Series 02: Hassall family, correspondence, 1793-ca. 1900

A 1677/vols. 1-4

series

1793-ca. 1900

Textual Records, Clippings, Drawings, Photographs

411894

0.9 metres of textual material (15 volumes and 1 box) - manuscript, printed, clippings - 42.5 x 28.0 cm

Thomas Hassall (1794-1868), Anglican clergyman, was born in Coventry, England, the eldest of nine children of Rowland and Elizabeth Hassall. He and his brother Samuel Otoo sailed with their parents to Tahiti in the 'Duff' in 1796. In 1798 Rowland Hassall and his family joined a group of missionaries who fled Tahiti and travelled to Port Jackson aboard the 'Nautilus'. The family settled at Parramatta, New South Wales. In 1813, Thomas Hassall opened the first Sunday School in Australia in his father's house at Parramatta. Having decided to study for the ministry, Thomas Hassall sailed for England in the 'Kangaroo' in 1817. He attended Lampeter College at Lampeter, Wales, and was ordained in 1821. After his father Rowland Hassall's death in 1820, Thomas Hassall returned to Sydney on the convict ship 'Mary', leaving England in August 1821. In 1822, he preached his first sermon in Australia at St John's Church, Parramatta, where he remained curate to Reverend Samuel Marsden until 1824, when he was appointed chaplain to the penal settlement at Port Macquarie. In 1826, he was appointed to the Bathurst district where he lived on his property 'Lampeter'. In 1827, he was appointed to the parish of Cowpastures, at which time he purchased 'Denbigh' estate at Cobbitty. Thomas Hassall travelled widely through his extensive parish and was known as the 'galloping parson'. In 1822, Thomas Hassall married Ann Marsden (1794-1885), eldest daughter of Samuel Marsden, with whom he had eight children, James Samuel (1823-1904), Catherine Elizabeth (1825-1923), Marianne (1827-1911), George Thomas (1828-1910), Harriet Jane (1830-1910), Charles Rowland (1832-1919), Eliza Marsden (1834-1917), and Emily (1836-1838). Thomas Hassall died at 'Denbigh' in 1868. Ann Hassall, who usually signed her name 'Anne', was the eldest daughter of Samuel Marsden and his wife Elizabeth, nee Fristan. She was born in 1794 aboard the ship 'William' which was carrying Marsden and his wife to Port Jackson. Ann Hassall died in 1885.

James Samuel Hassall (1823-1904), Anglican clergyman, was born in Parramatta, eldest son of Thomas and Ann Hassall. He attended The King's School, Parramatta, from 1832 to 1836, was a pupil of the Reverend Thomas Makinson at Mulgoa ca. 1938, and was later a pupil under the Reverend Robert Forrest at Campbelltown. James Hassall studied for the ministry, firstly under Reverend Robert Allwood at St James Church, Sydney, and later at 'Lyndhurst', Glebe. He was ordained by Bishop William Grant Broughton in 1848 and appointed to St Peter's Church, Cooks River, New South Wales. Reverend Thomas Makinson, who had been temporarily in charge of St Peter's Church prior to Hassall's appointment, resigned his licence in February 1848 due to his dissatisfaction with the Church of England and was admitted to the Roman Catholic Church within a few days. In 1849 James Hassall was appointed to the parish of Bungonia, New South Wales, where he remained until he was appointed to the parish of Berrima, New South Wales. While incumbent at Berrima, he was appointed Chaplain of Berrima Gaol. James Hassall and his family moved to Queensland in 1873, living first at Ipswich and Oxley. In the late 1870s he was appointed to the Church at Sherwood in Brisbane where he remained until his retirement in 1899. While at Sherwood the Hassall family lived at 'Matavai', Corinda, where James Hassall died in 1904. James Hassall published his reminiscences 'In Old Australia: records and reminiscences from 1794' in 1902. In 1850, James Hassall married Frances Dixon who was a cousin of his friend, and later brother in law, John Norton Oxley. They had eight children, Emily Isabella (b. 1851), Catherine Elizabeth (b. 1853), Robert Francis (1855-1888), James Charles (b. 1857), Thomas Frederic (b. 1859), William Henry (b. 1861), Mary (b. 1863), and Arthur Marsden (1869-1903).

Catherine Elizabeth Hassall (1835-1923), known as Kate, was born in Port Macquarie, second child of Thomas and Ann Hassall. In 1846, Catherine Hassall married Dr Robert Culbertson Hope and in 1847, they moved to Victoria, settling first at Geelong and later at Melbourne. Catherine and Robert Hope had eleven children, Robert (1847-1905), Thomas Culbertson (1849-1913), James (1851-1851), Annie Marsden (1853-1927), Charles (1855-1932), Marion Eliza (1857-1917), Arthur Bobart (1859-1905), Frances (1861-1861), Philip (1862-1862), Edgar (1864-1921), and John Denbigh (b. 1865).

