutherland regarding James Ridley's "de facto" Martha Luke, in particular her being an alcoholic and stealing rich children are inaccurate and not supported by any fact. She stole the children's clothes by luring them away, and she was under the influence of alcohol at the time of her crimes. This does not suggest she was an alcoholic. It is stated in the trial transcripts by her friend, "that she knows not what she does when she drinks".

11

Robert Luke on 19th December 2013

Date of Death as supplied by another person is yet to be confirmed. Assumptions by this person on James Ridley's partner (Martha Luke nee Hunt) should not be taken as fact as there is no evidence in Martha's Trial transcripts to suggest she stole rich children, her crime was to steal their clothes. His assumption that she was an alcoholic has no evidence to support it either, she may well have been drunk or most definitely under the influence of alcohol, at the time of her crimes but there is nothing to suggest she was an alcoholic.

4

Jethro Lyndon Sutherland on 5th October 2012

James Ridley [born 1763 and died in 1830] was the son of John Ridley and Sarah Dear. He married Elizabeth Swepson [the daughter of Henry Swepson and Sarah Wootton, who was born in 1763 and died in 1802], and father of her children Sarah [born 1791 and died in 1872], John [born in 1793], and Henry [born in 1796]. He met Martha Luke (nee Hunt), the daughter of George Hunt and Mary Holles, and wife of John Luke whom she had separated from in London, due to her daughter Hannah dying young, and her becoming "funny" and an alcoholic, which led to her husband taking her rights to see their son John James Luke away from her. Her husband paid for her residency elsewhere and she stole rich children, took their clothes, and left them in fields. He met her when she became a domestic servant in Australia, after being sent over as a convict, and the two become defacto man and wife, and James Ridley adopted his girlfriends husbands surname of 'Luke', and had three children together, James Luke [born in 1813 and died in 1886], John Luke Ridley [born 1810 and died in 1875], and Sarah Luke [born in 1808].