The Story of James Exton

This is the story of my paternal Great Great Great Grandfather James Exton (1816 to 1876).

Map showing Bourne, Lincolnshire

When James was born in October  of 1816 in Bourne, Lincolnshire, his father Edward Exton was 31 and his mother Ann Pearson was aged 36.


James was christened on October 10th at the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Bourne.


It seems that there was already one sibling in the Exton family when James was born.  

The eldest boy Edward had been born in 1814.

William was born in 1819, when James was 3 years old.

Thomas came along in 1822, when James was 6.

There is a story circulating amongst other branches the Exton family tree that Edward Exton, James's father, was a bigamist and married again even though his first wife was still alive.  He supposedly married a lady named Catherine Beeson in 1831 and they had three sons.  Apparently the first was born before the marriage.  Robert was born in 1828.  Charles was born in 1834, and George came along in 1836.



If this was the case, then I do have to wonder where my 3x great grandfather was living throughout this period of time.  Was he still living with his mother, or had his father taken all the children with him when he moved in with his second wife?  I've yet to find evidence of all this, so it's all supposition at this point.

Skipping ahead a few years, my 3x great grandfather James married the year after his supposed step-brother Charles was born.



On the 29th of January 1835, aged just 18, James married Susannah Lancaster.  They were married at All Saints Church, in Fenton, Lincolnshire.

Susannah (my 3x great grandmother) was aged 19 when she married James, and already had a daughter named Harriett.  Harriett had been born back in 1833, but was known as James's daughter for the remainder of her lifetime.

My 3x great grandfather James and my 3x great grandmother Susannah, went on to have nine children over the course of the next 18 years.

Sarah Emily was born in 1835.
Eliza was born in 1837.  James was now aged 21.
Annie came along in 1840.



The census records for 1841 show James Exton, his wife Susannah, and his children Sarah, Eliza and Ann, all living in the village of Manthorpe, in the Parish of Grantham, Lincolnshire.

1841 England, Wales & Scotland Census

James was employed as a farm labourer and was aged 25.

There was also a Sarah Lancaster and a Harriett Lancaster living at the same address.  Sarah was James's sister-in-law, and sister to Susannah.  Harriett was Susannah's daughter, born out of wedlock. 

I'm uncertain whether or not James was Harriett's biological father.  Perhaps he was, and had to wait until the age of 18 to marry Harriett's mother Susannah.  That doesn't explain why though Harriett continued to have her hyphenated name 'Lancaster-Exton' until her wedding day.  It seems likely that she was not James's biological daughter at all, but when James married Susannah, Harriett was to all intents and purposes his daughter from then on.

Daughter Emma was born the year after this 1841 census, in 1842.

There must have been some discontent brewing about their life in England though, as not long after the birth of Emma, James and his wife Susannah decided to risk everything and set sail for the Colonies.

By this time an assisted immigration system had been established in Australia whereby wealthy individuals in the colonies sent agents to places in England to recruit labour.  Those chosen had their passage paid and were promised employment for a period of time upon arrival.  Of course, alongside this was the prospect of a brand new life, far more promising than the life led in their home country.

In March of 1844 James and his family boarded the ship Briton.  Records show it was a ship of 776 tons and it left the port of Liverpool on the 15th of March.  The voyage to Australia lasted for 162 days.

James was listed as being aged 27 and his occupation was 'farm labourer'.  He was travelling with his wife Susannah and five daughters aged from 2 to 12.

Other details from the assisted immigrant passenger list show that James was the son of Edward and Anne, and came from Manthorpe in Lincolnshire.  He could read, but not write and his religion was recorded as Episcopalian.  The amount paid for his fare is recorded at the bottom  £18.7.6.

He had been engaged by James Kenworthy of Richmond River in New South Wales, under the Assisted Immigrants system.




Upon arrival in Sydney on the 22nd of June 1844, the family along with all the other assisted immigrants had to stay on board the ship for about 19 days. This occurred so that the employer and the immigrants were able to meet and sign a memorandum of agreement.

This document shows that James Kenworthy and James Exton signed this agreement on July 17th of 1844.


The memorandum stated that James and his family were engaged to work at Brook Station for 12 months wages at £15 per annum and there would be a weekly ration that included 20 lbs of beef or mutton, 31 lbs of sugar, 20 lbs of flour, 6 ozs of tea and a quantity of milk.


You can see that James, my 3x great grandfather, was unable to write his name and made his mark with a cross instead.



The family joined other immigrants and sailed to the Richmond River on board the Resolution on the 22nd of July, ready to start work for their employer.

Unfortunately, in a cruel twist of fate, James's employer, the said James Kenworthy, died in September of 1844, not long after James and his family had arrived. The property of James Kenworthy was bought by a man named Yabsley and became part of his Coraki property.

