In the field of Colonial research there is a growing range of original records at our disposal, especially with ongoing digitisation projects. Much research of the past was tainted by lack of accessible contextual data and a tendency of personal researchers to ‘cherry pick’ or incorrectly apply data to their subject.
The intent of this website is to supply listings of lesser known or underutilised information on persons from the New South Wales colonial era, with a focus on but not limited to Military. It is not intended to supply the more commonly found data that is available via numerous other avenues but rather the data that is lesser known, or in fact has not previously been available at all. The lists have been chronologically arranged to assist researchers in identifying their person/s of interest.
Many early Colonial returns or lists, especially relating to the Marines and NSW Corps in the colony, have not survived, however, as data was collected for this project it became apparent that some missing lists could be largely re-created by the use of surrounding and other contextual data using logical processes. This involved looking at the known primary data for a certain time period for a whole group of persons, for example Marines, and in some cases context was able to supply missing data. This is a process normally outside the scope or realistic achievability of all but the most intrepid personal researcher as it requires researching the complete group rather than just one person.
Some transcribed lists or partial lists are not new in terms of the persons contained but may supply extra data not previously found in existing lists. Examples of this are some lists of convicts by ship of arrival with age and former occupation included. There are even a few lists that include family embarked with convicts or soldiers, which is very rare indeed. There are also a few lists included simply because they are interesting and provide an insight into the thoughts and social going’s on in the period. The Secret and Confidential List of persons in the Colony who have manifested an opposition to the administration of Governor Macquarie – 1 Dec 1817 being an example.
This website does not present biographies as such but is intended as a research tool in providing primary source lists of persons. These will assist the researcher to clarify past works or ascertain the facts using logical method. While there are some notations included to guide, the real work is for the researcher to find their subject in the listings, and to reject the reference that isn’t relevant.
There is much more information available for many persons cited in these lists to assist in determining who the person may be. Many errors have been made by researchers in the past by not having correct context. Some lists may have more extensive background information simply because more work was done to create that particular list. Generally speaking it is not the intent to identify each person, that is the work of the researcher in combination with other more commonly available indexed lists such as the NSW Convict records, general musters, pardons, land grants and the like. Many previous works have erred by including remarks that have turned out to be incorrect, which in turn has lead many researches astray. Where it is uncertain who the person is, there is usually information available to determine who a subject is not, rather than who they are.
Every effort has been made to render the lists in their original rendering and order to preserve contextual accuracy. Alphabetising these records would be wrong especially in the case of original enumerated returns, which have unspoken information in their order. For example one can see family or associates grouping patterns, especially where different surnames may occur in a family group.
Any corrections or comments are welcomed and it is the hope that this publication provides some assistance in unlocking some of the many mysteries and identities and lives of persons of the New South Wales Colonial era. It is respectfully requested that individuals and commercial entities NOT harvest these lists for private or public use without permission from the editor.
Obscure, Eccentric and Missing Lists from the Colony of New South Wales 1783~1823 