Jacob, William

Descendants of :

William JACOB

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Generation 1

1. William JACOB was born 21 Mar 1815 in Hampshire, England and died 14 Jul 1902 in Morooroo, SA. He married Mary Elizabeth BAGOT 31 Aug 1842 in South Australia. She was born ABT 1819 and died 20 Jan 1892 in North Adelaide, SA, daughter of Charles Hervey BAGOT.

Other events in the life of William JACOB
Immigration: 20 Aug 1836, Rapid

Children of William JACOB and Mary Elizabeth BAGOT:
i. Charles JACOB was born 15 Jul 1844 in Chapmans Plains, SA and died 30 Oct 1873 in Yam Creek, NT
ii. Mary JACOB was born 1848 and died 26 Jul 1935 in Nailsworth, SA
iii. 2. John Christopher JACOB was born 02 Jun 1857 in Moorooroo, SA and died 02 Aug 1942 in Fullarton, SA
iv. William Edward JACOB was born 03 Jan 1859 in Moorooroo, SA and died 14 Dec 1859 in nr Tanunda, SA

Generation 2

2. John Christopher JACOB was born 02 Jun 1857 in Moorooroo, SA and died 02 Aug 1942 in Fullarton, SA. He married Martha Alberta ESSELBACH 01 Jan 1891 in Norwood, SA. She was born 20 Nov 1863 in Stepney, SA and died 10 Oct 1933 in North Adelaide, SA, daughter of Gustaf Louis ESSELBACH.

Children of John Christopher JACOB and Martha Alberta ESSELBACH:
i. 3. Eileen Mary JACOB was born 15 Nov 1891 in Moorooroo, SA and died 09 Nov 1957 in Netherby, SA

Generation 3

3. Eileen Mary JACOB was born 15 Nov 1891 in Moorooroo, SA and died 09 Nov 1957 in Netherby, SA. She married George Westwood DOWNING 10 Jun 1925 in Norwood, SA. He was born 23 Apr 1888 in Port Augusta, SA and died 19 Jan 1981, son of George David DOWNING.

Children of Eileen Mary JACOB and George Westwood DOWNING:
i. John Westwood DOWNING was born 06 Aug 1926 in North Adelaide, SA and died 16 Jun 2001
ii. Bruce Jacob DOWNING was born 28 May 1928 in Tumby Bay, SA and died 28 Aug 2010 in Victoria, Australia

Last updated 11 June 2019

See also Pioneers Association SA

In 1837, William's younger brother John joined him in the rudimentary township. In 1839, they were joined by their sister Ann and together they purchased land at Rowlands Flat.... In 1850 all three members of the family had married... - John Durdin, PSAA

JACOB John arrived 1838-01-05 on William (2) from Launceston

JACOB Ann (Miss) arrived 1839-06-23 on Ganges from London

AN OLD PIONEER

DEATH OF MR. WILLLAM JACOB. INTERESTING REMINISCENCES.

Mr. William Jacob, of Moorooroo, a pioneer of South Australia and a link with tbe distant past, died on Monday at the age of 88. His death will be regretted, as he was a most estimable colonist, and one of the very few who remained of the sturdy band of pioneers of 1836.

Mr. Jacob came to South Australia in the brig Rapid with Col. Light, as assistant surveyor. He was employed in connection with the original survey of the City of Adelaide, and was ubsequently appointed draftsman in Col. Light's office. He assisted to ombat the fire which/originated in Mr. J. H. Fisher's reed hut and spread to the Lands Office, which was demolished with, all its contents, including the whole of Col. Light's papers. After Col. Light resigned the position of Surveyor-General he invited Mr. Jacob to join him as a private surveyor, which he did. The late Hon. B. T. Finniss and Mr. Nixon were also taken into the partnership, and the firm, which carried on business under the name of Light, Finniss, & Co., conducted a number of important surveys in various parts of the colony.

Recently one of our representatives had an interview with Mr. Jacob, who made the following statement:—

"I came out with Col. Light in the Rapid. We sailed on May 1, 1836, and anchored in Antechamber Bay, Kangaroo Island, on August 19 of the same year. Light had previously served in the navy. His mother was the daughter of the chief of the Prince of Wales Island in the Indian Archipelago. The Duke of Wellington became interested in him. and gave him a place on his staff,

which he held through the Peninsular war. Sir William Napier, in his story of this war, made special reference to Light, whose name had been omitted previously at his own request. Napier and Light were so attached to each other that they were almost like brothers. As an evidence of the good feeling which existed between them it need only do mentioned that after Light had left the public service in South Australia Napier called upon Col. Torrens, and asked for an explanation of the Commissioners' treatment of him — treatment to which I will refer directly.

