Bounty Immigrants

This story is inspired by the prompt “beginnings”.  James Rideout made a new beginning when he and his family migrated to Australia.

In England

James Rideout was the third son of Ambrose Rideout and his wife, Charlotte Bennett.  James was born around 1801 and was baptised in the parish church of Tollard Royal, Wiltshire on 13 May 1801. His brothers were Ambrose, John Bennet and Philip.

Mother Charlotte died in January 1803 following the birth of son Philip. Ambrose appears to have left his four sons with family or friends in Tollard Royal and moved away. I have previously written Ambrose’s story.

In 1820, James, his brother Philip, and a John Derrick, were caught poaching and sentenced to 3 months imprisonment. From the prison records, I know that James was about 5 foot 5 inches tall. He had dark hazel eyes, brown hair and a fair complexion. He also had a cut on his head.  Philip was a little shorter and darker and had a burn on his thumb. The two brothers are listed as of Ashmore, Dorset, which is very close to Tollard Royal. John Derrick appears to have been a repeat offender so perhaps he led the two brothers astray.  Alternatively, it might have been a bad winter and they were all desperate for food.

A year later, on 1 February 1821, James Rideout married his cousin Caroline Bennett, daughter of mother Charlotte’s brother Jasper, in Tollard Royal. Caroline was already pregnant when they married.  Martha, their first child, was baptised on 8 August 1821. Sadly, Martha only survived a couple of years.  James and Caroline had four more children born in Tollard Royal: William, Jasper John, Martha and Mary.

In 1835, the New South Wales government set up the Bounty immigration scheme, where Bounty immigrants were selected by colonists. The colonists paid for the immigrants passage, employed them on arrival and then would be reimbursed by the government for some or all of the cost of passage. Between 1836 and 1838, Edward McArthur, son of the notable James and Elizabeth McArthur, with the help of the Reverand John West, recruited a number of families from the Cranborne Chase area in Wiltshire and Dorset to go and work on his brother William’s properties in New South Wales. Cranbourne Chase, the area where the Rideout and Bennett families lived, was known as a lawless area, with high unemployment and low wages, so when given the opportunity to escape to a new life, I am sure that there were many volunteers. In addition, convicts had written to back to families telling of the opportunities in New South Wales and word had spread that life was better there. Rev John West interviewed many desperate young men to identify suitable candidates of good character for the scheme. He noted that many of them were dressed in rags.

To New South Wales

Seven of the recruited families, including James Rideout’s family, travelled together to New South Wales on the “John Mclellan”, which departed London on 31 May 1838 and arrived in Sydney on 3 October 1838; a four month voyage. Caroline was heavily pregnant when they left England; son John was born on 23 July 1838, during the voyage, which must have been a challenge. However, they were not alone. Also on board the ship were Caroline’s brother William Paine Bennett with wife Mary Ann (nee Budden) and his children; their sister Charlotte with her husband William Budden and children; and George Budden (brother of William and Mary Ann) with his wife and children.

The shipping records are uncertain whether James Rideout could read and write. He was described as being of good character, so the crimes of his teen years must have been forgotten. Like his father, he was a gamekeeper in England but was migrating as an agricultural labourer. Caroline could apparently read a little.

On arrival in New South Wales, James and his family went to live in the vicinity of Camden Park, the Macarthur’s property, where they stayed for the remainder of their lives. The families recruited by the McArthur family were well looked after during their voyage and on arrived in Australia they were provided with accommodation, food and clothes. In return, they were bound to work for William McArthur for three years. William Macarthur reported that all of the families chose to stay working for him after the three-year period ended. Life was indeed better in New South Wales, with home comforts and steady job.

James and Caroline had four more children born in Australia, Charlotte, James, Caroline (my ancestor) and Henry, taking the total to ten. Their daughter Mary died in 1841, not long after they arrived in Australia, and Charlotte died a year later. The other children survived to adulthood, married and had children of their own. Caroline died in 1872, leaving James a widower. He died six years later in 1878.

What Might have been

Back in 1818, James’s brother John Bennett Rideout was working in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, as a groom and jockey. He was convicted of burglary and sentenced to death. His sentence was commuted to 14 years transportation. He went to Australia on the “General Stuart” in 1818.  Sadly, his criminal career continued in Australia. In 1846, he was convicted of highway robbery by the Maitland Circuit Court and sentenced to 15 years transportation. In spite of having two motherless daughters, the judge refused to reduce his sentence. He was again transported, this time to Tasmania, where he died in January 1849. Meanwhile, Brother Philip also continued to live a life of crime, with convictions in 1823, 1828, 1829 and 1843. He also led his son Anthony astray, as Anthony was convicted of poaching in 1843 along with Philip. I don’t know whether James knew what happened to his brothers.

James could so easily been caught up in a life of crime to survive in England but he got lucky and was able to escape to a new beginning in Australia. 

Notes on lineage: Me > Mum > Daphne Madge Smith > John Henry Smith > Louisa Jane Jenkins > Caroline Rideout > James Rideout