George Knox was born in 1820, in Loose (Lewes), Kent, England. He was one of four children born to George & Lydia Knox (nee Lingham) who were married on 24th August 1818 in Maidstone, Kent.
George Knox senior was a carpenter who worked around Maidstone. In 1841 we find him in Chatham, Kent where he dies and is buried.
Lydia Knox died in 1829 in Maidstone, aged 29.
The death of his mother, and the subsequent turmoil in his family seems to have a bad effect on George juniour’s life. Records show that he is frequently in trouble with the law. He has numourous convictions recorded against his name for vagrancy, and was imprisoned five times.
There are two articles in the newspapers that may be George:
Morning Post (London) 20-9-1832.
A George Noakes is described as the ‘butcher’s boy’ in Marylebone, London and appears as a witness in a trial of William Cassimere.
Morning Post (London) 30-11-1833.
Charged as George Knox with William Manning and James Baxter, with stealing a quantity of cigars from their employer Mr Sanderson, a cigar manufacturer from Wood Street, Cheapside, London. He was discharged.
A later record shows a conviction for larceny, under his alias George Noakes, at the Maidstone County Sessions on the 4th January 1836, aged 17.
He is finally convicted at the Maidstone Quarter Sessions on the 5th January 1838 of stealing a bullocks tongue. For this offence he is sentenced to transportation for seven years.
He departs on the ‘Coromandel’ on the 19th June 1838 bound for Van Diemen’s Land.
He is described as 5’ 5 ½ ‘’ tall, of fair complexion with red hair and hazel eyes. A farm labourer. He has many tattoos and markings on his skin.
He is also described as being of very bad character, and often in custody.
He arrives in Hobart on the 25th October 1838.
As a convict he works in Hobart for a few years, and has a few convictions for absconding, neglect of duty and disobedience. By 1843 he has moved to Launceston.
One conviction there on the 13th May 1844 states a charge of ‘misconduct in being absent from his authorised place of residence’. He is found guilty and sentenced to one month hard labour.
He receives a Free Certificate on the 29th May 1845.
George departs from Georgetown, Tasmania on the ‘Shamrock’ on the 19th February 1846 and goes to Melbourne.
Records there show his occupation as a butcher and miner.
George KNOX married Alice Blanchfield at St. Francis Roman Catholic Church in Melbourne on 17-11-1849. Clearly though their relationship started the year before.
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Alice Blanchfield was born c1834 in Kilkenny, Ireland. Her father was John Blanchfield and her mother was Alice O’Shea.
Most Irish immigrants came from southern Irish counties, Cork, Clare, Limerick, Dublin, Galway and Tipperary. They were mostly farmers looking for a better life. The potato famine of 1845-1848 forced a lot of people to escape Ireland. Approximately 2 million people had to emigrate or die of starvation. At least one million Irish died in that period.
For unassisted immigrants it was the best that left Ireland, the skilled, and those with money. It took initiative and resourcefulness to leave. They came in search of gold and a better life away from Ireland and its problems.
For assisted immigrants it was the opposite. It was the dregs, the labourers, servant girls, oppressed Catholics and illiterates. They were mostly 18-25 year old peasants or unskilled labourers and agricultural workers.
This is most likely typical of Alice Blanchfield.
Although she is only about 14 years of age when she bears her first child to George Knox.
Single women came out in the hope of marriage. They were chosen for assistance to correct the sexual imbalance in the colonies and provide servants. Most were from rural backgrounds and lacked education. Most English & Scottish people didn't want to go, so the numbers were made up with poor and destitute Irish.
Alice may have been one of a large group of Irish orphans who were sent to Port Phillip as part of a scheme known as the Earl Grey Scheme.
The Earl Grey Scheme immigrated approximately 4000 Irish female orphans to Sydney, Adelaide, Hobart and Port Phillip. The immigration scheme was the brain-child of Earl Grey. He was the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and designed the program to meet an Australian demand for domestic servants and marriageable young women. It would also serve to reduce overcrowding in Irish workhouses. In the late 1840s many ships came to Australia bringing young girls travelling alone.
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George & Alice had eight children:
1)Cath KNOX. *Born 1848 in Collingwood. Baptised at St. Francis Catholic Melbourne.
2)George KNOX. *Born 1852 in Collingwood. Baptised at St. Marks C of E, Collingwood.
3)Sarah Ann KNOX. *Born 1-8-1854 at Punt Street, Collingwood.
*Died 1931 in Bendigo. Buried 11-12-1931 in Bendigo Cemetery.
*Married 11-8-1879 to James Alexander PURDY at the Registrars Office in
Castlemaine.
Issue:
a)William (Bill) George PURDY. b.3-9-1880-Bendigo.
d.10-6-1943-Kew, Melbourne.
m.15-4-1903 to Bessie HIBBERD-Bendigo with issue. (See LAMONT)
b)Alice PURDY. b.25-6-1882-Bendigo.
d.22-6-1954.
m.1908 to William Joseph Bateman-with issue. (See LAMONT).
c)Mary Ann PURDY. b.1885-Bendigo.
d.1958.
m.1907 to John Schadendorf-with issue. (See LAMONT).
d)Sarah PURDY. b.1887-Bendigo.
d.1954.
m.1907 to Alexander William Millar-with issue.
i)William (Bill) Millar. b.1907. (Married Beatrice).
e)Emma PURDY. b.1891-Bendigo.
d.1950.
m.1911 to Peter Millar-with issue. (See LAMONT).
f)James Alexander PURDY. b.1893-Bendigo.
d.11-4-1970-Bendigo.
m.Delia-with issue.
i)James (Jim) PURDY. (Married Nell).
ii)William (Bill) PURDY. (Married Dorothy).
g)John PURDY. b.1895-Bendigo.
d.1-7-1930-Bendigo.
m.1917 to Elsie Muriel Knight-with issue.
i)Elsie May PURDY. b.1918.
