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Thursday, January 27, 2011

UNDERWOOD, Joseph




The relatives of my daughters, Clair and Jessie, through their mother's family, filter back to Joseph UNDERWOOD, and his father Thomas, and his mother, Mary, née FORSTER. Joseph, and his brothers, were born in the late 1700s, in Bermondsey, England. Bermondsey, being in the East End of London, the boys were all well-acquainted with ships, and a tough life.

There were three brothers, James, Joseph and William. According to Liz Parkinson 1, the following descriptions befit them well ...

1. The Convict: James Underwood (1771-1844) had a 7-year sentence for supposedly stealing a couple of pairs of slippers, although he was innocent of breaking and entering.
He established Sydney's first private shipyard on the Tank Stream, and an early distillery on his 100 acres at Paddington. Upon his death, he left a legendary Estate, requiring 3 Acts of Parliament to resolve. James was also the owner of 'Summer Hill' property 3, near Parramatta.
see also: Australian Dictionary of Biography

2. The Merchant: Joseph Underwood (1779-1833) came to Australia in charge of one of his brother James' ships in 1807. They both ran ships to the sealing islands in Bass Strait, and spent the proceeds on more ships and land acquisitions. In his later years he became the squire of 'Ashfield Park'.
see also: Australian Dictionary of Biography

3. The Drunk: William Underwood (1786-1827) sailed in and out of Australia a few times on his brother's ships, before settling at Ashfield. There he ran a pub on a corner of his brother Joseph's land, at Ashfield Park, and suffered disgrace by dying drunk in the street. There is no Biographical testimony for William.


Joseph already had a 'large' family with first wife, Charlotte, by 1807. The couple had several children, born in England, and at least five others born in the colony, only two of whom seem to have survived infancy. There were two sons amongst the children - Robert and Thomas, who were still living with Joseph in 1828. (Another son, James, was grandfather to Blanche Annie Underwood, who married Daniel Munro CROOKSHANKS), my daughters' Great Grandfather.

When Charlotte died in 1818, Joseph left his children in the care of a guardian, and sailed for England, where, on his arrival in Dover, in 1819, he happened to meet a widow, Elizabeth Lang, née HARRIS, daughter of emancipist, John Harris. Previously, in 1812, Elizabeth HARRIS, had married Walter Lang, an ex-convict Scotsman, and they had two sons before Walter died in 1816. The second son John George Lang was the first published native-born novelist in Australia.

Before going to England in 1819, Joseph purchased a huge property, named Ashfield Park, from one Robert Campbell. Together with other land grants, he owned over 3500 acres. All the grants had been amalgamated into two large estates: Ashfield Park (the northern half between Liverpool Rd and Parramatta Rd) and Canterbury Estate (the area south of Liverpool Rd).

After his arrival in Dover, in 1819, as said, Joseph married Elizabeth. The couple also had a second, and yet un-explained, marriage in 1829, in Sydney. Joseph and Elizabeth had a further six children of their own so it was fortunate that, just before their marriage, he had bought that large house and property, Ashfield Park.


The eldest son of his marriage to Elizabeth, Frederick, was born in 1820 in England, and died at Bathurst in 1904.


Joseph Underwood died at Ashfield Park, on 27 August 1833, aged 54 - see: BDM Reg# V1833240 17/1833. After his death, the family began to encounter financial difficulties and considered subdividing their large estate. Being very canny, financially, Elizabeth advertised the sale as the formation of the village of Ashfield and paid for the construction of the Anglican Church herself. Many streets in northern Ashfield bear the names of her children including Frederick, Elizabeth, Charlotte, Julia and Joseph. Prior to the subdivision, the area was commonly known as Underwood's Bush and Underwood's Creek (later Iron Cove Creek and now a storm water drain) was a popular picnic spot along Parramatta Road.

In 1838, Elizabeth Underwood, then owner of Ashfield Park 2, subdivided part of her land to form the village of Ashfield between Liverpool Rd and Alt St. Part of the subdivision was the building of St. John's Church, in Alt St in 1841. This is the oldest surviving building in Ashfield. By 1855, the village had about 70 houses and 200 residents. However, the opening of the Sydney-Parramatta railway line that year, with Ashfield as one of its six original stations, led to a population explosion. In 1872, there were enough residents for the area to be granted a municipal council. By 1890, the population had grown to 11,000.

Elizabeth died on 31 Aug. 1858 and is buried in the graveyard of the church she built, St John's.This church was the second of that name, in the Parramatta area.

In total, Joseph and Elizabeth Underwood had two sons, and four daughters - one daughter named Julia, married Thomas Wilkinson, the nephew of the first Minister of the new Church (for further information on this family, perhaps the registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages will shed some light).

Births for a Joseph and Elizabeth are: (four daughters and two sons)

Frederick J. - Reg# V1820294 8/1820
Elizabeth H. - Reg# V1822492 8/1822
Julia S. - Reg# V1827229 11/1827
Matilda S. - Reg# V183093 15/1830
Joseph T. - Reg# V1833506 17/1833 - d.V1833254 17/1833
Charlotte M. - Reg# V1835852 8/1835


Quite a story, and quite a heritage. The family farms, constituted great tracts of the land between Liverpool and Parramatta. Famous Sydney Suburb names, such as Ashfield, and Summer Hill, emanated from the family properties.



References:
1. "The Underwoods: Lock, Stock and Barrel". A history of the Underwood family in Australia... written by Liz Parkinson.
* For more information, see: http://www.lazylizard.com.au/underwoods.htm
Contact/Email Liz for a copy at: liz@net2net.net.au
or write to: The Lazy Lizard, Box 157, Terrigal NSW 2260, Australia
2. Wikipedia - Ashfield, New South Wales - Population Growth.
3. Wikipedia - Summer Hill, New South Wales - European Settlement


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