Parry family - setting the scene

Having completed the Ward side of my family to a first draft stage, I am turning my attention to the Parry side of the family. My maternal grandmother was Lena Parry. As with the Wards, I have started with Lena's great-great-grandparents, my 4th great grandparents and finished with her siblings. In theory this means 52 people in 26 chapters (one chapter per couple and a chapter each for Lena and her siblings):

• 16 great-great-grandparents (eight couples)
• Eight great-grandparents (two couples)
• Four grandparents (two couples).
• 12 siblings

In practice there will probably be 25 chapters, because one set of great-great grandparents could not be traced. This is a bit better than the Ward family where one set of great-grandparents and four sets of great-grandparents could not be traced.

I completed a lot of the basic research on the Parrys before I started writing up the Ward story, so I expect this part of the project progress more quickly than the Ward story. I think I have made a few new discoveries which I will reveal as each chapter is published on my website - see www.wardkemp.com/family-profiles/parrys.

I have just finished setting up the Parry section of the website, and most of the initial drafts prepared two years ago are there to peruse. These will be progressively updated as the project proceeds and the resources used will be added to the site where possible.

The roots of the Parry name are probably in Wales, and I think that is where our Parrys came from. But that is only one of Lena Parry's 16 2nd great-grandparents. Their origins are as follows:

• one from Merionethshire in Wales (Henry Parry)
• one possibly from Devon (Susan Shadwick)
• two from Bristol in England (John Watkins and Mary Barret)
• two from Ireland (the unknown parents of Mary Mustare)
• eight from a small area near the border of Hertfordshire and Essex (Miller, Burgess, Corby, Deane, Bayford and Wisby families)

I find it interesting to compare the origins of the Ward and Parry families. Looking first at where the 16 ancestral families came from. Eric Ward and his wife Lena Parry were both fourth generation Australians, having at least one great-grandparent born in the early years of the colony.

•  eight of Eric Ward's 2nd great-grandparents were probably born in England, four in Ireland and two in Scotland.
• 16 of Erics ancestors lived out their lives in their ancestral country, four came to Australia as convicts, five came free and five were born in the colony.
• 13 of Lena Parry's 2nd great-grandparents were born in England, two in Ireland and one in Wales.
• 18 of Lena's  ancestors lived out their lives in their home country, four came to Australia as convicts, three came free and five were born in the colony.

Enough of the meaningless statistics - on with the story. Next week I will start with the Welsh story.

Family of heroes in the Great War

Researching the Parry family of Gosford and I came across the story of the Young family of Gosford. When War broke out in 1914, the Young family consisted of the widowed mother, Louisa Morris and her four sons. Louisa lived in Gosford and was a daughter of Griffith and Mary Parry. Louisa had married Charles Young in 1886. There had been six children in all, but both daughters had died. 

Louisa was widowed in 1913.

24-year-old Charles was the first to join up. He enlisted in Brisbane in December 1914 and served in the 4th Australian Divisional Ammunition Culum.  He fought in the Gallipoli campaign where he was wounded in action. He recovered from his wounds and went on to serve in France as a gunner. He ended the war sick in hospital and was returned to Australia after the war ended.

The eldest boy, William was next to enlist. He was a married man of 28 when he joined up in Brisbane in February 1915. Reading his military records it looks like William did not fit in that well in the army. He served in the 25th Australian Infantry Battalion  and was reported missing in France in July 1916. Two weeks later he was confirmed as a POW in Germany. He returned to Australia after the war ended. It seems that William's capture saved him from a court martial for being AWOL too often! 

Next to enlist was 20-year-old Henry who signed up in January 1916. Henry served with the 5th Australian Light Horse in France and was awarded the Military Medal in May 1919. This was an award for bravery and outstanding conduct in action. I have not found the citation, but this must have been in the final stages of the war, because the award came after the armistice.

Not to be outdone, the youngest boy, Reggie enlisted in June 1916. He was 18. He followed his three brothers to the trenches of France where he served with the 56th Australian Infantry Battalion. He was awarded the Military Medal in June 1918. Three moths later he was wounded in action. he recovered from his wounds, but he was until for further service and was repatriated to Australia and discharged.

All four brothers returned from the war. I have seen at least one online family tree that says that Charles was killed in France, but this is not correct (the military records clearly show his discharge in Australia). Both Henry and Reggie signed up again for WWII and both served in Australia, Henry in the army and Reggie in the airforce.

We can only imagine how these events affected the mother, Louisa. She is listed as the next of kin for three of the boys (William was married). By Christmas 1916, all four of her surviving children were on active service on the other side of the planet. She was clearly very proud of her boys and wrote to the war office asking for a 'mother's pin'. 

The origins of Sarah Lewis

Sarah Lewis was my third great-grandmother on my father's side. The first record we have of Sarah is a baptism in Sydney on Christmas Day in 1802 and the baptism record gives her parents as James Lewis and Catherine Conway. There are some family stories that Sarah was born at sea off the coast of Tasmania, but I have not found any records that confirm this. (Tasmania was not settled for some years later, but the early sailing ships did not know Bass Straight existed, so sailed up the east coast of Tasmania on their way from England.

The mystery begins when we try to find out the details of Sarah's parents. There are several men named James Lewis in the Colony of New South Wales at the time that Sarah was born so sorting out which one was Sarah's father is problematic. Catherine Conway is even harder, because there is no record of a Catherine Conway at all.

