Samuel Birt, 1820 Settler

Other Events and Attributes:

• 1820 Lineage: Yes
• Settler ID: 1147
• Name: Samuel Birt
• Occupation: Mill wright
• Settler: 10 Jan 1820, Bristol, Somerset, England

Notes:

It is quite possible that his wife Jane and two daughters were also 1820 Settlers, but they are not listed in any of the returns. They both married their respective husbands in Bathurst.
He was on the location from the start and was allocated Plot 11, although on the map of the location (1845) he was listed against Plot 6. When died in 1862 he held allotment no. 5 in the New Gloucester location, then valued at about £200.
When he died he also held a piece of land called Lemon’s Valley, Bradshaw’s Party in the Field Cornetcy of Clumber in the Division of Bathurst granted to Samuel Birt as British settler of 1820. (MOOC 6/9/100 and 6/9/101, 1862) This may have been Plot 11.
In 1824 he and Wiggill filed identical memorials complaining that they were being victimized by accusations of leaving timber to rot and that Samuel Bradshaw was not giving them an equal share of surplus land. There may have been some differences between men from Cam/Coaley and those from Painswick.
Birt was illiterate and signed documents with a cross. He does, however, seem to have been a leader in the Party. He, Bradshaw, Newth and Davies signed a declaration regarding the disposition of land at the location.
Ten years before his death he had a rather terrible accident when he was run over by his own wagon between East London and Kingwilliamstown; his leg was amputated as a result.

The witnesses to the Birt/Harrison marriage were John Cook and Mary Ann Deane; Jane Harrison was a “Spinster of Painswick parish” but was not baptised there. Mary Ann Deane and Jane Harrison were friends, both having lived in Bermondsey. Mary Ann travelled to Painswick for her friend’s wedding in 1816. Mary Ann and Charles Deane emigrated as members of Cocks Party on the Weymouth. Mysteriously, while Mary Ann and Charles were only married in February 1819 at St Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey she was using the Deane surname 3 years earlier. Their son William was baptised at Grahamstown Methodist church on 27.9.1835. This information from FindMyPast and Ancestry databases.
[per Dorothea Rowse Sep 2017}


Settler:
Bradshaw's party on the Kennersley Castle

Samuel married Frances Jane Harrison, 1820 Settler on 22 Jul 1816 in Painswick, Gloucestershire, England. Frances was born on 28 Jun 1797; was christened on 30 Jul 1797 in St Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey, London, England; died after 1832. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Harriet Birt, 1820 Settler was born in 1817 in Eire; was christened on 9 Feb 1817 in Painswick, Gloucestershire, England; died on 9 Jul 1900 in Keiskama Mouth, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
2. Matilda Birt, 1820 Settler was born in 1818 in England; was christened on 1 Nov 1818 in Painswick, Gloucestershire, England; died on 28 Jun 1890 in Hamburg, Peddie, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
3. Henry Birt was born on 18 May 1823; was christened on 29 Sep 1825; died in 1835; was buried in St George's Cathedral, Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
4. Ann Birt was born on 18 May 1823; was christened on 29 Sep 1825; died on 19 Jun 1902.
5. James Birt was born on 19 Sep 1830; was christened on 10 Apr 1831 in St John the Evangelist, Bathurst, Eastern Cape, South Africa; died on 20 Mar 1887 in King William's Town, Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Samuel married Rachel Fredericks on 29 Nov 1841 in St John the Evangelist, Bathurst, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Rachel died on 16 Feb 1862 in King William's Town, Eastern Cape, South Africa. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Samuel + Nancy Dowell. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]