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Joseph HAYNES

Joseph HAYNES

New South Wales Police Force

Regd. #  ?

Rank:  Constable

Stations?, Sydney

ServiceFrom  ?  to  31 January 1824 = over 7 years Service

Awards?

Born? ? 1771 – 1772

Event date:  26 January 1824

Died on:  31 January 1824

Cause:  Assault – murdered with a wooden staff

Age:  52

Funeral date?

Funeral location?

Buried at:  Devonshire St Cemetery.

This cemetery/land was resumed in 1901 to make way for Central Railway Station. It would appear that his remains and headstone were not relocated

Thanks to Wayne Hill and his research regarding the discovery of his headstone.

Constable Joseph HAYNES touch plate at the National Police Wall of Remembrance, Canberra.
Constable Joseph HAYNES touch plate at the National Police Wall of Remembrance, Canberra.

Constable Haynes and Constable Thompson were on duty shortly after midnight on 26 January, 1824 in Sydney when they heard someone call out, “Stop thief”, which set up the hue and cry. They soon heard the footsteps of a number of people running towards them, and seized their opportunity to spring on the man being chased. Constable Thompson was quickly thrown or knocked down, and as he grappled with the offender, Haynes attempted to assist. Two other men then appeared and began attacking the two constables. At this time Thompson “received a blow on the head, which rendered him senseless, it is thought, for a considerable time”, and when he began to recover he heard a deep groaning sound nearby. On investigation he found Constables Haynes lying senseless in a pool of his own blood. The unfortunate man was immediately taken to hospital where he passed away about five days later. He had suffered severe head injuries, almost certainly caused by his own staff, which was found to have a considerable amount of blood and “small particles of skull” adhering to it.

 

A contemporary account of the circumstances of the constable’s death appeared in the Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser of the 5 February, 1824, declaring that “The murderous wretches, as there are three concerned, will not long escape it is devoutly to be hoped, the arm of relentless and crying justice.”

 

(The “hue and cry” meant that every able-bodied man in the vicinity had to join in the pursuit of the criminal. This practice evolved into the “warrant”. The staff carried by each constable was for his own protection. Sydney police weren’t given firearms as a general issue for another seventy years after this incident.)

Haynes had arrived in Australia on the First Fleet aboard the ship Alexander and received his Certificate of Freedom in 1810. He was originally tried at Gloucester on 13 July, 1785 for receiving stolen goods and was transported for 14 years. He was a married man and his wife Mary later made an application to the Governor of New South Wales for a police pension. He is sometimes recorded as Haines, Haynes or Hynes.

 

At the time of his death the constable was aged 52 years and was serving in Sydney. He served as a constable for over seven years.

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NSW Police Memorial & Historical Society Inc.

FUNDING ANNOUNCEMENT

Very pleased to announce that the Police Minister, The Hon. Troy Grant MP has awarded a grant to the NSW Police Memorial & Historical Society Inc in the amount of $55,000 to continue the work of marking and restoring the graves of NSW Police officers killed on duty.

Sincere thanks to Danny Webster and Ken Medway, who collectively provided much of the background research and information to support the application, and Ministry staff. A thank you also to those that have offered to assist and be a local point of contact for some of the memorial sites.

A priority list of sites for restoration has been prepared based on criteria such as those sites that remain unmarked, or in need of urgent repairs. We hope to attend to over 20 locations with this funding.

This is a significant step in carrying out much needed work on these sites, we are extremely grateful to the Minister, and hope this will lead to ongoing support. I’d appreciate it if you could share this around your police contacts.

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HAYNES, Joseph. Per “Alexander“, 1788
1810 Jun 23 Received certificate of freedom (Reel 6038; SZ758 p.64)
1821 Sep 8 Constable. On list of all persons victualled from H.M. Magazines; with wife (Reel 6016; 4/5781 p.60)
1822 Signatory to petition from the ordinary constables of Sydney complaining of the diminution of their rations (Reel 6055; 4/1760 p.43c)
1824 Constable of Sydney. Murdered Jan 1823 (Reel 6061; 4/1780 p.233)
HAYNES, Mary. Wife of Joseph Haynes, per “Alexander”, 1788
1821 Sep 8 On list of all persons victualled from H.M. Magazines (Reel 6016; 4/5781 p.60)
1824 Aug Widow. Petition for pension (Reel 6061; 4/1780 p.233)
1824 Dec 31 Received pension as widow of Constable Joseph Haynes (Reel 6039; 4/424 p.445)

http://colsec.records.nsw.gov.au/h/F24c_har-haz-20.htm

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The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser     Saturday  20 May 1820     page 1  of 4

TOWN AND DISTRICT OF SYDNEY.