Several talented historians have applied their skills to this puzzle, but none have come up with a definite answer. I have a copy of a book on the Watkins family, written by Fay Fry in 1988 and I think she has the most thorough analysis of the options. (The Watkins Chronicle – See details on Google books – there are copies in some libraries.)

Our best lead on Sarah's parents is probably a marriage of James Lewis and Susan Shadwick in Hobart Town in April 1807. There is evidence that James and Susan had been together in Sydney and they owned at least one house together there in 1805. There is also circumstantial evidence that places our Sarah in Hobart at the same time as the marriage. This has led many researchers to conclude that Catherine Conway and Susan Shadwick were the same person and that Susan was Sarah's mother. My guess is that is a 50:50 chance of being right, but it is unlikely that it will be proven one way or the other.

Susan Shadwick was a convict from Devon who arrived on the Earl Corwallis in 1801.

The most likely candidate for Sarah's father is a convict James Lewis who arrived on the Hillsborough in 1799. I think this James is probably the right one, but the evidence falls just short of proof. Lets say 75% chance that he is the right one – good circumstantial evidence, but lacking the clinching detail.

James was lucky to make it to Sydney. The Hillsborough holds the record as the worst of all convict voyages - almost one prisoner in three died during the voyage, mostly from typhoid brought on board with the prisoners from the hulks in London.

Assuming James Lewis, Susan Shadwick and young Sarah were a family, they did not stay together for long. By 1813 James was working as a crewman on sailing ships, Susan was in Newcastle, possibly serving a second sentence as a convict and 10-year-old Sarah was heading for Hobart to be a servant to a family there.

James died in 1814 while working with a cedar-cutting party at Port Stephans. Other members of the party claimed James was killed by the natives, but it is more likely he was murdered by smugglers among the party. This was a particularly poignant discovery for me because I grew up just a few kilometres from James' unmarked grave, which was on a small Island in Port Stephans.

We don't know what became of Susan. Some family histories say she died in Newcastle aged 103, but I suspect this is not correct (I think it is based on the death of a Catherine Lewis and someone has extrapolated from the name of Catherine Conway, but that theory can be easily debunked).

Young Sarah Lewis proved to be a strong character. After working in Hobart, she returned to Sydney, married convict Thomas Watkins and had a large family. More on Thomas and Sarah's story later.

A rollocking tale!

I have started on the research into the ancestors on the Parry side of my family and have immediately run off on a side track that has nothing to do with my project! 

I was following up the sources in some other family histories when my attention was grabbed by a link to a person who was on the First Fleet. While the family link was not a direct one, I was intrigued by the story and wonder why we were not taught this at school!

The person in the story is Peter Hibbs, an early settler on the Hawkesbury River. Peter told his children some extraordinary stories, which if true, place him right in the middle of many historical events that we in the establishment of the British Colony in New South Wales.

• He claimed to have sailed on the Endeavour with Captain Cook and landed at Botany Bay with Joseph Banks.
• He was a crew member on the Sirius when she acted as flagship of the First Fleet.
• He was with Captain Phillip when he explored Broken Bay, Brisbane Water and the Hawkesbury river six weeks after the establishment of the Colony at Sydney Cove.
• He was aboard the Siruis when she completed the first circumnavigation of the globe in Antarctic waters - she had been sent for urgent supplies from Capetown.
• He was aboard the Sirius when she was wrecked at Norfolk Island in 1790.
• He helped build one of the first ships built in the Colony (the Norfolk) and was her master when she made her first voyage from Norfolk Island to Sydney.
• He was with Bass and Flinders when the circumnavigated Tasmania for the first time and was also with Flinders when he explored Moreton Bay. (Peter was master of the Norfolk when she carried the explorers on these journeys).

It all seems a tall tale at first glance - how could one man have done all that. But many of these things can be verified from official records of the time. He certainly was on the First Fleet and the voyages of the Norfolk just as he said he was. Flinders also named at least four landmarks in Tasmania after Peter.

There is also some hints that he may have been on the Endeavour. Captain Phillip wrote that Hibbs had been selected for the first fleet partially because he had 'visited these shores before'. Hibbs would have to have been very young to have sailed on the Endeavour, so would probably have been a cabin boy - that would explain why he was not listed among the crew, only the adults were listed in the ship's logs.

There is no verification of Peter being with Arthur Phillip on his 1788 expedition up the Hawkesbury, but given the rest of the story, that is not an outlandish claim on Peter's behalf.

Peter Hibbs lived to the age of 90 and was buried at Wiseman's Ferry in 1847.

The family connection? Peter Hibb's grandson was James Byrnes. James married twice. He first married Harriet Watkins, daughter of Thomas and Sarah Watkins of Mangrove Creek. After Harriet died, James married Eliza Parry, daughter of Griffith and Mary Parry, also of Mangrove Creek. Both Harriet and Eliza were my great-great-grandaunt. Harriet's sister, Sarah-Jane Parry, married Eliza's brother Griffith Parry Jr and they were my great-great-grandparents. James Byrnes was a witness at Griffith and Sarah's wedding in 1854.

The link is too obscure to include in the family history, which is a great pity, because it is such a good tale!

You can read the Peter Hibbs story on Wikipedia.