Private Benjamin Hanslow  (c. 1787...... .)

Back To . . .73rd Regiment . 1st Battalion Highland

History & Achievements :

 

BENJAMIN was a member of the King's Own Staffordshire Militia, and in 1809 there were a number of men from that Malitia who volunteered to join the Scottish 73rd. Regiment.  Fortunately for the volunteers the wearing of the Scottish Kilt was discontinued at that time!

Benjamin was in the 1st. Battalion, which set sail for Australia on 8 May 1809, arriving in Sydney on 1 January 1810.

The Commander of the regiment was Colonel Lachlan Macquarie,  and he replaced Colonel Patterson as Governor of N.S.W.

Captain  William  Bligh  of "Mutiny on the Bounty" fame had been the Governor of  N.S.W. and  Van Diemen's Land,  but when he attempted to put a stop to the New South Wales Corps trading in rum he was placed under house arrest by Patterson, who set himself up as governor, and he was not released  until he gave his word to sail straight back to England.    He set sail in his ship "Porpoise", but turned south and sailed to Hobart Town .

Prior to this there had been an influx of ex-convicts from the penal settlement of  Norfolk Island into Hobart , and among them was JAMES BELBIN. 

BENJAMIN HANSLOW was obviously posted to Tasmania during his time in Australia , as a detachment of 73rd. was stationed in Tasmania .

JAMES BELBIN had left for England in 1811,  and returned to Tasmania in 1814. In the meantime, BENJAMIN HANSLOW had met ELIZABETH BELBIN, and sailed with her from Australia on the  "General Hewitt" in March 1814, so it is most probable that BELBIN and HANSLOW had not met.

The division of the 73rd. which sailed on the  "General  Hewitt" was to go to Ceylon to put down an uprising, and it was while in Colombo that ELIZABETH had their first son, RICHARD.

After Colombo the ship took them back to England , and there BENJAMIN retired from the army in June 1817.  They returned to Gnosall, where Benjamin found that his brother, one sister and his father had died.

Benjamin decided to try to return to Tasmania , and in 1820 he partitioned the King to obtain free passage. Originals are held in the Tasmanian Archives.   Archives also has a letter written by James Belbin to Elizabeth whilst she was in England.

It took another 16 years before BENJAMIN was able to return with his family to Tasmania .

He arrived in Tasmania on the "Amelia Thompson" with his enlarged family on 20 August, 1836. 

 

RICHARD HANSLOW married ELIZA STOUT on 16 October 1843, when he was 28, and she was 24. ELIZA was a convict, transported on the  "Hope" in August 1842, and it appears a heavy drinker. There is a report in the  "Hobart Town Daily Mercury"  of 26 January 1859, which tells of the murder trial of RICHARD  HANSLOWE.

He was accused of the wilful murder of his wife on 19 November 1858.

Several persons gave evidence about having seen Richard, in a wagon with his wife, and beating her with an instrument.   Another witness said she had talked to Mrs. Hanslowe on the day before her death. She had been depressed, and drinking, and when asked when she would see the witness again she replied "perhaps you never may see me again"

Witness said to the deceased "Tut. Nonsense", to which she replied   "No, I do not think you ever will, but my reasons are best known to myself".

The Jury retired for only 15 minutes, and then returned a verdict of "guilty of assault", for which Richard  was  sentenced  to  3  years  with  hard  labour  at  Port  Arthur.

When Richard was 47, he married a 15 year old Irish girl named ANNIE DOWNEY, on 13 October 1862.   He gave his age as 38, and hers as 20.

Most probably the ages were altered to make the match look better!

Because Ann was Roman Catholic, all descendants from Richard and Ann are also Roman Catholic, where-as other descendants of Benjamin have been Protestant. At the time of writing a daughter-in-law of Richard is still alive!  This seems impossible, as Richard was born in 1815, but makes sense when looked into.   His last son, James Herbert, was born in 1885, when Richard was 70 (and Annie was 38).  James married Chloe Hobden when she 18 and he was 57!

A second story appeared in the "Mercury" on 6 May 1863, regarding an inquest into the death of Benjamin Hanslowe (Richard's brother). There appeared to be some suspicion regarding the cause of death. His wife had been seen throwing stones at him, but was cleared of any complicity.

ELIZABETH HANSLOW, who married JAMES RATCLIFFE, produced 16 children of her own, 15 of which lived, and she raised them whilst also caring for two grandchildren.

Their cottage was a two roomed, split-slab thatch structure at Dulcot.

Elizabeth RATCLIFFE died at age of 93.

It is my considered opinion that Benjamin was illiterate, and this is born out by the fact that in  his  petition to the king  he refers to his father-in-law "James Belville".      The petition would have been written by a solicitor, and that mistake would have been picked up by Benjamin had he been able to read. I think that when he said "BELBIN" the solicitor heard "Belville".

Benjamin's son GEORGE married THIRZA CLEVERLY in 1858, and they lived at "Prospect", Brighton , where they raised a large family:-

George	b. 14 Oct.1859
Thurza	b. 28 Aug.1861
Emily	b. 1863/64
Thomas	b. 16 Sep.1866
Eliza	b. 6 Sep.1868
Louisa	b. 29 Jul.1870
Elizabeth	b.  3 Sep.1872
Susan	b. 21 Jan.1875
James	b. 26 Jun.1878