In Sydney. – John Redman, Chief Constable.

…..

Thomas Dunn, Thomas Benton, Aaron Barnet, Denis McDonnell, John Massey, John Pearce, Joseph Haynes, 5th District Constables.

…..

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/2179470?searchTerm=joseph%20haynes&searchLimits=l-decade=182

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The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser     Thursday 5 February 1824   page 2  of 4

An inquest was convened by George Milndr Slade Esq. Coroner, on Sunday last ( 1 February ), on the body of Joseph Hynes, a constable in the Town of Sydney. It appeared that the deceased was on duty on the previous Monday night ( 26 January ), near Hill’s Tavern, in company with another constable, named Thompson. Between the hours of 12 and 1 o’clock, there was the hue and cry of ” Stop thief” set up ; and, at the same moment, the steps of some persons running towards them. The watchmen put themselves in a detecting posture, and sprang at one man with a hat under his arm ; a scuffle ensued ; and Thompson was thrown down by his opponent. Hynes, the lamented deceased, forthwith went to his assistance ; and, whilst in the act of attempting to secure the fellow, and release Thompson from his grasp, the latter observed two other men, as he lay on the ground, advancing towards them ; and immediately afterwards received a blow on the head, which rendered him senseless, it is thought, for a considerable time.

When Thompson recovered from the violence he had experienced, the first thing that attracted attention was deep groaning. He went to the spot, and found unfortunate Hynes prostrate, weltering in his blood ; The villain had left the hat behind him which, with the staff and hat of the deceased, were lying close to him. The poor man was carried to the Hospital, where, notwithstanding every effort of skill and humanity, he lingered till Saturday night last ( 31 January ), when death relieved him from intense suffering. The deed appears to have been committed with the staff, as it was much stained with blood, and had some small particles of the skull adhering to it, from the severity of the blows.

The murderous wretches, as there are three concerned, will not long escape it is devoutly to be hoped, the arm of relentless and crying Justice.— The inhabitants should co-operate in every possible way, with Government, to bring the monsters to an early doom.— The Verdict was — Wilful Murder against some person or persons unknown.

If we may at liberty to suggest an opinion upon the above transaction, we think that pecuniary reward can have but little influence upon the mind of a murderer. There are, it is said, three parties concerned, dreading each other : as to confidence, there can be but little. If one of the three had only a hope of securing himself, the two would speedily be within the precincts of Justice, and the other would have to wander out his days, like a true descendant of Cain.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/2182614?searchTerm=joseph%20haynes&searchLimits=l-decade=182#reloadOnBack

 

 

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The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser     Thursday 12 February 1824   page 3  of 4

TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS REWARD.    POLICE OFFICE. 3rd FEBRUARY, 1824.

WHEREAS Joseph Hynes, a Constable at Sydney, was, on the Night of the 26th of January last, whilst in the Execution of his Duty, and having Charge of a Prisoner for Felony, violently beat and so severely wounded and injured, by some Person or Persons unknown; that the said Joseph Hynes hath since died of the Wounds he received on that Occasion ;— And the Coroner’s Inquest having pronounced a Verdict of Wilful Murder against some Person or Persons unknown ; in Order to bring the Offender or Offenders to Justice, a Reward of Two Hundred Spanish Dollars is hereby offered and will be paid to any Person who shall come forward and give such Information as will convict the Offender or Offenders, concerned in the said Murder.

D. WENTWORTH, Superintendent of Police.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/2182640#pstart494795

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Mystery solved in time for Police Remembrance Day

MORE than 200 years after Constable Joseph Luker was bashed to death while investigating a robbery near a Sydney brothel, the officer’s grave has finally been found again.

With the discovery of Constable Luker‘s original grave under Town Hall, the police have solved a Sydney mystery over the burial site of the first officer in Sydney to die on duty.

As the force prepares to commemorate fallen officers on Police Remembrance Day today, the story of Constable Luker’s final resting place can finally be told.

After years searching graveyard records, recent excavations under the Town Hall have revealed Constable Luker was buried in the Old Sydney Burial Ground, which was used from 1792 to 1820. Constable Luker’s grave was markedassassinated“.

