Henry Kable, Convict “Friendship” 1788

Henry KABLE (aka CABLE, CABELL) was born c1762 Laxfield, England, UK. He was baptised 26/8/1764 Laxfield, England, UK.

Henry was convicted of buglary (with his father Henry CABEL and Abraham CARMAN) and sentenced to 7 years transportation.

Henry had a relationship with and Susannah HOLMES (they had requested for permission to marry but this was denied 3 times) and they had the following children in England:

• Henry 1786

Henry arrived in Sydney Cove on 26/1/1788 on "Friendship". His partner Susannah and son Henry arrived in on "Charlotte" .

Henry and Susannah were allowed to marry on 10/2/1788 in Sydney Cove (one of the five couples married in the 1st marriage ceremony in Australia)

Once in Australia, Susannah and Henry had the following children

• Diana 1788
• Enoch 1791
• James 1793
• Susannah 1795
• George Esto 1797
• Eunice 1799
• William Nathaniel 1801
• John "Jack" 1802
• Charles Dickenson 1804
• Edgar James 1808

Henry died 16/3/1846 at Windsor

• http://australianroyalty.net.au/individual.php?pid=I49754&ged=purne...
• http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/kable-henry-2285
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Kable
• https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/cable/henry/129207
• http://www.fellowshipfirstfleeters.org.au/henry_kable.htm
• http://www.australian-english-genealogy.com/Henry%20Kable%20and%20S...

  ---

On the 1st. Febuary 1783 Henry Keable the younger (spelt "Cabell" on his Charge Sheet) was convicted at Therford Norfolk of Burglary he was imprisoned in Norwich Castle awaiting transportation. His father and a accomplice Abraham Carman were hanged for their part. On the 13th of May 1787 Henry sailed in the Friendship bound for Botany Bay.

THE MIGRATIONS OF THE KABLE FAMILY.

Henry Kable moved his family to Windsor in 1810. Two sons George and William settled in Bathurst in the 1820's whereas John remained at Portland Head. Georges sons pioneered new territories south and west of Bathurst, and are continuing to do so to this day. Williams sons, and daughter Agnes Maclean journeyed north beyond the Moreton Bay settlement to become Pioneers of the Dawson Valley.

When the first NSW Electoral Roll was published in 1869 there was only one Kable mentioned: George Kable

Piper Street Bathurst. In those days the only persons allowed to vote were those males who had finacial

standing in the community.

From the mid 1870's until the turn of the contury evidence emerges of Kables following the gold trails, for example Edgar and Charles Kable Gulgong 1874 William Kable Cobar 1881, John and Charles Kable Bourke 1892 and Prosper Kable Parkes 1893.At the turn of the Century (nearly 100 years after Henry Left) the Kables began creeping back into Sydney. The first was William Edgar (son of John and Grandson of Henry) who set up a Bakery in Granville from 1892 until his death in 1915. He was quickly followed by his sons and nephews. John, Lloyd, Frederick and Charles, all of whom produced large families which helped to form the basis of the "City Cousins" of today.

Of the 5 couples married in the 1st ceremony (Feb. 10 1788) Henry and Susannah were the only ones to produce descendants in Australia.

THE PRIVATE ENTERPRISE OF HENRY KABLE

When Henry Kable arrived in Sydney Cove, he was already a trusted convict. He had a degree of freedom of the ship during the journey; gained the sympathy of the Reverend Richard Johnson; and was employed as a watchman over Governor Phillip's garden.

In Jun 1788 Henry complained to the Governor, that certain goods bestowed upon him by concerned people in London had been allowed to be pilfered by the Master of the "Alexander" on the voyage. A court was duly set up, wherein the Master, Duncan Sinclair was ordered to pay Henry 15 pounds compensation.

With this money he teamed up with fellow convict James Underwood (a shipwright by trade) and together they built the first ocean-going vessel in the Colony;

The "Contest" (44 tons). Henry and James thus became the first private enterprise partnership in Australia. Two more ships followed the "Governor King" (75 tons) and the "King George" (185 tons). Many other ships were brought and Kable and Underwood engaged in the Sealing trade in Bass Strait. In 1794 Henry became Chief Constable of Sydney, and in 1796 was Keeper of the Gaol, until dismissed in 1802. He remained in the house next to the Gaol. and in 1803 built a 3 story mansion nearby.

His Enterprise expanded when he and Underwood teamed up with Simeon Lord in 1805 to become Kable and Co. They were imprisoned for one month by Governor Bligh in 1807 for disagreeing with his orders. In 1810 Henry Jnr. took over from his father, who took up farming at Windsor.

At the height of his career. Henry was reported as; "Being the proud owner of 25 ships and that at his table a choice of 2 wines was served, and of the best quality." At the time of Henrys death his occupation was stated as Yeoman.

In 1818 Henry was in possession of the "sisters farm" Windsor 250 Acres (Sydney Gazette 1818)

NORWICH CHRONICLE (some time early in the 19th century)

.....gaols were a mixture of squalor, depravity and brutality, and he speaks well for the character as well as the reputation of Kable, that after 3 years he could be described by a writer in the Norwich Chronical as a fine healthy young fellow.

In the same gaol was a female convict, Susannah Holmes, serving a sentence for 15 yrs. transportation for burglary (in the company of her brother and another man.) she and Kable fell in love, and in 1786 she gave birth to his child, a son also named Henry. Henry and the mother were devoted to the child, and Kable asked repeatedly to be allowed to marry her, but without success.

When the child was 5 months old and "a very fine babe which the mother had suckled from birth" tragedy struck the young couple. Orders were received that the female convicts (three in all) in the gaol, were to be taken to Plymouth to join the expedition then fitted out, under Captain Arthur Phillip, to establish a colony in NSW. Kalbe was very distressed when his plea to be allowed to be transported with the mother and child was refused. In November 1786 the three women and the child, under the guard of a turnkey named John Simpson, set out on the long voyage some 300 odd miles, by coach to Plymouth, there to be taken on board the hulk in which they were to await transportation. There was however worse to come. After waiting in an open boat for 3 hours the women were put aboard, but the captain of the hulk refused to allow the child on board, on the grounds that it had no papers. He was adamant in his refussal, despite the pleas of both the mother and Simpson. Finally the mother was dragged weeping bitterly and threaterning to kill herself at the first opportunity, to her cabin, and Simpson was forced to return ashore with the child. Fortunately for the child and his parents, Simpson was a humane man of strong character, and he resolved a direct approach to Lord Sydney, the Home Secretary. He thereupon took the first coach to London, nursing the child all the way, and feeding it as best he could. On arrival at London, he went straight away to the home of Lord Sydney, where he forced his way to the attention of a secretary and persuaded him to make out an order for the restoration of the child to his mother. He then waited in the hall until Lord Sydney came cown the stairs, and begged him to sign the order. it is to the everlasting credit of a nobleman of that period that, instead of having him thrown out, Lord Sydney listened to his story. He was "deeply affected", and not only signed the order, but gave instructions that, the mother was to be informed without delay that her son was being returned to her. He furthermore ordered that Kable was to be transported at the same time, and in the same fleet. Simpson having arranged for the care of the child, hastened to Norwich to break the news to the father.

At the Hawkesbury his farming interest grew, but an attempt to run a stagecoach service failed. In the wider sphere, a whaling and sealing partnership with Underwood and Lord was dissolved in 1809 leaving Kable a legacy of legal battles for his assets. Under protective cover of transfer the Henry Jnr. the Sydney interests were secured, while he gradually strengthened those in the growing town of Windsor.

