Thomas Henderson's trust

The single property i Thomas's trust is
shaded in red.

This is the story of the property trust established by Robert Henderson for his son, Thomas. See my earlier post for the background to this trust. 

Thomas Henderson was the second son of Robert Henderson, an Innkeeper in early Colonial Sydney. Little is known about Thomas. Details of his birth have not been discovered, leading some to speculate that he may have been adopted as a companion for Robert, his older brother.

Thomas grew up around the Dove Inn in Darling Harbour. The little we know of Thomas paints the picture of a spoiled youth with rich parents. He comes into some focus in 1858 when he is repeatedly taken to court in an effort to get him to support a child he had fathered with Eliza Wallbridge, a barmaid at the Dove Inn. To make matters worse, Eliza washis sister-in-law, younger sister of Hannah, his brother's wife.

At around the same time as Thomas was creating a scandal for the family, his brother Robert was busy doing the same, deserting Hannah and her children and running away to Woy Woy with another woman. 

These joint scandals were quite possibly behind their father's decision to leave his property in trusts, rather than to his sons direct.

Robert Henderson Sr created a property trust for Thomas that contained a single property, known as the 'Bethel Chapel'. This had been a seaman's mission run by an interdenominational organisation called the 'Bethel Union', but the property was sold to Robert Henderson when a new chapel was built in The Rocks. The property was right on the waterfront at the foot of Erskine Street. From descriptions contained in later conveyancing, it seems to be on the opposite (southern) side of Erskine Street, opposite what was then known as the Clarence Hotel.

The property was left in Trust to Thomas for his lifetime. He was entitled to receive any rents or profits from the property, but was not permitted sell it or convey it to someone else.

Thomas fell seriously ill shortly after his father died. In his last weeks of life, he made a will, naming the publicans at the Dove Inn and Clarence Hotel as his executors and leaving all of his estate to Catherine Larkin, housemaid at the Dove Inn. There was a Catherine Larkin born in St James, Sydney in 1854 and if this was the girl, she was only 16! Thomas was 32.

The trustees signed over the Bethel Chapel property to Catherine Larkin in September 1870.

Catherine married Matthew Smith in 1872, but the couple held onto the property and there are several records of the property being leased in the following years. I have not traced it further, but it is likely that the property was resumed by the Government either in 1890, when the Clarence Hotel was resumed, or in 1900 when the Dove Inn and the other Phoenix Wharf properties contained in other trusts were resumed.

I can't help it, but I don't have a good opinion of Thomas Henderson. I think his father would have been horrified to see the property leave the family in this manner less than a year after his death, left to a slip of a girl. 

Robert Francis Geary Henderson's trust

The Brisbane Water properties included in
Robert's trust.

This is the story of the property trust established by Robert Henderson, for his grandson, Robert Francis Geary Henderson. See my earlier post for the background to this trust.

Robert Francis Geary Henderson was born in 1856, the third child of Robert Geary Henderson and Hannah Wallbridge. He was about 18 months old when his father deserted the family and ran away to Woy Woy with another woman. His half-brother, named Robert Frederick Henderson, was born at Brisbane Water in 1860. (In this post, a reference to just 'Robert' is to Robert Francis Geary Henderson).

After her husband left, Hannah Henderson took over the running of the Clarence Hotel, but the family probably continued to live with Robert's grandparents, Robert and Catherine Henderson, at the Dove Inn. Robert's older sister, Catherine, died of tuberculosis in 1866, followed in 1868 by his mother Hannah. By this time his grandparents had retired to live at Brisbane Water, and they were both unwell, so Robert and his sister Madeline were sent to boarding schools. 

Meanwhile, Robert's father had four children in his second family. Shortly after Hannah died, Robert Geary Henderson married his defacto, Elizabeth Delaney.

Robert was 14 when his grandfather died and created the property trust. It is likely that Robert Henderson Sr. was not confident that his son (Robert Geary Henderson) would properly care for the children of his first marriage, and so created trusts that he hoped would see them properly educated and given a good start in life.

