| [Index] |
| Robert BLANCH (1808 - 1885) |
| Children | Self + Spouses | Parents | Grandparents | Greatgrandparents |
|
Alfred BLANCH (1832 - 1898) Robert BLANCH (1835 - 1844) George BLANCH (1837 - 1838) Maria BLANCH (1839 - 1938) Abraham BLANCH (1841 - 1920) |
Robert BLANCH (1808 - 1885) + Mercy BALCOMBE (1814 - 1892) |
Edward BLANCH | ||
| Maria (BLANCH) | ||||
|
|
| b. 19 Apr 1808 at Rolvenden, Kent, England |
| m. 12 Oct 1831 Mercy BALCOMBE (1814 - 1892) at Beddenden, Kent, England |
| d. 1885 at Maclean, New South Wales, Australia aged 77 |
| Near Relatives of Robert BLANCH (1808 - 1885) | ||||||
| Relationship | Person | Born | Birth Place | Died | Death Place | Age |
| Father in Law | Abraham BALCOMBE | bef 07 Jan 1781 | ||||
| Mother in Law | Mercy WEBB | abt 1787 | abt 09 Jan 1832 | Ticehurst, England | 45 | |
| Father | Edward BLANCH | |||||
| Mother | Maria (BLANCH) | |||||
| Self | Robert BLANCH | 19 Apr 1808 | Rolvenden, Kent, England | 1885 | Maclean, New South Wales, Australia | 77 |
| Wife | Mercy BALCOMBE | 22 May 1814 | Rolvenden, Kent, England | 08 Apr 1892 | Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia | 77 |
| Son | Alfred BLANCH | abt 1832 | Rolvenden, Kent, England | 11 Dec 1898 | Casino, New South Wales, Australia | 66 |
| Son | Robert BLANCH | 1835 | England | 1844 | New South Wales, Australia | 9 |
| Son | George BLANCH | 1837 | Rolvenden, Kent, England | 1838 | At sea | 1 |
| Daughter | Maria BLANCH | 1839 | Raymond Terrace, New South Wales, Australia | 1938 | Bulahdelah, New South Wales, Australia | 99 |
| Son | Abraham BLANCH | 1841 | Raymond Terrace, New South Wales, Australia | 1920 | Maclean, New South Wales, Australia | 79 |
| Brother | James BLANCH | aft 1809 | ||||
| Niece | Sophia PILGRIM | |||||
| Sister in Law | Ann BALCOMBE | 30 Apr 1810 | New Romney, Kent, England | |||
| Sister in Law | Sarah BALCOMBE | 14 Jun 1812 | New Romney, Kent, England | abt 04 Apr 1816 | New Romney, Kent, England | 3 |
| Sister in Law | Mary BALCOMBE | 02 Oct 1815 | New Romney, Kent, England | |||
| Sister in Law | Sophia Sarah BALCOMBE | 05 May 1817 | New Romney, Kent, England | |||
| Sister in Law | Harriett BALCOMBE | 12 Sep 1818 | New Romney, Kent, England | abt 26 Feb 1832 | Ticehurst, England | 13 |
| Sister in Law | Hannah BALCOMBE | 25 Mar 1821 | New Romney, Kent, England | |||
| Brother in Law | Abraham BALCOMBE | 03 Feb 1823 | New Romney, Kent, England | |||
| Brother in Law | George BALCOMBE | 10 May 1825 | New Romney, Kent, England | abt 19 Sep 1825 | New Romney, Kent, England | 0 |
| Sister in Law | Eliza BALCOMBE | 18 Sep 1826 | New Romney, Kent, England | abt 06 May 1827 | New Romney, Kent, England | 0 |
| Events in Robert BLANCH (1808 - 1885)'s life | |||||
| Date | Age | Event | Place | Notes | Src |
| 19 Apr 1808 | Robert BLANCH was born | Rolvenden, Kent, England | 6 | ||
| 12 Oct 1831 | 23 | Married Mercy BALCOMBE (aged 17) | Beddenden, Kent, England | 6 | |
| abt 1832 | 24 | Birth of son Alfred BLANCH | Rolvenden, Kent, England | ||
| 1835 | 27 | Birth of son Robert BLANCH | England | ||
| 1837 | 29 | Birth of son George BLANCH | Rolvenden, Kent, England | ||
| 1838 | 30 | Death of son George BLANCH (aged 1) | At sea | ||
| 26 Jun 1838 | 30 | Immigration | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | per 'Westminster' | |