Kable had swum against the Hawksbury tide in 1808, pledging hes contribution to a fund for sending Macarthur Home to complain of Bligh. But more provoking no doubt was the toughness of his pursuit of outstanding debts; in the aftermath of the 1809 flood some 50 farms were transferred to Kable's name. When visiting the Hawkesbury, Henry stayed with his agent William Mason (this was probably William C.1768-1839

Armagh 1791 Life "Boddingtons 1793. A names sake by the "Royal Admiral however, also a lifer and conditionally pardoned in 1812 cannot be ruled out. Both were in the Windsor-Pitt Town area. and contemporaries sought to distinguish them by the appellations of William the first and William the second.) at Killarney Farm. Once in April 1809, through chafing to return to Sydney he yielded to Mrs. Masons desire that she be conducted with her daughter to Richmond in his chaise. Setting off briskly along the grassy river road, near Bakers Lagoon the vehicle hit a concealed stump and Henry went overboard. The driverless horse took fright and bolted, throwing out the ladies and one of them lay motionless; a wheel had passed over and crushed Mrs. Sarah Mason's back. The Badgerys and William Faithfull passing by were very attentive to the offices of humanity' but when Dr. Mileham arrived the patient was dead in her daughter's arms; she left a disconsolate husband with 6 children.

The Widower, as Kable's chief debt collector, was assisted by Matthew Everingham and Miles Fieldgate from downriver; and maybe the assault charges levelled at Kable and son-in-law Gaudry in 1811 came of their own direct approach. Henry had already tried a milder one, reminding settlers via the Gazette of their promises to pay up at harvest time, promises which seeminglyendured in his memory alone!

In 1811, as lessee of the 350 acre Balmain Estate at McGraths Hill he brought Susannah and her brood to take up residence. But the Kable star was waning, vast landholdings on the Hawkesbury and Nepean notwithstanding; the Geordy, the Hawkesbury or Endeavour lying at the Windsor wharf to take on Kable grain; the partnership with Woodbury in the old Thompson Brewery; the store with exotic merchandise of India and European goods everything it seems from saddlery to perfumery. The brewery closed in 1813, the Hawkesbury preferring hard liquor to Woodbury's excellent beer.

And Henry's affairs on other fronts were shaky, even as he was officiating, along with other well-to-do emancipist's at the 1813 anniversary dinner in Sydney. Later that year the provost-marshal was advertising his property for sale.

A son it seems, in 1814, was fined for working on the Sabbath, but the family was not awaiting proceeds from this illegal employment to by a loaf of bread; there was still sufficient to go by. Henry Jnr. was to make a creditable living from the shipping trade, while others of the family prospered on the Hawkesbury or at Bathurst. Old Henry in 1820 became a committee member of the Windsor Bible Association. Source Early Hawksbury Settlers.

THE CABELLS AND THE COUNTY GAOL.

Norwich Mercury, 8 February 1783; Last week some villains broke into the house of Mrs. Hambling. at Alburgh, near Harleston, in this county and during the absence of the family, who were in this city, stripped it of every moveable, took the hangings from the bed-steads, and even the meat out of the pickle cases: it is supposed they also regaled them-selves with wine, having left several empty bottles behind them. The marks of the feet of horses being seen in the orchard by a neighbour, was what first led to a discovery of the burglary".

Henry Cabell and his father Henry from Mendham in suffolk, and Abraham Carman of Laxfield, were arrested for the break-in and committed to the Castle in Norwich. The following monthe they were conveyed from Norwich to the Assize at Thetford to stand trial. All three were found guilty and condemned to be hanged on the scaffold an the Castle Hill in Norwich. However, Henry Cabell Junior was reprieved and sentenced instead to transportation to America. After the Assize was over they were taken back to Norwich to await their fate. A fornight later on 31st March, Henry's father and Abraham Carman were executed outside the Castle according to their sentence.

In the November of 1783 Susannah Holmes was committed to the Castle for burglary. She had to wait until the following March before coming to trial at Thetford, and there she was given a sentence of death commuted to transportation to America. Before the sentences could be carried out the American Colonies broke away from England's rule and there was no longer anywhere to send the transports. Henry and Susannah and the other prisoners in a similar situation were stranded until an alternative could be found.

Eventually it was decided to send a fleet of convict ships to found a new colony in Australia. However the fleet did not leave until the spring of 1787 so Henry and Susannah remained in the Castle for the intervening years. Those years spent confined in the Castle began a lifelong partnership. John Howard the prison reformer, had visited Norwich Castle in the 1770s and commented on the conditions existing at that time. It is from his report and other contemporary records that we are able to catch glimpses of what life may have been like for Henry and Susannah incarcerated in the old gaol. The prison consisted of the roofless shell of the Norman Keep with a collection of later brick buildings built around its walls. These buildings incorporated the surviving stone dungeons of the original Keep. Drainage and sanitation were almost non-existent and the atmosphere in the gaol on hot summer days must have been extremely unpleasant. In winter it must have been bitterly cold as little sun would have filtered over the top of the high Keep walls down to the felon's yard below. There were fireplaces and fuel available but cold stone dungeons would respond little to the few meagre fires provided by the authorities. A bleak outlook indeed for those forced to live in such surroundings.

In the spring of 1783 when Henry was convicted, the day-to-day running of the gaol was in the hands of the gaoler, George Gynne. In former years the prisoners had complained about the brutal treatment meted out by some of his predecessors but John Howard records that George Gynne was a humane man and respected by his prisoners.

The gaoler received no salary by paid the Under-Sheriff 31pounds 10shillings per annum for his job. At that time few gaolers were paid a salary. They expected to recoup this outlay and make a profit by a system of fees and charges that they levied on the prisoners and magistrates. Every event in the life of the prison was made the subject of a fee. A prisoner paid a fee to the gaoler on coming into prison, and then a fee called "garnish" to his fellow prisoners. He was fitted with a set of leg irons, although if he was rich enough he might pay to have them removed. Almost all felons at the Castle wore irons until the early nineteenth century and Henry was probably no exception. Prisoners were expected to pay for lighting, heating, bedding and most of all any food over and above the meagre rations provided by the county for the relief of poor prisoners. They were issued with a small loaf of bread each day and shared a stone of cheese each week. A prisoner's share would have been very small, especially when the prison was crowded, as it was in February 1786. Then it was ordered by the Justice that an extra stone of chees be provided, presumably because the usual allowance was not enough to kee the prisoners from starvation.

The prisoners were able to make small items such as garters, nets, laces and purses to sell to passers-by through the gratings of the day rooms on the east side of the Castle. By this means they were able to earn a little money for extra food and, perhaps, beer or wine available from the gaoler. In connection with these earnings we come across John Simpson, the turnkey, whoes efforts before the fleet set sail enabled Henry and Susannah to leave together with their child. In 1786 the justices awarded Simpson one shilling in the pound out of the prisoners's earnings, so he must have kept a close eye on the prisoners and their transactions and, no doubt, got to know Henry and Susannah very well.

If a prisoner was rich and could afford to live in the better rooms on what was called the Master's side of the gaol, then life might be made tolerable. If he was poor, then he lived in the squalid dungeons on the Common side and survived as best he could on charity and his wits. The weekly rent for the best rooms was painted above the doors and an extract from Howard's report describes the fees as follows:

"For chamber rent where the gaoler finds bedding and linen and a prisoner hath a bed to himself or herself, per week 2 shillings. Where there are two in a bed not exceeding per week 1s.6d. Where there are three in a bed not exceeding per week each prisoner 6d."

If you had no money for bedding and could not obtain any by other means, then you slept on the floor. Life could be unbearable if that floor was in the dungeon described by Howard as being".....down a ladder of 8 steps, for men felons; in which has been sometimes and inch or tow of water..."

Even in this apparently hostile environment there were opportunities for those with the ability to exploit them. In fact the gaoler would have relied to a certain extent on trusted prisoners to help run the gaol and would have given them special treatment as reward for their co-operation. Perhaps Henry was a trusty. If he was it would have helped towards his survival and later sympathetic treatment by the authorities in keeping his family together.

Whatever their circumstances were Henry and Susannah seemed to have the knack for survival. Despite the squalid conditions they emerged after three years with their health intact. During the day there was no segregation of the sexes in the old Castle yard or dayrooms although it seems likely that they were locked up separately at night.

Because of the free association possible between all classes of prisoner at that time, Henry and Susannah would have come to know each other very well. Their relationship grew, and in 1786 a few months before the first fleet set sail for Australia, their eldest son Henry was born.

