Wilhelmina McLEOD : COMPILED BY MARK ROGERS.

Wilhelmina McLEOD

born: about 1819 in County Sutherland, Scotland

Parents: William McLeod, a farmer, and Jannet (Jessie) McKay

christened:

married to: James BELL at the Scots Church Paterson NSW on 29 Sep 1840

died: at the home of her son-in-law, Joseph Walker, 2 Unwin St Sydney (Milsons Pt)

on 28 Feb 1903

buried at: Rookwood Cemetary, Presbyterian Section

Children: Mary (Laurie) b. circa 1842 (at Bandon Grove) (not recorded)

Wilhelmena (Dinsey) b. circa 1843 (not recorded)

Norman b. 1845 Entry 513, Vol 162

John b. circa 1846, (not recorded)

Margaret (McEachran) b. 1848, Entry 536 (or 586?) Vol 162

Elizabeth (Walker) b. 22/7/1850, Entry 1441, Vol 50

Christina (Quirk) b. 27/7/1852, Entry 636, Vol 52

Wilhelmina arrived in Sydney with her mother, sisters and brother from Keanlochbervie (Kinlochbervie) in Sutherland, NW Scotland on the "James Moran" on 11 Feb 1839. She was 16 at the time of her departure from Scotland. She spoke both Gaelic and English.

On arrival in Sydney, the family seems to have been separated and she and her sisters were allocated to servants positions with employers in Sydney while her brother was assigned as a shepherd to Patricks Plains. Sometime after her arrival, the family moved to the Hunter River and she met and married James Bell, a ticket of leave man from Glasgow. They married at the Scots Church in Paterson on 29 Sep 1840. Donald McLeod (her brother) and Mary McMaster were the witnesses. This was shortly before the Presbyterian Church was built at Paterson.

Shortly after this the family was working on land at Barties Swamp near East Maitland (1840-41).

There is no record in the NSW BDM Index of her marriage or the baptism of 3 of her 7 children. At this time Presbyterian ministers carried their registers with them from appointment to appointment, and it is probable that the register was never handed in after civil registration began.

By 1842, she and James worked on a farm at Bandon Grove near Dungog, probably with her brother and mother close by (or on the same property). It appears that they were employed as tennant farmers by the landowners. According to tradition they grew maize and arrowroot for a mill nearby. Mary was apparently born at Bandon Grove about 1842.

Both Elizabeth and Christina were christened in Dungog NSW in the Presbyterian Church, and were born at Mt Pleasant, near the current township of Salisbury, further up the Williams River. James died after a severe ilness on Friday 6 Feb 1852 and was buried at Anley’s Flat (Dungog) on 13 Feb 1852. There was an accident on the way to the funeral, which rated a mention in the Maitland Mercury of Saturday 14 Feb 1852. Christina wa baptised on 24 May 1853.

In 1863, her son Norman was definitely still in the Bandon Grove area at "Mulconda". His name, the date and place are in his uncle Donald McLeod’s gaelic bible, now in the possession of Rita Phillips (nee Quirk). John and Norman and their uncle Donald McLeod are listed in a directory of 1867-68 as being at Malconda.

Later, by the late-1860s, she may have been farming around Copeland, near Gloucester. One of her sisters, Anne, married a Laurie from Rawdon Vale. Wilhelmina’s son, Norman died at Barrington in 1924 after farming there for many years, although he is known to have farmed for a time in the Tweed.

Wilhelmina’s mother Jannet, died in Dungog in 1872, aged apparently 87, and was buried at Anley’s Flat. Her daughter, Ann was the informant.

From oral tradition, Wilhelmina did not follow her children or her brother to the Tweed in the late 1860s, so she may have stayed in the Copeland area.

Her son, John and his family lived at Laurieton NSW in the early 1900’s. John apparently spent some time in the Tweed, and Margaret Bell (McEachran) married and settled at Tygalgah on the Tweed, so most of the family may have lived in the Tweed for a number of years from the late 1860’s through to the early 1880’s.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT WITH THANKS : MARK ROGERS.

From MARK ROGERS , a descendant of CHRISTINA (BELL) QUIRK), I have received images and documents which I shall post A.S.A.P. Many thanks to you , Mark.

JAMES BELL.

____________

James BELL 26

Born: about 1808 in Glasgow, Scotland

Married: to Wilhelmina McLEOD on 29 Sep 1840 at Scots Church Patterson NSW

Died: 6 Feb 1852 in the Williams River area, near Dungog NSW

Buried: 13 Feb 1852 at Anleys Flat, Dungog NSW

Children: see Wilhelmina McLEOD (no 27) for details.

