~ Shoemaker, convict, Miner ~
Nathaniel Beck (1808 - 1859)
Nathaniel Beck (1808- 1859) was christened on 16 October 1808 at the Cathedral (i), Manchester, Lancashire, England (see banner image above: Cathedral Window) and baptismal/christening records indicate his parents are John Beck (shoemaker) and Ann Burns, who married in 1807 at the Cathedral, Manchester, Lancashire.
Further investigation is required to determine the ancestry of Nathaniel. One Ann Burns[ii] (or Barns) was born in 1794, Bishampton, Worcestershire, England, daughter of John and Sarah. Another Ann Burns daughter of Edward and Jane, was born on 23 Jan. 1788, in Liverpool, Lancashire, England at the Parish Our Lady and St Nicholas and was baptised there on 10 Feb. 1788. Refer to the chart in Footnotes below.
Nathaniel was described in trial records at Lancaster as a shoemaker, and he was recorded in a 1824 trade directory[iii] as: Beck, Nathaniel, shoemaker, 7 Primrose St., Salford, Manchester, Lancashire. The business may have been his fathers and he was apprenticed, however it can not have satisfied his aspiration, for he appears twice in the court of the county of Lancaster.
In March 1826, Nathaniel Beck stole a coat from Ryle Holme and was arrested then tried in the Lancashire Azzises, Epiphany Session of April 1826. He was found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment for one month's hard labour.
On 7th Nov 1830, Nathaniel Beck, Thomas Taylor and John Trimble[iv] stole 2 coats & 3 waistcoats from James Pollitt.
Nathaniel was apprehended running away from the scene and reportedly said ~ "Well, they can only give me fourteen years!"~
In the Lancashire Azzises, Epiphany Session of the 10 January 1831, Nathaniel Beck was tried and convicted of robbing a warehouse, and received 14 years (prisoner No. 31/1142).
March 1831 - The National Archives, Kew. Reference:ADM 101/29/5/1
Folio 6: Nathaniel Beek, aged 22, convict, taken ill at Portsmouth; sick or hurt, pneumonia; put on sick list 5 April 1831, discharged 10 April 1831 cured.
Also Folio 36: Nathaniel Beek, aged 22, convict; sick or hurt, pneumonia; put on sick list 5 April 1831, discharged 10 April 1831 cured.
Nathaniel Beck alias Beek, was transported to New South Wales aboard the vessel "Georgiana" and sailed from London in April 1831. The Georgiana embarked with 182 males on board and arrived in Botany Bay, on 27 July 1831 with 180 males. Thomas Taylor and John Trimble, his accomplices were transported aboard the same ship? The ship’s Master was John S Thompson and the Surgeon John Tarn. He was placed in the employ of Danial Dickins of Windsor and later resided in Kandos (Bathurst).
Refer:- Record source: Convict Arrivals in New South Wales
NATHANIEL BECK
State: New South Wales, Australia. Date of arrival in NSW 27 Jul 1831.Ship name: GEORGIANA. Data provider: The Genealogical Society of Victoria
Nathanial Beck obtained a Ticket of Leave (No. 38/501) on 8 April 1838 allowing him to remain in the District of Bathurst and was issued a Certificate of Freedom (No 45/228) on 17 February 1845 or 46. The certificate lists his sentence as 14 years but it does not disclose his offence.
Nathaniel was described as a shoemaker, height 5 feet 4 ½ inch, of ruddy complexion with freckles, brown hair and light brown eyes “Small raised mole on the right cheek near the nose. Long perpendicular scar on the left cheek extending under the jaw.”
Ellen Luck nee Coates was a companion of Nathaniel Beck after the death of her husband George Luck (1852). Although no record has been found of a marriage with Beck, his death certificate claims Ellen Luck (nee Coates) was his common law wife.
1859 - index to Deeds / Land Purchases: Deed 402 ~ Nathaniel Beck ~ 30 acres in Bathurst.
Nathaniel Beck at age 48 - 51 years, died 26 August 1859 on King's Plain near Bathurst and he was buried at Carcoar cemetery(V). Records indicate that he was a farmer and a mine worker and settled property around Bathurst district (index to Deeds / Land Purchases: Deed 402 ~ Nathaniel Beck ~ 30 acres).
His death was recorded on the NSW BDM and on the Pioneer Index and there was a Inquiry by the Commissioner conducted.
COUNTRY NEWS. The Sydney Morning Herald... Tuesday 6 September 1859 p 3 News. INQUEST
AT KING'S PLAINS On Saturday last an inquest was held before Mr. O. C. Beardmore, P.M., coroner for the district of Carcoar, and a jury, on the body of Nathaniel Beck, a gold-digger, who came to his death under the following circumstances:-
It appeared that the deceased, having partaken of a hearty breakfast, had gone to his work, and had been seen, to all appearance in perfect health, in the course of the morning. At one o'clock, however, he was discovered lying dead by the side of the hole, by a boy who had brought him his dinner. A postmortem examination was made by Dr. Rowlands, who discovered that the deceased had laboured under extensive disease of the lungs. It was supposed that the deceased by working very hard in the pit had overheated himself, and on coming out got suddenly chilled, which in the diseased state of his lungs resulted in pulmonary apoplexy.- Bathurst Times.