During the period of their imprisonment there were some changes made. A bathhouse had been built up against the wall in the north west corner of the yard. An improvement, no doubt, but probably little used at the time and not used at all thirty years later. Washing was not a high priority in eighteenth century gaols. A pump had also been provided in the prison yard so that drinking water was readily available to the prisoners. New regulations for the prison were drawn up, perhaps in response to the criticisms made by John Howard. There was a move to reduce the profit motive of the prison staff and thereby hope to end the corruption in the system. The licence to sell wine and beer to the prisoners previously granted to the gaoler was withdrawn and several of his other fees and perks were stopped. In lieu of the income from the licence and fees, George Gynne was paid a salary of 200 pounds beginning in 1785. His vested interested in the prison was lessened but did not end there as he still continued to sell some comforts to the prisoners, but the survival of the felons was less dependent on their financial circumstances and this was a welcome improvement.

Amongst all these reforms, one thing did not improve and that was the state of the buildings which in 1785 were declared unfit for properly keeping prisoners. A year after this declaration on 26th October 1786 Elizabeth Puiley, Susannah Holmes and her baby son Henry, and Ann Turner, were taken from the Castle, ultimately to join the first fleet of convict ships being assembled off Portsmouth. They were taken first to Plymouth to board a prison hulk to await transportation. However when they arrived, the captain refused to allow Susannah to take her son with her as he had no papers for the boy. John Simpson, the trunkey who had accompanied them from Norwich, was outraged by this callous behaviour and took the child to London to petition Lord Sydney, Colonial Secretary, for papers for the child. His efforts were rewarded and Lord Sydney granted his request, and further ruled that Henry Cabell, still in the Castle in Norwich, should be brought to join them in Plymouth. So the family was reunited and after a long voyage the ships arrived in Australia to found the new colony. Soon after their arrival Henry and Susannah were married in the first wedding ceremony held in Australia on 10th February 1788. Their family went from strength to strength, surviving the precarious early years of the colony, and the descendants of their children still live and thrive there today.

What of Norwich Castle? The dingy, foul smelling dungeons were at the end of their life and soon after Henry and Susannah left Norwich, plans were drawn up for a new gaol. In 1792-3 the old buildings were swept away and new buildings were erected in the shell of the old Keep.

By. Nick Arber, Norfolk Museums Service June 1897.

HENRY KABLE'S LANDHOLDINGS.

1794 - Granted 30 Acres at Petersham

1795 - Granted 15 1/2 Acres at Petersham (approx Summer Hill Railway Station)

1796 - Purchased 100 Acres at Petersham from occupiers Thomas Rowden J. Jones F.McKewen and J. Butcher

1803 - Granted a lease of 67 1/2 rods for 14 years on the north side of the goal

1804 - Granted 30 Acres at "Bulanaming" (south of Petersham) by Governor King

1809 - Granted 84 1/2 rods High Street Sydney

1809 - Windsor allotment on road from Howe's Bridge north from George Street South by Macquarie Street given to him by Governor Macquarie. Note Kable Street Windsor

1810 - Granted 200 Acres at Airds, on the Nepean River

1810 - Granted 300 Acres at Minto on the old Hume Highway - known as "Holmes Farm"

1813 - 100 Acres grant at Bathurst in exchange for land a Petersham given up to make the Liverpool Road

1815 - Granted 45 1/4 rods plus 4 cows as renumeration for a plot of ground in Windsor given up to make the general hospital

1825 - Purchased 60 Acres at Pitt Town the grant of William Douglas. (Henry's final residence where he remained until his death in 1846)

NEWSPAPER ADDS BY HENRY KABLE.

Sydney Gazette August 18, 1810

Lost from Mr. Kables stock at Long Cove, a young red cow with a white star in the forehead and a white mark over one of the eyes - also a black bull - calf of twelve months old. Any person restoring the above shall receive two guineas reward for the cow (which is supposed to have calved since being missing) and one guinea for the calf. Some information having been given where such strayed cattle are supposed to be, any person with holding them after this advertisement will be prosecuted with the utmost vigour.

Sydney Gazette August 11, 1810

Mr. Henry Kable has to acquaint the Government, the Military and the Public committees that merchants ship owners families and the public in general that having erected a commodious building for the purpose of baking bread and biscuit which will be opened on Monday where they may rely upon every attention being paid to any orders that may be received upon the most reasonable terms, having every advantage of a good windmill and baker, in addition to asubstantial bakehoust. NB> Should the grain be required of Mr. Kable for baking as above a timely notice is requested.

Sydney Gazette July 14, 1810

Mr. Kable wishing to accommodate all such persons residing at the Hawkesbury as stand endebted to him and preclude any excuse for not liquidating the same informs all such the Sound Maize will be taken at Four Shillings per bushel which will be received at the following houses - Viz Mr. Matthew Everingham and Mr. Benjamin Carver from the Green Hills and Mr. Miles Fieldgate down the river Hawkesbury each of which will give receipts for any payments made to him on his account and Mr. Kable thus publicly assures all those persons so indebted who do not avail themselves of this opportunity that the most speedy and efffectual method will be adopted to enforce the same.

From the book The Secord Fleeters, an artical re. Sarah Woolley.

On 12 April 1809 Sarah asked the local Buisnessman Henry Kable Senior to take her for a drive from Green Hills (Windsor) to Richmond for the sake of her health.

Accompanied by her eldest daughter, Elizabeth, they set off by the riverside road. The Chaise struck a concealed stump near Mackellars Creek throwing Kable to the ground. The women screamed at the jerk, causing the horse to bolt, trowing them as well. Sarah said one of the wheels of the vehicle had passed over her back (further details in the book.)

From "The Breweries of Australia: A History" by Deith M. deutsher, page 84.

Kable's Brewere 1811-1830

At the beginning of 1811 Henry Kable and Richard Woodbury built a large and well-equipped brewery on a 2 acre block of land, with a freshwater creek flowing alongside. the complex consisted of a brick Brewery, malthouse, kiln, granary and a comfortable house. In keeping with the custom of the period, Kable & Woodbury advised all and sundry, by card, of their superior products and terms of trading.

Richard Woodbury retired in 1816 and sold his interest to his partner. By 1820 the management had been taken over by Henry kable's son George who ran the business untill the late 1820's or early 1830's.

A note received on the Net from Janice and Alan at adoughty01@optusnet.com.au

The side of the Regent Hotel is on the original site of The Old Gaol and part of the home site of Henry Kable, on the rest of the Kable site is the overhead roadway of the Cahill expressway.

Kable's home was on the corner of Brown Bear Land and Major's Row (later Lower George Street) his residence was directly opposite the home of George Johnston as per a mop of the town dated 1803-1810. On a later map of Old Sydney Town dated 1844-1848, the Old Gaol site is still there, however there are no buildings shown to be still standing on the site of the Old Goal. Henry Kable's property on this map is now a pub called "Rose of Australia" and on the opposite north corner is the pub Brown Bear.

From website - family tree of unknown source:

Henry had a Flour Mill at Windsor. Hired Convicts, and is how John Teale met Henry's daughter Diana.

Mill's name: Endevour Mill, and also called Fairy Dell Flour Mill

Per internet random persons tree - Married Susanna in 1788 In Sydney. Makes them first settlers?

KABLE, HENRY (1763-1846), businessman, was convicted of burglary at Thetford, Norfolk, England, on 1 February 1783 and sentenced to death. This was commuted to transportation for fourteen years to America, but he remained in prison until he embarked in the transport Friendship, in which he sailed in the First Fleet to New South Wales. On 10 February 1788 he married Susannah Holmes, a convict from the same village, who had already borne him a son. Before the young couple left England certain people, moved by their plight, had subscribed £20 to buy them a parcel of goods which Rev. Richard Johnson was to give them on their arrival in the penal colony. The gift was plundered on the voyage, but Kable won damages of £15 against the ship's captain in the first civil suit heard in New South Wales. This oddity may have brought Kable to the governor's notice, although Kable later claimed to have had influential letters of recommendation, for soon afterwards Governor Arthur Phillip appointed him an overseer. Three years later he was made a constable and nightwatchman, and a further three years service saw him elevated to chief constable: but he was dismissed in 1802 for misbehaviour, after being convicted for breaches of the port regulations and illegally buying and importing pigs from a visiting ship.