| 1839 | 31 | Birth of daughter Maria BLANCH | Raymond Terrace, New South Wales, Australia | ||
| 1841 | 33 | Birth of son Abraham BLANCH | Raymond Terrace, New South Wales, Australia | ||
| 1844 | 36 | Death of son Robert BLANCH (aged 9) | New South Wales, Australia | ||
| 1885 | 77 | Robert BLANCH died | Maclean, New South Wales, Australia | 8352/1885 Died the Clarence | 6 |
| Source References: |
| 6. Type: Book, Abbr: Queanbeyan Register, Title: Biographical register of Canberra and Queanbeyan: from the district to the Australian Capital Territory 1820-1930, Auth: Peter Proctor, Publ: The Heraldry & Genealogical Society of Canberra, Date: 2001 |
| - Reference = 19, 247 (Death) |
| - Reference = 19, 247 (Name, Notes) |
| - Reference = 19, 247 (Birth) |
| - Reference = 19, 247 (Marriage) |
| 18. Type: E-mail Message, Abbr: e-mails general pool, Title: e-mails general pool |
| - Reference = Rachel Heath 8 Oct 2012 (Name, Notes) |
| - Notes: Robert Blanch, the eldest child of Edward and Maria Blanch arrived in, NSW, Australia on the "Westminster" June 26, 1838, with his wife Mercy and their two children, Alfred and Robert. Their third child, George had died only two days out of port. Robert was born in England April 19, 1808, and christened at the church of Saint Mary the Virgin, Rolvenden, July 10, 1809. At the age of 25 he married Mercy Balcombe, daughter of Abraham and Mercy Balcombe on New Romney in Kent. Her younger sister, Mary, had married Robert's younger brother James the previous year. The Balcombe (or Baulkham) family seems not to have been native to New Romney, Abraham Baulkham, a labourer, had married Mercy Webb there in 1809, and had 11 children of whom 3 died young. It is the Webb family which seems to have come from New Romney and it is well represented there from the middle of the 18th century. By profession Robert Blanch was a farm labourer and shepherd. On arrival in, NSW, Australia he was engaged by J.B. Bettingham of Sydney at a salary of £25 per annum. However, as observed elsewhere, it is unlikely that Robert ever worked for Bettingham at all, and almost certainly moved directly to the Williams River. The family's early years in the country would have been arduous indeed as the 1810's brought severe economic depression which meant great hardship, particularly on the land, with the prices to be had for stock plummeting. The atmosphere of despair this engendered may, no doubt, have had some part to play in the unhappy events soon to mar Robert's life. NOTICE (from the Sydney Morning Herald, 9 August 1842, p3) Whereas, my wife, Mercy Blanch, having absconded from my protection, with an infant, and leaving four helpless ones behind her, without any cause or provocation whatsoever, with an emancipated convict of the name of Joseph Blunden, against whom a warrant has been issued by the Bench at Newcastle for robbing me. I hereby offer a reward of five pounds for his apprehension and conviction; and I caution the public not to give my wife any credit, as I will not hold myself responsible for any debts she may contract from this date. Signed - Robert (his X mark) Blanch Witness - John (his X mark) Machonochy NB. - The man served his time with R. Jones, Esq.; has J.B. on his arm, is of a light complexion, about 5 3/4 feet in height, rather bald forehead, and left Ash Island with a horse heavily laden. Newcastle, August 6.