There were also on the Rapid, William George Field; Mr. R. W. Pullen, - who afterwards be came Admiral Pullen, who was in charge of the expedition which went in search of Sir John Franklin; Mr. Claughton, formerly of the Indian Company's service; Mr, John Hall, third officer; and Dr. Woodforde. We stayed a couple of days at Kangaroo Island, where we met the company's ships the Duke of York and the Lady Mary Pelham, and then, we sailed up the gulf looking for a harbour that had been mentioned by a captain of a vessel which had visited these shores before. We anchored at Rapid Bay, so called by Light, and proceeded up the gulf, but failed to find the harbour. Pullen, was dispatched with the hatchboat, and was directed to keep along the shore, while Field went in the longboat, and the latter met Pullen coming out of the North Arm. We soon afterwards intercepted Mr. G. S. Kingston and Mr. John Morphett, who had come but to look for us. Light subsequently went across to Port Lincoln to examine it as a place of settlement, but he condemned it.

I met Mr. B. T. Finniss and Capt. John Finlay Duff, of the Africaine, at Rapid Bay. They were delighted with the place, and wanted to know whether it was to be the site of the capital. On Light's return to Holdfast Bay from Port Lincoln Kingston was directed to follow up the creek with Morphett, and as a result they struck the Torrens. Finniss and I drew a boat truck from Holdfast Bay to the site of the present capital. When Col. Light showed us the site he had selected for the capital he was confident it was the best possible one. He said to me, I never expect the present generation to approve of it; but posterity will do me justice. And I may add here that, after 65 years' experience, I am not aware of a single instance in which Col. Light's judgment was at fault. There would never have been the squabbles with Governor Hindmarsh had the first suggestion been adopted that Napier should come out as Governor when Light was Surveyor General. Napier would not make the trip, without a company of soldiers, and that the home Government declined to give him.

The survey of the city was commenced at the corner of North terrace and West terrace by light, and I was employed at the eastern end with Mr. George Ormsby. Shortly afterwards I joined Light in his office as a draftsman. While engaged in laying out the site for the capital some of the settlers at Van Diemen's Land who had come to inspect it told Light that grain would never grow on it. His reply was, 'We will not only grow grain, but all the products of Spain and Portugal. Light always held that there was no harbour on the coast of Encounter Bay. There could not be a harbour on a sandy beach which received the full force of the Southern Ocean. And subsequent events have proved him to be right. Sir John Jeffcott, then acting as Judge, made up his mind against the advice of Light that he would try the Murray mouth, and he foolishly went there in company with Blenkensop, the captain of a whaler, with the result as you know that both were drowned.

'Light sustained a severe loss when he had the whole of his papers destroyed. A fire originated in Mr. J. H. Fisher's reed hut, and quickly spreading to the Lands Office demolished it and all its contents, including the papers of Light, among which was an account of his life. I was sent to carry a keg of gunpowder to a place of safety, and on returning found Light fighting with the flames, and he was so exhausted that I had to take him away. He afterwards built cottage for himself at Thebarton where he owned No. 1 section.

After he had delivered the town acres, to the various applicants Governor Hindmarsh asked Col. Light to survey the harbour. Light's reply was that this was the harbourmaster's duty, but on His Excellency pointing out that he could not do it, Light undertook the task. While he was engaged in this I proceeded with the survey that he was engaged in on the north side of the Torrens, and proceeded nearly as far as where Mr. White's place is at the Reedbeds. Dining one day with Light at the North Arm he said, 'Jacob, this is where, the Port will come to.'