Marianne Hassall (1827-1911), occasionally known as Maryanne, was born in Parramatta, third child of Thomas and Ann Hassall. In 1852 Marianne Hassall married George Hope who was the brother of her sister's husband Robert Culbertson Hope. Marianne and George Hope settled in the Geelong district of Victoria. They had nine children, Catherine Elizabeth (1853-1937), George (1854-1860), James Hassall (1856-1903), Alexander (1858-1858), Isabella (1859-1939), George Rowland (1861-1920), Edward Culbertson (1864-1934), William Waugh (1866-1942) and David (1869-1871).

George Thomas Hassall (1828-1910) was born in 'Denbigh', Cobbitty, fourth child of Thomas and Ann Hassall. He attended The King's School, Parramatta, from 1837-1839 and was later a pupil of William Woolls at Parramatta. According to James Hassall, George Hassall was admitted to 'Lyndhurst', Glebe, as a 'secular student' in 1847. George spent some time on his father's property at Bathurst and when the property was sold engaged in a variety of occupations. He died unmarried in 1910.

Harriet Jane Hassall (1830-1910) was born in 'Denbigh', Cobbitty, fifth child of Thomas and Ann Hassall. Harriet married John Norton Oxley (1824-1891) son of explorer John Oxley. John Norton Oxley attended school with James Samuel Hassall and was a cousin of Frances Hassall, nee Dixon. Harriet and John Oxley lived at 'Kirkham' near Camden. They had seven children, Annie Emma (1854-1897), William Molesworth (b. 1856), Frederic Norton (b. 1858), Mary Molesworth (b. 1860), Eleanor Maud (b. 1865), Amy Isabel (b. 1868), and Beatrice Marsden (b. 1871).

Charles Rowland Hassall (1832-1919) was born in 'Denbigh', Cobbitty, sixth child of Thomas and Ann Hassall. He attended The King's School, Parramatta, from 1848 to 1851. He worked on his father's property at Bathurst and when it was sold engaged in a variety of occupations. He died unmarried in 1919.

Eliza Marsden Hassall (1834-1917) was born in 'Denbigh', Cobbitty, seventh child of Thomas and Ann Hassall. Eliza Hassall was the founder and first principal of Marsden House (Marsden Training School for Women Missionaries) at Ashfield, Sydney. Eliza Hassall died unmarried.

Emily Hassall (1838-1838) was born in 'Denbigh', Cobbitty, eighth child of Thomas and Ann Hassall. She died in infancy and is buried at St. Paul's Church, Cobbitty, along with other family members.

Samuel Otoo Hassall (1796-1830), woolgrower and farmer, was born in Coventry, UK, second son of Rowland and Elizabeth Hassall. Samuel Hassall travelled to Tahiti on the ship 'Duff' with his parents and brother Thomas. In 1798 the family arrived at Sydney aboard the 'Nautilus' and settled at Parramatta. Samuel Hassall received a land grant in 1818 at O'Connell Plains, Bathurst, and also managed his father's property 'Macquarie Grove', on the Nepean River at Camden. In 1819 Samuel Hassall married Lucy Mileham at St John's Church, Parramatta, in a triple wedding with his brother Jonathan, and sister Mary. Samuel and Lucy Hassall had six children, Rowland James (1820-1820), Elizabeth Ann (1821-1860), Mary Susanna (1823-1877), Thomas Hancox (1825-1855), James Mileham (1826-1896), and Samuel Otoo (1830-1881). After Samuel Hassall's death in 1830, Lucy Hassall married secondly in 1833 John James Howell, with whom she had five children.

Jonathan Hassall (1798-1834), farmer, was born in Tahiti, third son of Rowland and Elizabeth Hassall. He travelled to Australia with his family on the 'Nautilus' in 1798. He grew up at Parramatta, first learning joinery and carpentry before becoming a farmer. In 1819, Jonathan married Mary Rouse, daughter of Richard and Elizabeth Rouse and they had eight children, Rowland H. (1820-1904), Richard James (1822-1900), Jonathan Lawry (1824-1899), Edwin Otoo (1826-1898), James (1827-1827), Mary Cover (1828-1858), Charles (1831-1863), and Elizabeth (1835-1835).

