New South Wales Corps or The Rum Corp

[BradinAustralia]

Hi

My GGGGG Grandfather Alexander ARTHUR arrived in NSW in as a soldier on board the Atlas in 1802. There were two Atlas' arriving in NSW in 1802, his ship is what is referred to as the Atlas II. The ship carried male Irish convicts to Sydney. At some point he was posted to Windsor, NSW where he remained until his death.

Alexander went on to serve in the Corp until the Veterans Corp was raised and he moved to that in about 1820, I think.

He died 31 May 1826 at the age of 66 and is buried at Windsor, NSW.

BACKGROUND

He had a daughter, of which I can find no records, but she was born in about 1803 in Parramatta. Jane ARTHUR went on to marry a convict called Miles LAKE.

Later, Alexander on the 26 June 1820 married a convict girl named Jane MORRIS.

QUESTIONS

1. The records are scarce here, how do I determine the unit he was in before he came to Australia?

2. Is it possible he was recruited in Ireland for the particular mission?

3. What are the processes of viewing documents that would substantiate information, where are these documents?

4. Could he have served in other parts of the world and how do I find out this?


Any information would be grateful.


Many thanks


Brad

[ChristineR]

This web site, The National Archives of the United Kingdom, has extensive research tips for the military.

https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

Have you located him on any muster documents in NSW?

I would have thought that the passenger list for the Atlas 11 would record the regiment that came on the ship. Or perhaps newspaper reports of the ships arrival in Sydney might shed some light. The original corps was raised in England.

[Jim Williamson]

Hi Alexander Arthur is my ancestor also, here some information aboutAlexander Arthur was a participant in the early days of colonial Australia. He arrived in Sydney a mere thirteen years after its founding and he subsequently helped to settle northern Tasmania. He also served in the same regiment as key figures in the downfall of Governor Bligh.

From his death certificate we know that Alexander Arthur was born in about 1763. He enlisted in the 62nd Wiltshire Regiment in 1783, the same year that the regiment began a six-year posting to Ireland, but we do not know his place of birth. In 1789 the French Revolution horrified Europe and the regiment was transferred to Jamaica to ensure the defence of that colony. By 1801 the regiment was back in Ireland and it was at this point in County Cork that Arthur volunteered for the New South Wales Corps. Now a Corporal, Arthur sailed from Cork to Sydney, Australia in the Atlas, arriving 7 July 1802.

Governor King who had arrived in Sydney two years earlier described the colony thus: "Vice, dissipation, and a strange relaxation seems to pervade every class and order of people…The children are abandoned to misery, prostitution, and every vice of their parents…". Indeed corruption was a major characteristic of the colony and the force behind this was the military/landowner caste. Governor King immediately attempted to rectify this situation through masses of legislation and a degree of stubborn quarrelsomeness. One must wonder what Arthur thought of his new home.

In 1803 a daughter was born to Arthur and an as yet unknown woman. The daughter was named Jane.

Arthur was soon transferred to a detachment under Captain George Johnston, a First Fleet Officer and gentleman farmer. In 1804 Governor King sent this detachment, under Colonel William Paterson, to Port Dalrymple in Tasmania (then known as Van Diemen's Land) to ensure that Bass Strait remained guarded. Paterson was granted the title of Govenor of Van Diemen's Land. The regiment sailed from Sydney on 15 October with 67 soldiers, 74 convicts and 40 free settlers. Four vessels were used, the King's ship Buffalo, and the colonial vessels Lady Nelson, Francis and Integrity. It was a stormy passage and even once anchored close to their destination at the Tamar river the Buffalo was driven by gales onto shoals, taking three days to free. Port Dalrymple proved less than Colonel Paterson had hoped, with hostile aborigines and poor land, leading the settlement to move to Yorktown which proved even less suitable and then to Launceston in 1806.

The year 1808 was significant for Australia in that conflict arose between Governor Bligh and influential elements of the colonial forces. Bligh charged Macarthur and six officers with treason. In response Arthur's former Captain, now Major George Johnston, who was sick in Sydney, declared himself Lieutenant-Governor, released the prisoners, and marched on Government House and took Bligh into custody. However William Paterson, in Tasmania, was still Johnston's commanding officer both at a military and civil level and as such he eventually travelled up to Sydney to over-rule Johnston and assume authority as acting Governor-in-chief. Meanwhile after some argument Bligh retired to Tasmania.

In 1810 the subsequent Governor of the Colony, a Scottish chieftain turned professional soldier named Lachlan Macquarie, formed an Invalid or Veteran Company comprising men of the 102 Foot who had served for 21 years or more and who wished to remain in Australia. The rest of the New South Wales Corps was sent back to England as Macquarie had brought his own regiment, the 73rd Highlanders, with him. Arthur who had returned from Tasmania joined the Veteran Company on 20 April 1810, aged around 47. He was stationed first at the Hyde Park Barracks which were built by Macquarie as shelters for convicts. Subsequently he was stationed at Parramatta and later Windsor, probably guarding convicts engaged in Macquarie's road building projects.

