Send an e-mail to: Amanda TaylorA Story of an Early Pioneer Family, Researched and written by present-day members of the Family, themselves.
The following article was written and researched by Grace Douglass & Laurel Legge and published in their book 'Along the Windsor Richmond Road' 1985 (ISBN 0 9589831 0 0 and ISBN 0 9589831 3 5) and is subject to copyright. Written permission is held from the late author Grace Douglass for the writer to publish contents via the Internet. However, although this book is in the public domain, it still remains copyrighted material and may not be copied for any reason without permission. I do not have the right to give permission to others to reprint the book. I was only given permission to put it on line. All copyrights stay with Grace Douglass & Laurel Legge and whoever they appointed, for control of the book. Under no circumstances may it be reprinted for profit.
Extractions of parts of the information for personal use with references to the book as the source is encouraged.
It should be noted that since the book was published over twenty years ago, that a lot of the material in the books have been superseeded by later research, some of which can ben seen at my complete Rootsweb database at Amanda Taylor's Genealogy.
Like her Mother before her, Sophia Ezzy followed a husband into Exile, of her own free choice.
Sophia, the youngest child born to William and Jane Ezzy, came into the world on 7th November 1807. She was born at Mulgrave Place, and baptised at St.Matthew's Windsor, in 1811, the same day as her sister, Elizabeth.
Sophia's early life, or 'probable' early life, has already been covered in the chapter relating to Elizabeth, her sister.
On 2nd November, 1824 Sophia married James Dargin, third son of Thomas and Mary Dargin, and a younger brother of her sister Elizabeth's future husband, Joseph Dargin. James had been born in 1805 at Parramatta.
Three weeks after the marriage took place James was before the Windsor Court (22/11/1824) on a charge of pig-stealing.
The trial took place before John Stephen and William Cox Esqs. Fellow Justices of the Crown, at Windsor, and it was alleged that 'James Dargan (sic) late of the District of Evan in the Colony of New South Wales, Labourer, and Joseph Windred late of the same place, Labourer, had on the first day of October in the year of our Lord 1823, with force and arms in the district of Evan, aforesaid, in the Colony, aforesaid, stolen one Sow of the value of ten pence, the property of one William Wightman'. Joseph Windred was a brother-in-law to James, having married his eldest sister, Sophia, some time before. James was sentenced to be transported to the Convict Settlement at Port Macquarie for a period of three years, and Joseph to the same destination for seven years - a long period of time for a tenpenny piglet!
At this period of time in our History, Port Macquarie was a settlement for second-offenders, or convicts who had committed a crime after arrival in the Colony. Joseph Windred, was a convict who had been transported in 1813; winning a conditional pardon in seven years at Windsor, he had married Sophia and was now the Father of several children, and although he was described as being 'a quiet neighbour, sober, industrious and honest' by those who knew him, he was, none-the-less, banished to Port Macquarie to serve his term.
James, on the other hand, was confined to Windsor Gaol for a period of time while Petitions were lodged to fight against this 'Native Son' being sent to a Convict Settlement. Several Petitions were lodged with the court appealing on his behalf, one being from a settler, John McCabe who stated he had employed James for a period of five years from the age of 13 years and that he was sure that the young man had been led into crime through lack of experience and sheer ignorance. Another Petition spoke in high regard of the prisoner's wife of only three weeks -- 'a Native Born Woman, of high regard'.
James remained in Windsor Gaol for another few weeks and was then removed to Sydney Gaol where he remained until July 1825. The Windsor Court, after considering the various Petitions, and relative circumstances, changed James' place of servitude to Van Dieman's Land (4/6/1825) and so on the 5th July, 1825 James and Sophia went on board the "Elizabeth" and set sail for Hobart Town. Mary Dargin had petitioned that her daughter-in-law be allowed to accompany her son, and her wish had been granted.
The Archives Office of Tasmania hold no records relating to the employment or residence of James whilst he was in Tasmania, for the simple reason that he was evidently of good behaviour and therefore did not require 'recording'. Nor would it appear that there were any children born to the marriage whilst the couple were in Tasmania, as there are no entries for a baptism or burial under the name of Dargin/Dargon. As James was a free man once again before the couple sailed for Sydney Town, the Archives have no record of their departure.
The young couple next appear in official records in the 1828 Census when they were living at Bathurst. James is listed in the Census as a Landholder, he had 200 acres, 15 of which were cleared and 8 of these under cultivation. He owned two horses and 150 head of cattle. James had settled down.
Sophia's first child, a daughter, who she named Eliza, was born at Parramatta in 1829. James, like so many of his family, had turned Publican, and the couple owned the "Irish Arms" in Sydney Road, Parramatta.
By 1831 the couple had moved to Sydney Town and for the next four years James was the Publican of the "Bulls Head Inn" in George Street. Whilst the couple lived in Sydney, two more children were born and subsequently baptised at St. Phillip's, Sydney. Jane Ann in 1831 and James Jnr. in 1834. Unfortunately Jane Ann did not survive and was buried before the couple left Sydney (1833).
When the next child, Sophia Jane was born in 1837, James was listed as a Farmer, Richmond Road, Windsor, but by 1838 the couple were again living in Bathurst and James was the owner of the "Highland Laddie", a licence he held for about three years, and it was at Bathurst that their next son, William Thomas was born in 1840.
The three youngest children -- Emily Marie (1842), Louisa Mary (1844) and Albert Sidney (1848) were all born at Windsor and baptised at St.Matthew's, their Father again being listed as a Farmer and Grazier of the Windsor Richmond Road.