Robert's trust contained seven parcels of land:

• Lot 3 of Phoenix Wharf, including the Clarence Hotel. This was on the corner of Erskine Street and Shelley Street and the property ran all the way from Shelly Street to the high water mark of Darling Harbour. (see the map in my earlier post for the location).
• 80 acres of land at Pittwater, known as Bryant's grant. This was portion 30, Parish of Narrabeen.
• 100 acres of land at Cockle Creek. This was Portion 29, Parish of Kincumber.
• 300 acres of land at Brisbane Water known as Culcorin. This was Portion 285, Parish of Kincumber.
• Three adjoining lots of land in Holden Street Gosford, each ½ acre.

Robert Henderson Sr's Pittwater land holdings.
Only Bryant's Grant remained when the
trust was create

Under the terms of the Will, income from the properties was to be used for Robert's care, education and furtherance of his life, until he was 21, when he would be able to use the income as he wished. But is was not entitled to sell the properties.

The trustees leased the Clarence Hotel several times before Robert turned 21. 

It seems that Robert may not have understood the terms of the trust, or decided to ignore them, because in 1881 he entered into a contract to sell the Pittwater property. The trustees had to step in six weeks later and legalise the sale by transferring the property to the purchaser.

Then in 1888, at Robert's request, the trustees signed over the absolute title of the remaining properties to Robert. They overcame the legalities with a token payment of 10 shillings from Robert to the trustees. Under the terms of the trust, an attempt to sell the properties possibly ended the trust. Regardless, this was effectively the end of Robert's trust and he was free to sell the properties as he wished. He immediately mortgaged all of the properties, possibly to fund other land transactions in Chippendale.

Robert eventually sold all the properties:

• Portion 29 at Kincumber was sold to Austral Verge in 1890 for £700. Verge was probably acting as an agent, because he on-sold the property for the same price in 1892 to the trustees of the Sisters of St Joseph (including Mary McKillop) for the development of their Kincumber boys home.
• The Clarence Hotel and Lot 3 Phoenix Wharf were resumed by the government in 1890 (ten yeas before the Dove Inn). Robert received £9,489 in compensation.
• Portion 285 at Kincumber (Culcorin) was sold for £700 in 1893.
• Robert converted the three lots in Holden Street Gosford to a single Torrens Title in 1896. He finally sold the property in 1912.

The trust established by his grandfather gave Robert a good start in life and he was able to live as a relatively wealthy man.  He does not come across as a happy man, but that can probably be explained to some extent by his difficult childhood. He spent many of his formative years in a boarding school, and he never had the benefit of a guiding fatherly hand. He died in a traffic accident in 1930. 

I am not sure how the original Robert Henderson would have viewed his grandson's treatment of the trust, and he may have been disappointed that the properties did not remain in the family. But he might also have been quite happy to see his grandson assert himself and would have been satisfied that his fortune was not entirely wasted.

Robert Geary Henderson trust

The three Brisbane water properties included
in Robert's trust

This is the story of the property trust established by Robert Henderson for his eldest son, Robert Geary Henderson.  Read my earlier post for the background to the trust.

Robert Geary Henderson was born at Brisbane Water in 1832, the first child of Robert and Catherine Henderson.  Robert proved to be a man of unreliable temperament and he drank too much. In 1858 he deserted his wife and three children in Sydney and ran away to Woy Woy with another woman. 

The Robert Geary Henderson Trust was established under his father's will, quite possibly to ensure that Robert was able to live comfortably, but not waste the assets that had been accumulated by his father.

Robert Henderson Sr died in 1869. Robert Jr was living at Brisbane Water with his second wife, Elizabeth and two sons, Robert Frederick Henderson and Patrick Bin Henderson. The two boys had been born before the couple married, but were named in their grandfather's will, making them legitimate heirs. The trust established in Robert Sr's will was four properties:

• Lots 4 and 5 Phoenix Wharf at Darling Harbour (see map in earlier post). This property was on the corner of Erskine and Shelley Street,
• 100 acres at Brisbane Water known as 'Veteran Hall', Portion 26 Parish of Kincumber.
• 50 acres adjoining Veteran Hall to the west, Portion 71.
• 100 acres to the south east of Veteran Hall, Portion 116.

