William Cuffay (bef. 1788 - 1870)

Born before 6 Jul 1788 in Chatham, Kent, England

Husband of Mary Ann Mansell — married [date unknown] (to 1869) in Hobart Tasmania

Died Jun 1870 after age 81 in Brickfields Asylum, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

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Biography

William Cuffay has African ancestry.

William Cuffay was born in Kent, England.

William Cuffay is Notable.

William Cuffay was a Chartist and political agitator and later in his life, a convict after the 3rd fleet. He was born in Old Brompton, Kent, England in an area of the Medway Towns that is now in Gillingham in about 1788. He was mixed race, the son of former slave, Chatham Cuffay, and Juliana Fox, an English woman. William was baptised on 6th July 1788, at St Mary's in Chatham, Kent. ^{[1] [2]} Cuffay was apprenticed to a tailor, and later worked for Matthews and Acworth, on Chatham High Street. He was of short stature, being 4 ft 11 in (1.50 m) tall. Cuffay moved to London around 1819 and was married three times. His only daughter, Ann Juliana Cuffay, was baptised at St Mary Magdalene's Church, Gillingham. ^[3]

William was the eldest of five known siblings.

Apprenticed 1802 • Chatham? to a tailor. Later worked for Matthews & Acworth on Chatham High Street.

Death of Father Chatham Cuffay (1759–1815) 1815 • Brompton, Gillingham, Kent, England

Marriage 24 May 1819 • St Martin in the Fields, Westminster, England Ann Marshall (1783–1824)

Residence 1819 • London Moved to London from Chatham

Death of Wife Ann Marshall (1783–1824) Jun 1824

Marriage 12 Feb 1825 • Saint Martin In The Fields, Westminster, London, England Ann Broomhead (1785–1826) ^[4]

Birth of Daughter Ann Juliana Cuffay, (1826–1826) abt 1 April 1826 • Westminster, Middlesex, England

Death of Wife Ann Broomhead (1785–1826) 2 Apr 1826 • Westminster, Middlesex, England died day after birth of her daughter

Death of Daughter Ann Juliana Cuffay, (1826–1826) Jun 1826

Marriage 31 May 1827 • Saint James,Westminster,London,England Mary Ann Mansell (1793–1869)

Residence 18 Jul 1827 • Lambeth, Surrey, England 2 Cornwall Road, Narrow Wall, Lambeth. Sun Fire Insurance Record MS 11936/514/1063241 at LMA . William Cuffay, gent, "his wife a dressmaker and dealer in straw bonnets" Total insured: £350

Residence 1828-1830 • Westminster William Street, St Margaret, Westminster. from from past, tax records

Residence 20 Jan 1830 • Covent Garden, London, England 6 Tavistock Street, Covent Garden. Sun Fire Insurance Record, MS 11936/527/1099831 at LMA. Other occupier: Farrow, hairdresser. Total £150

Conservative views 1833 • London reluctantly joined a new tailors' trade union.

Tailors' Strike Apr 1834 • London was sacked and blacklisted as a result.

Death of Mother Juliana Fox (1768–1837) Sep 1837 • district of Medway, Kent, England

The People's Charter 1838 First draft of the Charter

Metropolitan Tailors' Association Autumn 1839 • London Set up by Cuffay and others

Elected as Westminster delegate 1840 elected as delegate to the Chartists' Metropolitan Delegate Council, and became a member of the executive of the National Charter Association.

In 1841, William and his third wife, Mary Ann Mansell were residing in the Spooner Household in St Martin in the Fields, Middlesex. William was estimated to be about 50-years-old. ^[5] William Caffey in household of William Spooner, St Martin in the Fields, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom; from ^[6]

Great Public Meeting of three Tailors Feb 1842 • London Chaired by Cuffay. National petition to the House of Commons adopted. Cuffay was elected to the 5-man national executive of the National Charter Association.

Birmingham Land Conference 1846 • Birmingham Cuffay was one of three delegates from London to this organisation set up by Feargus O'Connor

Chartist Rally 10 Apr 1848 • Kennington Common, London Cuffay was one of the organisers.

Arrested 18 Aug 1848 • 11 Hollins Street, Wardour Street, Soho at 8pm. In a small room at the top of the house."it was not a wretched room, for a garret it was a little better than usual" Joseph Thompson, police sergeant. F11. ^{[7] [8]}

The Orange Tree Plot 1848 Named after the Pub where the Chartist leaders met in Red Lion Square. Tried at the Old Bailey and sentenced to Transportation for Life to Van Dieman's Land (Tasmania) in 1849. ^[9] He was tried on 18th September 1848 ^[10]

Departure 8 Aug 1849 • To Australia. Arrived 18 Sep 1849

Arrival 1849 • Tasmania vis SS Adelaide

Pardoned 1856

Residence 1857 • Australia Admission that William Cuffay had not received his free pardon, granted in 1856 ^[11]

Death of Wife Mary Ann Mansell (1793–1869) 1869 • Hobart, Tasmania

William passed away on 29th July 1870. He was 82-years-old and the cause of death noted as senilis. He had been living in the Brickfield's Asylum, in Hobart Tasmania since October 1869. ^[12][13]

Sources

1. ↑ "England, Kent, Parish Registers, 1538-1911," database with images, FamilySearch [1]
2. ↑ William Cuffay, 06 Jul 1788; citing Christening, Chatham, St Mary, Kent, England, [Kent Archives Office, Maidstone; FHL microfilm 1,473,646]
3. ↑ England & Wales Christening Records, 1530-1906
4. ↑ London, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921
5. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1841," database with images, FamilySearch [2]
6. ↑ "1841 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast : The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.
7. ↑ Illustrated London News
8. ↑ England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892
9. ↑ Old Bailey Proceedings Online , September 1848, trial of WILLIAM LACEY THOMAS FAY WILLIAM CUFFEI (t18480918-2181) [3]
10. ↑ The Digital Panopticon William Cuffei b. 1788, Life Archive ID obpdef3-2181-18480918 (https://www.digitalpanopticon.org/life?id=obpdef3-2181-18480918). Version 1.2.1, consulted 2nd March 2024.
11. ↑ Tasmania, Australia, Convict Court and Selected Records, 1800-1899
12. ↑ Deaths: Libraries Tasmania. Entry for William Cuffy, 29 Jul 1870. Hobart, Record ID: NAME_INDEXES:1149254, [4]
13. ↑ Wikipedia - William Cuffay [5]

See also:

• Obituaries Australia, Cuffay William Obituaries Australia, Cuffay William c 1788 1870
• BBC Biography - William Cuffay BBC bio William Cuffay
• New South Wales Death Index Australia Death Index, 1787-1985
• DigitalPanopticon.org - British Transportation Registers - 1787 -1867, Australian Convict Transportation Registers - Other Fleets & Ships, 1791 -1868 Australian Convict Transportation Registers – Other Fleets & Ships, 1791-1868
• Ancestry - New South Wales and Tasmania, Australia Convict Musters New South Wales and Tasmania, Australia Convict Musters, 1806-1849
• Fine song by Billy Bragg