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Messages - Brianrhunt

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Family History Beginners Board / Re: Henry Hunt - Surrey - England
« on: Sunday 29 July 18 07:20 BST (UK)  »
Hi, Henry Hunt, or Henry Edward Hunt (the name he adopted in Australia) was my Great Grandfather. Among all his descendants looking for information on him, his exact birth date and parents remains a mystery. Unsubstantiated writings of his history record the following. The authenticity of this is unproven. It says, speaking of his adopted Australian name Edward:
"Edward was born as Henry, & as such was convicted on 20th February 1832 in the Surrey Quarter Sessions for stealing a truck (a two wheeled barrow for moving heavy objects). He was recorded as being capable of reading, but not to write, a Protestant, single & a hawker by trade. With no prior convictions, he was sentenced to seven years, with the ident No 137 & standing No 33-2211. He was also recorded as 5 ft 41/2 in (1.62 m), ruddy complexion, brown hair, hazel eyes, with a slight scar under the chin"
my research has pointed to his father being Edward Hunt (Birth 23 DEC 1789 • New Alresford, Hampshire, England, D:13 AUG 1873 • New Alresford, Hampshire, England)
and mother Elizabeth (possibly Crane or Jones)
after obtaining his Ticket of leave. Edward married Sarah Johanna Skelton B14 November 1837 • Devonport, Devon, England. Sarah's family tree can be found here:
https://australianroyalty.net.au/family.php?famid=F1364&ged=purnellmccord.ged
I have the full decadency of Henry Aka Edward documented, but proof around his birth date and parents remains a weak point in my family tree.

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Family History Beginners Board / Re: Where did Convict Henry Hunt come from?
« on: Saturday 17 March 18 10:04 GMT (UK)  »
The information below is from a document written by Henry (Edward) Hunt by his grandson (my Grandfather Robert J Hunt:
An extract from an article by Robert Hunt, great-grandson of Edward.   From My research, I have Henry's father as Edward Hunt B.23 Dec 1789
Mother Elizabeth B 20 Apr 1797 Lymington, Hampshire, England. Elizabeth was the daughter of Thomas Craine [Crane?] and Ann Kemsill (This connection is very vague. Elizabeth also went by the name of Elizabeth Jones (possibly because of a previous brief, young marriage)some of this is confirmed by the fact that they had another son Edward Jones Hunt B 09 May 1821 New Alresford, Hampshire, England,

"My paternal great-grandfather, Edward Hunt, was born in Surrey, England on 2nd April 1814. His death certificate lists his parent's names as Edward Hunt & Sarah Skelton, but this was incorrect information supplied by his son-in-law, Joe Austin, who inadvertently supplied the names of the deceased & his wife's name as Edward's parent's names.

Edward was born as Henry, & as such was convicted on 20th February 1832 in the Surrey Quarter Sessions for stealing a truck (a two-wheeled barrow for moving heavy objects). He was recorded as being capable of reading, but not to write, a Protestant, single & a hawker by trade. With no prior convictions, he was sentenced to seven years, with the ident No 137 & standing No 33-2211. He was also recorded as 5 ft 41/2 in (1.62 m), ruddy complexion, brown hair, hazel eyes, with a slight scar under the chin, another scar on the left thumb, a mole on the left cheek & a woman with a basket in one hand (presumably a tattoo) on the lower right arm. (Information from AO reel 907)

He was transported to Sydney, Australia, on the ship "Planter", arriving on 15th October 1832.

While serving his sentence (his name appears on the muster roll at Cassilis, NSW, at this period), Henry was arrested as he "purloined a single sheep to consume in his own hut." Sentenced in Maitland Quarter Sessions on 12th May 1837 to "life" on Norfolk Island, he was granted a remission of sentence back to seven years because of his youth & the excellent character reference given by the gaoler at Newcastle, where he had been confined for four months. A third redeeming factor was that he did not intend to sell the sheep, it was purely for his own consumption. The plea for clemency seems to have been instigated by a Captain WH Clarke, from the Pembroke (near Port Macquarie) area, a gentleman to whom Henry had been assigned servant for over three years.

For what reason, we will possibly never know, but while at Cassilis Henry started using the name of Edward.

Edward appears to have served his time at Norfolk Island & returned, possibly as a free man, to the area from whence he came. He married Sarah Joanna Skelton, aged 15, in Muswellbrook on 3rd September 1853, & appears to have passed some time renting a portion of a property, Petwyn Vale, situated on the eastern side of the town of Wingen. The town, though, did not exist until after 1855.

In the 1850's & 1860'6, Petwyn Vale was owned by one "Livingstone," who did not actually live on the property. The baptism records of Edward's children indicate that Edward came there as a carrier, probably rented a paddock for his horses or bullocks originally, & afterwards rented a farm, becoming a small farmer. The property Petwyn Vale was disposed of by Livingston, or his estate, in the 1870's, & thereafter the new owners took over the whole area. The electoral roll references to Edward as "leaseholder" would verify this.

Edward was 24 years older than his bride, a condition that often pointed to the husband having been detained for some misdemeanor & sent to Australia at "Her Most Gracious Majesty's Pleasure" during his younger life.

Edward died on 6th October 1891 in Carroll, NSW, of Carcinoma (a form of cancer) & Asthenia (an old medical term meaning physical weakness & lack of strength). Sarah died at Carroll on 8th February 1915 of a Cerebral Hemorrhage.

I had hoped to be able to attach a PDF document of Henry's convict times, but the file is too large. The information can be located at http://www.tocal.com/homestead/vandv/index.html

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