Sarah NEWPORT in VDL prior to 1832

It is most likely that Sarah, aged 15, sailed on the Dromedary from Plymouth, England on 11 Sep 1819 and arrived in Hobart Town, Van Diemen's Land on 20 Jan 1820. Aboard this convict transport was her father John NEWPORT aged 47 yrs and I believe her mother Fanny NEWPORT aged 42, and sisters Susannah 16, Elizabeth 13, and Mary 6 yrs. Although no record of the females has been found it was not unusual at that time for wives and families to accompany their convicted husbands on the voyage to see out the sentence. This practice had begun in 1792 with the Royal Admiral taking wives of convicts to Port Jackson. In the 1830s a Bounty Emigration Scheme was created specifically for young single free women to redress the imbalance in the population of VDL, which in 1834, was over 70 per cent male out of a total population of 40 000.

Children of Sarah NEWPORT:

1. Mary Ann WOODS/NEWPORT b 26 Nov 1825, chr 29 Jul 1827 Parish of Sorell. Parents: John WOODS, Boat Builder, and Sarah NEWPORT, Abode: Pittwater [Tas 2530/28]
Also on this page of christenings in the Parish of Sorell is one for Joseph WOOD b 3 Sep 1827, chr 30 Sep 1827, Parents: John and Sarah WOOD, Abode: Sorell, Quality or Profession: Boatbuilder [Tas 2533/31]
Oct 1828 Children's Census : Females having both parents living but in distress.
Mary NEWPORT 4 yrs, Place of Residence: Pittwater, Character: Good, Remarks: Illegitimate, Mother free [40]
Children in the lower Settlement Pittwater shewing whither at or having been at School
Mary NEWPORT age 4 yrs, not at school.
A death for Mary NEWPORT not found in Tas Index to 1905. No marriage as NEWPORT in Tas.
Possible marriage: Mary WOODS aged 26 (b abt 1825) m 4 Aug 1851 Hobart, Tas, Thomas McCABE aged 23 (b abt 1828) [Tas 533]
No b or d found for Thomas McCABE in Tas to 1905.
Thomas McCABE who arrived from the UK on the Moffatt (1) was a passenger on the Lady Bird which departed Tasmania for Melbourne on 8 Apr 1854. [Reel 14-4, POL 20/9/2, Frame 27, Film SLTX/AO/EP/138]
No chn of Thomas and Mary McCABE found AVR (Australian Vital Records) Tas, Vic, NSW.
Possible death: Mary McCABE d 27 Mar 1871 aged 47 yrs [Tas 330] (born abt 1824)
Any corrections or additions would be welcome.

2. Joseph SMITH/NEWPORT b 6 Jan 1827, chr 29 Jul 1827 in the Parish of Sorell. Parents: John SMITH, Shoemaker, and Sarah NEWPORT, Abode: Pitt Water [Tas 2529/27]
Oct 1828 Children's Census : Males having both parents living but in distress.
Joseph NEWPORT 10 mos, Place of Residence: Pittwater, Remarks: Illegitimate, Mother free [39]
Children in the lower Settlement Pittwater shewing whither at or having been at School
Joseph NEWPORT age 10 mos.
(Thanks to Allan Purcell previous speculation about possible marriages has been eliminated.)
Joseph SMITH m 1851 St James C of E Melbourne, Elizabeth Ann LETCHFORD [Vic 5683, ECR f962]
Elizabeth Ann SMITH (b abt 1830) d 1895 aged 65 yrs Richmond d/o John LETCHFORD/Betsy BUTCHER [Vic 10853]

Children of Joseph SMITH m 1851 Elizabeth Ann LETCHFORD

3. Frances NEWPORT/CARTER b 1 Jan 1829, chr 23 Jul 1829 in the Parish of Sorell. Parents: William CARTER, Wheel Wright, and Sarah NEWPORT, Abode: Pittwater [Tas 4138/106]
Frances NEWPORT aged 17 and John BUTTWRIGHT 23, Farmer, both free persons, were married 7 Jul 1845 in the Presbyterian Church at Sorell, District of Hobart, according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Church of Scotland by W DUGALL. Both signed as did the witnesses: Thomas OWEN and William CARTER [Tas R/N 1855]
John BUTTWRIGHT (or BOATWRIGHT) b abt 1822, seems to have left Tasmania.

Sarah NEWPORT m 24 Dec 1832 in the Parish of Sorell, County of Buckinghamshire, Van Diemens Land, William ROBERTS.