Eleanor (Gott) Buckridge (1765 - 1843)

Born 26 Oct 1765 in Liverpool, Lancashire, England

Wife of Joseph Wright — married 13 Dec 1790 (to 25 Aug 1811) in St Phillips Church Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Wife of Daniel Buckridge — married 31 Mar 1812 in Windsor, New South Wales,Australia

Descendants

Died 28 Apr 1843 at age 77 in Pitt Town, New South Wales, Australia

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Terry Wright [send private message], Graham Sparks [send private message], and Trevor Sams [send private message]

Biography

Eleanor Gott was born in Liverpool, England, on 26th October 1765.^[1] She was baptised in St Peter's, Liverpool on 17 November 1765.^[2] Her parents were John Gott and Ann Caughley. She was one of 7 children. Ellen's father was a shoe maker and Ellen had learned her father's trade and later taught it to her children. In March 1787 Ellen was sentenced at Liverpool to three months imprisonment in the Preston House of Correction for stealing a cloak and a gown.^[3] In August 1789, Ellen was once more sentenced at the Lancaster, Liverpool Quarter Sessions, for the theft of various articles from her employer Charles Norris.^[4] Eleanor was sentenced to 3 years transportation to Botany Bay and sent on the Neptune, one of the ships of the Second Fleet.^[5] The Neptune would be known as the "Hell Ship."

Neptune

The Neptune 1790

The Neptune sailed from England on 19 January 1790.^[6] There were 421 male and 78 female convicts on board. The convicts aboard the Neptune were treated harshly, the worst on any of the convict ships sent to Australia. The convicts that stole while on board, were flogged to death. Most convicts were kept chained below decks for the whole voyage. A large number of the convicts had scurvy and other diseases, and they received very little food. As the Neptune came in to the harbour at Port Jackson on 27th June 1790, bodies of the dead were being thrown over the side of the Neptune. 158 convicts died on the voyage, that was 31 percent of all convicts on board, and over 269 convicts were sick when they arrived in Australia.^[7] There are a number of records that show how harshly the convicts on the Neptune were treated.^[8]

Arrival of the Neptune Port Jackson on 28th June 1790

When they returned to England, the Master, Donald Traill, and Chief Mate, William Ellerington, were prosecuted for the murder of an unnamed convict, along with a seaman named Andrew Anderson and a cook named John Joseph. After a trial lasting three hours before Sir James Marriott in the Admiralty Court, the jury acquitted both men on all charges without troubling the Judge to sum up the evidence. There were no public prosecutions.

Australia

Ellen Gott arrived at Port Jackson on 27th June 1790. Not long after Ellen arrived in Australia, she met Joseph Wright, a convict from the First Fleet.^[9] They were given permission to marry by Governor Arthur Phillip.^[10] Joseph and Ellen were married on 13th December 1790, at St. Phillips Church, Sydney. The church register shows a signature by Ellen Gott, and Joseph Wright marked with a cross (X). Matilda Proud and Edward Field were the witness, and they both marked with a cross (X).^[11] Ellen was 25 and Joseph was 23 at the time of their marriage. They lived in Sydney town until 1794.

St Phillips Church

In 1794, Joseph Wight was now free by servitude.^[12] He was given a grant of 30 acres of land, on the Hawkesbury River.^[13] He was one of the first 22 settlers to receive land grants in the area. By this time, Joseph suffered ill health, most likely from the voyage to Australia, and the hard life of farming in the new colony. Joseph had no other option but to sell his farm. Joseph and Ellen moved to Prospect, where he found work on a farm. However Joseph did not stay in Prospect very long, before they moved back to Hawkesbury area, where they bought 25 acres of land, in the District of Pitt Town, known as "Boston Farm" from Owen Cavanaugh in 1800.^[14]

The land Joseph bought was "low lying, and prone to flooding,"^[15] and he lost his crops in 1806, then again in 1809. Joseph also continued to suffer ill heath, and he passed away at Pitt Town, on 30th August 1811. He was only 44 years old. Ellen now had 7 children to support. Although Joseph had left the deeds to his property to Ellen, it would not have been easy, raising 7 children on her own.

