Joseph Smart and Jane Hawkins
Parents : George
Smart and Jane Smart (Nothing more
known) Francis and Mary Hawkins (80%)
Ancestry ThruLines yeilds nothing. I guess too few descendants And
not enough Trees on Ancestry or DNA testing
A lot of speculative Smarts have been added to see if Thrulines
picks up anythinh
Joseph Smart (b 1808 Bristol , m Jane Hawkins 1847 St James
Sydney, d 1895 Bethanga Vic)
Jane Hawkins (b 1821 Saint Patricks York Road-Roman Catholic,
Leeds, Yorkshire, d abt 1858?)
Sarah Jane Smart ( b 1845 Sydney, m John Clarkson
Rowley 1874 Beechworth Vic, d 1928 Bethanga)
Joseph Smart
Rowley (b 1875 Yackandandah Vic, m Eircell Broome
1909 Albury NSW, d 1957 Bethanga)
This page has been seriously revisited due to
two WikiTree entries pointed out by Glenn
Rowley. Jane Hawkins
and Joseph Smart.
I recomment you read these before proceeding, They are good stuff.
From these two entries and earlier stuff in BonesInTheBelfry, I
have extracted a combined timeline.
1808 JS born in Bristol, Gloucestershire ( c1808-1810)
1827 JS, 19, convicted of a burglary (Bristol) and
sentenced to death, later commuted to 14 years
1828 JS arrives Sydney on the Eliza. Residence and Employment
given as "Depart of Public Works"
1829 Joseph was sentenced at the General Sessions Sydney to a
secondary penal settlement for 3 years for having stolen property
in his possession and was transferred to the 'Phoenix' prison hulk
|1834 JS Absconded from Phoenix Hulk, Sydney Harbour, apprehended
same year
1837 JS Employed at Dockyard, Sydney
1843 JS gets Certificate of Freedom
1821 JH christened St Marys Lady Lane (Catholic) Chapel, Leeds
1835 JH (13 yrs old) Leeds, imprisoned two Months and kept
to hard labour for stealing a silver watch
1837 JH (15 yrs old) Leeds Borough Sessions - Transported 7 Years:
for stealing a shawl
1837 JH Petition for clemency by her parents states “she is of 14
years of age of rather weak intellect and a sickly and feeble
constitution” and begged she be allowed to remain in the
Penitentiary.
1837 JH arrives Sydney on the Henry Wellesley
1840 JH gets two months hard labour for assaulting her mistress
Charlotte Williams
1842 JH gets ticket of leave conditional on remaining in service
to Mrs Walton
1845 their daughter Sarah was born in Brickfield Hill Sydney
1847 they marry St James Sydney (Anglican Church)
1849 JS left for the Californian goldfields, returning in 1852
1853 Courtcase for seeking support from JS, by JH. JS has money
(£150) but has only given JH small amounts (eg £2). JS was
intending to go to the Ovens, but ordered to arrange 12/6 per week
for JH and daughter for two years if he does
185x JS moves to Yackandandah and then Beechworth, and prospers
185x JH moves to Beechworth and was cared for by the nuns. (family
lore)
1857 JH Possible death - a Jane Smart who died in May 1857 aged 41
in Durands Alley Sydney from "natural causes accelerated by habits
of intemperance".
1858 JH Possible death - a Jane Smart aged 28 who died in February
1858. She died in the infirmary of "disease of brain". Born
England, parents unknown, place of marriage = unknown, to whom =
unknown "at the diggings"
1895 JS dies
age 87 in Bethanga
1903 years later when Sarah's daughter married, two of the
guests were from the Brigidine Nuns in Beechworth and they
gave two nice presents – a hand painted pin cushion and hand
painted souvenirs. The Sisters of Mercy Wodonga were also
there and chipped in prayer books and souvenirs.
This list raises a few questions
(1) I have not seen a Certificate of Freedom for Jane. Could
it have been felt unnecessary, or even inappropriate, if ä
female marries?
(2) Someone has taken up Jane's cause to initiate the
courtcase for support? If so, surely it must have been the
Catholic Church?
(3) Was it known in Beechworth that Joseph Smart had been a
convict? Sarah who arrived somewhere aged between ten and her
early teens would have known? Possibly in those days there was
a general rule of "Don't ask, don't tell". In a way this could
explain the scimpy coverage of the first half of his life. Or
most likely nobody knew much?
