Getting to know our ancestors

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AuthorShirley kingsford McLeodPublication YearFamily historyDescriptionOver the years Shirley have collected a large amount of information on her ancestors and in this book shares some of their interesting and somewhat complex lives. She descended from a mixture of English, Scottish and German. The Scots and Germans all arrived here as free settlers but not so with the majority of the English who had no choice. They were forced to migrate to this country, and in all cases remained here, but do you know why they were transported and can you imagine how they lived before and after they arrived? She will tell you a little about them and perhaps you may have a better understanding of why we are, who we are.

Our convicts are interesting people and mostly did quite well here. Please do not, as previous generations have done, relegate them to the back of the cupboard, hiding them well out of sight. Without them you would not be here and there is certainly no need to be ashamed to admit that you are descended from convicts. I had never heard any of my family discuss them when I was younger and I’m not sure that many of them actually knew.

It wasn’t until 1988, when Australia celebrated its Bi-Centenary that many people went searching the past and discovered that they were descended from convicts. I was one of them. A little interest in Australian history was sparked when I decided to sail on one of the Bi-Centenary ships and in doing so saw at first hand what it was like to sail on a square rigger. I did so in relative comfort, and only for 2 weeks, but my thoughts went back many times whilst reading it to what it must have been like for the convicts. Those thoughts were reinforced somewhat in that on board, when not on watch, I was reading Robert Hughes book ‘The Fatal Shore’. Then a few weeks later, on returning to Sydney, I saw an article in a Parramatta newspaper written by my second cousin, Richard Manton, who told of one particular convict namely Richard Hunt. That was enough to whet my appetite so I went searching, and consequently found, four more convicts from whom we are directly descended and many more who are related by marriage. That discovery of my heritage encouraged me to learn as much as I could about this country and the people who made it. I hope that it may eventually have the same effect on you and yours.

I will begin by telling you why convicts were brought here in general and in particular why ours were among them. Let me reiterate though that it is no stigma to be descended from convicts and some of our best known Australians have convicts in their families. Indeed at the time of writing this John Howard, is our former Prime Minister and Kevin Rudd is Prime Minister. Both have convict ancestors. In many cases the convicts were ordinary people who needed to survive and in doing so committed petty crimes. My very favourite man in our history was that wonderful Scottish gentleman, Governor Lachlan Macquarie from the Isle of Mull, and his quote is also my favourite. In a despatch sent to a superior in England he wrote ‘There are two types of people in this colony… those who came in chains and those who should have’. And so it was. This is something for you to remember if you are ever challenged about your convict ancestry.

I hope that you enjoy learning about our beginnings. I have.

Shirley McLeod

Seven Hills

July 2009.
Copyright Owner(s)Shirley Kingsford McLeodAccessAccess open for research. Written permission required for personal copies and public use.

Connections

CollectionLocal History PublicationsPeople & FamiliesShirley Kingsford McLeodStein FamilyHunt Family

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