The Story of Susannah Fullagar

This story is about my paternal Great Great Great Grandmother Susannah Fullagar (1791-1862).  In the year of her birth, 1791, George 111 was the monarch of England; the world's first Sunday newspaper was published; Captain Arthur Phillip was in his fourth year as the Governor of newly established colony of New South Wales in Australia.

Sourced from the Woodchurch Local and Family History site using records compiled by the Woodchurch Ancestry Group

When Susannah was born, her father John Fullagar was 33 years old and her mother Elizabeth Bourne was aged 30.

She was born in the village of Woodchurch in Kent, England, and was the fifth child born to John and Elizabeth.





Susannah's eldest brother Richard had been born in 1782.
John was born in 1784, but had died the same year.
Another son John was born in 1786, but had died the same year.
Mary was born in 1785, and had died just a little while afterwards.
George was born in 1787, but had died the same year.
Sarah was born in 1788.

So that meant that when Susannah was born just three years later, the only other siblings still living were Richard and Sarah.  More siblings were to follow, but sadly, another four died in infancy.

Elizabeth was born in 1793 when Susannah was 2, but died the same year.
Thomas was born in 1794.
Josiah was born in 1796, but died the following year.
Josephus was born in 1799.  Sadly, he died just two months later.  Susannah was aged 8.
Sophia came along in 1801 but died the same year.
Ann was born in 1802 when Susannah was 11 years old.

You do have to wonder what effect the loss of so many siblings, while they were still babies, would have had on Susannah.  Perhaps the realisation of such a tragedy didn't hit her until she was much older.

Up until 1802, Susannah's father was the innkeeper of the Bonny Cravat Inn.  The family of six children had grown up a modest home on a large plot of land near the village.  Possibly Susannah's childhood would have been a happy, carefree one growing up in the small, picturesque village of Woodchurch.

Unfortunately in 1803, when Susannah was 12 years old, her father died.  At the point, Susannah's mother took over as innkeeper, so I imagine life would have changed considerably then.  With her mother working long hours, no doubt assisted by Susannah's older brother Richard, who would have now been 21; perhaps Susannah, aged 12, and her older sister Sarah, aged 15, would have taken on the mothering and the domestic duties around the home, while their mother worked at the inn.  Their brother Thomas would have been 9 years old, and baby Ann would have only been 1.  I would think that the carefree childhood days would have well and truly ended after the death of Susannah's father.

Sourced from the Woodchurch Local and Family History site using records compiled by the Woodchurch Ancestry Group

Eleven years later, in December of 1814, a marriage bann was posted announcing the coming marriage of Susannah Fullagar and James Hukins.

Sourced from the Woodchurch Local and Family History site using records compiled by the Woodchurch Ancestry Group

Then in January of 1815, at the age of 23, Susannah married James Hukins. They went on to have a family of nine children, born over a period of sixteen years.

Their daughter Elizabeth was born in June of 1815, so Susannah would have been pregnant at the time of her wedding.
John was born two years later, in 1817.
James came along in 1820.
Crittenden was born in 1821.
Adolphus was born in 1823, when Susannah was 32 years old.
Sabina, was born in 1825.
Norman came along in 1828, but sadly, died when he was a month and a half old.
Cassandra was born in 1829.
Then their last child, Adelaide was born in 1832.

The Bonny Cravat Inn, as it is today

In 1824, just after their fourth child was born, Susannah and her husband James took over the running of the Bonny Cravat Inn, which stood opposite the church.





The inn had been run by Susannah's father for 20 years, and was taken over by Susannah's mother when her father had died.  Susannah's mother, Elizabeth, was innkeeper for 12 years up until 1816 when Susannah's brother Thomas had taken over.  That was the year after Susannah had married.

Susannah's brother Thomas was innkeeper for only 4 years and for some reason, which I have not been able to uncover as yet, he stopped innkeeping in 1820.  For a period of 3 years the Bonny Cravat Inn had been in the hands of people outside the Fullagar family, until Susannah and her husband took over.

The record of Innkeepers for the Bonny Cravat Inn:
(sourced from the Woodchurch Local and Family History site of the Woodchurch Ancestry Group). 