Joseph Blunden was in fact Joseph Blundell, who had arrived in Australia in 1826, sentenced to life transportation for assault (Ident of the "Marquess of Huntly", AO Reel 2425, 2/8269 p211ff). On arrival in Australia, he was assigned to Richard Jones and in 1828 was working as the latter's servant on his property, "Fluer", at Cabramatta. By 1837 he had received his Ticket of Leave, but appears to have been still employed by Jones at Cassilis. There is no indication as to whether or not Blundell had left Jones' employment when he received his Conditional Pardon in April 1842. There is no travel thereafter of either Joseph Blundell or Mercy Blanch, or her infant child. It is interesting to note, however, the departure from Sydney on March 8, 1843, for London of Mr and Mrs Blundell, with child. As the possessor of a Conditional Pardon, Blundell was barred from returning to England but it remains possible that he did so anyway. At the time that Mercy Blanch left her husband in 1842 they had four "helpless" children, as well as the infant she took with her. The children of the couple so far known are:- Alfred - Born c. 1833 Robert - Born c. 1835 George - Born c. 1837, Died 1838 Maria - Born c. 1839 Abraham - Born c. 1841 The four "helpless" ones must be Alfred, Robert, Maria and either Abraham or an otherwise unknown sixth child. The infant Mercy took with her would therefore be either Abraham, or more probably, a new-born child, possibly the child of Blundell. Robert junior, deprived of his mother's care, did not survive childhood. 5 years after the departure of his wife Robert is said to have married Ann Callaghan at Morpeth. Ann Blanch was a native of County Cork, Ireland, the daughter of Timothy Callaghan, a butcher and his wife Catherine O'Keefe. At this period of his life, Robert was farming at Nelsons Plains on the western side of the Williams River, possibly for Jacob Newton. It is quite probable that he had been there since his arrival in the colony. Sometime in the mid 1850's he moved on to the Myall Lakes where Newton, soon to become his son-in-law, had a property. Robert worked there as either a farmer or a bushman until the late 1870's. Here he raised his second family, and here he buried his second wife after her death from dropsy June 22, 1870. They had only 2 children, a daughter who died young and a son, Robert Charles. It is likely that Robert stayed on at the Myall River until 1877 when his son married Elizabeth Malone. In 1877 Robert Blanch was nearly 70 years old. With his youngest son married and his daughter well established he made his last move to join his sons on the Clarence River. By 1881, he had established himself as a farmer at Woodford Island near his son, Abraham. On Oct 17, 1885, he died at Woodford Island and was buried the following day in the Presbyterian Cemetery at Maclean. Whether there was some doubt about his second marriage is unknown but what is certain is that when Samuel Blanch gave the information for the registration of his brother's death there was no mention of either Ann or her son Robert Charles, still farming at the Myall River. Finally, here is a relevant excerpt from my chapter on Robert Blanch: Robert Blanch married Mercy Balcombe at Biddenden, Kent, England on 12 October 1831 (Biddenden Parish record #2244). Both Robert and Mercy used a cross to indicate their approval of the marriage. The witnesses were William Milsted and William Button. Mercy Balcombe was born in Kent around 1812 (LDS FamilySearch). In 1842 Mercy Blanch ran off with an escaped convict, Joseph Blundell, leaving behind Robert and his four children. According to the England & Wales Criminal Registers, Joseph Blundell was sentenced to transportation for life during the 2 January 1826 session of the Kent Court. It is possible that Joseph had been given a death sentence for stabbing with intent in the December, 1825 session of the Kent Court, a sentence that was later commuted to transportation for life. According to the NSW, Australia Convict Ship Muster Rolls, Joseph Blundell travelled to Sydney, NSW in 1826 on the Marquis of Huntley. The following Notice appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald on 9 August 1842 |