I wrote to Light suggesting that he ought to make some money out of the brickfield, at Thebarton. He replied in a characteristic letter, a copy of which is in the Adelaide Town Hall to-day, for I took the precaution of preserving three copies of Col. Light's journal, one of which I handed to Mr. C. Peacock when he was Mayor of the city. His original letter I have in my possession now. It is as follows:— 'My Dear Jacob— I have been accustomed to make leeway all my life. Such a thing as rounding a cape of good fortune never enters my head. Of one thing, however, I am certain — that is the situation of Adelaide.' And that he never doubted. 'Few people know or ever knew why Col. Light left the Survey Office. I may perhaps mention here that when Light left England the commissioners told him he was to decide on the site for the capital. Light replied that adopting such a course might bring him into collision with the Governor. He was, however, assured that it would not and the commissioners intimated to Governor Hindmarsh that although Light would consult with him, still the final decision would rest with the Colonel. Light having selected the site for the capital he commenced to lay out the county lands, when Mr. Kingston, the Deputy Surveyor-General, returned from England with a message from the commissioners. This was directing Light to proceed with a running survey of the County of Adelaide, and instructing him how to conduct it. He was given a week in which to consider the matter, Light's reply, however, was — 'I don't want five minutes to consider it; I won't do it.' He very properly took the stand that he would not bo dictated to by the authorities. If he were not competent to undertake the work as he thought best, he was not fit to do it at all.

The upshot was that he resigned, and we sent in our resignations with him. Mr. Kingston then took office as Surveyor-General. My opinion is that Mr. Kingston ought to have declined to bring out the instructions. After we had all resigned Light asked me to join him as a private surveyor, and I consented to do so. While we were talking over the matter B.T. Finniss came in, and mentioned, that he and Mr. Nixon had decided to also start as surveyors on their own account, and we agreed to all join partnership, the firm being called Light, Finniss, and Co. This comprised Messrs. Light, Finniss, Nixon, and myself, and Mr. R. G. Thomas as draftsman. Mr. Thomas was the elder son of Mr. Robert Thomas, one of the founders of The Register. He afterwards proceeded to England to study architecture, and returned to the colony, becoming Government Architect and subsequently secretary to the Board of Health.

'When we were in private partnership Light said that Gawler was the best site for a town north of Adelaide, and he induced Mr. H. D. Murray, a nephew of Sir George Murray, and Mr. J. Reed to take out 4,000 acres there, selecting their frontage to the river as much as possible. I went up with Mr. Flaxman as agent for Mr. G. F. Angas and Mr. Menge, a German geologist, and took out a special survey where the town of Tanunda now is. While engaged in the work we, to our surprise, met Messrs. J. Morphett, C. Fisher, and J. Hill camped near the river and out on the same errand. As soon as we saw them Faxman slipped away quietly and rode back to Adelaide to claim the survey. I went out a second time with Flaxman and eventually Mr. Angas claimed no fewer than 28,000 acres.

A short time prior to his death Light met me at Gawler on his way to report to Mr. Angas on his surveys, and he said— 'Jacob, if you live an ordinary life you will see these plains enclosed.' Little did we dream then that they would develop to what they are to-day and be connected with a railway. I may claim to have lived an ordinary life, but what has transpired has been far beyond my expectations. Light shortly afterwards died in his cottage at Thebarton. I was at his deathbed and at his funeral, and saw his body deposited where the monument now stands. I then turned my attention to pastoral pursuits.'

The logbook of the Rapid, and indeed Light’s papers, have not survived and we learn little from his published Brief Journal. William Pullen, the second officer who was another to lose all his notes by fire, starts off a memoir by saying that ‘The details of a long sea voyage have been so often detailed that I shall nothing about ours, suffice it was a very pleasant one’. However, he continues by giving us a run-down on his mess-mates. One such was young William Jacob, a name that will be well-known to wine-drinkers, who was an Assistant Surveyor. He was ‘barely from home before, simplicity beaming from his countenance, a good natured and unassuming fellow, a good subject for playing practical jokes on...’. One day Claughton, another assistant surveyor who was officer of the fore-noon watch, cried out, ‘a sea serpent!’ Everybody rushed up on deck and there it was, floating in a bucket of sea-water that had been hauled up. It was greatly praised, and said to be the finest specimen anybody had ever seen. There was great enthusiasm to secure it, but Jacob managed to outbid them all, and had it preserved in spirit until long after the voyage. Eventually, dinner conversation at Rapid Bay with officers from the Cygnet turned to curiosities seen, and only then did a highly mortified William Jacob learn that he had carefully preserved the tail of the last pig killed on board for food.