Ralph Jackson
(1753-1796)
Jane Fallowfield
(1766-1809)

Jane Jackson
(1787-1841)

 

Family Links

Spouses/Children:
1. Robert C. Cross

2. Captain John Horsley

Jane Jackson

  • Born: 24 May 1787, Humbleton, Yorkshire England
  • Christened: 26 Jun 1786, Humbleton, Yorkshire England
  • Marriage (1): Robert C. Cross on 11 Aug 1806 in Humbleton, Yorkshire England
  • Partnership (2): Captain John Horsley in 1815 in Liverpool, Sydney, NSW Australia 19
  • Died: 30 Jun 1841 at age 54
  • Buried: Liverpool Memorial Park, Sydney, NSW Australia

  Research Notes:

Reg Roughan notes:
John Horsely (1834) married Jane Jackson (1784) who also married Robert Cross (1776) above statement is incorrect, as the following will show: John Horsley (d. 1834), once a Captain in the RRHG, was married in England during 1804, to Maria Champion Crespigny. The couple had no known children. John did not marry again.Jane Jackson married Robert Cross in Yorkshire in 1806 and the couple had four children in England: William Cross, b. 1807; Jane Ellen Cross, b. 1809; Ralph Jackson Cross, b. 1810 Robert Cross, b. 1813. 1814 Jane followed her husband to NSW, he in the Surrey, she in the Broxbornebury. Jane was accompanied by her three eldest children. Perhaps the youngest, Robert Jr., did not survive infancy. also did not marry again, but she formed an alliance with John Horsley in NSW, first as his housekeeper, later as his common law wife. They had eight children together between 1816 and 1831: Fanny, John, Mary M (sic)*, Caroline, Charles W (sic)*, Eliz. V (sic)*, George and Charlotte. (* Middle initials recorded in NSW Census of 1928.) family story has it that Robert and Jane did not re-establish relations in NSW, other than Robert taking responsibility for their three children.

  Noted events in her life were:

• note. A TENACIOUS WOMAN

The Story of JANE JACKSON HORSLEY

I began my long journey into my family history when I became enthralled by the story of one of my ancestors. Jane Jackson was my great, great, great grandmother she was born in Humbleton Yorkshire England in the year 1774.
She married Robert Cross while still a young girl and had three children, a daughter Jane (junior). and two sons Ralph Jackson and William.

Jane was twenty four years old when Robert was arrested for stealing and sentenced to serve seven years in the new penal colony of New South Wales. He was incarcerated in one of the dungeons of York Castle awaiting transport to Tilbury docks, where the sailing ship 'Surrey' was to take him to Sydney Cove.

Afraid of having to support her children without the help of their father, Jane decided on a plan to free her husband from his prison cell. She applied for permission to visit Robert on the pretext of saying goodbye and the magistrate agreed to her request.

Jane then visited the village blacksmith and begged him to make her a small hacksaw. The blacksmith agreed and told her to come back on the morrow.
With the hacksaw carefully concealed beneath her voluminous petticoats she made her way to the castle to put her plan into action. Without thinking Jane took the pathway through the kitchen garden where she was observed by one of the servants who consequently reported the matter to the Yeoman of the Guards. She followed the long dark passage, which wound down into the bowels of the castle and found Robert in one of the dingy cells. She whipped the hacksaw from beneath her skirts and proceeded to saw through the offending iron bars.

By this time the guard had followed her and she was taken into custody for trying to free her husband. The following day Jane was taken before the magistrate who questioned her about the misdemeanor. She was reprimanded and because the magistrate felt sorry for her predicament, he allowed her to go home to her children.

Undaunted she decided to apply to the crown for permission to immigrate to the colony in New South Wales with her children in order to join her husband. Her request was granted and she was able to secure passage on the ''Broxbournebury'' which was taking on free settlers and some convicts.

About the same time Captain John Horsley, a young officer of the Royal Horse Guards - Blue, had fatally wounded a fellow officer during a duel, an offence that had recently been declared illegal. After being reprimanded; he decided to leave England and try his luck in the new penal colony as a free settler. Leaving behind a young wife who refused to accompany him, he set sail on the Broxbournbury.

