Devon, England -The Parnell family
As the crow flies, about ten-miles to the east of Rattery, Devon, is the seaside town of Paignton.
Peter, born about 1515, was the father of at least three sons born in the district of Paignton, William, Richard (b. Abt. 1535), and Peter (b.1540). Peter (1540) and his sons, William (b.21 Mar.1581) and Thomas (b.5 Mar.1585) with at least eleven children became the main group of the Parnell line in Plymouth and Bigbury.
William and Jane’s family continued to grow in the main from Paignton.
Richard’s first son was John born 9th Mar.1557 at Dean Prior. Only a few miles to the north is the village of Buckfastleigh.
It was in these two villages that a large number of Richard’s descendants were born and married.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John Parnell married Elizabeth Cullum in Buckfastleigh, Devon, on the 26th March 1706.
Buckfastleigh is about twenty miles south of Exeter on the road to Plymouth. Within a ten-mile radius of Buckfastleigh are the villages of Rattery, Dean Prior, Modbury, Ermington, and Staverton. It is from these villages that the Parnells of Richmond and the Hunter River district in NSW originated.Between the years of 1700-1714 John and Elizabeth had at least six children Susanna, Jane, John, Elizabeth, Halse-Daniel, and Thomas.
John’s first wife was Anne Burt; one of the couples five children also named John was born in December of 1738.John jnr. married Jane Nicholls in April 1762, and became a surgeon.
Two of John and Jane’s ten children were Thomas 1765, John Ratcliff 1774.Thomas and John both studied medicine. John Ratcliff Parnell, like his father, also became a Surgeon. Eventually his convicted brother Thomas would earn this distinction in Australia.
John Ratcliff married Ann Tharp at Upton-Hellions a village just out of Exeter in August 1805. The children of this marriage, John, Montague, James Virgo, and Ratcliff were born about four miles south of where their parents married at Bramford-Speke. Montague and James Virgo later followed Uncle Thomas and his family out to Australia.
The conviction of Thomas Parnell, alias John Williams, and his transportation to NSW. John Williams was indicted on the eleventh of May 1796 for break and entering the house of Joseph Stack, with the intent to steal. John was in the company of two other men, both of whom escaped. John was not so lucky and was taken into custody. The trio had only reached the stage of having an arm through the window casement when a Mr. Barnfield became suspicious and reported the incident. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ John was sentenced to life, with a trip to Australia. It is assumed that Thomas used the name Williams to avoid embarrassment to his family.
Thomas had been medically trained but claimed to be a shoemaker several years younger than his true age.Young professionally trained men of all practices were in great need in NSW. (A very good reason to become “Williams the shoemaker”). Many were recruited in various ways, as not a great many would have volunteered their services. Whilst he was convicted, he never actually stole anything. Thomas had married Agnes Shales in England; they had a young son Thomas Junior. Agnes Shales and her son “came free” to the colony on the “Ganges” in 1797. It is understood from later records that convict John williams was also on that ship but not listed.
People in Australia who are a little embarrassed by being descendants of convicts should take heart by the remarks of Lachlan Macquarie.
When Colonel Lachlan Macquarie replaced Bligh in 1809, life for the emancipists improved considerably. In 1813 he wrote to the Secretary of State that "free people should consider they are coming to a convict country, and if they are too proud or two delicate in their feelings to associate with the population of the country, they should consider it and bend their course to some other country." He added that "free settlers in general, who come out from England are the most discontented persons in the country, and that emancipated convicts, or persons become free by servitude, made in many instances the best description of settlers".