My 3x great grandfather James was then left unemployed for a period of time.  Clues about what happened next for James can be found in a short text called "The Richmond River Experiences of Ann King" dictated by the lady herself in 1918.  Ann was the daughter of William King who was employed by a man named Ward Stephens in 1844.

Ann was the daughter of William King who was employed by a man named Ward Stephens to work on his sheep station.

The King family had settled into a hut beside Back Creek by the end of 1844 and after living there for a few months, another family arrived.

This was James Exton, his wife Susannah and his family.

According to this account, James and his family had been working on Tomki station, owned by Clark Irving and run by a Mr. Barnes. 


James had now moved his family and was working for Ward Stephens as well.  He was aged 28.





James and his family settled into life on Ward Stephen's sheep station, living in the old King's family hut for a while and labouring as shepherds, with the ever-present risk of harm by the native Aboriginals in the area.

In an extract taken from an old diary entry by a lady named Magdalen Yabsley, mention is made of James and family, but in particular his wife Susannah, my 3x great grandmother ...

"Later another family was living in the same hut, when the children saw bushes moving. The men were away, but the woman dressed herself in her husband's clothing and showed her gun in front of the hut which deterred the Blacks."  
(diary entries of Magdalen Yabsley recorded on an online website Magdalen by Dorothy Kinny).

James and Susannah went on to have another four children born in Australia.

William was born in 1845.
Thomas came along in 1847.
Elizabeth (known as Betsy) was born in 1849.
Then Lucy was born in 1851.  James was now 34 years of age.

By this time, it seems he was no longer working on a sheep station.  He was now a cedar cutter, working with his son-in-law John Jones.

Harriett, James's step-daughter, had married Jones in 1847 when she was only 14 years old.  This was not uncommon in colonial times, but still does seem rather shocking to me.
Daughter Eliza (my great great grandmother) married in 1852 at the age of 15.
Daughter Sarah was married in 1853, at the age of 18.
Daughter Annie married in 1854, aged 14.
Emma married in 1859 when she was 17.
Elizabeth married in 1866, aged 16.
Thomas married in 1867 when he was 20.
Lucy married in 1868.  She was aged 17.

So it was that all his children, apart from William, had married by the time James was 52 years of age.

As stated earlier, James ceased working as a shepherd / station hand around 1847.  He then worked as a cedar cutter for a little while, but by the early 1850s it appears he had moved on from that form of employment as well.

There is mention of James Exton working alongside the Joneses as a cooper in Louise Tiffany Daley's book 'Men And A River:  Richmond River District  1828-1895.'

The author recounts that these men worked at the stock boiling-down plant on the Richmond River, built at Woram in the early 1850s.  Cattle were slaughtered, then boiled down in massive boilers near the river bank.

"Coopers like James Exton and the Joneses had collected staves for the great casks which stood in rows waiting to hold the tallow when it was cool.  Schooners were moored in the river waiting to carry the casks to Sydney."  (page 57)

At this time, James would have been around 40 years of age.

James died in 1876.  The cause of death was listed as 'natural decay'.  He was survived by 2 sons, 7 daughters and at least 35 grandchildren.

The details of his age, given by his son Thomas, appear to be incorrect.  He was actually aged 59, and died just a couple of months shy of his 60th birthday.

The quote on his headstone reads:

"Whilst on earth I did remain
My latter days were grief and pain
But God whose mercy ever free
Has from my pains released me."

It does sound as if James suffered in the last year or so of his life.  Perhaps all those years of hard physical work caught up with him.

One death notice mentions that James had lived on the Richmond River for over 30 years.

I'm joining the #52Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge this week, and the prompt is:  In The News.

Not many of my ancestors made it into the papers in their day.  Generally, those that did had tiny little items published about family events or things associated with their business.  James Exton and the Exton family however, were the subject of quite a lengthy piece in 1995.

An article titled "Starting Out In A New Land" details the life of James and his family, along with other pioneer immigrants who came out around the same time to the Richmond River area.

The Northern Star, Tues Aug 15, 1995, p13

One of the lines that particularly appealed to me was ...  "The Exton family's story reads like the script for a Wild West movie"!!!

NOTE:  Even though the photo in the Northern Star article is captioned "James Exton", it's believed this is in fact a photo of his son Thomas, and was used incorrectly for the article.

Northern Star (Lismore, NSW : 1876 - 1954), Wednesday 22 July 1925, page 7

Another little gem I've stumbled across during my research was this little item published in the Northern Star in 1925.  William Exton, James's son, was recounting his early life and explained how his father's nickname came about!


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.



I'm joining Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2019 project / challenge.

The prompt for Week 13 of 2019 is 'In the News'.

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

Check out this FB page:  Amy Johnson Crow