The properties were in trust for Robert's lifetime, but he was able to occupy the properties and to receive any rents etc. He was not allowed to sell or transfer the properties and there were clauses that would terminate the trust under certain circumstances. On termination of the trust, presumably by Robert's death, the property was to be divided between Robert Frederick Henderson, Patrick Bin Henderson and any future children.

After the activation of the trust, two more boys were born. Herbert Geary Henderson was born in 1870 and Charles Arthur Henderson was born in 1872.

In 1877, the Trustees leased the Phoenix Wharf property for 30 years, for a yearly rent of £104 per year. remembering that Robert also had the use of 250 acres of land at Brisbane Water, this was a substantial income, about 160% of the average average annual wage for the time.

Robert's second wife, Elizabeth, died in 1885, but Robert immediately formed a new relationship with Gertrude Stretton and more children soon followed. Florence (also known as Kathleen) was born in 1886, Kenneth in 1890 and Nellie in 1893. Robert and Gertrude finally married in 1869, after Nellie's birth.

The first hint of problems was in 1888 when Robert Frederick Henderson mortgaged his interest in the trust to Robert Malcolm, who later transferred it to James Malcolm. It seems that he did not repay the mortgage, and Malcolm owned Robert Frederick's share from this point.

In a similar vein, in 1893, Patrick and Herbert tried to sell their share of the trust to Joseph O'Brien.

Then in 1895, under and order of the Sheriff, Robert Geary Henderson's life interest in the trust was sold at public auction, seemingly to recover debts. This interest was purchased by Robert Miller.

Charles Henderson then approached the Trustees to see if he should be receiving a share of the income from the trust. The trustees were perplexed and asked the Equity Court to clarify who was entitled to the income from the trust. It took the Court almost three years to resolve. The Court eventually ruled that Robert's life interest was terminated and that any income from the trust was to be shared by James Malcolm (Robert Frederick's share),  Patrick, Herbert and Charles. Florence, Kenneth and Nellie were not entitled under the laws of the time, because they were illegitimate. The sale of rights to Joseph O'Brien were ruled invalid and Patrick and Herbert were ordered to pay him £50 each in compensation.

The Court case proved to be the last straw for the trustees and a final decree from the Court transferred the trusteeship to The Permanent Trustee Company Ltd, a private trust management company. 

Importantly, the Court ruled that the same four parties were entitled to an absolute share of the properties on the death of Robert Geary Henderson, but any future born children would have an equal share of both the income and the absolute property.

Soon after the Court decision, Robert and Gertrude had another child, named Archie, born in 1897, followed by Cora in 1899. This added two more to the list of people who would share in the trust. Sadly Cora died at 6 months old, but her entitlement remained.

In 1900, the Colonial Government resumed the Darling Harbour property. The compensation of over £7,000 was paid in 1903. Once again the Courts were involved, because Robert was still alive and any yet-to-be-born children were entitled to a share of the property. So the proceeds were paid into another trust fund, to be distributed after Robert's death.

Patrick, Charles and Herbert had now accumulated substantial Court costs from two cases and they each sold any future interest in the trust to Eva Hordern. They may have enjoyed a small cash benefit after the costs were paid, but it would not have been much.

Robert Geary Henderson finally died in 1907. The Equity Court had to receive special medical evidence that there would be no more children. The trust fund from the property resumptions was then distributed in six equal shares, estimated at £1,175 each.

The three Brisbane Water properties were sold at auction, generating a further £1,816. Assuming these were fully distributed in the same shares, each share would have been about £1,500, or about two years annual earnings. Remembering that James Malcolm and Eva Hordern would have received four of the shares! And Cora's share was somehow under mortgage, so the only share that I believe stayed in the family was placed into trust until 10-year-old Archie Henderson reached the age of 21.

I can find no trace of Herbert or Charles after their 1903 sale of their inheritance. Patrick's family tell that he was so upset by the whole saga that he changed his surname to McDonald for many years. Perhaps Herbert and Charles did the same and changed their name.