Eleanor, as Joseph's legally married wife, inherited the farm (now reduced to 15 acres) at Pitt Town and in February 1812 (before she remarried), she gave the land to her children, as a Deed of Gift recorded in the "Old Register" of assignments etc:

Deed of gift dated 5th Feb'y 1812 From Eleanor Wright of Pitt Town in the County of Cumberland Widow - for and in consideration of the love and affection which I do bear towards my loving children, Joseph Wright, Robert Wright, Mary Wright, Sarah Wright, John Wright, Samuel Wright and Thomas Wright - have given and granted unto them, their Heirs, Executors, and Administrators equally, share and share alike - the remaining 15 acres of land, situate on or near the Banks of the Hawkesbury River in the District of Pitt Town aforesaid, known by the name of Boston Farm - now in my possession - being part of twenty five acres bought by my late Husband Joseph Wright from Owen Cavanagh (per assignment dated the 22nd Sep'r 1800) also the horse and cart & harness, 1 boat in my possession on the above premises. To have and to hold the said land, horse cart harness and boat as their own goods And Chattels that I the said Eleanor Wright shall keep possession and have the exclusive right and use of the said land horse cart harness and boat so long as I support and maintain the said children or continue as guardian to the younger part of the family and at my relinquishing possession thereof by death or otherwise Then the said assigned land, horse etc to be for the support and service of my said children as aforesaid equally share and share alike. Executed in the presence of George Smith and Ann Budden, signed Eleanor Wright X her mark. [Note that 22 years after her first marriage, she no longer signs her name for this deed and her second marriage in 1812]^[14]

On 31st March, 1812, Eleanor married Daniel Buckridge, a convict who had arrived in 1792 on the Pitt.^[16] They were married at St. Matthews Church of England, Windsor. They both marked the register with a cross. Witnesses were Robt Allen, Hannah Manley, Mathew Hughes.^[17][18]

They lived at Ellen's farm in Pitt Town, and had no children together, but Daniel helped Joseph and Ellen's sons to receive trades, as Wheelwright, Blacksmith, Cooper and Shoemaker.

Daniel died on 18th June, 1834, and he is buried in the Pitt Town Cemetery. Ellen lived for another 9 years after Daniel died.^[19]

Death: Ellen Buckridge died on 28th April, 1843. She is buried in the Pitt Town Cemetery, with her second husband Daniel.

Sources

1. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975" Indexing Project (Batch) number: P02027-1, System Origin: England ODM, GS Film number: 0093872,0093873, PLUS.
2. ↑ Birth and Baptism Baptism in St Peter's Liverpool on 17 November 1765, has her date of birth 26 October 1765: "Ellen D of John Gott shoe-maker". Source: Liverpool, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1659-1812 for Ellen Gott Liverpool, St Peter 1765-1776 Ancestry.com sharing link
3. ↑ Flynn, Michael, The Second Fleet : Britain's Grim Convict Armada of 1790, Library of Australian History, 1993, p.299.
4. ↑ Community contributors, Convict Records database -Ellen Gott, one of 1063 convicts transported on the Neptune, Scarborough and Surprize, December 1789
5. ↑ Australian Convict Transportation Registers – Second Fleet, 1789-1790 Ancestry.com sharing link
6. ↑ Wikipedia - The Neptune was one of the Second Fleet ships to Port Jackson.
7. ↑ Free Settler or Felon - Convict Ship Neptune 1790
8. ↑ Trove Digitised Newspapers - The Sydney Morning Herald - Saturday 10 February 1945 The Affair of the Hell - Ship Neptune
9. ↑ State Library New South Wales - The First Fleet Over 252 days, the First Fleet brought over 1500 men, women and children half way around the world from England to New South Wales.
10. ↑ Australian Dictionary Biography - Phillip, Arthur 1738–1814
11. ↑ Marriage Certificate - Joseph Wright and Eleanor Gott's Marriage Certificate
12. ↑ Fellowship of the First Fleet - Joseph Wright by Graham Sparks
13. ↑ Land Grant - Photo of Joseph Wright's land grant on the Hawksbury River at Pitt Town
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1} State Records Authority of New South Wales. Old Register : One to Nine : The Registers of Assignments and Other Legal Instruments. [electronic Resource] Kingswood, NSW: State Records NSW, 2008: Book 5, p.144 entry 786, Deed of Gift, Eleanor Wright, 5 February 1812
15. ↑ Graham Sparks, "Joseph Wright" narrative #7989; biographical sketch, generally without further reference, Fellowship of First Fleeters (accessed 2014).
16. ↑ Community contributors, Convict Records database - Daniel Buckridge, one of 404 convicts transported on the Pitt, June 1791
17. ↑ St Matthew's Church of England, Windsor NSW: Church Register - Marriages; ML ref: Reel SAG 53, published in St Matthews Church of England Windsor NSW: Parish Registers 1810 to 1856 'A Complete Transcription', by Lake Macquarie Family History Group Inc, 2003, cited in Biographical report for Ellen GOTT, Person ID: B#10011155601 Biographical Database of Australia (BDA) https://www.bda-online.org.au/mybda/search/biographical-report/10011155601?f=eleanor&l=wright&ol=&i=1&s=&p=
18. ↑ Marriage Certificate - Marriage certificate for Daniel Buckridge and Eleanor Wright
19. ↑ Death Certificate - Ellen Buckridge

• 2nd Fleet - Details of the convicts who arrived on Neptune
• Phillip Wright - Eleanor Gottt