RDBeswick Centenary Gathering

Richard David Beswick Centenary
Family Gathering 22-23 January 2005

DBHome - see Photo print files
Photo Set 1. Some of us stayed at the farm house "Clarement", Derby, and those who came by ship landed first at Devonport.
Photo Set 2. Then we all came to Tomahawk and gathered at Wagner's shack 22 January 2005
Photo Set 3: Tomahawk barbecue time and beach walk
Photo Set 4: Large group photos, cake cutting and late afternoon at Tomahawk
Photo Set 5: Branxholm Cemetery and Derby at the farm 23 January 2005

See also Robert's page www.exetersystems.com.au/beswick05 with other photos.

We came from near and far: Peter from Byron Bay came the furthest; there were 3 from Canberra and 17 from Victoria; and all the Tasmanians, 58 of us altogether including partners. John and Dot from Deviot on the Tamar had the shortest distance to travel, and although John still has the farm at Derby none of us now lives in the North East. Several stayed in the farm house, "Claremont".

All the descendants of our parents/grandparents/greatgrandparents, Richard and Kathleen, were there
at Tomahawk on Saturday the 22nd, the anniversary of Richard's birth at Derby, Tasmania, on 22 January 1905.

It was also the 200th year the since the birth of Richard's great grandfather Thomas Beswick
at Seven Dials London, 20 June 1805. Thomas was living at his father Thomas' pub, the Exeter Arms, off the Strand,
when he was arrested on Christmas Eve 1822 and transported to Van Deimens Land the following year,1823.

So first a little of the history and the family tree in pictorial form, before groups of photos from the gathering.

Photo Set 1. Some of us stayed at the farm house "Clarement", Derby, and those who came by ship landed first at Devonport.
Photo Set 2. Then we all came to Tomahawk and gathered at Wagner's shack 22 January 2005
Photo Set 3: Tomahawk barbecue time and beach walk
Photo Set 4: Large group photos, cake cutting and late afternoon at Tomahawk
Photo Set 5: Branxholm Cemetery and Derby at the farm 23 January 2005

Seven Dials in the early 1800s

The Exeter Exchange, Strand, 1826, behind which was the Exeter Arms

See historical descriptions of the Seven Dials slum, the Exeter Exchange and other links to sections of the family history elsewhere on this site, especially Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 of The Family of Thomas and Mary Beswick, and preliminary reports on the Jessup history. There is new material on both Beswick and Jessup backgrounds in England to be added from recent research.

In Tasmania (then Van Deimens Land) young Thomas was assigned as a convict servant to Anthony Cottrell, later one of the original party of Batman who founded Melbourne, and who in the 1820s, during the "Black Wars", had land on the Nile River, south of Evandale not far from the home of the artist John Glover whose well known painting of the Nile depicts the scene at that time.

As we recalled at the service of remembrance at the Branxholm Cemetery, in 1834 Thomas, by then living freely on a ticket of leave, married a young widow, Mary Peck, nee Mackenzie, the daughter b. in Sydney in 1813 of Alexander Mackenzie, a soldier from Scotland who arrived with Governor Maquarie at the end of 1809 as a member of his 73rd or Black Watch Regiment, and Ann Clarke, a convict from Liverpool who was transported in 1810. Thomas and Mary lived at Patersons Plains on the North Esk, where their eldest son, Thomas, was born in 1839.

Thomas and Catherine Beswick of Florence Vale, Derby

In 1862 after the original family had moved to the Wesbury district, Thomas II married Catherine Peever or Clark, the daughter of Henry Peever, a convict originally from Birmingham and transported from Worcester in 1931, and Mary Ann Clark, a convict born at Dromore, county Down Ireland in 1823, and transported from Liverpool in 1842 as Mary Ann Ray. Thomas II and Catherine began the older, "Florence Vale", part of the Beswick farm at Derby 1880, after having had the first hotel at Scottsdale in 1868 and other ventures.

Their eldest son Richard Thomas born in 1862 was 14 years old when he came to Derby from Mathinna, with his father, arriving on New Years Day 1877, a few weeks before his grandfather Thomas I died at Sheffield. In 1888, in the first wedding in the Derby Methodist Church, Richard Thomas married Annie Sarah Dick, whose parents David Dick and Helen, nee MacGregor, set sail for Tasmania as free settlers immediately after their wedding at the end of 1861at Balquhidder, Scotland, the burial place of her ancestor Rob Roy. Richard Thomas worked on tin mines at Derby all his life, but Annie Sarah with the help of her children, especially after her husband died relatively young in 1921, developed the farm "Claremont", which was later joined with Florence Vale.

Richard Thomas and Annie Sarah Beswick

Our Richard David was their second son. He was born on the town of Derby, 22 January, shortly before his grandfather Thomas II died in 1905, which makes another 100th year anniversary this year. The family moved then to the farm where Richard lived virtually his whole life, first at his parents home, the old Claremont house on the brow of the hill overlooking the town, and later at his new home, the former mine manager's house in Derby moved up to the farm to be the new Claremont house which still stands.