Records show the bodies of three policemen, including Constable Luker, were exhumed in 1869 when building began on the Town Hall site and they were interred at Rookwood Cemetery in Sydney’s west.

“It is important to police as an organisation that we ensure we honour and pay respect to those who have served before us and that is why we have continued to search for Joseph Luker’s burial place,” Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said yesterday.

“Joseph Luker paid the highest price for protecting the citizens of the then fledgling colony. No organisation should ever forget the sacrifices of its staff.”

Sydney City Council found records showing another two officers, Constables Joseph Haynes and John Farmer, were buried on the Town Hall site but nothing is known about how they died.

Constable Luker was on a midnight patrol after a spate of burglaries near prostitute Mary Breeze’s brothel in Phillip St, then known as Back Row, east Sydney Town, in August 1803.

He had been beaten to death and his cutlass guard was wedged in his skull when his body was found near Macquarie St.

In one of the first scandals to rock the police, two of his colleagues were suspected but were never convicted.

A message to his killers was posted on his headstone at the Town Hall site telling them: “My midnight vigils are no more, Cold Sleep and Peace succeed . . . But when my murderers appear, before JEHOVAH’s Throne, Mine will be to vanquish there, And theirs t’endure alone.”

The 35-year-old was a convict who served seven years transportation before joining a fledgling police force.

Mr Scipione urged people to wear a blue ribbon on the right-hand side of their shirt today to show support for police. He said remembering lost officers was a way to offer continued support and comfort to their families.

“It means we will never forget their courage and sacrifice,” he added.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/grave-story-of-first-fallen-cop/story-e6freuzi-1111114517756

 

 

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Registration number at NSW Births, Deaths & Marriages:

Marriage:  93/1790 V179093 3A   Joseph HAYNES to Mary A. MORGAN   District:  CB

Marriage: 3/1790 V17903 147A    Joseph HAYNES to Mary A. MORGAN   District:  CB

* Not known if these details refer to our Constable Joseph HAYNES & Mary.

https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au/lifelink/familyhistory/search/result?6

Death:

999/1824 V1824999 8  &  5996/1824 V18245996 2B

https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au/lifelink/familyhistory/search/result?2

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William COSGROVE

William COSGROVE

Regd. #  ?

Rank:  District Constable

Stations: Bringelly,  Cooke, South Creek ( Parramatta )

ServiceFrom ? ? ?   to  1 April 1819 =  ? years Service

Awards

Born? ? 1781 / 82 ?

Died on:  Thursday  1 April 1819

Cause:  Shot – Murdered

Event location:  South Creek, Parramatta

Age:  38

Funeral date?

Funeral location?

Buried at:  Parramatta Anglican Cemetery ( St John’s Cemetery ), O’Connell St, Parramatta. 

Cemetery Portion 1.   Row U  Plot 17

Memorial location:  

Sacred to the memory of William Cosgrove District Constable on the South Creek, who lost his life by three bush rangers on Thursday the 1st day of April 1819. In the 38th year of his age.

William COSGROVE
Plaque added on the 200th anniversary of his murder. This plaque doesn’t show the police crest which is forthcoming.

 

Plaque added on the 200th anniversary of his murder.  This plaque shows the police crest.

[alert_green]WILLIAM IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance[/alert_green]

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On 1 April, 1819 Constable Cosgrove came upon three men, Timothy Buckley, David Brown and Timothy Ford, and believing them to be bushrangers approached them and enquired where they were heading. The three men suddenly took to their heels, so Constable Cosgrove announced his office and called on them to stop. Buckley then turned around and fired a shot at the constable from the musket he was carrying. Constable Cosgrove returned fire almost simultaneously with his pistol. Unfortunately the musket shot had struck the constable, causing a fatal wound.

 

The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser dated Saturday 10 April, 1819 reported on the trial of three offenders charged with the constable’s murder.

 

COURT OF CRIMINAL JURISDICTION,

Wednesday.-This was a day of serious trial for the murder of William Cosgrove, a settler and district constable upon the Banks of the South Creek, on the 1st of the present month; by the discharge of the contents of a musket loaded with slugs into his body, of which wounds he died the following day. The prisoners were Timothy Buckley, by whom the gun was fired; David Brown, and Timothy Ford, all of whom had been in the Colony but six or seven months, and prisoners in the immediate employ of Government, and who unhappily had not renounced those propensities which sooner or later were to lead them to an unhappy end.

