Notes
Note N1875
Index
Torf De Harcourt SEIGNEUR DE TORVILLE was born between 900 and 920 in Of Normandy, France. He was also known as The Rich. He was buried in A Great Norman Feudal Baron. He was probably the grandson of one of the viking chiefs of Scandinavia who accompanied Rollo ABT 900 A.D. in the Norse invasion of northern France where they permanently settled and gave to the country its name "Normandy".
It has been suggested that he was a son of Bernard the Dane, the most powerful of the feudal nobles of Normandy during the reign of Duke William I (b. 927 - d. 943) and Regent during the minority of Duke Richard I (b. 943 - d. 955); but this claim has not been proved.
He was a great Norman feudal baron and was the earliest historical progenitor of the Newburgh or Newberry. Torf possessed numerous lordships in No rmandy, being Seigneur de Torville, Torcy, Torny, Torly, du Ponteautord, etc.
He married about 950, ERTEMBERGE DE BRIQUEBEC. Children: i. TOUROUDE, SIR E DU PONTEAUDEMER, b. about 950. ii. TURCHETIL, SEIGNEUR DE TURQUEVILLE, ance stor of the celebrated Harcourt family of Normandy and England. iii. WILLIAM DE TORVILLE."--- J. Gardner Bartlett, *Newberry Genealogy: The Ancestors & Desc endants of Thomas Newberry of Dorchester, Mass., 1624, 920-1914*, Boston, 1914, p 3.
There is a footnote on p. 3 to this entry: "It has been suggested that he was a son of Bernard the Dane, the most powerful of the feudal nobles of Normandy during the reign of Duke William I. (927-943) and Regent during the minor ity of Duke Richard I. (943-955); but this claim has not been proved."
Parents: Prince/Denmark Bernard DE HARCOURT and Sprote DE BOURGOYNE.
Spouse: Ertemberge DE BRIOQUIBEC.
Torf De Harcourt SN DE TORVILLE and Ertemberge DE BRIOQUIBEC were married about 950.16 1 REFN 84035 Children were: Tourude De Harcourt SN DE PONT-AUDEMER.
Notes
Note N1876
Index
Freeman was tried with William Shearman for stealing 15 allowances of flour, sentenced to death, pardoned on condition he became the public hangman. He had to hang that day Thomas Barlett (qv) reluctant to do so, the marines had orders to shoot him, if he didn't do so.
Notes
Note N1877
Index
James Freeman Convict Story
[From the book The Founder page 136] James FREEMAN and his companion both of Watford, Herts Eng. was sentenced to death at Hertford 3 Mar 1784 for highway robbery, netted them 12 shillings, reprieved to transportation for 7 yrs. He was 16 yrs when received to the hulk Justitia, ordered to Portsmouth for "ALEXANDER" 20 January 1787, embarked on the 27 feb 1788. [I think this should show 27 Feb 1787 not 1788]
Freeman was tried with William Shearman for stealing 15 allowances of flour, sentenced to death, pardoned on condition he became the public hangman. He had to hang that day Thomas Barlett (qv) reluctant to do so, the marines had orders to shoot him, if he didn't do so.
Freeman earned 100 lashes and stoppage of his grog 11 Dec 1789 for being drunk and out of his hut after 10.45pm, this was only two weeks after he had to hang Ann Davis (qv). He remained a labourer, labouring at Richmond N.S.W. He died a pauper at Windsor 28 Jan 1830, buried St Matthew's, aged 67. He had two children by Mary Edwards (Maryann 1791), Mary 1792-1801 and Berthina or Berthia 1794. Mary Edwards had left him by 1800 for Abraham Martin (qv).
See also http://archivesoutside.records.nsw.gov.au/50th-anniversary-sneak-peak- james-choice/
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Hi Lyndsey
I am happy to report a development on the search for James Freeman. I have just made contact here in Oz with another of James' descendants, and she has forwarded to me an extract of a book/report she is writing on James and his de-facto Mary Edwards and their descendants...
JAMES FREEMAN (1768-1830)
James was born in Watford, Herefordshire, England, around 1768. He lost his father when less than 18 months of age. By his teens, he was associating with a gang of thieves. In August 1783, James and his accomplices, Thomas Taylor & Thomas Rust, stole a watch & chain and a seal, worth eleven shillings, from John Seymour of Watford. On 11 Dec 1783, James and Thomas Taylor stole a half guinea, a shilling and sixpence from Thomas Baldwin. Thomas Taylor stole again in January 1784. Thomas Taylor, aged 30, & Thomas Rust, aged 21, were both hanged.
At 16 years of age, James was tried at the Lent session of the Hertford Assizes on 3rd March 1784, by Sir William Henry Ashurst Knight & Jerome Knapp Esq. Justices. He was convicted of highway robbery on the King's Highway at Aldenham and was sentenced to death by hanging, but this was changed to 7 years transportation. This was the first prosecution from the Hertfordshire County which resulted in the convict being transported. He was sent to the Justitia hulk, where he spent 3 years before being transferred to the Alexander on 27th February 1787.