Robert Frederick moved with Gertrude and her children to live out their lives in Nowra. Kathleen was a somewhat delinquent child before settling down and raising a family in Sydney. Kenneth and Archie never married. Nellie became a nun.

The only known descendants of Robert Geary Henderson's second and third families are the children of Patrick and Kathleen.

Robert Henderson Sr probably created this trust to prevent his wastrel son from spending the family fortune. It seems that his fears were justified, and I think he would have been extremely disappointed by the outcome.

The trust that broke a family?

The Darling Harbour properties Click to enlarge
Red is Thomas's trust, blue is Robert III's,
green is Robert Jr's and yellow Madeline's.

Robert Henderson was a rather colourful character in the Colonial history of New South Wales. Born in Parramatta in 1796 to convict parents, Robert and his wife, Catherine nee Geary were land owners, ship-builders, merchant traders and hotel keepers. Robert also gained some notoriety as 'Bob the Smuggler' after a landmark smuggling incident in Broken Bay in 1842 (see my 2022 post about Bob the Smuggler). But apart from his smuggling, Robert was by all reports well respected in the community.

They were married for 15 years before their first child, Robert Geary Henderson was born in 1832. A second son, Thomas Henderson, followed several years later.

By the time they retired in the mid-1860's the Hendersons had accumulated at least six separate properties in Darling Harbour, and over 700 acres of land across six properties at Pittwater and Brisbane Water.

While Robert and Catherine were hard-working and well respected in their community, they must have been disappointed in their two sons who were both of unreliable temperament and prone to womanising and drinking. Robert Jr had married in 1852 and started a family, but within six years, deserted his wife and three children and started a second family with another woman. Meanwhile, the second son, Thomas, fathered a child with his sister-in-law and refused t do anything to support the girl or her child.

After his wife Catherine died in 1868, Robert Sr devised a will that he hoped would protect the family fortune from his wastrel sons. He devised four trusts that would see the property holdings preserved, but provide income for the family members. The four trusts were one each for his sons, Robert Jr and Thomas and one each for Robert Jr's surviving children, Madeline and Robert III.

If you are getting confused by the Roberts, there are actually four:

• Robert Henderson 1796–1869
•  Robert Geary Henderson 1832–1906, Robert's son so Robert Jr
• Robert Francis Geary Henderson 1856–1930 Robert Jr's first son.
• Robert Frederick Henderson 1860–1941 Robert Jr's second son!

I usually just give their full names, but that can get very clumsy, so you have to pay attention. What ever possessed the bloke to name TWO sons after himself. He had confused historians ever since. 

But back to the trusts. Each trust contained a parcel of properties to be kept in trust for the lifetime of the beneficiary, then for their children. There were quite complex provisions for where someone died with no children and no will, but that never eventuated, so we will ignore that. The two trusts set up for the children specified that the income from the properties was to be paid towards their maintenance education or advancement in life. Once they attained the age of 21, they were able to receive any income or profits directly for their own benefit.

The executors and trustees were Robert's friends, William Speer and Henry Clark.

The first trust was for Robert Geary Henderson. 

It contained a property in Darling Harbour and the main family estate at current-day Saratoga:

• Lots 4 and 5 of Phoenix Wharf - in Darling Harbour.
• A 100 acre property at Brisbane water known as 'Veteran Hall'. This is where Robert Sr was living when he died.
• 50 acres adjoining Veteran Hall to the west.
• 100 acres adjoining Veteran Hall to the south-east

Robert Jr was entitled to occupy and receive any income from these properties for his life. The will names his two sons by his second marriage, Robert Frederick Henderson and Patrick Bin Henderson as beneficiaries after their father's death, but also allowed for any future children to share the trust.

Read my post about Robert Geary Henderson's trust

The second trust was for Madeline Geary Henderson

Madeline was the eldest surviving daughter of Robert Jr from his first marriage. She was 14 when her grandfather died.

