William Blue (abt. 1736 - 1834)

Born about 1736 in Jamaica, Queens, New York Colony [uncertain]

Husband of Elizabeth (Williams) Blue — married 27 Apr 1805 in St Phillips Anglican Church, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Descendants

Died 7 May 1834 at about age 98 in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

Billy Blue was a convict after the Third Fleet transported to New South Wales

Billy Blue has African ancestry.

Billy Blue is Notable.

William Blue was a convict known as "The Old Commodore" and "Billy Blue". He ran Sydney's first ferry. ^[1] Blues Point in Sydney, NSW, Australia is named after him.

Early Life

Billy Blue has a disputed background and date of birth, as can be seen in the Research Notes section below on "Disputed Origins and Earlier Life". Billy is reputed to have said he had been "his whole Lifetime in his Majesty's [military] Service", had fought with the British at Quebec in 1759, and was "Commodore" in the HMS Enterprise which was a receiving ship at Deptford for impressed sailors ^{[citation needed]}. (See 'Billy Blue's Background' below for more details)

Timeline

By 1796 Billy was living at Deptford, London. He was a chocolate-maker and also worked as a labourer unloading merchant ships on the Thames.

The Maidstone Journal and Kentish Advertiser, October 11th 1796, reported the following: 'Charged of stealing 20 lb weight of raw sugar from on board the Lady Jane Halliday, West Indiaman, the property of Sir Richard Neve, William Blue, a lumper, was ordered by the court to be transported to Botany Bay for seven years.'^[2]

After serving over four years in the Prudentia, one of the convict hulks (ships used for housing criminals), he was transported to Sydney, Australia, in the convict ship Minorca which arrived in NSW in December 1801. ^[3]

In 1803 Billy was made "Free by servitude".

In 1804, records show him living in 'the Rocks', then a very tough part of the city of Sydney. There he met Elizabeth Williams , a 30-year-old convict from Hampshire, England, who had arrived in June 1804. Billy married Elizabeth on 27 April 1805 at the old St. Phillip's Anglican church in Sydney, where 5 of their 6 children were later christened: ^[4] Susannah Blue ^[5], William Blue ^[6], Elizabeth Blue ^[7] Mary Blue, ^[8] Robert Blue ^[9] and John Blue ^[10]

For the next few years Billy Blue made his living around Sydney Harbour; he transported passengers in his 'tight and clean boat' and traded oysters and other commodities to provide food for his growing family. He became known as the city's first 'water policeman'.

In 1808 Billy Blue was among those who supported the removal of Captain Bligh, of Bounty and breadfruit fame, as governor of the colony, and he soon came to the notice of the new Governor,Macquarie, who used Blue's services in getting himself and his family around the Harbour.

In 1811, Macquarie designated Blue as 'Watchman of the Heaving Down Place' where ships were careened, 'Constable,' and 'Water Bailiff,' thus giving him wide powers of supervision over ships and traffic in the Harbour. The jobs were not well paid, but he was provided with a small stone hexagonal watch house standing in what today are the grounds of Government House, and this allowed him to move his family out of 'The Rocks'. The house soon became known as 'Billy Blue's cottage'. Macquarie often used Billy's ferry service and mentions Billy in his diary as taking Macquarie's wife and son up to the Governor's house in Parramatta.

In 1817, Billy Blue received a grant of 80 acres of land on the north shore. The property, previously known as Murdering Point, was renamed Northampton Farm and the family were soon living there in a newly built house. The headland on the property became known as Blue's Point and proved an excellent base for extending his ferry operations. When his 'fleet' increased from one boat to eleven, Macquarie is supposed to have said "Why, Billy, you have a regular fleet. I'll have to name you Commodore", and ever after he was known as the "Old Commodore" (however Billy himself gave another explanation for this nickname - see below).