Three months later, at 19 years of age, he sailed from Portsmouth with the First Fleet on 12th May 1787. There were 11 ships commanded by Captain Arthur Phillip, who was commissioned as the first Governor of Australia. The 15,000 mile journey took just over eight months. The Fleet anchored at Botany Bay on 18th January 1788, then finally settled at Sydney Cove on 26th January. It arrived with 717 convicts, of whom 180 were women, guarded by 191marines under 19 officers. The convicts' average age was about twenty-seven years. James was on the ship Alexander, with Duncan Sinclair as Captain. It was the ship that had the most number of deaths on board. 16 deaths occurred before the ship had even set sail, mostly from typhus.
Four weeks after their arrival, on 27th February 1788, he was again in trouble for stealing flour, with a mate, William Shearman from Berkshire. They were charged with feloniously and fraudulently taking and carrying away 15 half pounds of flour valued at 15 pence, the property of Michael Dennison, Robert Abel, and William Waterhouse. Shearman was sentenced to receive 300 lashes, and James was sentenced to death. He received Australia's first Conditional Pardon on 1st March 1788, on the condition that he became the Public Executioner till he served out the remainder of his sentence, and remain in NSW for life. So James became Australia's first hangman. He was reluctant to do his duty but complied when the Marines were ordered to shoot him. After he served out his sentence he worked as a farmhand.
James is mentioned in Thomas Keneally's book, The Playmaker, as one of the performers in a stage play by George Farquhar called "The Recruiting Officer." He played the part of Justice Balance, a Country Justice. It was the first dramatic performance in the colony, on the King's birthday, 4th June 1789 in Sydney (less than a year after their arrival). It took place in a mud hut decorated with coloured paper and using a few oil lamps as footlights. All 11 performers were convicts, managed by Lieutenant Ralph Clarke of the Marines. He is also mentioned in The Australians Vol 1 The Exiles by William Stuart Long, page 337.
The Bench of Magistrates lists James as being charged with drunkeness on 11th December 1790 (page no. 282, bundle 43, Reel 654, Item identifier [SZ765], COD 17). This earned him 100 lashes and a stoppage of his grog. He was out of his hut after curfew (curfew was 10.45 pm), singing uproariously and cheeking the guard. Three weeks previously, on 21st November 1790, he had been forced to hang Ann Davis, the first woman to be hanged in the colony. She was sentenced to death for stealing wearing apparel from the home of another convict. Mary Edwards, who arrived with the Third Fleet in 1791, became his common law wife. In the 1828 Census, James was labouring at Richmond. He never married and died a pauper on 28th June 1830. He was buried at St Matthew's, Windsor.
No wonder I couldn't find Thomas Taylor in the transport lists - he was hanged for his offence.....
Coincidentally, I also had just unpacked a box of books to shelve, when I came across one of those inexpensive books that are always published in droves about a famous event - this one was about Australia's Bicentennial in 1988. There is one paragraph in it about James, and how he became the first hangman in the colony. All the details are as above, with the exception of the fact that James struck the bargain to become the first hangman WITH THE HANGMAN'S ROPE AROUND HIS NECK - he was being hung for stealing the flour. Talk about last minute chance
With respect to the article I received from the other genealogist - I have not confirmed any of it at all, with the exception of James' presence on the ALEXANDER, and his death record (as James Thurman - a common transcription error), and the birth certs for James & Mary's daughters Mary and Bethia.
Anyway, I hope this info might help you on your next foray into the Hertfordshire Family History 'bunker'
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Regards,
Megan Tilley
megan@tilleyenterprises.com
megan.tilley@gmail.com
If you shoot at mimes, should you use a silencer? - Steven Wright
Also- The number of people watching you is directly proportional to the stupidity of your action.
Lyndsey Besemer
8 January 2007 07:34
To: Megan Tilley
Hi Megan
It was so interesting to read what you have found out about James What an infamous lad he was and what a tale to pass on to future generations
It's very helpful to know that James definitely came from Watford. I wonder why he didn't show up in the Watford parish registers? Just one small point, in the first part of the extract you included, Watford is referred to as being in Herefordshire. Herefordshire is a county in the north of England, this is obviously a mis-spelling but it could be mis-leading. However, as it goes onto mention Aldenham, which I know for a fact is in the same part of Hertfordshire as Watford, I know we're on the right track. My ex-husband went to a public boarding school in Aldenham (not quite on a level pegging as Eaton) so I can tell you a little bit about the area. It was, and remains a very affluent area, heavily wooded in some parts and probably more so in those days. Rich pickings for Highwaymen no doubt (George Harrison, of The Beatle's fame, had a mansion in Aldenham which he gave to the Hari Krishnas in the 1970's ).
Bye for now
Lyndsey
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