FORD FAMILY
Ford Family of Ash Island
Article by Cherylanne Bailey
James FORD was born on 11 November 1843 at Abbotsbury and emigrated as a young man in search of a better life. It is assumed that he arrived with no relatives in the colony, this assumption supported by contact with two ancestors of James’s youngest brother, Thomas, born 4 May 1852 who married Fanny Bartlett and who remained in England, dying there on 19 May 1918.
It was probably an advertisement which appeared in a local newspapers or a poster which were pasted on buildings around Abbotsbury inviting Ag Labs (including shepherds) to a new better life in NSW, where the opportunity was that one day they could purchase land, which lured James to make the journey. Free passages paid by the NSW Government were offered to single ag labs, shepherds, etc.
Looking through the eyes of this young shepherd, he would have experienced the hardship both his father and his older brothers were enduring as shepherds inetching out a harsh pauper-like existence and most certainly dreamed of something better. In Dorset, a boy as young as 12 was sent away to a dairyfarm to work for not much more than food, lodging and a coin a week which they were expected to send home to feed their impoverished family. With the NSW Government willing to pay his passage James emigrated from Dorset never to see England or his family again.
MARRIAGE
James married Marianne Woods, the daughter of a convict, William Woods, at St John’s Church Raymond Terrace on 26 December 1869. He is listed as a 24 year old, bachelor, fisherman, born in England. His residence is recorded as Raymond Terrace in the Parish Registerwithhis “X”” mark. Marianneis listed aged 19 years,born at Millers Forest and also signed with her “X”mark. It notes her father William gave consent that she marry (as under 21 years).
ASH ISLAND RESIDENCE
According to an Ash Island map, the family is first found residing on the Island around 1889, running a small dairy farm on Lot 62. This same year Marianne died and despite widower James Snr surviving her and remarrying (Ellen Palmer) he had little time to enjoy married life second time around andpassing away in August 1893. Despite their parents’ death several of the now adult children remained on the Island including James Jnr and his wife Catherine.
During their youth several of the boys became champion scullers on the Hunter River (including James Jnr and George).
NEIGHBOURS
Island neighbours on Lots 63 and 64 were the Schuck family (widower Elisabeth Schuck and her family) and the Hughes family, who occupied Lot 65 (bordered by Dempsey Channel) and who were also later connected via marriage to the Schucks.
Vera Deacon recalls crossing the creek to get to Ash Island as a young girl, describing it as a muddy, mangrove invested waterway transversable at low time with shoes off and forming a thoroughfare from Dempsey to Ash Island. Newcastle author Don Wilson recalls growing up near Sandgate and spending his weeks playing and duck hunting on Ash Island. He has a 1962 photograph of Dempsey Island at a family sausage sizzle with “Hughes Creek” in the background partially filled in as part of the Islands Reclamation Scheme. Since reclamation Hughes Creek has been etched from existence.
Many articles written about Ash Island describe that in the early 1900’s most dairy farms (approximately 48 in total) had between 40-80 head of cattle and all milked by hand with the cattle feed stored in large silos. In summer they grew lucerne, corn and saccaline, which were cut with a chaff cutter and put in silos for winter use. In the early 1900’s silos were used with underground water wells which held 1000s of litres of water. They also tendered vegetable gardens, pigs and poultry for their personal use as there no real return in raising these animals to sell.
CHILDREN
James and Marianne had 11 children including:
Ellen Ford (born 22 October 1885 at Hollow Tree(said to have been so named because the local aboriginals used hollow trees in the area for shelter and “Motto” was derivation of the aboriginal word “Mutah” meaning black snake). Marianne died on 22 December 1950 aged, 85 years, just 6 years shy of her daughter Ellen’s marriage to Thomas Schuck (born 7 September 1881 at Ash Island, died 9 October 1956 at Mayfield aged 75 years), the son of Franz Josef Schuck). Ellen and Thomas having, literally, an “over-the-fence romance”resulting in their 1904 Mayfield marriage.
James Ford Jnr was a local champion sculler in his youth, together with his brothers George and Frederick. James went on to be a Newcastle Waterman and family knowledge is Frederick’s sculling competitions took him as far away as New Zealand.
James Jnr is found residing on Ash Island at the time of the birth of his (and wife Catherine’s) first son registered as being born on 28 December 1895 at Hexham. The 1901 Census record reads “Residence – Census 1901 – James – Hexham Islands 3 males & 4 females” however he is documented as residing at Woodburn in June 1910. On 26 February 1911 James and Catherine’s son Robert Erasmus FORD was born at Woodburn.
The following are a series of newspaper snippets evidencing the frequency and popularity of sculling:
“I, T. JORDAN, hereby challenge to ROW, JAMES FORD jun., for £5 to £50, In the same two dingies as we rowed on New Year’s Day, over the same Newcastle course. Man and money ready at Mr. G. BUNN’S Great Britain Hotel, Market street. T. JORDAN, Mosquito Island.”[Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate (NSW: 1876 – 1954), Thursday 31 January 1889, page 8]
Ash Island brothers James Ford Jnr and George Ford are mentioned in the Hexham Sculling Handicap, reported in the Newcastle Morning Herald on Monday, 9 November 1896 at page 7, where James is reported as winning the second heat of a sculling championship whilst George Ford came third in the third race. That article reported that bets were placed on rowing races. “Evens v. Neilson, 2 to 1 Towns, 3 to 1 Ford, 4 to 1 Kemp.”
[1905] Rowing – Ford (George) v. Towns at Raymond Terrace.
[1905] G Ford v. A Towns for 200 pounds on Raymond Terrace Course.
James Ford Jnr photo (courtesy of Lynette Cameron)