Kable's business activities were to keep him in comparative affluence for at least the next ten years. His early activities as a trader, probably as a middleman between the trading officers of the New South Wales Corps and the consumer, are suggested by his possession of capital sufficient to take part in the sealing industry on a considerable scale after 1800. He was also one of seventy signatories to a petition to Governor John Hunter from creditors who were anxious to prevent debtors from frustrating their demands by legal delays.

Kable's association with the emancipist boatbuilder James Underwood dated from at least as early as July 1800, for in that month he signed a partnership agreement with Underwood and a mariner resident in Sydney, Samuel Rodman Chace, who was to command Kable & Underwood's sloop Diana in sealing expeditions to Bass Strait. The agreement envisaged the working-up of sealskins into leather for boots and shoes. The partnership was to last two years, with Chace spending the coming year at Cape Barren or on other sealing grounds. The association with Chace proved transient but Kable and Underwood remained partners until 1809. At first they exported sealskins in ships controlled by Robert Campbell and his Calcutta partners who had an agent in Canton, but the depressed state of the China market persuaded them to join forces with Simeon Lord who had a valuable London connexion, T. W. & J. Plummer and Co., through which they could market their skins and oil. During the next two years Kable acted as 'ships' husband' to Lord, Kable & Underwood (Lord & Co.). The firm was involved in a wide range of speculations, including whaling, sealing, sandalwood and wholesale and retail trading, but Lord withdrew in 1808, Underwood split from Kable in 1809 and the firm dissolved in a welter of law suits not finally settled until 1819.

Like Lord and other early Sydney entrepreneurs, Kable always had a substantial landholding as a kind of 'sheet anchor'. He had been granted farms at Petersham Hill in 1794 and 1795, and in the latter year bought out four near-by grantees within a week of their grants being signed. In 1807 he owned at least four farms of about 170 acres (69 ha); in 1809 in addition he held five farms at the Hawkesbury and 300 acres (121 ha) at the Cowpastures, with a variety of real estate in Sydney itself including his comfortable house and extensive stores. He also had 40 horned cattle, 9 horses and 40 pigs. His business reputation seems to have been dubious, for he was regarded with distrust by Governor King and with active hostility by Governor William Bligh who thought him and his partners fraudulent and had them imprisoned for a month and fined each £100 for sending him a letter 'couched in improper terms'. It is certain that Kable played no part in public life comparable with Lord's multifarious activities. His commercial career in Sydney seems to have ended soon after Lord & Co. broke up, for as early as February 1810 he announced that his son Henry had taken over the entire management of his Sydney affairs.

In 1811 Kable moved to Windsor where he operated a store and brewery, the latter in association with a partner, Richard Woodbury, and his Sydney warehouse was let to Michael Hayes. In 1812 he was sending wheat down the Hawkesbury consigned to Robert Campbell junior, perhaps partly his own growth, partly the fruits of barter for his beer. He was never again a prominent businessman, although he signed a petition in distinguished commercial company for the granting of an auctioneer's licence to William Baker of Windsor in 1821. Evidence collected by Commissioner John Thomas Bigge in 1820 shows that, while he had once owned 700 acres (283 ha) by grant and a further 250 (101 ha) by purchase, he then held only ninety acres (36 ha) and a further thirty acres (12 ha) as a tenant.

Kable's commercial career cannot really be considered separately from James Underwood's, and it was of little significance compared with Simeon Lord's. In combination with these two, Kable did much to pioneer sealing and shipbuilding in New South Wales, but it was Lord who marketed the skins and Underwood who built the ships; yet Kable's achievements were remarkable for a man who could barely sign his name and had no other claim to literacy than his ability to add a column of figures.

From Australian Dictonary of Biography:

Kable, in his own words, 'reared ten children'. At least two of them, Henry junior and James, were mariners, commanding vessels owned wholly or in part by their father. James was murdered by Malay pirates in the Straits of Malacca on a return voyage from China about 1810, but Henry remained prominent in Sydney mercantile circles for some time after his father withdrew to Windsor. There are some signs that the elder Kable may have transferred much of his property to his eldest son to avoid having to pay a judgment of £12,000 awarded to Lord in 1811. The property probably included the schooner Geordy which Henry junior owned jointly with William Gaudry who had married Kable's daughter in 1809, and the schooner Endeavour, of which Henry junior was sole owner, and which he employed in the Tahitian pork trade in 1812. A third son, John, known as 'Young Kable', was a prominent pugilist of the 1820s. Susannah Kable died on 8 November 1825, aged 63, but Henry, who was described as a farmer at Pitt Town in the 1828 census, survived her for twenty-one years and died on 16 March 1846 at the age of 84.

Henry KABLE/CABLE/CABELL (c1776-1846) was sentenced to death at Thetford, Norfolk 14/3/1783, with his father, of Mendham, Suffolk, for house theft. His father was hanged and his sentence commuted to 7 years. He was gaoled at the castle of Norwich to await transportation. There he met Susannah Holmes who bore him a son Henry (junior) in prison in early 1786. They were both sent to hulk Dunkirk, without their son, on 5 November 1786. After the intervention of the chairman of quarter sessions for the county they were all reunited on the Dunkirk on 15 November 1786. The three were embarked on the Friendship on 11 March 1787. At the Cape of Good Hope Susannah and her son were put on board the Charlotte to make way for livestock.

As soon as they arrived in Sydney Cove Susannah and Henry were married, being one of the first marriages in the colony, on 10/2/1788.

Kable became a night watchman by early 1791 and was granted 30 acres at Petersham. He operated the Rambling Horn in 1798 and was appointed chief constable in 1799.

By 1806 Kable had a comfortable estate of 215 acres.

He, Simeon Lord and James Underwood built ships and traded in sealskin, using the sloop Diana. They skinned up to 30,000 seals per year. They also entered the rum trade progressing to iron, timber and other goods.

Kable opposed Governor Bligh in the rum rebellion.

Kable, after a remarkable life, died on 16 March 1846 at Windsor Sydney. He was buried in St Matthew's Church.

Information extracted from:

1 GILLEN, Mollie. The Founders of Australia.

2 HUGHES, Robert. The Fatal Shore.

--------------------------
In 1798 Henry KABLE, a First Fleet convict, opened a hotel called the Ramping Horse, from which he ran the first stage coach in Australia. In 1968, on the 180th anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet, more than a hundred descendants of Henry and Susannah Kable met in Sydney to honour them as the heads of one of Australia's founding families. It was the first reunion to acknowledge convict ancestry.

Henry was tried at Norfolk Lent Assizes in 1783 held at Thetford beginning on Friday 14 March 1783 before Sir James Eyre Knt. and Fleetwood Bury Esq. The charge was that: "Abraham Carman Labourer and Henry Cabell the elder Labourer Henry Cabell the Younger Labourer: 1st February last at Aldburgh about 12 in the night Burg. Dwelling house of Abigail Hambling

They were found guilty by a jury and sentenced to be hanged by the neck until he be dead. Reprieve not recorded. 7 years. Henry was imprisoned at Norwich Castle gaol in Norfolk. That same year, Susannah Holmes, also convicted of theft, was incarcerated there. Although they applied for permission to marry three times, each time the Governor refused. Eventually Susannah gave birth to a baby boy in the Castle, to be named Henry like his father and paternal grandfather. In Nov 1786, Susannah and her baby, with a number of other female prisoners were taken to Plymouth to join the hulks. Some months afterwards, Susannah, baby Henry with others, were rowed over to the transport ship 'Charlotte' in the charge of the Turnkey John Simpson. Captain Thomas Gilbert, the skipper of the Charlotte, angrily refused permission for the young child to come aboard, saying there were no papers for him. The good hearted Simpson returne to shore with the baby Henry and hurried off by coach to London to plead with the Home Secretary, Lord Sydney. Sydney agreed that the mother and her child should be reunited; he also arranged for the father to sail with them on the First Fleet. A London newspaper printed the story. A public subscription raised 20 pounds which was used to buy books, clothing and comforts. These gifts were to be handed over to Susannah on arrival in the colony. While Susannah and her child sailed on the Charlotte, Henry boarded the ship 'Friendship'. The first fleet sailed into Botany Bay and then into Port Jackson. On 24 Jan 1788, Henry transferred from the Friendship to the Supply to take part in the first landing at Sydney Cove. When the couple came forward to claim their gifts it was found that the clothing and comforts were missing. On 1 Jul 1877, Henry sued the Master of the Alexander, Captain Duncan Sinclair, for the loss of the goods, in the first lawsuit to be held in the colony. Henry won his case, receiving 15 pounds for damages. Henry and Susannah were one of five couples married in the first marriage ceremony in Sydney Cove on 10 Feb 1788.,

He was appointed night watchman over Governor Phillip's cabbage patch. Two years later he was overseer of the Nightwatch. In 1794 Henry had been promoted to Chief Constable of the gaol and placedd in a house convenient for a person in his position. He was dismissed in 1802 for misbehaviour after being convicted for breaches of the port regulations and illegally buying and importing pigs from a visiting ship.