This trust contained: 

• The Dove Inn on the corner of Erskine and Sussex Streets at Darling Harbour.
• A row of houses in Sussex Street, running north from the Dove Inn
• These properties probably included a wharf at the end of the row of houses.

Read my post about Madeline's trust

The third trust was for Thomas Henderson

Thomas was the second son of Robert Sr. This trust contained a single property.

• The property known as the Bethel Chapel.

Read my post about Thomas's trust

The fourth trust was for Robert Francis Geary Henderson

Robert Francis was Madeline's younger brother and he was 13 when his grandfather died. This Trust contained:

• Lot 3 of Phoenix Wharf at Darling Harbour, including the Clarence Hotel.
• 80 acres at Pittwater, known as Bryant's Grant.
• 100 acres fronting Cockle Creek (Kincumber Broadwater) at Brisbane Water.
• 300 acres at Brisbane Water known as Culcorin.
• Three adjoining town allotments in Holden Street Gosford (1.5 acres total).

Read my post about Robert Francis Geary Henderson's trust

It is worth noting that while the sons, Robert Jr and Thomas grew up and worked in their parents hotels, the two hotels in Robert Sr's estate were left to the grandchildren and not to the sons. That is probably down to the reputation that the sons had for drinking the profits.

I will look at what happened in each of these trusts in subsequent posts, but the upshot is that they caused considerable unrest in some parts of the family. Two of Robert Sr's grandchildren were made independently wealthy by their trusts, while others had to wait for their father to die, before getting a much smaller share than their older half-siblings. There were feelings of injustice and friction between family members and as a result there were divisions in the family that were never healed.

If Robert Henderson Sn's intention was to preserve his estate for posterity, and avoid it being lost by his wastrel sons, he was not entirely successful. The property in trusts for both of his sons were mostly lost to the family. 

But Robert was successful in ensuring that his eldest grandchildren were properly cared-for and that they were given the best opportunity for a good life.

  

Just when you think you know!

From Kincumber Parish Map. Toorigal was both 115 and 57.

The last few weeks, I have been digging through land grant, title and sales documents after learning to use the Historical Records system for NSW. I started out trying to find when William Ward's property 'Toorigal' left the Ward family, but I found out that there was a lot about William Ward's land that we did not know!

The landmark family history prepared by Joan Taylor in the mid 1980s correctly identified four key land holdings that William and Catherine ward owned:

• Williams original grant of 150 acres at Killcare.
• The Toorigal property, supposedly 100 acres, purchased from HG Watson about 1855.
• A grant of 100 acres bought in 1855 near Avoca - purchased for the timber.
• A block of about three acres in the Kincumber village.

While checking something else this week, I discovered that we had greatly underestimated William and Catherine's land holding. When you read Catherine's will carefully, the Avoca land is described as '260 acres'! I since found where William bought the two blocks to the north of his grant, These total 210 acres, so allowing for William's initial 100 acres, I still have to acount for some other transactions (sales?)

Next I was checking out what happened to Toorigal, which Catherine's will split between her sons, Ephraim and John. I found that Ephraim had sold his half-share back to John in 1910, but it was 80 acres, not 50! Checking the description of the land carefully, it is clear that Toorigal was 160 acres, not the 100 acres we thought. If you check the Parish maps, HG Watson had two grants, one being the Toorigal 100 acres, but the adjoining 60 acres was also granted to Watson, so they must have been sold as a single property. I have yet to find the proof of the sale, but there is no doubt that this was the case. Watson sold then re-purchased the property as one entity before it came into William's possession.

Now that solves another little mystery as to exactly how Manasseh Ward met his wife Madeline. Now that we know Toorigal included Watson's 80-acres, Robert Henderson's grant was the bordering farm! So When Madeline was staying with her brother at Kincumber, the Ward property was right next door and she probably had to drive through it to get to her brother's house.

Bill and Alice Parry of Gosford

Bill and Alice Parry were the parents of Lena Parry, and my great-grandparents.