(4) All of this leads to the question what do we think of
Joseph Smart?
(4A) Was he a cad who gave his wife and child meagre support
while he swanned around the goldfields?
(4B) Was Jane already in a bad way by 1849 and being at least
watched over by the Catholic Church? In 1837 her parents
described her as having "a week and feeble constitution".
Remember he married her two years after their child was born.
Did the CC have a hand on his shoulder saying "Joe, Sarah is
going to need a father"? If Jane was intemperate, as one of
the death records suggests, giving money in small quantities
would have been wise. In favour of this view is how well Sarah
turned out, the obvious mutual affection betweel Sarah and the
CC, the fact that Sarah went to Beechworth with Joseph, and
Joseph's very respectable second half of his life. Also Joseph
in his old age went to live with Sarah in Bethanga.
Whatever the case, if Joseph is looking down, I am sure he is
looking at us attempting to read 200 year old tea leaves, and
muttering "They have no bloody idea what it was like in those
days."
Further delving into the Hawkins family on WikiTree yeilds the
fact that four of the first five Hawkins chilfren were
transported to Australia, All except one were in the 14 to 15
year old age range. This occured mainly in the five or so
years after Francis retired from the army on a Chelsea
out-pension.. For more details go to his page
What follows now is the page as it was before the WikiTree
update
Les Rowley
Joseph Smart was
born in Bristol in 1808. A lot of records in Bristol were
destroyed by bombing during the war, so that is all we know..
Joseph Smart was convicted of Burglary in Bristol in 1827 and
sentenced to 14 years transportation.
It is
interesting that Claude Rowley was unaware that his great
grandfather was a convict, or at least did not admit it. We only
discovered it as a byproduct of one of our many ancestry queries
searching for Jane Hawkins fate. With many former convicts in
society in those days and associated embarrassment, was there a
“don't ask don't” tell policy? On reflection the writer of
Joseph's obituary is singularly incurious or unaware about the
first half of his life.
Obituary from the
Beechworth Ovens and Murray Advertiser
“It is with
great regret we have to announce the death of Mr. Smart,
formerly member of the mining board for Yackandandah, which
took place at the residence of his son-in-law, Mr Rowley,
M.B.B., at Bethanga on Saturday morning last. The deceased
gentleman was one of the pioneers of the Ovens district,
having first arrived here in 1852, and after a short visit to
the "lower diggings' came back to Yackandandah, where he
worked as a miner for many years. After holding the office of
mining registrar, &c., he retired last year to end his
days at Bethanga with his son-in-law. Mr. Smart always took a
prominent place in all public matters connected with
Yackandandah, and especially in mining, which he identified
himself with to the last. Although of late years unable
actively to aid the cause which he had espoused, yet his
advice and assistance way always ready to those requiring it.
The following is an account of the deceased gentleman's career
:-
He was born at Bristol in February, 1808, thus having attained
the ripe age of 87 years at his death. Being of an adventurous
nature be visited various parts at the world as a seaman, and
settled down in Sydney in the forties, where be carried on a
store keepers business very successfully. In the year 1849 the
news from California of the finding of gold there attracted
him, and he left with many others for the gold-fields there,
and worked with considerable success at Wood's Creek, in the
Southern mines. Soon after this gold was discovered in New
South Wales, and he, like most of the colonials in California,
returned to Sydney, and visited the diggings at the Turon,
Meroo, &c. When gold was discovered in Victoria he came
over here, and want to nearly all the "rushes" in 1852-58,
finally pitching his camp at Yackandandah, where he worked
with fair success for many years. He was a member of the old
Local Court of Yackandandah, and when a vacancy occurred in
the representation of that division by the retirement of Mr.
Peter Wright, who was elected as M.P. for the Ovens, Mr. Smart
was elected to the Beechworth Mining Board in February, 1862,
and held that office uninterruptedly for thirty-two years,
only retiring last year through old age and infirmity.
Jane Hawkins
We believe Sarah was an only child.
Jane died when Sarah was 10, from family oral history.