Part of Billy Blue's responsibilities was to keep an eye out for smugglers; Macquarie specifically set him to do so, allegedly joking, "You watch them, Billy, and I'll watch you." Unfortunately, in 1818 he was caught with two large casks of rum lashed to his boat. Though he claimed he found them floating in the harbour and was taking them back to shore, he was sentenced to a year in prison but was probably pardoned by Macquarie on recommendation of mercy by the magistrates. He was dismissed from his official positions, and evicted from his stone hexagonal house.^[11]

Billy Blue continued to operate his farm and his ferry business, with the help of his family, especially his eldest son, William Blue, until the time of his death. He had to stave off attempts by neighbouring landowners to get him off his land and out of business, because they claimed that he was a smuggler and harboured criminals. After Governor Macquarie left the colony in 1822, Billy's business rivals were temporarily successful in shutting down Billy’s ferry service through various allegations, however he regained the right to run it again in 1825.

In the census of 1823, Billy Blue is recorded as living at "Hunter's Hill."^[12]

In July '1824,' Billy's 16 year old son William Blue was found guilty of manslaughter, after he threw a stone at a boy who was tormenting him and the youth later died. He was given a six-month sentence.^[13][14] The Sydney Gazette published an editorial 10 June that year clarifying that it was not Billy Blue [senior] who threw the stone that killed Thomas Cox.^[15]

In November 1824. Billy's wife Elizabeth Williams passed away and Billy was then left with 6 children to look after, four of them under the age of 15.

Billy's behaviour became increasingly eccentric. Wearing a battered coat, top hat, and cane, he was often seen in George Street or would board ships in the harbour, demanding people acknowledge him as 'the Commodore,' and abusing them if they did not. An article in the newspaper The Australian, 'WALK THROUGH SYDNEY IN 1828' mentions him:^[16]

Ha! ha! ha! All my people—Old Standard for ever! Commodore for ever! What sable Democritus is this, holding his side in a fit of laughter? Billy Blue, how do you do? Go home child and learn yourn your book, there's a good child. Good morning William? Good morning your Honor,—morning Sir, I hope, your Honor's well and all the family at home? —I've seen the day. A-hem! Young woman there,—go on, go on. Let the ladies pass. Ha! ha! ha! Colours! Colours! Standard for ever! The Commodore for ever! never strike! This old man deserves a pension. From one end of the street to the other, scarcely a day passes but Billy Blue, an Octogenarian, a poor American black, makes more than half the faces he meets look happier. Many a one smiles or laughs at him, and at nothing else. Mirth is the proper effervescence of life, and sadness is a gloomy vice, or a disease, destructive to soul and body.

In 1829, Billy was again gaoled for sheltering a run-away convict but was released on paying a fine.

Billy Blue died in 1834 ^{[17] [18]} 09 May 1834 and there were several obituaries in Sydney newspapers.^{[19] [20] [21][22] [23]}

A portrait of Billy painted by J B East was exhibited soon after Billy's death. ^[24]

In 1850, Billy's youngest son John Blue built the Old Commodore Hotel and his daughter Susannah owned the Billy Blue Inn, both near Blues Point. Various streets in the area are named after him and his children.

Research Notes

He was born in 1739 ^[20] Born in 'Jamaica, New York City' comes from the ADB (accessed 7 Aug 2019) and is probably a typo??

Disputed Origins and Earlier Life

• Billy Blue's age: is often written in his biographies as born about 1767. This is based on his entry in the convict indent (age 29). He is listed in the returns for the hulk 'Prudentia' at Woolwich from October 1797 to 1801, always with age '29'. However other records have him as a much older man: his petition to the Governor 1823 (age 89), 1828 census (age 80), report in Sydney Gazette 1832 (age 85 or 86), burial register 1834 (age 99), family bible (age 100). Cassandra Pybus in her book 'Black Founders' estimates his year of birth as 1738.