 

[One] witness declared himself the brother of the deceased; and in the sympathetic feeling of humanity, received from the Judge Advocate the following much to be remembered sentence of condolence. “Witness, you have done your duty to Society; you have acted well in the performance of that duty, and the world has much to regret that you have paid so dearly for it, in the loss of a brother, and of a good member of Society.” The unhappy men were yesterday executed.

 

The constable arrived in Australia as a transported convict on the vessel Rolla in 1803. He was granted his Certificate of Freedom in 1810. The Colonial Secretary’s Letters of 30 April, 1820 names his replacement at South Creek as Constable William Hill.

 

At the time of his death the constable was the District Constable of South Creek (now Parramatta) and was previously the Constable and Pound Keeper at Bringelly and Cooke.

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Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 – 1842), Saturday 10 April 1819, page 2


Court of Criminal Jurisdiction,

WEDNESDAY.-This was a day of serious trial for the murder of William Cosgrove, a settler and district constable upon the Banks of the South Creek, on the 1st of the present month ; by the discharge of the contents of a musket loaded with slugs into his body, of which wounds he died the following day. The prisoners were Timothy Buckley, by whom the gun was fired ; David Brown, and Timothy Ford, all of whom had been in the Colony but six or seven months, and prisoners in the immediate employ of Government, and who unhappily had not renounced those propensities which sooner or later were to lead them to an unhappy end.

The first witness called was Thomas Cosgrove, brother of the deceased, whose testimony was conclusive of the fact. This witness stated, that his murdered brother was a district constable at the South Creek; and that he having seen, and believing the three prisoners at the bar to be bush-rangers, requested him, the witness, to join in pursuit of the suspected persons; all which was readily complied with, and a pursuit accordingly commenced. This was about one in the afternoon ; the deceased went up to the three men (the prisoners at the bar), and found them in conversation with two young men who were brothers of the name of York, one of them a son-in-law of the deceased. The deceased called to the prisoners at the bar, declaring his willingness to point them out the road to the place they were enquiring for, namely the ” Five mile Farm ;” but appearing conscious that they were armed bush-rangers, he hesitated not to require their giving themselves up to him, he being a district constable. This evidence further proved that the prisoners at the bar were in conversation with the two Yorks for many minutes prior to the pursuit which was proposed and persevered in by all the persons who joined in it by the manly boldness of the district constable, who, although a man in good circumstances, had reconciled the apprehension of danger with his manifest line of duty.

This witness, who seemed in his evidence to entertain no sort of feeling that could be construed into a vindictive sentiment, went further on to state, that one of the Yorks, the eldest, had joined in the pursuit ; that his murdered brother had repeatedly required the three fugitives to surrender themselves ; that Timothy Buckley, who had the musket, turned round repeatedly and levelled at them ; that one of the fugitives, Ford, had attempted to wrest the piece from him, but did not succeed ; that the pursuers behaved themselves with great courage and with the most determined zeal in apprehending these three stoutmen, one of whom was armed with a gun, and appeared only to await the moment of murder until the difference of celerity in his pursuers should mark the most needful object. Brown, who was the taller and most powerful of the three, turned several times upon Buckley, who had the gun, and told him to keep a good look out on such a man, meaning the man who was closest in pursuit, and this was the deceased ; who was armed with a pistol, but did not discharge it until after he had received the contents of the musket into his side, breast, and lungs, the charge consisting of eleven or twelve slugs; his pistol afterwards went off, . but hurt nobody. Stricken with death, the poor man then sat down on a bank; was taken home; and lived in anguish until the following day.

This witness declared himself the brother of the deceased ; and in the sympathetic feeling of humanity, received from the Judge Advocate the following much to be remembered sentence of condolance. “Witness, you have done your duty to Society ; you have acted well in the performance of that duty , and the world has much to regret that you have paid so dearly for it, in the loss of a brother, and of a good member of Society.” Cornelins Ryan sworn.- Witness went last Thursday to the house of the deceased to get some wheat ground at his steel mill ; and prior to any other communication the deceased asked him if he had seen, three men of suspicious appearance, whom he considered to be bush-rangers; to which he answered affirmatively, and consented to go with the deceased, whom he knew to be the constable of the district, in pursuit of the run-aways; that the three men, now the three prisoners at the bar, were enquiring of the two Yorks the right road to the Five mile Farm; and the deceased telling them he would show them the right path, they all ran off; on their doing which the deceased ordered them to deliver themselves up to him, as he was the district constable ; that they nevertheless continued to run ; the man (Buckley ) who was armed with the gun, repeatedly turning round, and presenting it at the nearest of his pursuers ; that the deceased was armed with a pistol, which went off on the instant after the explosion of the musket, the contents of which lodged in his body.