Date	Innkeeper/Publican	Monarch
1690-1701	John Medhurst - The Butchers Arms	William & Mary 1689-1694, William III 1694-1702
1701-1706	Sarah Wood - The Bonny Cravat	Anne 1702-1714
1706-1719	George Ramsden	George I 1714-1727
1719-1720	Mary Ramsden - Widow of George
1720-1732	John and Thomas Hills	George II 1727-1760
1732-1734	Mary Hills - Widow of John
1734-1746	John Fullagar
1746-1749	Elizabeth Fullagar Widow of John
1749-1750	Elizabeth Fullagar - Widow of John & Mary Austen Widow
1750-1758	John Fullagar - Son of John
1758-1775	John Hukins	George III 1760-1820
1775-1782	James Hukins - Brother of John
1782-1803	John Fullagar - Son of John
1803-1816	Elizabeth Fullagar - Widow of John
1816-1820	Thomas Fullagar
1820-1823	Shadrack Pearce	George IV 1820-1830
1823-1824	George Elliott
1824-1837	James and Susannah Fullagar Hukins	William IV 1830-1837
1837-1843	Gabriel Law	Victoria 1837-1901

Sourced from the Woodchurch Local and Family History site

Susannah was listed as the innkeeper, along with her husband James, for a period of twelve years from 1824 to 1837.  What's fascinating for me is the fact that her name is recorded with both her maiden name, Fullagar, and her married name.  Perhaps the reason for that is to acknowledge the very long association of the Fullagar family with the running of the inn!

When Susannah began innkeeping with her husband, she had four children between the ages of nine and one, and then went on to have another four, although, tragically she lost one of her children when he was only a baby.  As any working mother knows, Susannah's days would have been hard slog.

At this point, I'm going to mention this week's prompt in the #52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge: Close Up.  It seems that Susannah would have spent time in the company of smugglers, up close and personal!! 

Smuggling had been rife in Kent during the 18th century and continued on into the 19th.  By the 1820s, Woodchurch was home to quite a number of smugglers from a well-known gang, known as Ransley's Gang.  It's likely Susannah knew them quite well, or at least knew of them.

In 1826, some members of this gang fought with the Revenue on the village green in Woodchurch, but they lost and were captured.  The Bonny Cravat Inn had often been used as a courtroom, and so it was in 1826, when Susannah and her husband ran the inn, that the trial for the captured smugglers happened at the Bonny Cravat.

The men were sentenced to death during the proceedings, and were subsequently hanged by the neck on gallows which apparently stood outside the inn.

What a gruesome sight for all in the village, but particularly for Susannah and her family, with the men likely hanging for days just outside the inn. Talk about up close and personal!



The name 'Bonny Cravat Inn' was and remains a unique name for a pub in England.  No other inn or pub has ever had a similar name.  It's said that the name came from a French fishing boat used as a smuggling vessel. The story goes that the inn was in fact the rendezvous point for smugglers who traded with the French in the early 1700s, using a boat called La Bonne Crevette. The original sign for the inn though apparently said La Bonne Corvette.  So it appears that the inn had been a smuggler's inn for the period from the 1700s to the 1800s, and it also became the place where smugglers were tried and sentenced!

It seems that after twelve years of innkeeping, Susannah and her husband were in severe financial trouble.  There is a note in The London Gazette of late 1837 that shows James petitioning the Court for Relief of Insolvent Debors.  It's interesting to also note that he had started out as a farmer, then became a victualler and farmer, but had most recently been just a victualler.  I think it can be safely assumed that Susannah's husband had lost the farm he had originally owned before they married.  It does all paint a picture of dire straits!

About eighteen months later, Susannah and her husband James were preparing for emigration.  They obviously felt that the chance for a better life far off in the colony of New South Wales was their best option!

There is a parish record that shows Susannah and her family were supported by the Woodchurch Parish with the provision of tickets and attire for the voyage as assisted immigrants to Australia.  In early May Susannah was provided with "1 gown, 1 stiff petticoat, 1 flannel petticoat, 5 shifts, 4 pairs stockings, 3 handkerchiefs, 1 pair shoes, 3 caps", whilst her husband was provided with "attire and ten pounds sterling".   There is no record of any provision for their children.

The family party, which included ...
Susannah, now aged 48;
Her husband James Hukins, aged 47;
Her eldest daughter Elizabeth, aged 24, who was by then married to Edward Dawes and had a son James aged 1;
Son John, aged 22;
Son James, aged 20;
Son Crittenden, aged 18;
Son Adolphus, aged 16;
Daughter Sabina, aged 13;
Daughter Cassandra, aged10;
and daughter Adelaide, aged 7;
all boarded the ship Cornwall at Gravesend on the 7th of May in 1839.