Occupation: Sealing Industry between 1800 and 1809 (Age 38)
Note: Henry took part on the sealing industry on a considerable scale after 1800. He signed a partnership agreement with James Underwood and Samuel Rodman Chace, who was to command Kable and Underwood's ship 'Diana' in sealing expeditions to Bass Strait. The association with Chase proved transient, but Kable and Underwood remained partners until 1809 when they split amdst a welter of law suits that were not finally settled until 1819. Whilst still in partnership, Kable and Underwood were involved in trading seal skins, seal oil, sandalwood and whaling.

Property between 1794 and 1810 (Age 32)

Note: Henry was granted farms at Petersham in 1794 and 1795 which he named 'Sunning Hill', and in the latter year bought out four nearby grantees within a week of their grants being signed. 1807 he owned at least for farms of about 170 acres. In 1809 he held five farms at the and 300 acres at the Cowpastures, with a variety of real estate in Sydney including his comfortable house and extensive stores. He also had 40 horned cattle, 9 horses and 40 pigs. In 1810 he announced that his son Henry was to take over his entire management of his Sydney affairs.

Occupation  Windsor, Hawkesbury, New South Wales, Australia, 1811 (Age 49)

Note: Henry moved to Windsor in 1811 where he operated a store and brewery, the latter in association with a partner Richard Woodbury. In 1812 he was sending wheat down the consigned to Robert Campbell junior. He was never again a prominent businessman, although he signed a petition in distinguished commercial company for the granting of an auctioneer's licence to William Baker of Windsor in 1821

KABLE, HENRY (1763-1846), businessman, was convicted of burglary at Thetford, Norfolk, England, on 1 February 1783 and sentenced to death. This was commuted to transportation for fourteen years to America, but he remained in prison until he embarked in the transport Friendship, in which he sailed in the First Fleet to New South Wales. On 10 February 1788 he married Susannah Holmes, a convict from the same village, who had already borne him a son. Before the young couple left England certain people, moved by their plight, had subscribed £20 to buy them a parcel of goods which Rev. Richard Johnson was to give them on their arrival in the penal colony. The gift was plundered on the voyage, but Kable won damages of £15 against the ship's captain in the first civil suit heard in New South Wales. This oddity may have brought Kable to the governor's notice, although Kable later claimed to have had influential letters of recommendation, for soon afterwards Governor Arthur Phillip appointed him an overseer. Three years later he was made a constable and nightwatchman, and a further three years service saw him elevated to chief constable: but he was dismissed in 1802 for misbehaviour, after being convicted for breaches of the port regulations and illegally buying and importing pigs from a visiting ship.

Kable's business activities were to keep him in comparative affluence for at least the next ten years. His early activities as a trader, probably as a middleman between the trading officers of the New South Wales Corps and the consumer, are suggested by his possession of capital sufficient to take part in the sealing industry on a considerable scale after 1800. He was also one of seventy signatories to a petition to Governor John Hunter from creditors who were anxious to prevent debtors from frustrating their demands by legal delays.

Kable's association with the emancipist boatbuilder James Underwood dated from at least as early as July 1800, for in that month he signed a partnership agreement with Underwood and a mariner resident in Sydney, Samuel Rodman Chace, who was to command Kable & Underwood's sloop Diana in sealing expeditions to Bass Strait. The agreement envisaged the working-up of sealskins into leather for boots and shoes. The partnership was to last two years, with Chace spending the coming year at Cape Barren or on other sealing grounds. The association with Chace proved transient but Kable and Underwood remained partners until 1809. At first they exported sealskins in ships controlled by Robert Campbell and his Calcutta partners who had an agent in Canton, but the depressed state of the China market persuaded them to join forces with Simeon Lord who had a valuable London connexion, T. W. & J. Plummer and Co., through which they could market their skins and oil. During the next two years Kable acted as 'ships' husband' to Lord, Kable & Underwood (Lord & Co.). The firm was involved in a wide range of speculations, including whaling, sealing, sandalwood and wholesale and retail trading, but Lord withdrew in 1808, Underwood split from Kable in 1809 and the firm dissolved in a welter of law suits not finally settled until 1819.

Like Lord and other early Sydney entrepreneurs, Kable always had a substantial landholding as a kind of 'sheet anchor'. He had been granted farms at Petersham Hill in 1794 and 1795, and in the latter year bought out four near-by grantees within a week of their grants being signed. In 1807 he owned at least four farms of about 170 acres (69 ha); in 1809 in addition he held five farms at the Hawkesbury and 300 acres (121 ha) at the Cowpastures, with a variety of real estate in Sydney itself including his comfortable house and extensive stores. He also had 40 horned cattle, 9 horses and 40 pigs. His business reputation seems to have been dubious, for he was regarded with distrust by Governor King and with active hostility by Governor William Bligh who thought him and his partners fraudulent and had them imprisoned for a month and fined each £100 for sending him a letter 'couched in improper terms'. It is certain that Kable played no part in public life comparable with Lord's multifarious activities. His commercial career in Sydney seems to have ended soon after Lord & Co. broke up, for as early as February 1810 he announced that his son Henry had taken over the entire management of his Sydney affairs.

In 1811 Kable moved to Windsor where he operated a store and brewery, the latter in association with a partner, Richard Woodbury, and his Sydney warehouse was let to Michael Hayes. In 1812 he was sending wheat down the Hawkesbury consigned to Robert Campbell junior, perhaps partly his own growth, partly the fruits of barter for his beer. He was never again a prominent businessman, although he signed a petition in distinguished commercial company for the granting of an auctioneer's licence to William Baker of Windsor in 1821. Evidence collected by Commissioner John Thomas Bigge in 1820 shows that, while he had once owned 700 acres (283 ha) by grant and a further 250 (101 ha) by purchase, he then held only ninety acres (36 ha) and a further thirty acres (12 ha) as a tenant.

Kable's commercial career cannot really be considered separately from James Underwood's, and it was of little significance compared with Simeon Lord's. In combination with these two, Kable did much to pioneer sealing and shipbuilding in New South Wales, but it was Lord who marketed the skins and Underwood who built the ships; yet Kable's achievements were remarkable for a man who could barely sign his name and had no other claim to literacy than his ability to add a column of figures.

Kable, in his own words, 'reared ten children'. At least two of them, Henry junior and James, were mariners, commanding vessels owned wholly or in part by their father. James was murdered by Malay pirates in the Straits of Malacca on a return voyage from China about 1810, but Henry remained prominent in Sydney mercantile circles for some time after his father withdrew to Windsor. There are some signs that the elder Kable may have transferred much of his property to his eldest son to avoid having to pay a judgment of £12,000 awarded to Lord in 1811. The property probably included the schooner Geordy which Henry junior owned jointly with William Gaudry who had married Kable's daughter in 1809, and the schooner Endeavour, of which Henry junior was sole owner, and which he employed in the Tahitian pork trade in 1812. A third son, John, known as 'Young Kable', was a prominent pugilist of the 1820s. Susannah Kable died on 8 November 1825, aged 63, but Henry, who was described as a farmer at Pitt Town in the 1828 census, survived her for twenty-one years and died on 16 March 1846 at the age of 84.

