James ANDREWS

From Tomerong Past Wiki
Andrews Road Portion 106

James Andrews (1818-1898) was born in North Curry, near Taunton Somerset, in the south west of England. At the age of 21 (1838) he was sentenced to 'life' for Highway Robbery (stealing sheep) and was transported to NSW on the Parkfield. Onboard the 496 ton ship were 239 other convicts including his brother John and brother-in-law John Dare. All were convicted on the same date in the same place so we assume they were accomplices in the crime. After a 109 day voyage the ship arrived on 1 Sep 1839. He was granted a conditional pardon in July of 1852. [1]

At the age of 30, James married 32 year old Catherine Browne at Parramatta however she was to die the following year. Five years later (1853) he married 30 year old Catherine White (1823-1918) from Carlow, south west of Dublin, at Terara. Catherine had arrived as a 17 year old Nursemaid in 1841 on board the Glenswilly. Witnesses at the wedding were John James PARNELL and Mary BEAN and it appears they were living at Brundee at the time. They farmed at Brundee, but the floods and the subdivision of the Pyree portion of the Berry Estate prompted a move to Sassafras, where they farmed, ran an accommodation house and carted goods between the Shoalhaven and Braidwood. [2]

Between about 1864 and 1869, James and Catherine conditionally purchased 50 acres south of Tomerong. The land was Portion106 and its eastern boundary fronted the Main South Coast Road. When the Princes Highway was rerouted about 1930 this road became Andrews Road.[3] James was occasionally in court and probably the most significant was when he was charged with wilful perjury after selling bullocks that he had already mortgaged. Of course John James PARNELL was a party in the transaction as was the Magistrate Hyam. The case was sent to Sydney but James was acquitted.[4]

The trial was not the end of James' troubles as in 1874 he was declared bankrupt. He was working at Nowra Hill as a Labourer and he was authorised to retain for his own use "household furniture, wearing apparel, beds, bedding, and tools of trade.." but his assets were not expected to cover his debts.[5] His neighbour William SMITH had also become insolvent five years earlier.

Between 1854 and 1868 James and Catherine would have about nine children. Some would play Cricket for the Tomerong team and whist some stayed local others would move to the Lismore area in northern NSW.[6] In a list of Landholders with Stock from 1885 James is shown as having 50 acres with 3 horses and 16 cattle.[7]

James died at their home on Andrews Road at the age of 80 in 1898 and is buried in Nowra Cemetery.[8] In 1909 a bushfire destroyed the home of Messrs. Andrews but it is not known if this was James and Catherine's home.[9] Catherine died aged 95 in 1918 at her daughter's home in Nowra.[10]

It appears that William ANDREWS and his wife, Isabella Borrowdale, became the residents of the Andrews Road home on Portion 106. William, a teamster, would complete the Conditional Purchase obligations in 1918 and is shown as the ratepayer in 1913.[11]

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Notes and References

  1. ↑ convictrecords.com.au TP5635+. Some sources state 1847 not 1852.
  2. ↑ Tomerong Genealogy Database R1409/R1098. Ancestry+. Marriage Transcription TP5142. SN 16 Nov 1918 TP4728. NL 15 Nov 1918 TP5112.
  3. ↑ LTO Deeds TP5893+. 1870 ER TP2606+. 1872 Grevilles Directory TP373+. ST 22 Jul 1903 TP6221.
  4. ↑ KI- 26 Aug 1869 TP5496. 9 Sep 1869 TP5497. 7 Oct 1869 TP5215. IM 19 Nov 1869 TP5476+. KI 16 Dec 1869 TP5501. ST 28Jul 1881 TP5538.
  5. ↑ NSW GG 23 Oct 1874 TP6239. SN 28 Jul 1875 TP6240.
  6. ↑ List of Tomerong Cricketers TP4983+.
  7. ↑ 1885 Stock List TP4220.
  8. ↑ ST 7 Sep 1898 TP5185.
  9. ↑ Evening News 4 Jan 1909 TP5197+.
  10. ↑ Ibid TP5112.
  11. ↑ Clyde Shire Rate Books B Riding TP2293.

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Links

  1. Tomerong Local History Web Page- tomeronghistory.com
  2. Tomerong Past Facebook Album- Tomerong Past Facebook This site may provide more information relative to this family. Check the 'Families' and 'Monuments' albums and those institutions that the family contributed to e.g. 'School', 'Sawmills', 'Clyde Shire' etcetera.
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