At one stage we thought she was the child of
David Hawkins and Jane Cooling, but this appears not to be so. The
entry in the pioneer register seems to be wrong. The 1826 child is
James, not Jane (refer to death certificate, and letters (Hardcopy
only on file). Family search yeilds nothing but the incorrect
entry. FamilySearch comes up blank on her death. The death index
Vic, 1854 to 65 has been searched. 4990 is not her
Detailed
correspondence, discussion and research notes follow
Les Rowley
Jane Hawkins Update 18 Oct
2007
There is a convict, Jane Mary Hawkins arriving
on the Minstrell in 1821 (Ancestry).
Found a Jane Hawkins in the 1837 Convict
Muster. Convicted Leeds (Quarter Session) 7 January 1837
(Alias Mary Ann Thompson). Given 7 years. Convicted
with Eliza Stephenson . Arrived on the Henry Wellesley (Barque of
404 tons, departure Woolwich 17 July 1837 125 days via the Cape),
aged 16. She was listed in the Pardons 1842-45, but the record
does not seem to say which year Found Jane Hawkins, Female
Christening: 12 Aug 1821 Saint Patricks York Road-Roman Catholic,
Leeds, Yorkshire,. Bateson's convict ships (P354 , 290) had
140 female convicts (no males), one relanded, the rest made it to
Sydney
The younger Jane looks more likely. Is this our Jane?
(1) We have two different Jane Smart deaths about the right time.
(2) She is about the right age (25) to be the Jane marrying Joseph
Smart in 1847
(3) Sarah Jane is born a year after the end of Jane's sentence in
1844.
(4) When we find her family in Leeds, they are Catholic. Her
daughter Sarah Jane was raised a Catholic in Beechworth, in spite
of her father being Protestant.
(5) Joseph Smart's obituaries never mention his wife and daughter.
Perhaps in his respectable old age, he never talked much about the
wife who had been a convict
(6) Joseph Smart's headstone on his grave does not mention his
wife
Flimsy evidence, but the fact that she was Catholic is
encouraging, and I would put it as an 80% chance this is her
Email
from Maree Woods on Jane's Death
I have
been through my dusty records and beside certificate of Jane
Smart that died in 1857 age 41 I have cerfiicate
for Jane Smart that died 1858 aged 26...all it tells you aside
from that is
that she
resided at the infirmary and it is a record from the register of
burials at St Mary,s (Roman Catholic)....I am going to apply for
last possibility...Jane Smart died 1858 aged 28 .I looked in
Victorian
indexes again ..seems to be nothing there.
In a followup Maree obtailed the
death certificate for the Jane Smart aged 28 who died in
February 1858. It looks like the same person as the age 26
one, as the death is 3 days before the burial, and she died in
the infirmary of "disease of brain". Born England, parents
unknown, place of marriage = unknown, to whom = unknown "at the
diggings" (Hard to read, but that is probably what is
says)
There is also a Jane Smart who died in
May 1857 aged 41 in Durands Alley Sydney from "natural causes
accelerated by habits of intemperance". It would be very sad if
that was her She was buried in the Presbyterian Cemetry.
Everything else unknown
Update
1 Nov after AIGS search Yorkshire sentence records
Found record for Jane - Age 16 Kitchenmaid, Stole 2 Shawls
NSW/VDL REF 730/227
TNA REF HO27/54
Single, Previous conviction 2m
Petition see HO17/48 Gx23 LR -
visit this disk again and follow up references
Conclusion
That 1858 death could well be
her. Again she is Catholic. Joseph Smart settled down in the
Yackandandah Beechworth area in 1858 according to his
obituary. Family oral history has it that Sarah was brought up
by a Catholic family in Beechworth from about 1858. So perhaps
JS settled down in Beechworth/Yackandandah when given the
responsibility for his daughter. Given the obvious lack
of information about the deceased, her age is obviously a
guess. And "at the diggings" fits? So this could even be the
death of both both the bride in 1847 and the convict who
arrived in 1837 aged 16.
Joseph Smart
Joseph Smart's death
certificate is the only information we have about his parents. The
certificate explicitly says that his mother's maiden name was
Smart. His age then would give his dob as 1808. His age is stated
as 37 when he married, which puts his marriage at 1845ish,. Also
using a stated 20 years in NSW and 49 in Victoria, which
suggests he came to Australia in the 1820s. (This contrasts
with his obituary where he "settled down" in the 40s). Our Sarah
Jane Smart was born to Joseph and Jane Smart 13 July 1845,
baptised 12 April 1846, abode Brickfield Hill, Joseph was a Corn
Dealer. I have the marriage as 1847 in my records, but can't find
a document.
