James Bradley (Convict)

  General Notes:

Gosper Connections (Page 204/207)
SOURCE DOCUMENATIOM Research.
Dennis Gosper 11 Murray St Northmead 2151 Phone 9630-2656.

(17*) JAMES BRADLEY (Custom ID: 90)
Born: - (?) at Kent England U.K.
Married: - Elizabeth Jones (?).
They had 1 child
Issue (1) Gabriel (ID: 84)
Died: - 1809 at England U.K.
(S17)
The Third Fleet, transport "William and Ann" sailed from Plymouth on 27th March 1791, and arrived at Port Jackson on 28th August 1791, with one hundred and eighty one convicts on board. One of the convicts was James Bradley; convicted at Maidstone, Kent on 15th July 1790 and sentenced to seven years of Transportation.

By 1800, Bradley was a farmer at Mulgrave Place on the Hawkesbury he was renting ten acres and had the company of Elizabeth Saville and two children. One of the children was their son Gabriel, who was born on 16th April 1800 the other was apparently an adopted male child who is yet to be identified. He is referred to in Appendix 1 of the 1800-1802 Muster as Orphan, 6 bush corn, which would seem to refer to an allowance for his upkeep, and he, again appears as the mystery third child in the 1814 Muster. Their second and final child Margaret was born on 11th June 1804 at Wilberforce. No record has been found of a marriage between James and Elizabeth.

The Bradleys were still living on the Hawkesbury in 1806, the Muster states that James was a settler on thirty acres, he had seven acres of wheat, nine of maize, a half of potatoes and thirteen and a half acres of pasture. He also had fourteen pigs, and was probably the James Bradley who was granted thirty acres of land at Mulgrave Place in 1803 by Governor King. There is also evidence that, at this time, Bradley may have either sold or leased land to Thomas Lisson, the exact nature of the transactions are not clear, however the families were certainly associated at a later date, when Gabriel Bradley married Hannah Lisson the daughter of Thomas.

According to family legend, James Bradley went to England in order to claim an inheritance, and never returned. He is probably the person referred to in a Colonial Secretary's notice which appeared in the Sydney Gazette dated 26th January 1809, which states that a James Bradley is about to leave the Colony on the Admiral Gambier. From this point on his fate is unknown.

End research, James Bradley.

  Noted events in his life were:

• Convict: Sentenced to seven years of Transportation, 15 Jul 1790, Maidstone, Kent England.

• Killed in Action, "William and Ann"on the 28 Aug 1791. 3rd Fleet, Port Jackson, Sydney, NSW Australia.

James married Elizabeth Jones Saville (Convict) on 25 Mar 1782 in St Leonard, Shoreditch, London, Middlesex England. (Elizabeth Jones Saville (Convict) was born in 1761 in England UK, died on 16 Apr 1837 in MacDonald River, Hawkesbury, NSW Australia and was buried in Baileys Farm, NSW Australia.)