GEDCOM Note

1/2/1783: Henry Keable the younger (spelt “Cabell on his charge sheet) was convicted at Thetford, Norfolk, of burglary: Sentenced to death, commuted to 14yrs transportation. He was imprisoned in Norwich Castle, awaiting transportation.

His father (also Henry) and an accomplice Abraham Carmen were hanged for their part.
Met Susannah at Norwich Castle. 13/5/1778: Henry sailed on the “Friendship”, bound for BotanyBay. Carried Capt Arthur Phillip ashore. Henry and Susannah were married (with 4 others) in first marriage ceremony at Sydney 2 weeks after landing (10/02/1788). Moved to Windsor with family in 1810. Sons, George & William settled in Bathurst 1820's, John remained at Portland Head. Georges sons pioneered new territories Sth & West of Bathurst. Williams sons and daughter journeyed Nth beyond Morton Bay and pioneered Dawson Valley. William Edgar moved to Granville, set up bakery from 1892-1915.

7 Apr 2020 Loving Felons (Part 1) Posted on October 14, 2015 by William Savage

https://penandpension.com/2015/10/14/loving-felons-part-1/

Figure 1 Norwhich Castle keep where Henry Cabell and Susannah Holmes were incarcerated

Crime, Punishment and Pregnancy In Britain during the eighteenth century methods of dealing with criminal behaviour, especially by the poor, were usually harsh to the point of brutality. It’s refreshing to be able to tell a different kind of story; one in which compassion, kindness and commonsense triumphed over all the odds to allow two young people to make a fresh start, albeit on the other side of the world.

The story of Susannah Holmes and Henry Cabell or Kabel is far better known in Australia than it is in Britain today. Thus it will bear re-telling here, especially since it begins in Norwich Castle. To do justice to all the twists and turns, I will split it into three parts.

Transportation – a Solution With Problems In an earlier posting I wrote about the Georgian obsession with the death penalty and the belief that criminals were more often born than made. Nevertheless, only a fraction of those sentenced to death were executed. Far more had their sentences commuted to various periods of transportation to a penal colony. America had long been the chosen recipient of Britain’s unwanted ‘criminal classes’. However, the founders of the United States, traitors and rebels in British eyes, had no place for Britain’s criminals. Transportation came to a halt when the War of Independence started in 1776. For a while, some in the British government still hoped the American colonists might be persuaded (or compelled) to renew allegiance to the British Crown. The Peace of Paris in 1783, by which the thirteen American colonies finally won their independence from Britain, ended that hope.

In the interim, felons were still sentenced to transportation to America, then held in British gaols until the sentence might be carried out. Finally, in December 1785 the Principal Secretary of State [Home Secretary in modern parlance], Thomas Townsend, Viscount Sydney, adopted the recommendation of Captain Cook to establish a Penal Colony in New South Wales. Arthur Phillip was commissioned to establish the settlement at Botany Bay.

A fleet of convict ‘settlers’ was quickly organised. The lack of forethought given to it was breath-taking. The convicts selected were overwhelming urban, mostly from London. Few had even the most basic knowledge of farming or producing food, though it would be impossible to supply the colony from Britain, or anywhere else in the empire,. They would have to survive or die trying. At the last moment, someone also grasped a simple fact: an all-male group would never survive or establish a colony. Aside from any considerations of creating new colonists, in a world of strict division between men’s and women’s work, women were essential to cook, clean, sew and undertake all other domestic chores. An urgent call therefore went out to prisons all around Southern England to supply suitable female felons for immediate transportation to Botany Bay. One of the women selected was Susannah Holmes, then aged 22. She was being held in the Norfolk county gaol at Norwich Castle awaiting transportation for theft.

Susannah Holmes Susannah Holmes came from Surlingham in the Norfolk Broads, about 6½ miles (10½ km) south-east of Norwich on the south bank of the River Yare between Bramerton and Rockland St Mary. She was baptised in the parish church there on March 6th, 1764. On 13th November 1783, aged nineteen, she stole linen valued at 53 shillings from Jabez Taylor at Thurlton, some nine miles away. The value of what she stole (53 shillings) guaranteed a death sentence on conviction: “13th February last about twelve in the night at Thurlton borough at the residence of Jaboz [sic] Taylor stealing one pair of linen sheets valued at 10 shillings. 1 linen gown valued at 5 sh. 1 linen shift valued at 2 sh. 4 yards irish linen cloth value 6 shillings 3 linen handkerchiefs value 3 sh. 1 silk handkerchief value 2 sh. 3 muslin neckcloths value 18 pence 2 black cloaks value 10 sh. 2 silver tablespoons value 2 sh. goods of said Jaboz Taylor.” [1]

Her trial was held at Thetford Assizes before Mr. Justice Nares. There she was found guilty and duly noted sentenced to death because of the number and value of the goods she had stolen (53s.). However, as was usual with female felons, the sentence was commuted to fourteen years transportation to America. This sentence could not, of course, be carried out, so she was sent to the gaol at Norwich to wait until the authorities found somewhere else to send members of the ‘criminal classes’ like her. There she met Henry Cabell.

Henry Cabell Henry Cabell [2] had been in Norwich gaol since being condemned to death in 1783, aged 17, then reprieved on the grounds of his age and sentenced to transportation to a penal colony instead. The Cabells seem to have been a criminal clan on a large scale. Henry, from Medham in Suffolk, had been convicted of housebreaking along with his father, Henry senior, his father’s friend, Abraham Carman, and another young man, named Abraham Jacob. Early in 1783, they had broken into the house of Mrs Abigail Hambling and stolen ‘several feather beds and divers other articles’. According to the report in the Norfolk Chronicle[3]:

“Last week some villains broke into the house of Mrs Hambling at Alburgh, near Harleston, in this county and during the absence of the family, who were in this city, stripped it of every movable, taking the hangings from the bedsteads, and even the meat out of the pickle casks; it is supposed they also regaled themselves with wine, having left several empty bottles behind them. The marks of the feet of horses being seen in the orchard by a neighbour, was what first lead to a discovery of the burglary.”

Henry senior and Carman were caught at Carman’s house after a serious struggle. Young Henry escaped, but was picked up a few days later at Yoxford, near Southwold on the Suffolk coast.:

“Last Sunday Mr. Triggs, constable of Alburgh with 3 assistants went to the house of Abraham Carman in order (by warrant from the Magistrate) to search for the effects lately stolen out of the dwelling house of Abigail Hambling. Their approach, having been discovered by one of the gang they found the doors fastened and discovered several persons employed in burning various articles of linen etc. In a short time the door was broken open and on entering the house they were attacked by Abraham Carman and also by Henry Cabell the elder, Henry Cabell the younger and by a man named Abraham Jacobs of the East Suffolk Militia. A severe combat took place in which Mr Triggs, the constable received a terrible cut to his head and was otherwise much hurt. In all probability Mr Trigg and his assistants would have been overpowered but for the timely assistance afforded them by some other persons who came to their aid. Carman and the elder Cabell were secured but the other two escaped. A few things belonging to Mrs. Hambling were then found, but on further search next morning a vault was discovered in which three sacks were deposited containing a great quantity of linen and household furniture belonging to the said Mrs Hambling. The elder two men were committed to the Castle and confessed to having committed the robbery along with the two younger men. They also acknowledged having broken open many barns and stolen large quantities of grain to a variety of other thefts and robberies particularly sheep, pig and fowl stealing – in fact in the house was found a whole sheep together with a number of skins. Soon after the two were captured, at the assizes they were all found guilty and condemned to death. The elder two were hanged on the Castle Hill but the younger two were reprieved and kept in the castle.” [4]

The trial judge, Baron Eyre, wrote the standard letter seeking the King’s mercy on behalf of all the younger men condemned to death, including Henry and fourteen others convicted at the Norfolk Lent Assizes in 1783. Henry’s father and Carman were not included. They were hanged outside Norwich gaol on Saturday, 5 April 1783. Young Henry’s death sentence had been commuted to seven years transportation, so he stayed in the prison at Norwich, since there was nowhere to transport him to.

