WARNING ... I have typed up an expression that in today's world is a racist expression, it is an expression used in the 19th century newspapers to describe a person of a mixed race, so in the article it is about a lass with one parent of Aboriginal heritage and one parent of non Aboriginal heritage.
I am wondering if anyone has any information on a lady named Jessie Graham from Obley NSW who was assaulted in 1867 (image attached)
The accused was found to be not guilty.
Yes, please carefully read a paragraph at page 2 of the Sydney Mail of 27 July 1867 - heading is Ignorance and Depravity... The lady you mentioned is actually a child, aged 'between thirteen and fourteen years of age' ... she had 'no idea of the nature of an oath' ... she 'did not know what the Bible was,' .... this ignorance means that her evidence about being assaulted was NOT admissible in a court of law in NSW in that era - for she was unable to swear on oath to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Thus the court was not able to hear the victim's evidence - so the eventual verdict was always destined to be 'not guilty'...
However, significantly the article gives up some information about her mother... "It also transpired that the prosecutrix's mother (so the mother of the 'little half-caste girl') was living in a state of adultery with a person who was then in (the) court (room), and who styled himself the "guardian" of the girl. .... Mr Marsh (JM notes he was the Police Magistrate at Dubbo) said that twenty-five years ago the licence of the very run on which those people resided was cancelled by the Governor on account of so many of the persons living on it in an adulterous state ...
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/166795086 So we can draw from that cutting many pieces for the jigsaw puzzle that is of course researching on any aspect of Central West NSW family history in the colonial era.
1867 less 25 years = 1842 ... so a pastoral run under licence was withdrawn by Governor - that would be Sir George GIPPS - ruled NSW from 24 Feb 1838 until 11 July 1846. - so even if the 25 years was 'iffy' ... it falls within the Gipps era.
1867 - her mum is co-habitating with a male who is easily recognised in the courtroom... - so Jessie GRAHAM is living with her own mother, and a male who considers himself the guardian of Jessie. - So the question becomes - who was Jessie's father, and what was the name of Jessie's mother ...
1867 - a guardian - formally or informally - a lass living with her mum and her mum's male partner were likely to have become known by that male partner's SURNAME ....
- So I ponder was Jessie's mum surnamed GRAHAM before her mum's relationship commenced or because of that relationship ..
One newspaper article ... but so many issues arise from it
http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/gipps-sir-george-2098 You may well need to investigate the pastoral run that was withdrawn by Gipps.
JM.
.