When the ship sailed into the Port of Tenerife to replenish food and water the Governor of that province invited the Captain and some of the gentlemen on board to dine with him. At dinner he advised them of the privateers who were pillaging shipping along the coast. Just previously, the sailing ship 'Emu' on its way to New South Wales had fallen victim.
The Captain of the "Brox" sequestered John to train all passengers in the art of self defence in case of such an attack. During these practice sessions he and Jane became friends and eventually fell in love.

Upon arrival in Sydney Town Jane set about the task of finding her husband. Robert had already established himself on a small farm at Windsor, where Jane found he was living with a fellow convict and her children. Leaving the two boys with Robert to rare and taking her daughter with her, she then managed to find herself a position in the home of a well known pastoralist, George Simpson as his housekeeper.

In the meantime John Horsley formed an association with Samuel Marsden, John Oxley, The Blaxland Brothers and William Wentworth, all of whom had been classified as dissenters by Governor Macquarie and as a result of that John was unable to acquire any favours or land grants from the crown.

However, being a gentleman of some means and cousin to Lord Melbourne who was a favourite of Queen Victoria and eventually Prime Minister of England, he managed to buy 699 acres of land in the district of Fairfield. He then built a substantial dwelling place and called it Mark Lodge.

By then Jane had become his common law wife (de-facto) and they applied successfully for assigned servants which included, clearing gangs, several labourers, a miller, a millwright, and a gardener. He then developed a large estate on which he grew corn, wheat and other produce besides running a dairy of approximately 50 head of cattle, all of which helped to feed a growing community.

By the year 1820, John Horsley was listed as the major property owner in the district. In 1821, Governor Macquarie gave John a land grant of 1,200 acres in the district of Illawarra. He also bought land in the growing town of Liverpool. On October 23rd 1823, John Horsley became Clerk of the Bench of Magistrates at Liverpool and on March 7th 1825 he was appointed Coroner of Liverpool.



John Horsley his wife Jane and their family of eight children lived happily at Mark Lodge until his death on the fourth of February 4th 1834. From then on the property was administered by the trustees as John's English wife had decided to make a claim on his estate and it was then up to the court as to how it would be administered.

I could never find a record to show how this was done, although Jane was still living there with her family until she died six years later on June 30th 1841. She was buried as Mrs. Jane Horsley in the pioneer cemetery at Liverpool Memorial Park.

Not much was ever attributed to this woman who had helped to open up a new country, though I applaud her for her tenacity and courage in facing the unknown.


Freda M. Smith (nee Millington)
Courtesy of Neil Millington

• connection. 535 The connection between Reg Roughan and myself is as follows:
Reg Roughan . . . is linked in some way to . . .
John Horsely (1834) who married Jane Jackson (1784) who also married Robert Cross (1776)
They had WilliamCross (1807) who married Mary Ratcliffe (c1818)
They had Ann Cross (1842) who married Alexander Matheson (c1837)
They had Annabella Matheson (1870) who married Frederick Cross (1861)
His father was Ralph Cross (1810)
His father was Robert Cross (1776) & he also had Jane Cross (1803) who married Thomas Millington (1807)
They had Mary Millington (1842) who married William Hinton (1842)
They had William Hinton (1872) who married Emily Keighran (1881)
(There is another link to the Keighran's through one of their children that I haven't listed here)
Her father was William Keighran (1854)
His father was James Keighran (1808) & he also had John Keighran (1845)
He had Joseph Keighran (1879)
He had Leslie William Keighran (1904)
He had Mary Keighran (1927) who married Mervyn Collins (1924)
They had Les Collins (1950) who married me - Robyn Bray (nee Davies)


Jane married Robert C. Cross, son of William Cross and Ann Hobson, on 11 Aug 1806 in Humbleton, Yorkshire England. (Robert C. Cross was born in 1776 in Kingston-Upon-Hull, South Yorkshire England, christened on 23 Nov 1784 in Sproatley, East Yorkshire England, died on 20 Sep 1864 in Highland St, West Maitland, NSW Australia and was buried on 22 Sep 1864.)


Jane had a relationship with Captain John Horsley in 1815 in Liverpool, Sydney, NSW Australia.19 (Captain John Horsley was born in 1769 in London England 19 and died on 4 Feb 1834.)


Clicky




Home | Table of Contents | Surnames | Name List

This website was created 15 Aug 2022 with Legacy 9.0, a division of MyHeritage.com; content copyrighted and maintained by robynbray@ozemail.com.au