Francis Allsop (abt. 1795 - 1861)

Born about 1795 in Liverpool, Lancashire, England

Husband of Ann (Warwick) Allsop — married about 1821 in New South Wales, Australia

Husband of Charlotte (Sweetnam) Wheatley — married 1843 in New South Wales, Australia

Descendants

Died 4 Apr 1861 at about age 66 in Pennant Hills, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

Francis Allsop was a convict after the Third Fleet transported to New South Wales

Francis Allsop was born about 1795 in Liverpool, Lancashire, England.

He was a soldier in the British Army who fought in the Battle of Waterloo. However, he apparently attempted to jump ship / desert on the way home and was tried for such in London in 1815. He was sentenced to transportation to New South Wales for life and arrived in Sydney Cove in 1816 aboard the Elizabeth. ^[1]

Upon arrival in the penal settlement, Francis was shipped up-river to the government farms of Parramatta. Shortly thereafter, he was assigned to William Bellamy to work on his Field of Mars / Pennant Hills farm. Due to Francis' industriousness, Bellamy recommended him for a ticket-of-leave in 1819. The ticket was issued the same year. After marrying Ann Warwick, the daughter of free settlers ^[2] he worked as a tenant farmer for the Mobbs family in the Pennant Hills region.

Francis and Ann had five children:

• John (1823-)
• Francis Jnr (1825-82)
• James (1827-72)
• William (1829-)
• Joseph (1830-55)

Francis Jnr and Joseph married sisters Rachel and Rebecca Thompson, daughters of local pioneers Thomas Thompson and Hannah Russell. James married local girl, Mary Ann Holloway, daughter, granddaughter and great granddaughter of convicts, Samuel Holloway, William Pincham, George and Mary Patfield.

When Ann died in 1843, Francis re-married, to Charlotte Sweetnam (1808-83), in the Wesleyan Chapel, Parramatta). ^[3] They continued to live and work in the area, becoming orchardists and crop farmers. ^[4] Francis and Charlotte had a daughter, who passed away in infancy:

• Charlotte (1849-50)

Francis Snr passed away on 4th April 1861 at Pennant Hills, having fully paid his dues for his youthful indiscretion and redeemed himself through his continued industriousness over 45 years in New South Wales. He was buried in the Wesleyan churchyard, Pennant Hills (now Cherrybrook Uniting Church Cemetery). ^[5] His epitaph reads:

Rejoice for a brother deceased
Our loss is his infinite gain
A soul out of prison released
And free from its bodily chain
Our brother the haven hath gained
Out flying the tempest and wind
His rest hath the sooner obtained
And left his companions behind.

Although Charlotte later married again, she was buried with Francis at Pennant Hills.

Sources

1. ↑ Sainty, Malcolm R & Johnson, Keith A. Census of New South Wales, November 1828. Library of Australian History. Sydney, 1985
2. ↑ New South Wales Marriage Index #
3. ↑ New South Wales Marriage Index Marriage 2 registration #126/1843 V1843126 83
4. ↑ Barker, Helen & Hawkins, Ralph. Early Wesleyans of Pennant Hills. Hornsby Shire Historical Society. Hornsby, 1983
5. ↑ New South Wales Death Index #4201/1861