Richard married Kathleen Maud Jessup the daughter of Henry Jessup a farmer at West Scottsdale whose parents were pioneers of the Scottsdale farming district. Henry's Jessup grandparents came originally from Norfolk to Melbourne in 1856 and his Cummins ancestors from Bristol in 1859. The former grandfather James Jessup was a bricklayer and builder; and the other was a tailor, but Richard Cummins died on the journey just before the family landed. Henry's wife was Maud Thompson. Her Featherstone grandparents were immigrants from Somerset in 1842; her grandfather James Featherstone was originally a carpenter but they kept the Cricketers Hotel at Hadspen for many years. Her other grandfather John Thompson was a soldier born in Lancashire who had served in the Grenadier Guards under Wellington and later in the Royal Veterans brought out in 1826 to guard convicts.

Henry and Maud Jessup

Richard David and Kathleen Maud Beswick

It is the descendants of this Richard and Kathleen who gathered to celebrate the centenary of Richard's birth. Their four children were David b. 1933, Elaine b. 1935, John b. 1937 and Rosemerry b.1951.

David, John, Elaine at back, Rosemerry, with Kath and Richard, at their Ruby Wedding Celebation 1972

To complete the tree in pictoral form, here are their four families as they were at the Tomahawk gathering and Derby.

David's family: Lachlan Chapman, James Chapman in front, Paula Wright (Andrew's wife), Tim Chapman with Thomas son of Andrew and Paula, (their daughter Amelia seen elsewhere is hidden here except for her foot behind Tim), Hazel wife of David, David at back, Alice Chapman, Mark Chapman husband of Helen, Helen, Andrew at back, Catherine Schneider wife of Robert, Robert, Bruce.

Note: Robert b. 1959, Helen b. 1961, Bruce b. 1963 and Andrew b. 1965 are
the children of David and his first wife Joan (nee Green) who died in 2001.

Elaine's family: At back: Andrew husband of Marguerite, Aaron Parry husband of Carolyn, Donald Dobie husband of Elaine, Janette whose husband Mark Matthews was not able to come from Canberra, Jonathan Matthews son of Janette and Mark. Front: James H, Peter Dobie, Marguerite with Isaac H and Sam H behind him, Elaine, Nicholas Matthews, Carolyn with Alana Parry.

Elaine and Donald Dobie's children are Peter b. 1956, Marguerite b. 1958, Janette b. 1960, and Carolyn b. 1963.

John's family: Aidan son of Geoff, Dennis in front, Geoffrey, Philip holding Laura daughter of Allan and Sharyn, (Jack? hidden, son of Geoffrey and Cathy), Camile friend of Philip, Cathy wife of Geoffrey, Connie in front daughter of Allan and Sharyn, John, Dot, Christopher Smithurst husband of Linda holding their daughter Megan, Linda with their baby Samuel, Taylor Smithurst in front, Sophie daughter of Cathy at back, Brian at back, Abigail wife of Brian holding their daughter Jemima, Sharyn wife of Allan with their son Elliott, Allan.

John and Dot's children are Geoffrey b. 1961, Dennis b. 1962, Brian b.1966, Allan b. 1967, Philip b. 1970 and Linda b. 1972.

Rosemerry's family: Chris Ward husband of Rosemerry, Kristie friend of Daniel with her daughter Taylor in front, Rosemerry at back, Melinda Ward, Daniel Ward, Jeremy Ward and Rachel friend of Jeremy.

Rosemerry and Chris Ward's children are Daniel b. 1978, Melinda b. 1980 and Jeremy b. 1984.

We should have made a point of getting all the first cousins together for a picture as at Christmas a few years ago, but they are all visible in the family groups above. The youngest of them, his and Kathleen's grandchildren, were born after Richard died in 1977, and he never saw any of his great children, the first of whom were born while Kathleen was still alive. The following bunch of younger great grandchildren, second cousins, clustering around the cake would have delighted them both.

Taylor Smithhurst, Aiden, Nicholas Matthews, Connie (looking to the side), Issac in front, Taylor dau. of Kristie, Laura, Megan Smithurst, Jack in front, Alice Chapman at back, Jemina in front, Alana Parry.

And especially symbolic of the Beswick history are the youngest two, Samuel and Thomas, recalling the tradition from England of naming Beswick brothers, with the two generations of Thomas the convict and his brother Samuel, a tailor and storekeeper, who came out as a free settler many years later, and then Thomas II and his brother Samuel who ran the coach service from Scottsdale to Launceston.

Second Cousins Samuel son of Linda and Christopher Smithurst and Thomas son of Andrew Beswick and Paula Wright - photo Rosemerry.

Now to groups of photos from the gathering with close ups of many. A sample few from each group are on this page with links to other pages. The photos are from David except for a few taken from those others have sent and I have named them where appropriate. Copies may be downloaded and good quality prints can be made from the high density files on this site. These are linked on Robert's page www.exetersystems.com.au/beswick05 or in the page printimages.