• Burial certificate states that he was age 99 when he died. ^[25]

• The Sydney Herald Family Notice states age 95 ^[26] Luckie-23 02:53, 10 June 2023 (UTC)

• Years after his death, a newspaper article declared that it was impossible to trace his history prior to his arrival in New South Wales; beyond him being an "American colored man from New York". The same newspaper article cites from a family bible suggesting that William died at the Roundhouse on Macquarie Point on 29 May 1834, aged 100 years. ^[27]

It is impossible to trace the history of William Blue, "the old Commodore," prior to advent in Sydney at the beginning of last century, but of this there can be no doubt he was an American colored man, from New York..... The [family] Bible was inspected by the writer at the residence of the late Mrs. Schofield, daughter of Mrs. Chutor by her first husband, George Lavender. The first entry was: 'William Blue; died May 29, 1834; aged 100 years.' The members of the family present expressed the belief that "Old Billy" died at the Round House, on Macquarie Point.

• Billy Blue's place of birth: many biographies have 'a Jamaican Negro sailor', supposedly from the convict ship's records. However he was NOT described in the ship's records as 'a Jamaican Negro sailor'. Unfortunately this misunderstanding, which is often quoted in biographies about Billy Blue, originally comes from the book 'Billy Blue, The Old Commodore' by Meg Swords, pub. North Shore Historical Society 1979.

Meg Swords wrote 'Billy Blue, The Old Commodore' in 1979. She was limited in her sources because at that time researchers had difficulty accessing primary records. Meg Swords acknowledged this in the Foreword of her book: 'Perhaps somewhere, at some time, somebody will find the missing pieces of the jigsaw and put together a complete picture of Billy Blue.'

Unfortunately Meg Swords mistakenly thought she was quoting the convict indent when she wrote that Billy Blue was a 'Jamaican negro sailor' when it was actually from a publication 'History and Description of Sydney Harbour' by P. R. Stephensen. [Swords, p.10, addendum] There is nothing about him being a 'Jamaican negro sailor' in the indent.

Many of the 'missing pieces' mentioned in the Introduction and Addendum of Meg Swords's book have been found by Cassandra Pybus in her book 'Black Founders, The unknown story of Australia's first black settlers' (published UNSW Press 2006).

Billy Blue's Background

• Wikitree member Amy Golder-Cooper speculated that William Blue may have been one of the slaves owned her her ancestor.John Blaw who died in New Jersey in 1757 and owned two slaves at the time of his death. ^[28] Luckie-23 02:19, 10 June 2023 (UTC)
• Cassandra Pybus wrote the following in her article "Billy Blue: an African American journey through empire in the long eighteenth century." in Early American Studies, vol. 5, no. 2, fall 2007:

"In the 1690s, at Breukelen (Brooklyn) on Long Island, Jan Fredrickse, a prosperous Dutch settler, took the surname Blaauw. Surnames being, until much later, spoken rather than written words, variations were created by his descendents, including Blue, Blew, Blau, and Blaw. Long Island had one of the heaviest concentrations of slaves in the northern colonies. As the Dutch took a more liberal view of slavery than their British counterparts, there was also a large population of manumitted blacks. Indeed, one of the founders of Breukelen was a free black man. A wealthy individual like Fredrickse would almost certainly have owned a slave or two, although the 1698 census of Brooklyn lists no slaves in his household, nor in the census of 1738 did the household of his son John Blaw. In the same census black people were absent from the households of John Blaw's two sons. In the 1755 census there were 133 enslaved people in Brooklyn, as well as an unknown number of free blacks. But no Blaws were among these. Nevertheless, John Blaw's will of 1757 indicated he owned a man and a woman. By then he had purchased a large tract of land in Somerset County, New Jersey. Here most of the family resettled, with the exception of a daughter and a son. The daughter married into a family prominent in Long Island history; the son was to be found in New York City. In 1754 we find a Blaauw living in New York City, the head of a large family. He was buried at the Dutch Reformed Church in 1787. William Blue was probably connected to this family through slavery."^[29]

• This is a summary of his background on page 183 of 'Black Founders':

"William Blue was probably from a free black family in New York. Most likely he was recruited into the British navy and served as an infantryman at the battle of Quebec in 1759 and then went to England where he enlisted as a Marine. He was involved in the invasion of Belle Isle in 1762 and with a Pioneer corps in Portugal and Minorca. He must have returned to America with the British army in 1776 and was evacuated in 1783, to be discharged in England around 1784 or 1785. Later he worked for the receiving ship HMS Enterprise at Tower Hill, which earned him the title of 'the Commodore'."