Other witnesses gave evidence to the same effect, proving the murder in the clearest possible manner; and also that the whole three of the prisoners at the bar were actuated by the self-same spirit of hostility, determining on the taking of life rather than surrendering themselves to justice.

The evidence being too clear to admit of a defence, the prisoners when called upon acknowledged being together on the unhappy occasion, Brown and Ford making no further observation than that the gun was in the hands of Buckley, from whom Ford would have wrested it, as appeared by the testimony of Thomas Cosgrove ; but no conception could be entertained that his endeavour so to wrest it was well intentioned ; and with respect to Brown, every witness had sworn that when the three were running from their pursuers, he said repeatedly to Buckley, ” don’t fire until there is occasion.” He stated upon the contrary that his expression had not been until there is occasion, but that his actual expression had been, ” do not fire, for there is no occasion.” Every witness had distinctly sworn to the expression with which he had been challenged, ” do not fire until there is occasion for it;” and he became of course a principal in the murder.

Timothy Ford, a very young man, apparently not exceeding two or three and twenty years of age, was placed on the right hand of Buckley, who was in the center ; and from every appearance seemed to have reconciled himself to an unavoidable destiny. The hour of trial and the hour of death are so closely connected in the case of murder, that this unhappy creature had death precisely in his view, and as much as animated nature would afford, he might be esteemed the appearance of a moving corpse. The unhappy men upon each side of him defended themselves upon the principle that they could not prevent the firing; but why they, would the voice of reason say, associate with a man whom they could not control, bind, or manage, armed with a loaded gun, and conscious of a punishment resulting to all connected with him for any crime he should himself commit.

The only doubt, His Honor observed, was whether the Court was in the possibility of discerning between the unfortunate men at the bar any difference or distinction of crime. That there was only one musket was an established fact ; and that this one musket was the identically presumed defence of all, not mattering in whose particular hand it was, circumstances had sufficiently shewn. The only point upon which the Court could doubt of an equal criminality was, whether there might not have been in the course of the transaction a forbearance, a kindness which even in the criminal would be looked at by his judges with regard; but here nothing of the kind appeared. The man who fired the gun there could be no doubt respecting; but it was the entire wish of the Court to discover if possible a difference in the degree of guilt between the prisoners. One man endeavoured to wrest the musket out of the hands of the actual murderer ; and it is only presumable that if he had got possession of it, he would have committed identically the murder commited by his companion. The man, Brown, had repeatedly desired Buckley, by whom the piece was eventually discharged, not to fire until it was necessary. In the terms until it was necessary there was a tendency to murder.

The investigation had been long and patient ; and for what reason? not to pass a verdict for a murder which was clear in its proof, but to consider whether either or both of the accompanying persons were guilty as principals or as merely accessaries, the Court considering that its judgment would be final, and establishing its verdict upon proofs which left no doubt behind them. Men meeting and combining in an illegal pursuit, what mattered it of what cast or colour their pursuit might be, they were all equally liable to every danger that might accrue therefrom ; and here were three men, escapers from their Government employ, travelling from place to place with a loaded gun ; a gun loaded with eleven or twelve slugs ; the whole of which were deposited in the body of a man whose duty it was to apprehend them, and who in the mild performance of his duty was horribly murdered. Brown had said that his words were not ” do not fire until there is occasion, but that his expression was, ” do not fire, for there is no occasion.” In this turn of expression there is a strong difference ; but the entire weight of evidence is against him. The Court has been particular upon the point, and every witness has sworn particularly to the expression which brings this prisoner to the crime of murder as its immediate instrument & adviser. You heard the unhappy man who was murdered among you say that he was a district constable ; you also heard him require you to give yourselves up to him ; you, Brown and Ford, it is melancholy to remark, saw repeatedly the prisoner Buckley turning round and levelling his piece at his pursuers ; and at length you heard the explosion ; one of you, that is Timothy Ford, having repeatedly told the actual murderer Buckley to keep a strict eye upon his nearest pursuers ; having also endeavoured to wrest the gun away from the man who had it, how was it possible to say for what purpose ; the whole of his conduct was against the slightest sentiment in favour of him. His Honor the Judge of the Court went to considerable length in the retrospection of an evidence which admitted, not of contradiction ; and performed the painful duty of passing sentence of condemnation with that degree of energetic sympathy which has ever distinguished him as a Gentleman of feeling.