Sarah Knox was admitted to Castlemaine hospital on 3-5-1877, aged 22.
2)Alice KNOX. *Born c1857 in Castlemaine.
*Died 1922 in Castlemaine.
*Married 1883 to Robert Joseph Grimes in Castlemaine. (Robt died 1935, age 77)
Issue:
a)George Robert Grimes. b.1883-Castlemaine.
d.1884-Castlemaine. Aged 2 months.
b)Alice May Grimes. b.1885-Castlemaine.
d.1910. Age 24.
c)Clara Eliza Grimes. b.1888-Castlemaine.
d)George Francis Grimes. b.1891-Castlemaine.
d.1892-Castlemaine. Age 1.
e)Barbara Ellen Grimes. b.1893-Castlemaine.
d.1907-Castlemaine.
f)Robert/Rupert Knox Grimes. b.1895-Castlemaine.
d.1971. Age 76.
g)Reginald Grimes. b.1898-Castlemaine.
d.1927. Age 28.
h)Emmanuel Joseph Grimes. b.1901-Castlemaine.
d.1942-Geelong. Age 41.
3)William KNOX. *Born c1861 at Moonlight Flat.
*Died 1923 at Castlemaine. Age 57.
*Married 1889 to Mary Hellena Henry.
Issue:
a)Winifred Alice Blanchfield KNOX. b.1891-Castlemaine.
d.1940-South Melbourne. Aged 51.
m. Mason.
b)William Richard KNOX . b.1892-Castlemaine.
c)James Henry KNOX. b.c1894.
d.1943-West Brunswick. Age 49.
d) Leonard Francis KNOX. b.1896-Castlemaine.
d.1896-Castlemaine.
4)George KNOX. *Born 1864 at Loddon near Bendigo.
*Died 1864 at Loddon near Bendigo. Aged 7 days.
5)Eliza KNOX. *Born 17-12-1865 at Moonlight Flat near Castlemaine.
*Died 1893 at Castlemaine Hospital. Aged 24.
*Married 1888 to George Michael McInnerney in Castlemaine.
Issue:
a)William McInnerney. b.1887-Footscray.
d.1887-Footscray.
b)George Robert McInnerney. b.1888-Footscray.
d.1891-Footscray. Age 2.
c)Violet Lillian Maude McInnerney. b.30-9-1890-Footscray.
d.1955-Melbourne. Buried 16-2-1955.
m.John Stewart with issue (3).
Issue:
i)George Gordon Stewart.b.30-4-1913-Castlemaine.
d.20-9-1996-Mt. Martha, Vic.
m.Olive May Williams with Issue (7).
Issue:
i)Robert James Stewart.b.1937-Castlemaine.
d.1990-Moe.
m.Doreen Lowry with issue (7).
Issue:
i)Karen Ann Stewart.b.1958-Yallourn.
m.Stephen Wood with issue (4).
d)Elsie Myrtle McInnerney. b.1892-Hotham West.
d.1892-Hotham West.
Eliza KNOX was the informant on the birth certificate of William George PURDY. She was about 16 years old at the time.
6)Fanny KNOX. *Born 7-6-1872 in Castlemaine.
*Died 1873 in Castlemaine. Aged 9 months.
George Know was admitted to Castlemaine hospital on 29-3-1878, aged 53; and 2-5-1881, aged 58.
Alice KNOX died at age 37 on 7-6-1872 at Moonlight Flat, Castlemaine, Victoria.
She died six hours after giving birth to Fanny of severe blood loss. Alice had been relatively well throughout her pregnancy but towards the end had been having frequent fainting spells. She was becoming very weak and was not eating properly. She went into labour around lunchtime on the Wednesday. The labour was not going well and Alice was suffering greatly. By 3am Thursday labour had become very bad. Alice had no sleep and hardly anything to eat. Fanny was born about 6am on the Thursday morning. The midwife did all she could but noticed that Alice was very weak and that her belly felt hard. She knew something was wrong. The midwife stayed until about 12 noon after which she left Alice in the care of her daughter Alice who was 14 years old (George had left for work at 7am, but returned about 12:15pm for dinner). The midwife had not gone 15 minutes when William chased after her asking her to return as “Mum was dying”. Alice felt cold and the midwife knew that she was dying.
She died around 1pm.
After the autopsy the doctor found that Alice’s heart, liver and kidneys were all diseased.
George KNOX died on 11-12-1892 at Moonlight Flat, Castlemaine, Victoria, aged 70.
George had dinner with his son, William, on the Sunday night. He left there at about 6pm and went home, about a mile away.
George lived alone and had good health, only complained once of a pain in his side. He had not worked for a number of years and William was supporting him.
He was found the following morning lying on his left side, partly in a hole, face down on a pile of tailings.
An autopsy found he died of heart failure.
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Sarah Ann KNOX was born on 1st August 1854 at Punt Street, Collingwood, Melbourne. By the age of 10 she was living in the Bendigo area with her family.
Sarah Ann KNOX married James Alexander PURDY on 11-8-1879 at the Registrars Office in Castlemaine.