Pybus's argument for the above is given in detail throughout her book: Two sources are:

• A petition in 1823 to Governor Brisbane,^[30] where he states he:

'is now 89 years of Age was in the service of his Majesty King George the third at the time he was crowned And went as a Marreen on the first Expedition after his Crownation to Germany, Pet'r was at Queabeck with General Wolf when he was killed, also with Major Andrews when he was taken, And with Lord Cornwallace at Little york at Virginea as a Spie or Guide for his Army, and was also for a considerable time, a Serj't of Pineneers on the continent. Pet'r was his whole Lifetime in his Majesty's Service until Pet'r came to this Colony.'

• His evidence in the trial Martin v. Munn, Supreme Court of NSW 22 Oct 1832 reported in the Sydney Gazette 25 Oct 1832:

'I was with General Wolfe in the American war, and with Lord Howe ; I got the name of the old Commodore for being in charge of the old Enterprise at Tower-hill; I do not want more than fourteen or fifteen years of being a hundred years old'

This implies that Blue was in charge of the press gang that operated in and around Deptford for the HMS 'Enterprise' which was a receiving ship for impressed sailors. [Pybus p.150] He was also a lumper (employed in unloading merchant ships in the Thames) and a chocolate-maker. Lumping was low paid employment supplemented by pilfering of the cargo, with merchants allowing up to 2 per cent to disappear as 'spillage'. Pybus writes: Doubtless Blue was employed at both jobs in September 1796, given that lumping was casual, seasonal work and since the beginning of 1796 there was a sharp drop in returns from the Impressment Service.' [Pybus p.151]

Sydney Morning Herald 22/11/1900:

ST. PHILIP'S OLD CHURCH.

"J. F. M." writes :—"In order to make the history of St. Philip's Old Church complete—the centenary commemoration of which was held a short time since—it will be necessary to include the name 'William Blue ' amongst those who, from time to time, in a greater or lesser degree, attended to its requirements. The late Mr. William Blue, better known as 'Billy Blue,' was a well-known character about Sydney in the early days, and terminated a lengthy career as verger to St. Phillp's Church. For some reason he received a free grant of 80 acres of land on the North Shore, ever since known as 'Blue's Point,' a name likely to be perpetuated in colonial history." Trove, Au - Sydney Morning Herald 22 Nov 1900' St Phillips Old Church [5]

Sources

1. ↑ The Sydney Morning Herald, 19 March 1932, p. 22. (Sydney Harbour Bridge Supplement.) viewed 10 Jun 2023 Billy Blue. Sydney's First Ferry.

   Today we should spare a thought for the man who conducted the first ferry across the harbour, and whose name is perpetuated in Blue's Point. "Billy" Blue, as he was known was amongst the first arrivals in New South Wales, and in Macquarie's day he held the position of watchman of the heaving-down place in Sydney Cove. This was on the eastern side of the cove, and Mr. Blue occupied an octagonal-shaped house on the cliffs above. One of his duties was to keep a watch for smugglers. Alas, one night a smuggler was caught, and it was Billy Blue himself. Macquarie promptly dismissed Mr. Blue, but evidently bore him no grudge, for a year or two afterwards he gave the ex-watchman a grant of 80 acres on the North Shore. The grant comprised the whole of the point now know as Blue's and McMahon's Point as far back as Union-street. On his grant Billy Blue built a house and grew fruit and vegetables for the Sydney market. As settlement extended on the North Shore he instituted a ferry between Miller's Point and Blue's Point and his method of running this was far in advance of his time.