The unhappy men were yesterday executed. ( Friday  9 April 1819 )

Two other unhappy criminals, John Green and John Brennan, received sentence of death at the same time, for the crime of breaking into a dwelling house in the day time, and nearly murdering its occupier. They were condemned with the others, under the dreadful stipulation that they might a few days outlive the persons with whom they were at the same time sentenced.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/rendition/nla.news-article2178647.txt

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Williams “possible” daughter – Mary Ann COSGROVE – died 20 May 1857 is also in Portion 1 of the same cemetery.

Williams “possible” wife – Mary CROOKS – died 16 September 1842, aged 74, is also in Portion 1 of the same cemetery.

 

NSWBDM:

Death:  V18191147 148/1819  William COSGROVE

Death:  V18194290 2B/1819  William COSGROVE

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Colonial Secretary Index, 1788-1825

……

COSGROVE, William

1807 Nov 15; 1808 Apr 29
 On statements of capital advanced by Gregory Blaxland in his concerns from 27 Dec 1806 to 14 Sep 1808 (Reel 6043; 4/1727 pp.195, 208)



COSGROVE, William. Of Nepean

1811 Jun 12
 On list of persons to receive grants of land in different parts of the Colony as soon as they can be measured; at Bringelly (Fiche 3266; 9/2652 p.7)



COSGROVE, William

1812 Sep 12
 Permitted to draw cattle from Government herds on credit (Reel 6038; SZ758 p.314)



COSGROVE, William

1816 Jan 16
 On list of persons to receive grants of land in 1816 (Fiche 3266; 9/2652 p.23)



COSGROVE, William. Of Sydney

1816 Jan 16
 On list of persons to receive grants of land in 1816 (Fiche 3266; 9/2652 p.27)



COSGROVE, William. Per "Rolla", 1803; Poundkeeper and Constable, Bringelly and Cooke

1810 Jan 9
 Granted certificate of freedom (Reel 6038; SZ758 p.56)

1818 Oct 31
 Gave evidence in case against William Clarke (Reel 6047; 4/1741 p.86)

1820 Apr 30
 William Hill appointed as constable in place of William Cosgrove, deceased (Reel 6049; 4/1744 pp.318-20)

1820 May 12
 Deceased. Re appointment of his successor (Reel 6007; 4/3502 p.22)

 

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cosgriff/australia/nsw.htm

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Matthew James EVERINGHAM

Matthew James EVERINGHAM

New South Wales Police Force

Regd. # ????

Rank:  District Constable – appointed ? ? 1816

Stations: ?, Portland Head ( Hawkesbury area )

Service:   From  ?  ?  1816    to 25 December 1817 = 1 year Service

Awards

Born: 12 July 1768   London, Middlesex, England

Died on:  25 December 1817

Cause:  Drowned

Event location:  Hawkesbury River

Age:  48

Funeral date

Funeral location

Buried at:  ( St John’s Cemetery ) Wilberforce Cemetery, Old Sackville Rd, Wilberforce, NSW

( approx. 600 mts east of the Putty Rd )

Grave Location:  right section, Row 7, Plot 20

Sacred to the memory of Matthew James Everingham who departed this life 25th of Dec. 1817 aged 48 years.<br /> Farewell vain world I have had anough of thee and am carless what thou canst say of me. they smiles i curt not non thy frowns i fear beneath this and my head Liesquit heal.

 

MATTHEW is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance


 

The Sydney Gazette dated 3 January, 1818 reported that “On Friday last Mr. Matthew Everingham, settler and district constable at Portland Head, fell overboard from a Hawkesbury boat, and was unfortunately drowned. On the finding of the body an Inquest was convened, who returned a Verdict Accidental Death. He leaves a large family to deplore his premature destiny.”

 

Constable Everingham was still news well over a century after his death. The Barrier Miner of 4 June, 1929 reported the following story.