Check of Ancestry.com.au convict
records yeilds the following
(1) Joseph Smart was convicted in Bristol 27 Oct 1827, along with
John Snell, Richard Chinn and John Cork. All were sentenced to 14
years transportation. Image
Not
sure what if anything the entry states about what he was convicted
for. Another record from Ancestry records his conviction (October
1827) for Burglary, and sentence (death). Sentence was with George
Hill, William Stone, John Snell, Richard Chinn and John Cork (all
sentenced to death)
(2) He arrived on the Eliza in 1828, Residence and
Employment given as "Depart of Public Works". His age is given as
20 and his sentence is 14 years. Image
(3) The Ancestry record is confused, but he seems to be aged 27 in
a convict Muster of 1835. Image
(4) Searching the list of Pardons and Tickets of Leave 1834-59
does not find him
This is definitely our Joseph. The age is exact to the year, and
Bristol is specified in later documentation. It also tallies
pretty well with the later "20 years in NSW"
Other
odds and ends found trawling the files, in the Salisgury and
Winchester Journal, probably not our Joseph
(1) Seven years transportation : Joseph Smart, for
stealing a quantity of cheese and bacon from Joseph Scott,
at Tisbury- Salisbury,Monday, Jan 17, 1825., in the general
quarter sessions for the peace for this county
(2) Salisbury, Jan.28, 1825.
The following prisoners were on Thursday last removed from
Fisherton Gaol, and put on board the York hulk, in Portsmouth
harbour. viz. George Weakley, William Sanger, and James Johnson,
convicted of various offences at our late city sessions, and
sentenced to seven years transportation; also Joseph Smart, Walter
Angel, George Bull, Ezek. Lovegrove, and Nathan Shuttle, convicted
of various offences at the late quarter sessions of the peace for
the county of Wiits, and sentenced to seven years transportation.
Some more information
from Maree Woods, from the History Services Database
1834 - Absconded from Phoenix Hulk, Sydney Harbour
1834 - Apprehended after abscondment from Phoenix Hulk
1837 – Employed at Dockyard, Sydney, aged 27
1843 - Certificate of Freedom, 11/4/1843 (43/577)
Link to story of the Phoenix Hulk
Glenn has found a family
website:
https://www.ourfamilypast.com/article/person/9599/haa007-main-john-snell this no longer works
which
locates his arrest in Bath, not Bristol (not that it's far
away). The apparent ringleader testified that Joseph had
nothing to do with it. Wouldn't it be nice to find that he
was a victim of a terrible injustice?
Joseph Smart Testimonial from the
Beechworth Ovens and Murray Advertiser
Testimonial to Joseph Smart, ESQ., M.M.B.
OMA 2nd Jan 1869
On Wednesday evening last the friends of Joseph
Smart., esq., M.M.B., assembled at the Reefer’s Arms,
Hillsborough, to present him with a gold watch, value ₤25, as a
mark of their esteem on the occasion of his leaving them.
Mr John Brown was called to the chair, and in a
few appropriate remarks, eulogized Mr Smart, who, he said, had
done much not only for the local institutions and interests of
Hillsborough and Yackandandah, but had likewise greatly exerted
himself on behalf of the institutions of the Ovens; he then called
on Mr Rodgers to present the testimonial.
Mr Rodgers said: - “The duty allotted to him was a most pleasing
one, and that if Mr Smart was not present he should feel more at
liberty than he now did, to dilate on that gentlemen’s very
valuable public career; but he disliked praising a man to his
face. As a member of the Beechworth Mining Board Mr Smart’s
probity and attention were recognized by all, and his continuing
to represent the Yackandandah division for seven years is an
undeniable truth, affirming the high estimation in which he is
held. The New Era Quartz Crushing Company, which it was
hoped would prove very advantageous to Hillsborough, was greatly
indebted to Mr Smart for the time and attention he had bestowed in
endeavoring to bring it to a successful issue, and this too
without his possessing a large stake in the venture. The
Hillsborough Common School is likewise much beholding to Mr Smart
for the interest he has taken in founding it, and establishing it
on a firm basis. Indeed, no matter how great or how
insignificant the matter might be, Mr Smart has ever been ready
with head and hand to forward it. It was on the occasion of
Mr Smart’s leaving Hillsborough, that the people here determined
on evincing their high approval of his conduct”. Mr Rodgers,
then turning to Mr Smart continued: “Sir, I am deputed by your
friends, which means every inhabitant of Hillsborough, to present
you with this watch, as a mark of their high esteem of you in
every walk of life, whether public or private; and I do not doubt
that you will regard it as such, and so hand it down to your
children, who, when we that are now present are mingled with the
dust, will look on this inscription, remember their ancestor, and
emulate his deeds. Inscription: “Presented to Joseph Smart,
Esq., M.M.M., by the inhabitants of Hillsborough, as a mark of
their esteem of his useful public services during his residence
among them. – Christmas, 1868.” In the name of your friends,
Sir, I wish you success in every capacity and place.