   A writer of the twenties of last century has left us a reference to the ferry. returning from a walk to Lane Cove he says:—

   By this time, we reach Billy Blue's. The old man who had a little grant of land at the water's edge opposite Sydney, given him, I believe, by one of the Governors in those early days when it was considered that a poor man was as much entitled to his small grant as the rich one to his proportionately larger was just come over from the Sydney side with a passenger. He told us with quite a fatherly sort of authority that he had been across a good many times that day; that we must pull him over to the other side, and he would take the boat back. The "Old Commodore" being considered to possess a sort of universal freedom of speech to everybody, no demur was made. We pulled him across in his own boat and paid him our fares for pulling himself back again.

   The writer refers to Blue's "universal freedom of speech to everybody." In the latter years of his life he became one of the characters of Old Sydney, and this freedom was one of his charms. "The Commodore," as Blue was called, was respected by everyone, and could raise a smile on the dullest countenance.

2. ↑ Maidstone Journal and Kentish Advertiser, October 11, 1796, quoted in 'The History and Story of William Blue of Blue's Point' by Evelyn Earnshaw, North Shore Historical Society Journal Vol 1, No 4, July 1960
3. ↑ convict records, Billy Blue [1]
4. ↑ NSW Government. Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. Marriage: Blew William. Williams Elizabeth. Registration number: 331/1805 V1805331 4. 635/1805 V1805635 3A. District: CA. Accessed 10 June 2023. Marriage Search page
5. ↑ NSW Government. Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. Susanna Blue. Birth Registration: 869/1805 V1805869 4. Accessed 16 June 2023. Births Search page
6. ↑ NSW Government. Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. William Blue. Birth Registration Number :1700/1807 V18071700 1A. Accessed 16 June 2023. Births Search page
7. ↑ NSW Government. Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. Elizabeth Blue. Birth Registration Number: 2122/1809 V18092122 1A, Birth Registration Number: 1801/1809 V18091801 1A, Birth Registration Number: 93/1809 V180993 5. Accessed 16 June 2023 Births Search page
8. ↑ NSW Government. Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. Mary Blue. Birth Registration Number: 40/1812 V181240 7 Accessed 16 June 2023. Births Search page
9. ↑ NSW Government. Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. Robert Blue. Birth Registration Number: 3445/1814 V18143445 1A, Birth Registration Number: 308/1814 V1814308 7, Birth Registration Number: 3394/1814 V18143394 1A. Accessed 16 June 2023. Births Search page
10. ↑ 1898 'GRAVEYARD RAMBLES.', Truth (Sydney, NSW : 1894 - 1954), 18 September, p. 8. , viewed 10 Jun 2023, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article168089426
11. ↑ Pybus p. 170
12. ↑ 1936 'NORTH SHORE HISTORY.', The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), 30 October, p. 10. , viewed 10 Jun 2023, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17277678
13. ↑ 1824 'CRIMINAL COURT.', The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842), 8 July, p. 2. , viewed 10 Jun 2023, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2183039
14. ↑ Pybus, p.173
15. ↑ 1824 'SHIP NEWS.', The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842), 10 June, p. 2. , viewed 10 Jun 2023, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2182973
16. ↑ 1829 'DOMESTIC LITERATURE.', The Australian (Sydney, NSW : 1824 - 1848), 24 February, p. 3. , viewed 10 Jun 2023, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article36866886
17. ↑ NSW Government. Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. NSW. Blue William. Death Registration: 1950/1834 V18341950 18. Age 99. District: CJ. Accessed 10 June 2023 Death search page
18. ↑ Trove, Au - The Australian (Sydney NSW 1824 - 1848)
19. ↑ From: Blue, William (Billy) (1767–1834)', Obituaries Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University [2]
20. ↑ ^{20.0 20.1} The Sydney Morning Herald Thu 8 May 1834 Page 3 Family Notices Death

    On Monday last, at his residence Blue Point, Billy Blue, (better known in Sydney as " The Commodore,") aged 95 years. Billy will long be remembered by Australians for his eccentric though inoffensive disposition. He has left a family of 5 children, who, by his Will, have become the inheritors of an estate on the North Shore. The Commodore's remains were brought ashore yesterday and deposited in their final home.

