Follow
Osler's Party
1820 Settlers
Main References - The Settler Handbook by MD Nash
See also eGGSA - The 1820 Settler Correspondence and Osler's Party - Return of Settlers
Additional information at1820 Settlers.com
The aim of this project is to link profiles on Geni to the names in the list, and to expand notes about individuals - mostly on the Profile page in the "About Me" field, or here if no profile exists.
Getting Involved
Feel free to follow, request to collaborate
To join the project use the request link under "actions" at the top right of the page.
Visit
Geni's Project Plaza
Working with Projects
Wicked Wiki
Geni Wikitext, Unicode and images which gives a great deal of assistance.
See the discussion Project Help: How to add Text to a Project - Starter Kit to get you going!
How to Participate
- Please add only the profiles of members of this party to this project (not their descendants)! This is easily done from the profile page using the Add to project link.
- If you have any queries related to these settlers please start a discussion linked to this project. (See the menu top right).
- Please add related projects to the menu on the right.
- If you have links to related web pages that would be of interest to others please add them in the relevant section at the bottom of the page. In order to do this use the drop down menu at the top left of the screen and Join the Project. If this option is not available to you then contact a collaborator and ask to be added to the project. As a collaborator you will be able to edit this page.
- Add any documents of interest using the menu at the top right of the page, and then add a link to the document in the text under the heading below. If you do not know how to do this please contact one of the other collaborators to assist you.
Party Details
- Leader Benjamin Osler
- Number 35 listed - see Osler's Party - Return of Settlers - there seems to be much uncertainty as to who was on this sailing.
- Area Party originated from Cornwall
- Area Allocated to the Party Mansfield River
- 1820 Settler Ship
Weymouth
- Dates
- Departure 7 January 1820
- Arrival Table Bay, Cape Town - 16 April 1820
- Final Port - Algoa Bay, Port Elizabeth 15 May 1820
(Other parties on this voyage Biggar, Bowker, Duncan Campbell , Cock, Ford, Gurney, Hyman, James, Menezes, Parkin)
M.D. Nash 1987 - Settler Handbook
"No 47 on the Colonial Department list, led by Benjamin Osler, a merchant of Falmouth, Cornwall, who had spent seven years in Cadiz and Gibraltar and travelled to the West Indies, Portugal, Spain and Italy on business. His application was forwarded by the Mayor of Falmouth, Andrew Young, who recommended him as a man of good character.
This was a joint-stock party, recruited in and about Falmouth (William Mallett was from Penryn), each man paying his own deposit except for Osler's servant John Bridgeman. The party of 11 men and their families left Portsmouth on 7 January 1820 in HM Store Ship Weymouth, reaching Table Bay on 26 April and Algoa Bay on 15th May. The party was located on the left bank of the Mansfield River and named the location Pendennis. (Pendennis Head and Pendennis castle are landmarks overlooking Falmouth Bay). Benjamin Osler died in 1821.
Members of Osler's party
(From Nash)
[Bold links are to Geni profiles; other links are to other biographical notes]
James Ball 44. Schoolmaster.
Wife Ann 45.
Child
- James Ball 6
Richard Blee 22. Ironmonger.
Wife Jenopha 19.
John Bridgeman 19. Husbandman.
John Dale 24. Boot and Shoemaker.
Wife Mary 17 (see note below)
Richard (or James) Eva 24. Baker.
Wife Elizabeth Denham 22
Henry Goodman 23. Currier.
Wife Elizabeth 20
William Mallett 45. mason.
Wife Elizabeth 46
Benjamin Osler 44. Merchant.
Wife Jane Sawle 45.
Children
Charles Blight Pearse 35. Merchant.
Wife Ann 32
Children
- Eldred Pearce 11
- Charles Pearce 8
- Horation Pearce 6
Joseph Richards 25. Boot and Shoemaker. (Married Sarah Attwell of Crause's Party)
Wife on list Sally 21 (See Note below)
Children
- Sally 3
- Phillis 1
James Weeks 29. Baker and confectioner.