William Henry Parry (generally known as Bill) was born at Mangrove Creek in 1855, the eldest child of Griffith Parry Jr and Sarah Jane Watkins. His family moved into Gosford when he was a small child and he grew up on a property on the corner of Mann and Beane Streets which is now the Gosford goods yards. The block was two acres and there was a fresh water stream running close to the house. 

Bill was about 27 when he bought his first property, a two-acre block on the corner of Mann and Erina Street. The Gosford Hotel now stands on part of this property. He later bought the adjoining block, running along Mann Street so he owned the whole block of Mann Street from Erina to Faunce Streets. The blocks ran through to current-day Watt Street, although that was not there until some years later. Bill started work on his land, building a house, blacksmith/wheelwright shop and a hall that could be rented out for events.

Frances Alice Miller was born at Hartley in 1867, the youngest child of Job and Susan Miller.  it seems that she was always known as Alice in her family, but the order of her names changes over the years in official documents. Her father was a contractor working on the building of the western railway and the family moved west as the project progressed. Her father died in Dubbo in 1882 and it is possible her mother and the younger children moved to Sydney or the central coast.  

I have not discovered how or where Bill and Alice met, but they married in 1885 at Burwood. Bill was 30 and Alice 17. By this time it seems that Bill was working as a produce agent, and soon after the wedding he was in serious financial trouble. He claimed that he lost a lot of produce due to spoilage, but he seems to have been a bit liberal with the facts, so it is plausible that he over extended his finances with his building works. The Insolvency Court had to work on the basis of Bill's word, because his financial records were 'lost' overboard while he was travelling to Sydney for the hearing. How inconvenient! He was able to get a license to try to clear his debts and evade full bankruptcy.

Bill and Alice moved to the north coast where Bill found work in the sugar industry, driving sugar trains and possibly working as an engineer at a refinery. Their first two children were born near Grafton and Casino. The family moved back to the Gosford district when Bill finally cleared his insolvency and by 1889 they were living at Ourimbah. Bill again worked as a fireman and engineer at a shipyard for a time, then went farming at Ourimbah.

Around 1894 Bill finally returned to live in his home in Mann Street and he worked for a time as a wheelwright at his workshop in Mann Street. He continued to work as a wheelwright and blacksmith on and off for a number of years while he also dabbled in farming and selling wildflowers harvested from the bush. He bought a property at Kariong and set up a fruit and vegetable farm, but he never completed the house and eventually returned to live in Gosford. He started another vegetable farm closer to town, possibly in Dwyer Street, and by all reports this was a successful venture. We walked to the farm from his home in Erina Street each day.

In his later years, Bill lived largely apart from the rest of his family, preferring to live in a series of rough bush huts that abide by Alice's ideas of tidiness. 

My father, Laurie Ward, was Bill's grandson and remembered visiting him at one or another of his bush camps. There was always a pot of stew steaming near the fire - Bill would eat from it then top it up with more meat or vegetables. But Laurie's mother had always pre-warned her children not to eat any of 'grandfather's stew' - she was clearly worried about her father's hygiene.

Bill returned to live at the Erina Street home in his last months when he was too sick to remain in the bush. He was housed in a room that opened off the back verandah. Laurie's memories again give us a vivid picture of the old man, bedridden, but demanding. He would only drink the water from a particular waterfall on the Mount Penang Road and several times a week, one of his sons or sons-in-law would be sent on horseback to fetch a supply. Even though they tried, they could not substitute any other water and he could always tell if they cheated and used water from a closer waterfall, or from the tank.

Laurie had very fond memories of his grandmother, Alice. His family lived in Dwyer Street Gosford, and the Parry home in Erina Street was almost on their route to school. They would often be tasked with delivering eggs, vegetables or milk on their way to school and on those occasions Alice would insist on smoothing his unruly hair. He carried the warm feeling of her gentle grooming for the rest of his life.

Bill Parry died in 1936 aged 80. Alice remained in the family home, which she shared with her daughter Ethel and son Charles. She died in 1941 aged 73. She was survived by nine of her 13 children and 20 grandchildren. 