21. ↑ Obituary, Australian, Friday 9 May 1834:

    Billy Blue, the old Commodore, the standard, the colors, is no more. He has cracked his last joke with his children, as he called the inhabitants of Sydney, and now rests in peace. He had been ill for some time previous to his death and on Monday morning he expired, in the 99th year of his age. [3] Trove, Au - The Australian (Sydney NSW 1824 - 1848) 09 May 1834 'Miscellaneous' (death announcement)

22. ↑ Obituary, 1834 'SYDNEY INTELLIGENCE.', The Independent (Launceston, Tas. : 1831 - 1835), 24 May, p. 3. , viewed 15 Jun 2023, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article233687428
23. ↑ Billy Blue.—The gallant " Old Commodore" has for ever laid aside his truncheon of command. He died at his Villa, on the North Shore, on Tuesday. The reign of Billy is coeval with the foundation of the Colony. A longer article was in Sydney Gazette, and was reprinted in the Sydney Monitor on 8th May 1834 Sydney Monitor, 8th May 1834 [4]
24. ↑ Margaret Park, 'Blue, William (Billy) (1767–1834)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University
25. ↑ NSW Government. Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. NSW. Blue William. Death Registration: 1950/1834 V18341950 18. Age 99. District: CJ. Accessed 10 June 2023 Death search page
26. ↑ 1834 'Family Notices', The Sydney Herald (NSW : 1831 - 1842), 8 May, p. 3. , viewed 10 Jun 2023, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12849289
27. ↑ 1908 'THE NORTHERN SUBURBS', The Australian Star (Sydney, NSW : 1887 - 1909), 6 October, p. 1. (FIRST EDITION), viewed 15 Jun 2023, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article229114216
28. ↑ Amy Golder-Cooper

    Totally a long shot, but my ancestor Jan Blaw (John Blue) died in New Jersey in 1757 and owned 2 slaves at his death. At that time, they probably were freed after a set number of years. Could have been Billy ...

29. ↑ Pybus, Cassandra. "Billy Blue: an African American journey through empire in the long eighteenth century." Early American Studies, vol. 5, no. 2, fall 2007, pp. 252+. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A168632280/AONE?u=slnsw_public&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=b4226baa. (Accessed 24 March 2023 via State Library of New South Wales Catalogue).
30. ↑ A petition in 1823 to Governor Brisbane (AONSW Reel 6056; 4/1765 p.215)

See Also:

• 'Billy Blue', State Library of New South Wales https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/learning/billy-blue
• 'The Monthly, Australia - A Ferry into the Past - "The Story of Billy Blue" by Cassandra Pybus http://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2012/april/1337650377/cassandra-pybus/ferry-past
• en.Wikipedia.org - Billy Blue. last edited on 21 March 2023, at 16:39 (UTC). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Blue
• Wikidata.org https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16197490
• The Old Commodore: a transnational life by Cassandra Pybus http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p20951/pdf/ch014.pdf
• Margaret Park, 'Blue, William (Billy) (1767–1834)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/blue-william-billy-12804
• BILLY BLUE.', The Sydney Monitor (NSW : 1828 - 1838), 10 May, p. 3. (MORNING), viewed 10 Jun 2023, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32146245
• 1947 'Black Commodore Billy Blue', The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), 3 May, p. 9. , viewed 12 Jun 2023, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18024537
• 18985 January 'Milson s Point, North Sydney, in 1854.', Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), 1, p. 19. , viewed 10 Jun 2023, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71282265
• 1914 'BILLY BLUE.', The Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954), 15 April, p. 12. (FINAL EXTRA), viewed 15 Oct 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article229238095
• 1937 'ROADS OF TO-DAY— TALES OF YESTERDAY', Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), 24 February, p. 41. , viewed 15 Oct 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article160502483
• 1947 'Black Commodore Billy Blue', The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), 3 May, p. 9. , viewed 15 Oct 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18024537