Wife Grace Ackerley 25.
Child
- Elizabeth Weeks 2 (Died at Sea).
M.D. Nash 1987 - Settler Handbook
Note
"Osler had a very large family of 10 children, and informed the Colonial Department that he planned to 'leave three or four of the youngest with their friends at home' until he had established himself at the Cape. Only four children were entered on the official list, but it appears that at least three others did in fact emigrate with their parents. Susannah Osler, aged 20, is known to have married John Colman of Cock's party, a month after the Weymouth reached Algoa Bay, and when Benjamin Osler died in 1821 his widow was left on the location with six dependent children - a son of 15 and five daughters between 4 and 14.
Joseph Richards, who according to the sailing list emigrated with a wife and two children, described himself in 1822 as an unmarried man; it is conceivable that 'Sally Richards' on the sailing list was actually Susannah Osler, and 'Sally' and 'Phillis', aged 3 and 1, her two youngest sisters. (It was not uncommon for single women among the emigrants to be listed as the 'wives' of unmarried men in order to avoid paying separate deposits).
Another man of the party, John Dale, claimed in 1822 that he had left his wife and family in England; his 17-year old 'wife' Mary, as she was entered in the sailing list, may have been another of the Osler daughters.
John Carpenter's name does not appear on the sailing list or in the Muster-roll of the Weymouth, but he sailed with Osler's party and was allowed to land at Cape Town for health reasons. He rejoined the party on its location three months later (Cape Archives CO 178,50).
Richard Wilton, another unlisted settler, was engaged as a servant by Osler and Carpenter in England (Cape Archives 1/AY 13/1).
No mention has been found in Colonial records of the presence of John Bridgeman of Henry Goodman at the cape, and either or both of them may have been replaced at the last minute without the change being reflected in the sailing list".
John Carpenter
Susannah Osler 20 (Married John Colman of Cock's Party) 20 (daughter of Benjamin Osler).
Richard Wilton
Main source for party list
List of settlers under the direction of Benjamin Oslet (Cape Archives CO 6138/2, 31); Muster-roll and Log of HM Store Ship Weymouth (Public Record Office, London); Special Commissioner William Hayward's notes (Cape Archives CO 8543). Richard Eva in the sailing list is referred to as James Eva in Special Commissioner Hayward's notes.
The 1820 Settler Correspondence - Osler
Go to
South Africans' Geni Landing Site. WELKOM CUZZINS!
First port of call for South African GENi
this project is in History Link 
OSLER, Benjamin - Extra Data
IGI extracted marriage:
- Benjamin OSLER married Jane SAWLE on 9 April 1797 in Falmouth, Cornwall
IGI extracted baptisms: for Falmouth, Cornwall, children of Benjamin and Jane OSLER:
- Joseph Osler baptised 12 August 1798 (born 12 July)
- Benjamin baptised 29 May 1801 (born 5 March)
- Jane baptised 22 August 1802 (born 1 August)
- Stephen Sawle baptised 24 October 1804 (born 27 September)
- Mary Ann baptised 18 June 1806 (born 25 May)
- Amelia baptised 26 December 1807 (born 28 November)
- Julia baptised 21 March 1810 (born 1 December 1809)
- Eliza baptised 21 August 1811 (born 29 July)
- Sarah baptised 22 November 1815
- Philippa baptised 8 April 1818
Benjamin's correspondence mentions 10 children, but only four are listed in The Settler Handbook, confirmed by the muster roll of HMS Weymouth (ADM37/6145 National Archives, Kew). Nash speculates in The Settler Handbook that “Joseph RICHARDS” was actually a son of Benjamin, in which case “Sally” (3) and “Phillis” (1) could be the two youngest siblings. There is no Susanna OSLER listed on the muster roll but Nash supposes that “Sally RICHARDS” is in fact Susannah OSLER. There is a submitted IGI entry for a Susanna OSLER, daughter of Benjamin and Jane, born 15 November 1799 in Falmouth. Julia may have died in infancy.