Griffith Parry Jr and Sarah Jane Watkins

 Griffith Parry and Sarah Jane Parry were the grandparents of lena Parry, and therefore my 2nd great-grandparents. Both were the children of convict fathers and their families were early settlers of the Mangrove Creek area.

Griffith William Parry was born at Macdonald River (now St Albans) in 1830, the son of Griffith Parry and Mary Ann Mustare.  He lived at Macdonald River for at least 10 years, and his father was a constable and farmer. The family moved to Mangrove Creek in about 1842, when Griffith was 12. His mother died two years later.

Sarah Jane Watkins was born in Sydney in 1832, the daughter of Thomas Watkins and Sarah Lewis. Her early years were spent in Sydney, where her parents ran an hotel. The family moved to Mangrove Creek in about 1839, when Sarah was six. 

By 1843, both Watkins and Parry families were settled on farms along Mangrove Creek. Their farms were about 10 km apart in a direct line, maybe 15 km by road or track. Both families were part of the close-knit Church of England Community and were clearly well known to each other. There would be several marriages between the two families in the 1850s.

The Mangrove Creek community consisted of mainly ex-convicts and their colonial-born children, with a few free settlers thrown in. The farms grew wheat, corn, vegetables, fruit and livestock. Their produce was taken to Sydney by boat. There was also a good supply of timber in the area and some families concentrated on timer-getting, producing hand-sawn planks, palings and shingles.The creek was a tidal tributary of the Hawkesbury River and was navigable for a good distance, which is why it was settled so early.

Griffith and Sarah married in  June 1854 and they made their first home at Mangrove Creek where Griffith worked as a farmer. Two children were born while they were living at the Creek. But life would have been hard, and there were a series of bushfires and severe floods that possibly convinced the young couple to move their small family to the growing town of Gosford. By the time their third child was baptised, they were living in Gosford.

Their first home in Gosford was a grassy paddock that I think was on the corner of Mann and Beane Streets. The land had been purchased by Sarah's brother, Charles Watkins in 1855, but it is not clear whether Griffith and Sarah bought the property, or just lived there. Griffith and Charles worked together at times. The property was two acres, so it is possible both families lived there. Griffith worked as a shingle splitter and later carpenter and teamster. On some early records, he is described as a 'rough carpenter' so it may have been working with rough bush timber. As a bushman, he would have been able to turn his hand to many tasks, but he remained a manual worker for his whole life.

Griffith and Sarah had ten children born between 1855 and 1875, and all but the last survived to adulthood. Samuel Parry was born in 1975 and only lived for six months. Just two years after Samuel's death, the older children started to marry and the first grandchild was born in 1878.

The family were forced to move their home in the early 1880s when it was in the path of the new railway being built to connect Gosford and Newcastle to Sydney. Their new home was in Mann Street, and may have been owned by their son William, who had purchased two large blocks of land totalling five acres.

In May 1881 Griffith was arrested and charged with ‘conduct denoting lunacy’ . Police records show that he was sent to Gladesville Asylum for one month ‘in default of sureties’. This is the only record that suggests that Griffith was ever in trouble with the Police or suffered from mental health problems. The fact that this incident seems to correspond roughly with the government acquisition of the family home may provide a clue to what occurred, but the rest of the full story has not yet been uncovered. My private theory is that Griffith was so enraged by the actions of the Government that he 'lost it' and refused to calm down.

As I have explained in a separate post, Griffith has been mistakenly blamed for his son's eccentricities  in a number of publications over the years, but I believe he lived out his last years living in Mann Street Gosford with his wife and son, Elijah. Elijah never married. Griffith was well respected in Gosford and was an integral part of the Church of England community. When he died in 1909, the Minister of the time made a note in the burial register, under the column for profession  'Griff was sextant here for many years. I tolled the bell for this burial'. Of 30 burials on the opening of the register, this is the only one to mention tolling of the bell. The sextant is the member of the parish council that looks after the church property.

Sarah Jane died four years later in 1913. Both were buried at Point Clare.

Griffith and Sarah Jane Parry were survived by eight of their ten children. They were also survived by 48 grandchildren and 27 great-grandchildren born during their lifetime.