James Bell was convicted of housebreaking in Glasgow on 9 April 1830 and sentenced to 7 years transportation. He had no prior convictions. He was 21 at the time of his trial and was living with his sister (name unknown) in her house at Gallowgate.

James had broken into a cellar in a sinkflat of a tenement on the east side of Glassford St Glasgow on 21 March 1830 (a Sunday) in the company of one other. Apparently he was attempting to break into the stationery warehouse of Russell and McArthur on the floor above. His accomplice escaped but he was captured and subdued (beaten about the head by a woman with a crutch). He maintained he was unaware of the second person in the cellar and that he had been looking for a “Necessary” at the time. An auger was found in the ceiling and his jacket had two skeleton keys and a breakfast knife. The police statement said that Bell was “a bad character but not quite habit repute a thief”. He was to be detained in the Tollbooth, Glasgow until removed for transportation.

On arrival in NSW on the “York” on 17 Jan 1831 he was described as Protestant, Reads (but not Write), single labourer, 5’6”, dark ruddy pock-pitted complexion, dark brown hair, grey eyes. He was assigned to G. Townsend of Hunter River.

George Townsend, to whom James was assigned, was a major landowner in the Patterson district and it appears that James continued to work for him right through until the time of his marriage. Townsend arrived in Sydney in 1826 and was granted 2560 acres between Patterson and the Allyn River. This property became the Trevallyn Estate. In 1831 the property was described by William Edward Riley in his Journal:

“A settler of four years standing, cannot say much in favour of Mr T’s establishment, his hut being small, plastered only in part& without a single glass window to admit light and keep out the rain… He has raised a large quantity of tobacco last year & has at this time upward of three tons of rolled leaf in the press.”

Townsend continued to grow large quantities of tobacco and experimenting with other cask crops including cotton and grapes (neither successful). In 1830 he had 34 convicts and one free man. In 1838 Townsend had 25 convicts, 6 men free by servitude and one Ticket of Leave man, working 50 cleared acres, 40 acres under cultivation and with 7 horses, 130 cattle and 655 sheep. In 1834 Townsend purchased John Webber’s farm (Penshurst) for 1000 Pounds. But financial problems were just around the corner – by early as 1836 Townsend was disposing of, or mortgaging some of his land and by 1841 Townsend was insolvent and was forced to sell Penshurst.

James was granted a Ticket of Leave for the District of Patterson on 1 July 1835 (ref 35/372). This was surrendered and torn up when he obtained his Certificate of Freedom dated 9 August 1838 (ref 38/98). In the 1838 Muster he is recorded at Patterson.

Having served his sentence he was free to marry without approval, which he did in September 1840 to Wilhelmina McLeod at Scots Church, Patterson. James was living at Penshurst at the time. The Minister of Scots Church was Rev. William Ross and it appears that Wilhelmina was a member of the congregation there. Witnesses were Donald McLeod (Wilhelmina’s brother) and Mary McMaster. The current St Anne’s Church Patterson was not opened until 27 Aug 1842 by Rev. Ross, so it appears they were married in an earlier, cruder church.

Probably shortly after his marriage he would have been forced to leave “Penshurst” due to George Townsend’s financial difficulties. Family tradition has it that he farmed for a time at Barties Swamp (near Seaham). The “Gloucester & Raymond Terrace Examiner” on 1 June 1842 reported that Mr Bartie was draining an extensive swamp to cultivate corn and was paying the highest market price for grain from his tennants.

But soon the family moved to “Mulconda” near Bandon Grove. Here the first of his seven children was born. He would have worked at “Mulconda” as a tennant farmer, housing his family in a wooden hut at the base of the hill to the east of the current house on the property. Interestingly, “Mulconda” also grew tobacco, so he may have been able to apply some of his experience with the crop from “Trevallyn”.

By at least 1850 the family had moved to “Mt Pleasant” only about 10 miles distant near Salisbury (and close to the Allyn River property he first arrived at. He farmed in the district as a tennant farmer until his death.

The Maitland Mercury of Saturday 14 Feb 1852 reported that “on Friday last, after a severe illness, Mr James Bell, a respectable settler died, & yesterday the funeral was attended by nearly all the neighbours.” It goes on to describe a serious accident involving the carriage carrying James’ casket.

COMPILED BY MARK ROGERS.

MEMORIAM CARD FOR WILHELMINA BELL

WILHELMINA – FORMERLY MCLEOD. MOTHER OF JOHN BELL.