Nathaniel Beck was a probable father (V) of Ellen's younger children. Peter Nathaniel Luck, for whom there is a birth record whilst Henrietta and Susannah M (later known as Ma Wallace) had no definitive evidence of parentage. The children of this relationship may have been brought up by Ma Wallace who is believed by Janice Wallace to have been the foster parent of Peter Nathaniel Luck.
Footnotes:
Comparison of records of two persons of the name Anne Burns, and one Ann Davis who married also one John Beck:
A person of the name Ellen Luck married in 1861 to one John Gilbert. He was possibly an associate of Nathaniel, and they may have raised the young family together and may have had another daughter, Ellen who died young. Ellen nee Coates would have been 34 years of age if and when they married.
(i) Nathaniel Beck aka: Nathanial Beek or Beak
Cathedral, Manchester
Nathaniel Beck: Possible Parent for Nathaniel were John Beck and Ann.
christening date 16 Oct 1808
christening place Manchester, Lancashire, England
father's name John Beck
mother's name Ann Beck
Source: system origin England-EASy / indexing project (batch) number I04352-6 / / gs film number 1545576 / reference id p 42
Also Family Search: system origin: England-ODM / indexing project (batch) number: C09789-1 / source film number: 443329
The reason for marriages in the cathedral;
Under the requirements of Lord Hardwicke's Act only those marriages (other than those of Quakers and Jews) celebrated in the established church were valid. The Collegiate Church of Manchester was the parish church for the parish of Manchester. Not only was the parish geographically quite large, there was an explosion in the population during the 18th and early 19th centuries. As a result there were insufficient churches.
The situation was made worse by a dispute between the warden and fellows of the Collegiate Church and the rest of the world over the ownership of the fees paid for the marriage ceremony. The warden and fellows claimed that under the charter of the Collegiate Church they were entitled to the fees. As a result if a marriage was performed with the parish of Manchester at a church other than the Collegiate Church the bride and groom had to pay two fees -- one to the priest performing the ceremony and the other to the Collegiate Church. As only a single fee was required for marriages at the Collegiate Church, almost everyone opted to get wed there.
In 1763 – Minimum age for marriage set at 16 (previously the Church accepted marriage of girls of 12 and boys of 14). Those under 21 still needed the consent of parents. On marriage records individuals that are over 21 often have their age listed as “full age” rather than an exact year
St Mary, St Denys and St George was a Catholic cathedral rebuilt in 1794 and its history and dedication to Our Lady's Assumption into Heaven is referenced under the title of the "Hidden Gem". It stands beside a Presbyterean church. "The Roman Catholic Church sought
to tackle Manchester's deepest troubled area which lay between Deansgate and Albert Square. A church was built in 1794 in Mulberry Street on a site crowded in by intensive poor-quality housing on land which had ... been open meadow and grazing pasture."
[ii] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often referred to as the LDS) has made the International Genealogical Index (the "IGI") available on the internet at http://www.familysearch.org
[iii] U.K., City and County Directories, 1600s-1900s / England / Lancashire for 1824-5 - Baines Directory p 166 image 167.
[iv] John Trimble appears to have also been sentenced (England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892 Convict, Criminal, Land & Wills) John Trimble was tried for crime of Larceny; He was resident in Jan 1829 - Lancashire, England. On 10 Jan 1831 at Lancaster, Lancashire, England, John Trimble resident of Epiphany, Lancashire, England was recorded as convicted of larceny and sentenced to transportation; departing on 29 Mar 1831 for New South Wales.
(V) source EMAIL: "Ron Norton" <ronn007@optusnet.com.au> Date: Wed, 13 Oct 2004..."found Nathaniel BECK, completely by accident, while searching Carcoar Cemetery records for someone else. A cursory look at Beck's funeral records revealed that he he had been 'married' to Elleanor LUCK (nee COATES), which solved a long standing mystery about the parentage of Ellen's three youngest children. All were born after the death of her previous husband George LUCK, but Luck was listed as their father. Further investigation disclosed that BECK was the father of at least two of them, possibly the third.
The National Archives, Kew
Reference: ADM 101/29/5/1 located in The National Archives, Kew / All departments
ADM Records of the Admiralty, Naval Forces, Royal Marines, Coastguard, and related bodies
Records of Medical and Prisoner of War Departments
ADM 101 Admiralty and predecessors: Office of the Director General of the Medical Department of...
Convict Ships etc.
ADM 101/29/5 Medical journal of the Georgiana, convict ship, from 4 March to 11 August 1831 by John...
ADM 101/29/5/1 Folio
BDM NSW Deaths Online search (Source record: Parramatta, St John's Church of England (CB)).
1. V18391267 23A/1839 LUCK, LOUISA Fathers age 40
2. V1827544 12/1827 COATES WILLIAM WILLIAM MARY
3. V18279930 1C/1827 COATES WILLIAM WILLIAM MARY (MARGREUR)
Children of Peter N Luck son of Nathaniel Beck
Burton John Luck (1884-1963)
Norman Willis Luck (1886-1958)
Gilbert Harold Luck (1892-1971)
May Ivy Luck (1894-1917)
Donald Wallace Luck (1897-1963)
Herbert William Luck (1899-1966)
Selina Evelyn Luck (1900-1980)
Eileen Lila Mary Luck (1902-)
Claude Hilton Luck (1905-)
Dorothy Alphia Luck (1908-)