Mr Smart: Mr Chairman and gentlemen, - “I
should violate my inmost feelings did I attempt to conceal from
you my high sense of the very handsome manner in which you have
recognized my past career in your midst; I can never forget this
day whilst I live; I cannot say that I feel myself to be deserving
of this tribute of your respect, for I know that I have only done
my duty, and that we all ought to do without pay or reward.
It is satisfactory to me to be able to say that in times of
fiercest dispute, when I have had occasion to differ from many of
you in matters of public policy, that I have never been insulted
or upbraided by a man of Hillsborough or Yackandandah. I
shall indeed treasure up this memorial, and hand it down to my
children as a proof that to do one’s duty is the surest way to win
the regard of honest and honorable men. You may be sure that
though my body be absent from you, my heart will remain here, and
that wherever I am my services, still as heretofore, will be at
your disposal.”
Generously supplied by Anthony Bigelow.
Joseph Smart, Miner and Rate Collector,
Yackandandah.
Born in Bristol, England in 1808, the son of
George Smart and Jane (nee Smart). Smart emigrated to New South
Wales in the 1840s. Settling in Sydney, he was storekeeping for a
few years until hearing of the gold rush in America. He went to
California, returning during the early years of Australia's
gold-rush. He visited most of the large gold centres in New South
Wales and Victoria before settling finally at Yackandandah in the
1850s. He was alluvial mining, then quartz mining until the gold
became scarce. He then received the appointment of Rate Collector
for the Shire of Yackandandah and on retiring from that position,
received the appointment of Treasurer for the Shire, a position he
held until just before his death. He was also at one time the
local Mining Registrar, Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages
and Electoral Registrar. He joined the Beechworth Mining Board in
1862 and was a member for over 30 years. He was also Treasurer for
the local Anglican Church. Smart was married and had one daughter,
Mrs Rowley of Bethanga. Joseph Smart died at his daughter's
residence on 16th June 1895 at the age of 87. He is buried in the
Church of England section of the Yackandandah cemetery.
(Yackandandah Times, 21/6/1895.)
Smarts in Bristol
An email from Sue Smart in
2006 suggests it might be difficult
Unfortunately at this moment I can't find any
connection. I have seven Josephs and nine Georges, all from
Bristol and thereabouts, but none of them fit! Our Smarts were
all glassblowers in the Bristol Blue glass trade and several did
come here to Australia when that trade began to fade around
about the mid 1800s; one ran the Smart's Family Hotel here at
the corner of George & Pitt Street, Sydney, as well as
founding two glassworks, purportedly a forerunner of ACI. I
suppose bottles and beer do go hand in hand!
Research Notes
Cannot find Joseph Smart in 1850 US Census
Ancestry.com have US immigration records available, but not a
lot of help. Eg three J Smarts came into San Francisco in 1851.
One Joseph Smart came into New York in 1834, aged 26 (ie born
1808)
Check Australian records - NSW 1928 census, early shipping, Vic
Electoral rolls
Joseph's parents. - none with Smart George and wife Jane in any
census, including 1841
I do have one marriage on file - George and Sarah Jane Bridgemon
in Bristol in 1797. Very Possible?
1856 Electoral Roll Joseph Smart Miner (Miner's right)
Carisbroook Division. Joseph Smart storekeeper miners right
Daisy Hill Division possibly Ballarat
Acknowledgements
Margie Partridge for her superb WikiTree
pages
Marie Woods for all that good stuff in the early days
If you
have additions or corrections to this page, please contact us
Bones in the Belfry home page
Page last updated - 2025