 

Matthew James Everingham arrived in Sydney on the ship Scarborough in 1788. In 1791 he was married at Parramatta to Elizabeth Rhymes by the Rev. Samuel Marsden. In the same year he was granted 50 acres of land, then described as “at the Ponds two miles N.E. of Parramatta“.  Later he settled on the Hawkesbury River, on the farm afterwards known as Andrew Everingham’s Farm. He also became the owner of land at “Richmond Hills“, believed to be now in the Kurrajong district. He was appointed and remained district constable till his death in 1817. In that year he was drowned in the Hawkesbury River and was buried at Wilberforce, where his grave can still be seen.

 

At the time of his death the constable was stationed at Portland Head (Hawkesbury).

 

Matthew James EVERINGHAM
Photos by cpple7 on 8 January 2016

Matthew James EVERINGHAM & Elizabeth REMES

Matthew James EVERINGHAM & Elizabeth REMES

Matthew James EVERINGHAM & Elizabeth REMES
Wife to Matthew Everingham

Matthew James EVERINGHAM & Elizabeth REMES

 

 


 

NSW BDM = Marriage:  125/1791 V1791125 3A &  125/1791 V1791125 147A

NSW BDM = Death:         3920/1817 V18173920

 


 

EVERINGHAM, MATTHEW JAMES (1769-1817), settler, was convicted in London on 7 July 1784 and sentenced to transportation for seven years. Shortly before his conviction he was employed as a ‘servant‘ by an attorney of the Middle Temple, hence the subsequent references to him as ‘attorney’s clerk‘. Allegedly ‘in great distress’ he had obtained two books by false pretences from the servant of another attorney, and these he had offered for sale.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/people/1465540?q=Matthew+James+EVERINGHAM&c=people


 

Windsor and Richmond Gazette, NSW. Friday 5 February 1932 page 6 of 12 http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/page/8914125?zoomLevel=3&searchTerm=Matthew%20James%20EVERINGHAM&searchLimits=
Windsor and Richmond Gazette, NSW. Friday 5 February 1932 page 6 of 12
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/page/8914125?zoomLevel=3&searchTerm=Matthew%20James%20EVERINGHAM&searchLimits=

 

Matthew James Everingham - 2512-1817 - News article 1

 

 


 

 

 

Windsor and Richmond Gazette NSW Friday 21 June 1929 Page 11 of 16
Windsor and Richmond Gazette NSW
Friday 21 June 1929
Page 11 of 16

 

 

 


 

Windsor and Richmond Gazette (NSW : 1888 – 1954),

Friday 23 August 1929, page 7

THE EVERINGHAM FORTUNE?.

NEWCASTLE CLAIMANT

NEWCASTLE has produced a claimant for the Everingham millions in Mr. Ernest Edward Chaseling, who declares that he is a direct descendant of Matthew James Everingham.

He says that his grandmother, Ann Everingham, was a daughter of Matthew. She married John Chaseling in 1818, and his father, Joshua Watford Chaseling, was a son of that union. Mr. Chaseling has two brothers and two sisters.

Matthew Everingham, history tells, was drowned in the Hawkesbury River before he could leave for England to claim £200,000. That was in the early part of last century. Interest on the money has accumulated until the sum of eleven million pounds is said to be now awaiting its rightful claimant.

Mr. John Chaseling, son of Thomas Chaseling I., who married Miss Ann Everingham, one of the three daughters of pioneer Matthew J. Everingham (obit. 1817), is interred, as also is his wife, Mrs. Ann Everingham Chaseling, in the private vault of Matthew James Everingham II., which is situated at ‘Knight’s Retreat Farm,’ near Sackville, on land specially set aside by the will of second Matthew James Everingham as a burial place for any of the Everinghams in descent, or kindred. — “MARMINGA.”

http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/rendition/nla.news-article85927804.txt


 

Everingham, Matthew James (1769–1817)

by A. J. Gray

Matthew James Everingham (1769-1817), settler, was convicted in London on 7 July 1784 and sentenced to transportation for seven years. Shortly before his conviction he was employed as a ‘servant’ by an attorney of the Middle Temple, hence the subsequent references to him as ‘attorney’s clerk’. Allegedly ‘in great distress’ he had obtained two books by false pretences from the servant of another attorney, and these he had offered for sale.