A little over a year later, Sophia was to lose first her daughter, Sophia Jane in July 1849 at the age of twelve years, and seven months later James, himself, passed away at the very early age of 45 years leaving Sophia with six children, and an estate of 300 pounds.
The passing away of James Dargin at Windsor, did not go unnoticed by the Sydney Press and the Sydney Morning Herald of 1st February, 1850 carried the following Obituary:-
Sudden death on Sunday morning (27th) last, Mr. James Dargin who resided near Windsor, ate a comfortable breakfast and having gone down the yard, as he was returning he was suddenly siezed with illness. He stopped short and called to his son to come to his assistance. His son and wife quickly came, into his arms he fell saying that he was dying. He bade farewell to his wife and soon became insensible. In the meantime Mr. Surgeon White had been sent for and also Dr. Dowe. The former cut the temporal artery which enabled the deceased to rally for a few minutes only, then he expired. Mr. Surgeon White had been in attendance on him during the last two months and had expected that his death would be sudden and the deceased was perfectly aware of it himself. It appears that an effusion, or blood on the brain had caused appoplexy. Mr. Dargin was much respected and deeply regretted by all who knew him. The funeral took place to-day (Wednesday) and although many were prevented by distance from attending, not less than 130 people attended, there were 25 vehicles, countless carriages and gigs and many more came on foot.
The following year, Eliza, Sophia's eldest daughter married Charles Marsden, a Windsor Cattle-dealer. In later years, after Charles passed away, Eliza married Thomas Bury, a bank-manager and settled in Castlemaine, Vic. Emily Marie later married William Forrester of Warwick Farm. Other than these two daughters, the remaining children of Sophia and James remained single, and therefore there were no grand-children to carry on the 'Dargin' name from James. Sophia also outlived her eldest son, James Dargin Jnr., a carcase butcher, who died in 1875.
Sophia, herself, did not re-marry after James' early death, and what-ever she did for the next thirty-four years until her own death, she prospered, as by that time she had turned the 300 pounds left to her under the terms of her husband's Will into a very large 2,500 pounds, which was a very tidy sum for a widow at that time. There does not appear to be further ventures into Inn-keeping, although this is indeed possible as the members of the Dargin Family were very involved in this Trade. The Inn owned by James' younger brother John Dargin at Kelso, near Bathurst, is still standing and is the oldest hostelry west of the mountains. An old 1925 newspaper clipping speaks of it as --
'The Melbourne Hotel, Kelso, near Bathurst, is one of the oldest, perhaps the very oldest hostelry, west of the mountains and the only remaining one in Kelso. It was built in 1832 and was known as the "Coach and Horses". In the old days it was recognised as a place of call for Cobb and Company Coaches prior to the advent of the 'iron horse'. It changed it's name for some unaccountable reason forty-eight years ago. At that time there were seven hotels in Kelso. It stands in a really unique position at the intersection of four roads, viz -- the O'Connell, Sofala, Limekilns and Main Western, and it's walls are as sound to-day as when they were first built, thus affording proof that they did things well in the building line in those far-off days, in striking contradiction to some specimens of the builder's art in these modern times (hasn't improved in comparison in '84 [1984] either). This Hostelry was once Dargin's Inn'. This old Dargin Inn is in a good state of preservation I am told. Although Sophia outlived her son, James Dargin Jnr. by nine years, his Estate was quite small and she would not have benefited greatly from this direction. Unfortunately, although Sophia left a Will, it is not informative as to the nature of her Assets, only that she left the entire Estate to her eldest surviving son, William, to dispose of.
Sophia's home on Windsor Richmond Road was called "Mulgrave Cottage" and it was here she passed away on 11th July, 1884 and was buried in the Family Vault in St. Matthew's Churchyard with her husband, daughter Sophia Jane and eldest son James Dargin jnr. Later Louisa Mary (1926) and Albert Sidney (1925) were also laid to rest with their parents. William Thomas was not buried in the vault, he died in 1896.
According to Sophia's Death Certificate, she had, at the time of her death, two sons and three daughters living (William, Albert, Eliza, Emily and Louisa) and one son and two daughters deceased (James, Jane and Sophia), which agrees with our records of the Family as we know it. According to the Reeve Records the couple had other children who died as infants. The Tasmanian Archives, as stated, have no recordedof children dying as infants there, and of course, if the infants were not baptised, there would be no record of their birth. There are no other baptisms of children born to Sophia and James in the pre-1856 Index to Births for N.S.W, nor in the one relating to Deaths; however, the children may have died at birth and there remains no proof, one way or the other.
The two remaining members of the Family, Louisa and Albert, lived out their remaining years in the township of Windsor, and very little is known of them other than they appear to have been a highly respected couple. Louisa, herself, was very interested in horse-racing, and for many years travelled to Melbourne annually for the running of the Melbourne and Caulfied Cups, spending about two months each visit in the Southern State.
Albert passed away early in 1925 and the Windsor and Richmond Gazette carried a brief Obituary at the time of his passing --
it said that he had resided with his sister, Miss Louisa Dargin in Suffolk Street, Windsor, that he was a son of an old Pioneer Family of the Hawkesbury and had been born at Clarendon. It described him as quiet, unobtrusive, a man who was generally lived and respected. Louisa outlived her brother by less than a year, and her Obituary was even briefer. It stated that she was over eighty years of age and that her Family had been associated with the Hawkesbury district from the earliest days of Colonial settlement.
[Note : On page 85 there is a photograph with the following inscription
Present-day photograph of the old "Melbourne" Hotel at Kelso--formerly "Coach and Horses" owned by John Dargin.
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