On 26 June 1820 Arthur married Jane Morris at St John's Church of England. Jane Morris had been transported to Australia aboard the Indispensible in August 1809 for stealing clothing and other items from her employer's home in Lothbury. She was 35 at this time. After spending a few years working as a convict on stores Jane Morris received her Ticket of Leave on 28 February 1811. A few years after marrying Arthur, Jane Morris commenced work as a servant of the McDougall family of Windsor.

The only mention of the daughter, Jane Arthur, around this time is in the 1822 Muster where Jane is mentioned as being 19, single and living at Windsor. The following year Jane gave birth to a son named Henry Arthur, whose father was listed as Henry Langton, a local convict. In 1823 there were marriage plans with Thomas Calcutt, but these ultimately fell through and it was not until the following year that Jane did marry, being wed to ex-convict Miles Lake on 24 December. On 29 September 1825 Jane gave birth to James Lake and two years later on 28 January Thomas followed.

In May 1829, while still a member of the Veteran Company and when Jane was four months pregnant with another grandson for him, Arthur died and was buried at St Matthews, Windsor.

Hi

My GGGGG Grandfather Alexander ARTHUR arrived in NSW in as a soldier on board the Atlas in 1802. There were two Atlas' arriving in NSW in 1802, his ship is what is referred to as the Atlas II. The ship carried male Irish convicts to Sydney. At some point he was posted to Windsor, NSW where he remained until his death.

Alexander went on to serve in the Corp until the Veterans Corp was raised and he moved to that in about 1820, I think.

He died 31 May 1826 at the age of 66 and is buried at Windsor, NSW.

BACKGROUND

He had a daughter, of which I can find no records, but she was born in about 1803 in Parramatta. Jane ARTHUR went on to marry a convict called Miles LAKE.

Later, Alexander on the 26 June 1820 married a convict girl named Jane MORRIS.

QUESTIONS

1. The records are scarce here, how do I determine the unit he was in before he came to Australia?

2. Is it possible he was recruited in Ireland for the particular mission?

3. What are the processes of viewing documents that would substantiate information, where are these documents?

4. Could he have served in other parts of the world and how do I find out this?


Any information would be grateful.


Many thanks


Brad

[spison]

Hi Jim (and Brad if you're still with us),
The military records for the 102nd (this regiment) would be in the War Office records probably located in the post ChristineR posted above. These records were copied as a bicentenary gift to us and are in what is called the AJCP (Aust. Joint Copying Project). I know there's a copy that may be borrowed from the NLA.
https://www.nla.gov.au/microform-aust...opying-project
There is a copy in Sydney. Ask at the Mitchell Library. You need part 4. You'll need to find out where to look using the index to the reels. We're talking a big resource here.
https://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemD...?itemID=441810
In part 4 you should be able to see the pay lists, description books, retirements and the transfers from the 102nd to either (and I may be mistaken here) the NSW Veterans or to the 73rd.

Don't get too excited about an earlier regiment. The 102nd was raised in 1789-90 by the captains, Grose, Macarthur, Hill and a couple of others whose names escape me, pretty much from the 'scum' of the military and straight off the streets although they were not all that bad. By about 1802 in NSW they were so desperate they were taking convicts to enlist - with restrictions. Your man may not have initially been in the military.

I guess this is where your records came from (I didn't look at the date of the earliest post) but I didn't want to remove the post.

[call4kaye]

Hi Brad,
I too am descendant of Alexander Arthur.
His daughter Jane was my GGGGmother. She registered at the muster of 1822 as "Jane Arthur - born in the colony - with no parents.
That last but "with no parents" is a little strange as Alexander was apparently still alive. i have been unable to find any evidence of her mother. She may have died in childbirth or perhaps she was indeginous?
Jane married Miles Lake at St. Matthews on 6th december 1824....I do have some other info on Alexander which I will share with you when I track it down again.
I am currently writing a memoir and keen to gather as much info as I can.

Kaye

[Hazeken]

Hi , i am a descendent too , from Selina anne lake , daughter of James Lake , whose parents were Jane and Miles . Im from the hilder / muller/ Forland family . If any one has any info or want any info about my family lines ,,please email me hazeken AT gmail DOT com
I'm very interested in finding any pics if available , cheers Hayley ( i also only live 20 mins from windsor ). family ,

Hi Brad,
I too am descendant of Alexander Arthur.
His daughter Jane was my GGGGmother. She registered at the muster of 1822 as "Jane Arthur - born in the colony - with no parents.
That last but "with no parents" is a little strange as Alexander was apparently still alive. i have been unable to find any evidence of her mother. She may have died in childbirth or perhaps she was indeginous?
Jane married Miles Lake at St. Matthews on 6th december 1824....I do have some other info on Alexander which I will share with you when I track it down again.
I am currently writing a memoir and keen to gather as much info as I can.

Kaye