He arrived in the First Fleet transport Scarborough and was employed by Assistant Commissary Zachariah Clark. On 13 March 1791 Everingham married Elizabeth Rymes of London, who had arrived in the Neptune on 28 June 1790 and in July he settled on a 50-acre (20 ha) grant near Parramatta. In December Watkin Tench noted that ‘the Attorney’s Clerk’ appeared to find the cultivation of his own land ‘not half so easy a task as he formerly found that of stringing together volumes of tautology to encumber or convey that of his neighbours’; but for once Tench was unjust. Far from being ‘out of his province’ Everingham succeeded as a settler. In 1800 he signed the address to Governor John Hunter setting out ‘the grievous and intolerable burdens’ under which the settlers at the Field of Mars had long laboured; soon afterwards he disposed of his grant to Andrew Hume and like many of the early grantees moved to the Hawkesbury where farming prospects were better. By 1803 he was well established at Portland Head, but in 1804 his home and farm buildings were burned by natives and he, his wife and servant were speared, though happily their wounds were not fatal. In 1816 he acquired 130 acres (53 ha) at Richmond Hill, and became a district constable. A year later, on 25 December 1817, he was accidentally drowned in the Hawkesbury. In a memorial to the colonial secretary in 1825 his widow claimed, apparently without financial result, that he had died while in the execution of his constabulary duties.

Everingham was survived by five sons and four daughters, and was buried in St John’s cemetery, Wilberforce. His career was not spectacular, but over a long period he discharged his duties faithfully and worked steadily as a pioneering settler.

http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/everingham-matthew-james-2030


 

 

Matthew married Elizabeth Rimes on 13 March 1791 and from that union they had 11 children.
1. Mary (23 December 1791–24 January 1792)
2. Sarah Elizabeth (9 June 1793–29 March 1874)
3. Matthew James (10 May 1795–22 November 1884)
4. William (6 August 1797–6 September 1859)
5. George (9 December 1799–15 April 1881)
6. Ann (7 November 1802–19 March 1849)
7. Elizabeth (10 June 1805–24 June 1879)
8. John Rymes (October, 1806–?)
9. James (25 December 1809–25 July 1895)
10. Maria (6 August 1811–24 February 1835)
11. John (20 July 1814–29 May 1875)

Matthew passed away Hawkesbury River, New South Wales

Matthew James Everingham (1768-1817), settler, was born in London on 25? July 1768, son of Joseph Everingham and his wife Mary.

He was convicted in London on 7 July 1784 and sentenced to transportation for seven years.

Shortly before his conviction he was employed as a ‘servant’ by an attorney of the Middle Temple, hence the subsequent references to him as ‘attorney’s clerk’. Allegedly ‘in great distress’ he had obtained two books by false pretences from the servant of another attorney, and these he had offered for sale.

He arrived in the First Fleet transport Scarborough and was employed by Assistant Commissary Zachariah Clark.

On 13 March 1791 Everingham married Elizabeth Rymes of London, who had arrived in the Neptune on 28 June 1790 and in July he settled on a 50-acre (20 ha) grant near Parramatta.

In December Watkin Tench noted that ‘the Attorney’s Clerk’ appeared to find the cultivation of his own land ‘not half so easy a task as he formerly found that of stringing together volumes of tautology to encumber or convey that of his neighbours’; but for once Tench was unjust.

Far from being ‘out of his province’ Everingham succeeded as a settler.

In 1800 he signed the address to Governor John Hunter setting out ‘the grievous and intolerable burdens’ under which the settlers at the Field of Mars had long laboured; soon afterwards he disposed of his grant to Andrew Hume and like many of the early grantees moved to the Hawkesbury where farming prospects were better.

By 1803 he was well established at Portland Head, but in 1804 his home and farm buildings were burned by natives and he, his wife and servant were speared, though happily their wounds were not fatal.

In 1816 he acquired 130 acres (53 ha) at Richmond Hill, and became a district constable.

A year later, on 25 December 1817, he was accidentally drowned in the Hawkesbury.

In a memorial to the colonial secretary in 1825 his widow claimed, apparently without financial result, that he had died while in the execution of his constabulary duties.

Everingham was survived by five sons and four daughters, and was buried in St John’s cemetery, Wilberforce.

His career was not spectacular, but over a long period he discharged his duties faithfully and worked steadily as a pioneering settler.

Birth
12? July 1768
London, Middlesex, England
Death
25 December 1817
Wilberforce, New South Wales, Australia
Cause of Death
drowned
Cultural Heritage
English
Religious Influence
Anglican
Passenger Ship
Scarborough (1788)
Occupation
convict
emancipist
farmer
police officer
Key Events
First Fleet (1788)
settler/indigenous contact

by A. J. Gray
From the Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 1, 1966

 

 

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/63359906/matthew-james-everingham