In Norwich Gaol Henry and Susannah had been in Norwich Castle for three years. Since prisoners were allowed to mix and were not segregated by gender, it was hardly surprising that a good many relationships were formed. Most were casual. In the case of Henry and Susannah though, a child was born, Henry junior, and this seemed to have turned the relationship into something far deeper and more permanent. Norwich Castle gaol was a makeshift affair. The mediaeval castle had been converted to a gaol by building rough shelters for the inmates in the ruins of the keep. Similar shelters stood against the castle walls. According to the prison reformer John Howard, who visited the prison at about this time, the gaoler, George Glynne, was a humane man. Although prisoners were shackled some of the time, they were also allowed to mix. There was also a great deal of contact between the prisoners and the outside world, since prisoners relied on family and friends bringing them food or money to supplement their rations. They were supposed to get a basic food allowance, but in practice almost everything had to be bought or obtained by bribes. That was how the gaoler and turnkeys made their income, since they received no salary. Indeed, Glynne had to pay the Under-Sheriff £31.10s per year to retain his job. That’s around £3500.00 in today’s terms.

The gaol was old, in poor repair and overcrowded. Food was in short supply. Some local residents took pity on the prisoners and sent in additional food. By 1786, the numbers of convicts built up there since transportation to America ended worried the citizens of Norwich. They petitioned the government to do something about it. It seemed the situation was becoming impossible inside the prison and out. It was in the midst of all this that Susannah gave birth to Henry’s child. On several occasions, the two asked for permission to marry. Each time, it was refused on the grounds that they were felons and therefore had lost all civil rights.

Susannah at Plymouth On 5th November, 1786, therefore, a Norwich turnkey, John Simpson, arrived at the prison hulk “Dunkirk”, moored in the harbour at Plymouth, bringing three women selected as suitable from those under sentence of transportation now at Norwich gaol: Elisabeth Pulley, Susannah Holmes and Ann Turner. The party also contained Susannah Holmes’ baby son, conceived and born in the prison at Norwich on 17th February 1786. Susannah was chosen, so her baby had to go as well. Henry was not wanted by the authorities. He had to remain in Norwich, despite his frantic pleas to go with his woman and child.

A Problem with the Paperwork The governor of the prison hulk, Henry Bradley, examined the papers the gaoler brought. The three women were named in the order and he accepted charge of them. Since no child was mentioned in the papers given to him he refused adamantly to take the baby on board. Despite her frantic cries and appeals, mother and baby were therefore parted. As The Norwich Chronicle reported: One of these unfortunate females was the mother of an infant about five months old, a very fine babe, whom she had suckled from its birth. The father of the child was likewise a felon under a similar sentence … he had repeatedly expressed a wish to be married to this woman, and though seldom permitted to see the child, he discovered a remarkable fondness for it, and that the mother’s only comfort was derived from its smiles, was evident from her peculiar manner of nursing it.[5] It seemed nothing would shake the prison governor’s decision.

“…neither the entreaties of Mr. Simpson, nor the agonies of the poor wretch [Susannah], could prevail upon the captain even to permit the babe to remain till instructions could be received from the minister. Simpson was therefore obliged to take the child, and the frantic mother was led to her cell, execrating [cursing] the cruelty of the man under whose care she was now placed, and vowing to put an end to her life, as soon as she could obtain the means.”[6]

Susannah had been separated from her man only days before, seemingly for good. Was she now to be separated for ever from her baby son too? I’ll explain what happened next in Part 2.

1 Charge Sheet, Lent Assizes 1784, Thetford, Norfolk 2 In England, this is how his family name was usually written. In Australia, he spelled it Kable or Kabel, which is how it appears in records there. 3 Norfolk Chronicle, 8th February 1783. 4 Norwich Mercury, 1st March 1783. 5 Norfolk Chronicle, 9th November, 1786 6 Norfolk Chronicle, as above.

  Loving Felons (Part 2)

The Amazing Warder https://penandpension.com/2015/10/28/loving-felons-part-2/5/

Figure 2 The Friendship

In the last post, we left poor Susannah Holmes on 5th November 1786 at Plymouth, having arrived there with her baby, a third Henry Cabell (she and her man were as imaginative about names as most others of the time), en route to Botany Bay. She was amongst the female felons awaiting transportation who had been selected for inclusion in the first fleet headed to Australia. At the very last moment, someone had realised that an all-male group would be unable to cope long enough to get this new penal colony established, let alone act as the nucleus for the further emigration and settlement that would establish a fresh outpost for the British Empire. Now Susannah and the two other women with her were put aboard the prison hulk “Dunkirk”. Susannah’s baby was refused entry because there was no mention of an infant in the orders to the prison hulk’s captain to take the women in charge. It seemed Susannah’s young life was to be blighted by yet more heartbreak and misery, as she was led away, cursing the captain and vowing to commit suicide at the first opportunity.

What happened next sounds more like a Hollywood film script than the grim reality of dealing with criminals in Georgian England. The escorting warder, John Simpson, had fulfilled his duty by handing over Susannah and the other two women. Most would have left it at that and headed back to Norwich. The baby would be either abandoned at once or disposed of somewhere convenient along the way back to London. Instead, John Simpson took the baby into his own custody and left at once for London, travelling with the baby on his knee and feeding it as best he could. He was determined to go to the top – the Home Secretary, Thomas Townshend, Lord Sydney – to get the matter sorted out properly.

“Shocked at the unparalleled brutality and not less affected by the agonies of the poor woman he [Simpson] resolved still, if possible, to get it [the baby] restored to her. No way was left but by immediate application to Lord Sydney[1]; and having once before been with his lordship on a business of humanity, he was encouraged to hope he would succeed, could he have an interview with him.. He therefore immediately went back to Plymouth, and set off in the first coach to London carrying the child all the way on his knee, and feeding it at different inns he arrived at, as well as he could. When he came to London he placed the child with a careful woman and instantly posted to Lord Sydney” … [2]

Of course, when he got to London, Lord Sydney’s servants turned him away, but still he refused to give in. Somehow, he got into Sydney’s house unseen and literally waylaid the great man coming down his own stairs.

“Mr. Simpson was denied admittance, but in vain, for he pressed forward into one of the offices, and told his story to one of the secretaries who attended properly to it, and promised to do all in his power to promote the object of his humane petition, but feared it would be impossible for him to see Lord Sydney for several day; he begged however of this gentleman to prepare an order for the restoration of the child, and determined to wait in the hall for the chance of seeing his Lordship pass, that he might prevail on him to sign it. Fortunately, not long after, he saw Lord Sydney descend the stairs; he instantly ran to him. His Lordship very naturally showed an unwillingness at first to attend to an application made to him in so strange and abrupt a manner; but Mr. Simpson immediately related the reason for his intrusion, and described as he felt, the exquisite misery he had lately been a witness to, expressing his fears, least in the instant he was pleading for her, the unhappy woman, in the voidness of her despair, should have deprived herself of existence.”[3]

Simpson must have been a very persuasive advocate, for Sydney at once sent him back to Norwich with an order that Henry Cabell, the baby’s father, should be included in the list of people to go on the same ship as Susannah. So Simpson went to Norwich, collected Cabell, and returned to Plymouth with him and the baby on November 15th, carrying orders from the very top to have the family united for the trip to Australia. “… Lord Sydney was greatly affected, and paid much attention to the particular circumstances of his narration, and instantly promised the child should be restored, commenting at the same time on Mr Simpson’s spirit and humanity. Encouraged by this, he made further appeal to his Lordship’s humanity on behalf of the father of the child, which proved equally successful; for his Lordship ordered, that he should likewise be sent to Plymouth to accompany the child and its mother…” [4]

Public Support All this got into the newspapers. Indeed, a mob of interested people, including journalists, had followed Simpson to Lord Sydney’s house to see what would happen. Now several prominent gentlemen, sensing the public mood, wrote to Sydney expressing support for his prompt action to reunite mother, father and child. Amongst them were several of the leading gentry of Norfolk, including Sir Harbord Harbord MP, later Lord Suffield, and one of the Wyndham family of Cromer Hall.