On the emigration record Susannah's occupation was listed as "farm servant", as she was not working as an innkeeper at that time. It appears she was educated as she could read and write. Her father was incorrectly listed as 'Charles Fullagar, innkeeper' when it should have read 'John Fullagar, innkeeper'.  There was never a Charles Fullagar living in Woodchurch and working as an innkeeper.

Susannah's husband James was listed as a 'farm labourer' on the previous page of this record.  Her older sons were listed separately as 'single men'.  John was listed as a 'gardener', James as a 'coachman' and Crittenden (although his name was incorrectly spelt) was listed as a 'groom'.  

Early on May the 12th, the Cornwall set sail for Australia.  The voyage took almost four months, with the ship arriving in Sydney on the 1st of September, 1839.

An excerpt from the Surgeon's Report of the Cornwall stated:

"Sailed from Gravesend on 12th. May 1839 and arrived on 1st. September 1839.  112 Days  On board were: 150 Adult Males. 101 Adult Females. Children: 50 Male;  74 Females; Infants 12.
Nine Males & Nine Females died on board. Main afflictions were Fever, Diarrhoea, Scurvy, & with the children Rubella, Scarlet Fever, Bowel (infection) from the irritation of teething. No one was confined to bed during the last 6 weeks – good state of health on arrival.  Five children born on board."

Sydney Herald (NSW), Monday 2 September 1839, page 2

The Surgeon's report tells of not only the births, deaths and illnesses, but also of the weather conditions.  At the beginning of the voyage there was apparently extremely inclement weather.  The Cornwall experienced squalls, hail storms, and snow storms as it journeyed towards the Bay of Biscay.  It mentions sightings of flying fish, hooking pigeons and albatross when the ship was rounding the Cape of Good Hope.

On the morning of the ship's entry into Port Jackson at Sydney, the Surgeon described his first sight of 'old Sydney town'.  No doubt Susannah would have experienced the same sights.

Sydney Cove 1839

"We entered Sydney Heads, a narrow passage between the high rocky coast, and as soon as the ship rounded the South Head, the most beautiful scenery bursts upon the sight with the Town of Sidney in the distance.

To the right as we enter the Heads is a bay, forming the Quarantine Station.  We beat up the Harbour which is a complete bay of bays, with here and there a small island, the banks are covered with Gentlemen's country seats of every stile of building, interspersed among the thick bush wood, which grows to the very edges of the banks, which are rock stone of the most picturesque formes and appearance; in the centre of the bay soon after entering is a rock, the top of which may be seen at low water mark, called the Sow & Pigs, with a Light Ship near it.

As we proceeded, the town became more exposed to view with the ships lying in the cove, and at 10.30am, we came to a safe anchorage of the Fort which stands on a projecting peak."

I'm not entirely sure what happened to the family upon their disembarkation on September 2nd 1839.  It does appear that they stayed in or close to Sydney for at least a few months as tragically, Crittenden died in 1840 with the place of death recorded as Sydney.  He was aged 19.

Soon after, it's likely that Susannah's husband would have been hired for work by one of the landowners in the colony, because by the late 1840s, Susannah and her family were definitely living and working in the Illawarra district on the New South Wales south coast. 

In 1848, Susannah's husband James is mentioned in an article in the Sydney Morning Herald as being a tenant farmer for a man named Stephen Addison Esq.  Captain Addison was giving a speech at his farewell dinner before he set off for Van Diemen's Land, and stated

"He had come to this district and had settled on what all thought a wilderness - he had greatly improved it, he it was that had given a stimulus to improvement; but if he had not been blessed with such tenants as Mr. James Hukins and family, and ably supported by good neighbours, all he could have done would have availed to nothing."

I have no doubt at all that Susannah, who was no stranger to hard work, would have been ably assisting her husband James with the clearing and working of the land.  She was to be the wife of a tenant farmer for the remainder of her life, which was to be 14 years.

It does appear that Susannah and her husband remained on that farm, named Susan's Hill, until their deaths.

As can be seen in the Death Notice above, Susannah passed away at the farm, Susan's Hill, near a small town called Jamberoo, on the south coast of New South Wales.

She died in 1862, at the age of 71, after "a long and painful illness which she bore with Christian fortitude".  She was survived by her husband James and seven of her children.


Special Note to any family members:  If you have memories to add, photos or information to share, can I graciously ask that you do so.  Please use the comments box below or email me.  It may prove to be invaluable to the story and provide future generations with something to truly treasure.


Extra note:  I'm joining Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks project / challenge.

The prompt for Week 18 is 'Close Up'.

You can join by blogging or posting on social media with the tag #52ancestors.

Check out this FB page:  Amy Johnson Crow