Mary Cover Hassall (1799-1825) was born in Parramatta, daughter of Rowland and Elizabeth Hassall. In 1819 she married Walter Lawry, Methodist minister, with whom she had four children, Elizabeth (1820-1820), Henry Hassall (1821-1906), Elizabeth Anna (1823-1857), and Mary Australia (1825-1903). Mary and Walter Lawry were based firstly at Parramatta and then at Tonga. They returned to Australia in 1823 and travelled to England on the ship 'Midas' in 1824. Mary died at Cornwall, UK, in 1825 after giving birth to Mary Australia.

James Hassall (1802-1862), farmer, was born in Parramatta, fourth son of Rowland and Elizabeth Hassall. At the age of 33 he married the nineteen year old Catherine Payne Lloyd (1817-1894), daughter of John and Catherine Lloyd. James Hassall bought 'Matavai' at Cobbitty from his brother Jonathan and also owned land at O'Connell Plains near Bathurst and at Boorowa. In 1850 he travelled overland with his family and settled in western Victoria. James and Catherine Hassall had ten children, John Rowland (1837-1841), James Lloyd (1840-1842), Catherine Ann (1843-1931), William Walter (1846-1916), Henrietta Eliza (1848-1918), Rowland Hope (1850-1909), Louisa Elizabeth (1852-1933), Arthur Wallace (1855-1934), James Cusack (1858-1936), and George Ernest (1861-1942).

Eliza Cordelia Hassall (1804-1835) was born in Parramatta, daughter of Rowland and Elizabeth Hassall. In 1823 she married William Walker (1799-1855) a Methodist minister with whom she had six children, Henrietta Elizabeth (1824-1875), Susanna Matilda Ann (1826-1866), Rowland Thomas Brisbane (1828-1874), Donald McLeod (1829-1829), James Dunlop (1830-1891), and Eliza Cordelia (1833-1902).

Susanna Marsden Hassall (1806-1890) was born in Parramatta, daughter of Rowland and Elizabeth Hassall. In 1827 Susanna married William Shelley (1804-1844), son of the missionary William Shelley who had sailed to Tahiti on the 'Duff' with the Hassalls. William and Susanna Shelley had eight children, Elizabeth Mary (1828-1912), Charles (1830-?), Lucy Ann (1832-?), William (1834-1888), James (1836-?), Robert (1838-1842), Susanna (1840-?), and Julius (1842-1890).

Ann Hassall (1808-1891) was born in Parramatta, daughter of Rowland and Elizabeth Hassall. In 1830 she married Robert Mackay Campbell (1806-1885) with whom she had ten children, Elizabeth Ann (1830-1871), Susannah Sinclair (1832-1893), Jessie Hassall (1834-1917), Robert James (1836-1877), Mary (1838-1927), Alexander Mackay (1840-1926), William Shelley (1844-?), Catherine Alexa (1846-1932), Ann Broughton (1849-1940), and Rowland T. (1851-1931).

Elizabeth Hassall (1810-1812) was born in Parramatta, daughter of Rowland and Elizabeth Hassall. She accidentally drowned and is buried in the cemetery of St John's Church, Parramatta.

CONTENTS:

Sub-series 1: Hassall family, correspondence, volume 1, 1796-ca. 1900
Sub-series 2: Hassall family, correspondence, volume 2, 1794-ca. 1885
Sub-series 3: Hassall family, correspondence, volume 3, 1793-1888
Sub-series 4: Hassall family, correspondence, volume 4, 1811-1895

This collection comprises 4 record series. You may navigate to a more detailed description of each series from this record.

Microfilm copy available at CY 908, frames 1-493 (A 1677/1, pp. 1-690); CY 909, frames 1-720 (A 1677/1, pp. 691-1800); CY 911, frames 1-641 (A 1677/1, pp.1801-8095); CY 912, frames 1-364 (A 1677/1, pp. 8096-8750), CY 913, frames 1-255 (A 1677/2, pp. 1-297); CY 920, frames 1-299 (A 1677/2, pp. 298-703); CY 921, frames 1-331 (A 1677/2, pp. 703-1164); CY 922, frames 1-329 (A 1677/2, pp. 1165-1708); CY 923, frames 1-422 (A 1677/3, pp. 1-668); CY 924, frames 1-347 (A 1677/3, pp. 669-1202); CY 925, frames 1-380 (A 1677/3, pp. 1203-1832); CY 938, frames 1-536 (A 1677/3, pp. 1833-7031); CY 928, frames 1-294 (A 1677/4, pp. 1-402); CY 928, frames 295-624 (A 1677/4, pp. 403-894); CY 929, frames 1-344 (A 1677/4, pp. 895-1342); CY 929, frames 345-618 (A 1677/4, pp. 1343-1673). Digitised from the microfilm copy in 2019.
This collection of correspondence was copied onto microfilm in 1986.