The London newspapers all ran the story and a Mrs Jackson of Portman Square organised a collection to buy household necessities for the family to take with them, raising the impressive sum of £20.00, which was spent on clothes and other goods for Susannah, Henry and their child. She also seems to have asked the First Fleet’s chaplain the Rev. Richard Johnson, to keep an eye on the young couple and their goods during the voyage – a request which may have changed the history of Australia. Simpson, the Norwich turnkey, was labelled a hero. Lady Cadogan sent him six guineas ‘for his great humanity towards the poor female convict (Susannah Holmes) who was refused the indulgence of taking her infant child with her to Botany Bay’. The country happily congratulated itself on ‘the spirit of British humanity’ and ignored the fact that these young people were being sent into the unknown with no hope of ever returning home – if they survived at all.

Australia Bound When the fleet was assembled, the donated goods were loaded onto one of the transport ships, the “Alexander”, and the family of three, Henry, Susannah and their baby embarked on the ship “Friendship”. On 11th March, 1787, the fleet itself set sail for Botany Bay, a journey of some nine months.*

At the Cape of Good Hope, the captain of the “Friendship” had had enough of the problems his female convicts were causing him by their “lewd behaviour”, so he had them distributed to other ships in the fleet, and replaced them with 30 sheep. One of the marines wrote in his diary: “I think we will find them more agreeable than the women.”[5] Susannah and her son were therefore put on board the “Charlotte”, while Henry stayed where he was.

The fleet reached Australia in January 1788. Susannah, the baby and Henry all arrived safely and were reunited. At last Henry and Susannah were married at Sydney Cove on 10 February 1788 in a group wedding: the first wedding ceremony held in the new colony and land of Australia. Unfortunately, the parcel of goods bought with the collection made in England, and intended to assist them in beginning their new lives, was missing. The captain of the “Alexander”, Captain Duncan Sinclair, flatly denied all knowledge of its whereabouts. It seemed Henry and Susannah’s luck had deserted them.

7 Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney, was a Norfolk man himself, having been born into the Townshend family of Raynham Hall near Swaffham. Both Sydney, Australia, and Sydney, Nova Scotia, are named after him. 8 Norwich Chronicle, November 9th, 1786 9 Norwich Chronicle, as above. 10 Norwich Chronicle, as above. Quoted by Dick Meadows in his article in the _Eastern Daily Press_ on 19th and 26th January 2013.  
Loving Felons (Part 3) Posted on November 10, 2015

https://penandpension.com/2015/11/10/loving-felons-part-3/

Figure 3 St Matthews church, Windsor.

More “Firsts” for Susannah and Henry In the two previous posts, we followed the remarkable journey of two young felons from Norwich to Botany Bay as part of the first fleet sent to establish a penal colony in Australia. The little family had survived against all the odds and were together at last in the new land. However, they had not quite finished with either adventure or setting precedents for their new home.

The first civil law case in the new colony was commenced by Henry and Susannah Kabel on 1st July 1788, when they petitioned the judge-advocate to have Duncan Sinclair, master of the “Alexander”, appear before the court to show cause why their goods ‘which were collected and bought at the expense of many charitably disposed persons for the use of the said Henry Cable, his wife and child’ and shipped on the ship Alexander were not ‘duly and truly delivered’.

Setting a Precedent According to English law, convicted felons had no rights[1] and Henry and Susannah should not have been able to contract a legal marriage nor bring any kind of case in law against anyone, let alone a powerful figure like a ship’s captain. It seems Governor Phillips and the judge-advocate, a Mr. Collins, decided that particular aspect of the law should not apply in the new penal colony. This was simply commonsense. Serving your sentence to completion didn’t stop you remaining a felon for the rest of your life, so any settlement composed mostly of former felons would be a lawless place indeed if the law as it stood in Britain were retained. It’s likely Governor Phillips relied on this text:

:… if an uninhabited country was discovered and planted by English subjects, all the English laws then in being, which are the birth-right of every subject, are immediately then in force. But this must be understood with very many and very great restrictions. Such colonies carry with them only so much of the English law, as is applicable to their own situation and the condition of an infant colony; …” [2]

Since both Henry and Susannah were likely unable to write (they signed the papers with a cross), someone else must have written out all the legal papers and depositions for them and advised them on how to proceed. We don’t know for sure who this was, but it seems likely that it was Rev. Richard Johnson, the chaplain of the fleet, who had been asked by Mrs. Jackson – the lady in London who organised the collection for them – to befriend them on board their ship. It did not hinder their case that he was also one of judges!

The plea to the court stated: “Several applications has been made for the express purpose of obtaining the said parcel from the Master of the Alexander now lying at this port, and that without effect (save and except) a small part of the said parcel containing a few books[3], the residue and remainder, which is of a more considerable value still remains on board the said ship Alexander, the Master of which, seems to be very neglectfull [sic] in not causing the same to be delivered, to its respective owners as aforesaid.” [4]

The case was heard in full on 5th July and the Kabels won! Sinclair had to pay them £15 for the value of the lost goods[5]. The Rev. Richard Johnson wrote thus to Mrs. Jackson on July 12th, 1788: “I cannot think of letting the Fleet return to England without dropping you a single line to inform you of my health and welfare. ….Respecting the Norwich gaoler and two convicts Cabel and Holmes, which with a child, were removed from the Norwich gaol to Plymouth in order to be embarked on board one of the transports. These two persons I married soon after our arrival here. …As for the various articles (that disappeared), these have not been found. This circumstance has been brought before the Civil Court here when a verdict was found in their favour (the first civil court case in the history of Australia). I am sorry this charitable intention and action had been brought to this disagreeable issue, the more so because the public seemed to be interested in their welfare. The child is still living, of a weakly constitution, but a fine boy. Your most Obedient and Humble Servant, Richard Johnson”

Making a New Life The Kables coped well in the new land. Henry’s court victory may have brought him to the governor’s notice, although Kable later claimed also to have had influential letters of recommendation. There is even a claim made in Australia that Henry carried Governor Phillip through the surf on the day he first came ashore to the new land he was to govern. Whatever the truth, soon after these events, Governor Arthur Phillip appointed Henry Kabel an overseer. Three years later he was made a constable and nightwatchman, and a further three years service saw him elevated to chief constable. Sadly, he was dismissed from that post in 1802 for misbehaviour and conflict of interest, after being convicted for breaches of the port regulations and illegally buying and importing pigs from a visiting ship.

Nevertheless, Kabel’s business ventures did well and he became a shipowner, whaler, merchant and even a pub owner, running a tavern in George Street, Sydney, known as “The Ramping Horse” , which may have represented a link to Rampant Horse Street in Norwich. At his peak, he owned a fleet of 25 ships trading widely in the Pacific and to what is now Malaysia and China, bringing food to Australia and carrying its goods out. He also owned a significant amount of land and livestock at Windsor, near Sydney.

Susannah bore him 11 children, of whom no less than 10 survived to adulthood. Henry junior, the baby who had been carried to and fro some 700 miles across England by that sympathetic warder, later succeeded his father in the shipping business, becoming a ship’s captain himself.

Susannah Kable died on 8th November 1825, aged 63, but Henry, who was described as a farmer at Pitt Town in the 1828 census, survived her for twenty-one years and died on 16th March 1846 at the age of 84. Both are buried in the churchyard of St. Matthews’s Church, Windsor, NSW.

Their story has become part of Australia’s founding history and they are seen almost as ‘local royalty’ by many Australians today: not a bad outcome for two young criminals from East Anglia.

11 Under English Common Law at the time, anyone convicted of a felony was deemed to have forfeited all civil rights. In effect, they were “dead” in the eyes of the civil law, so they could neither sue nor hold property nor exercise any other civil rights until pardoned. 12 Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England, I, 107 . It is known Phillips had a copy of this work with him. 13 Several commentators have assumed these books were “worthless” to Holmes and Kable, because they were illiterate. Then why take them halfway around the world? It is, I believe, a mistake to assume complete illiteracy at this time from anyone signing a document with “their mark”. Many labourers and the like sent their children to Sunday School, where they would be taught to read, at least sufficiently to the Bible. The additional skill of writing was not thought necessary. 14 Court of Civil Jurisdiction Proceedings, 1788–1814, State Records of New South Wales, 2/8147. 67 https://penandpension.com/2015/11/10/loving-felons-part-3/