William Samuel Makin (1802 - 1887)

Little is known about William from official records. We have him born in Manchester, 1802 and his mother’s name was Agnes. There is no record of how he came to be in Australia.

There are a number of William Makin’s (and alternate spelling) in convict lists, but the dates and circumstance rule them out as being our William.

William Makin arrived on the Lloyd in 1833. Sentenced to 7 years and didn’t get his Certificate of Freedom until 30 Dec 1842.

William Makin arrived on the Earl Grey in 1836. However he is way too young , born in 1820.

William McMakin arrived on the Mangles in 1826, however he is too young as he was born in 1807.

William Macken arrived on the James Laing in 1834. Sentenced to 7 years and didn’t get his Ticket of Leave until 1838. Also born in 1799 makes him too old.

William McMakin arrived on the ship Dorothy in 1820. His movements can be tracked through official records. Unfortunately within those record the surname is spelled 11 different ways. He also married Margaret Burke in 1834.

 

THE FOLLOWING TAKEN FROM THE UPDATED VERSION OF ‘FROM BURREN STREET TO THE GALLOW’S BY CAROL HERBEN. At this stage I can find no evidence to support the claim that William Solomons is William McKin is William Samuel Makin. I have included it for researchers after me who may be able to find the link.

CHAPTER ONE

THE EARLY YEARS.

William Samuel Makin, John’s father, was a sawyer by trade. During his almost 50 years of residency in Wollongong he worked very hard to build a name for himself and his family. He succeeded splendidly in that and the family was well respected in the Illawarra.

When this book was published in 1997 William Samuel Makin was still very much a mysterious character as far as his origin and arrival in the colony was concerned. The only thing I knew was that he was certainly not the William Makin who arrived on the “Lloyds” in 1833. This William Makin was an army deserter and sentenced to 7 years plus 400 lashes. He was mentioned in the 1837 General Returns of Convicts.

To unravel the other William Makin, my ancestor, took many years of research. I had to establish who he was, where he came from, how he came here, when did he arrive, was he a convict or a free person, what did he do after his arrival, when did he marry, who did he marry, where did they settle, how many children did he have, had he used different names, etc. My decision to revise this book was that more information on the families had become available since 1997.

William, as well as his wife Eleanor (nee Bolton), had a lot to hide in their background after arriving in the colony. One can expect that both intended to raise a family that would show no reflection of their past. However, it was not long after both had died that their son John and his wife Sarah became notorious and were written into the annals of Australian history and made Australian legal history.

I shall now go back to the beginning. William Makin was born at St Marylebone, a suburb of London, on 18 August 1802, the fourth child of William Solomons Makins and his wife Elizabeth Murrell who were married on 15 June 1797. Williams siblings were Maria born 1 November 1798, James baptized 8 June 1800, John baptized 18 October 1801, Thomas baptized 2 October 1803, Elizabeth born 4 May 1804, Sarah baptized 30 March 1806, Robert Jesse born 31 August 1810 and Ann born 24 April 1813.

One William Solomons aged 18 years an “errand boy” from Edmondton, a London suburb, was committed on 20 December 1820 by L.B. Allen Esq. to stand trial after having been charged on the oath of James McGregor and other with feloniously assaulting him on the King’s at Saint Thomas. Southwark, Surrey, on 16 December 1820 taking from him against his will a silver watch, a watch ribbon and two watch keys to the value of 4l-4s-6p.

William Solomons stood trial on 31 March 1821. James McGregor swore on oath that he was “in corporal fear and danger of his life in the King’s Highway”.

William was found guilty and sentenced to be hanged. The sentence was repealed to transportation for seven years. He arrived in the colony of New South Wales on 23^rd January 1822 on board “Mary II”. After his arrival William Solomons was assigned to the Carpenters gang at Pennant Hills Timbergetting Establishment where he learned his trade.

This rich timber area was discovered by Governor Arthur Phillip on 17 April 1788 when he and his party tried to penetrate the North Shore only to find “it was covered with an endless wood”. The timber establishment commenced under the orders of Governor King in 1805 as part of Public Works for the purpose of procuring timber for shipbuilding. By 1825 William Solomons, still under the supervision of the Timber Establishment, was working at Barren Hills, Waterloo.

On 17 April 1828 the Colonial Secretary informed John Fowler Superintendent of Pennant Hills Establishment that the Bench of Magistrates at Parramatta would deliver Certificates of Freedom for Richard Anglin, who had arrived on the “Isabella II”, and William Solomons, who arrived on the “Mary II”.

Checking the 1828 Census I found that a William Solomon was recorded, although some of the information on him was rather obscure. His age of 25 years, occupation sawyer. Protestant, 7 years sentence and Free by Servitude were all correct, but the ship “Eliza” and year of arrival 1821 were incorrect, as “Eliza” did not make a voyage to Sydney during that year. At the time of the census, November. He was living with William Kelly, a painter, in George Street Sydney.

After further painstaking research William Solomon was found in December 1834 as William McKin boarding with William Carss, a Master Carpenter, of Campbell Street, Sydney, at the expense of a Dr James Bowmen whose grand mansion “Lyndhurst” at Glebe was under construction. James Bowman was the son-in-law of John and Elizabeth Macarther of Elizabeth Farm at Parramatta. After the completion of the house William McKin was retained to oversee the finishing touches such as the removal of stumps, fencing, laying out of the gardens and orchard. Delivery dockets for materials and verification of invoices for work done by contractors were all signed by him and submitted to Dr Bowman for payment. On completion of Lyndhurst in 1836 the Bowmans moved in and engaged household staff. William McKin was retained as the overseer of the ground staff. During his time at Lyndhurst he worked not only for Dr. Bowman, but at various times also at John Macarthur’s Elizabeth Farm. Opposite the Farm, on the north side of Parramatta River, was the Female Orphanage, Elizabeth Macarthur used to hire girls from there as well as the Female Factory to assist with the running of the house.

Comparing the signatures of W McKin with W S Makin, covering many years only showed minor changes proving that both names were the same person.

The different statements about William Solomons can be easily verified through Ancestry.com. The best piece to maybe find a connection is his Certificate of Freedom which has a very good record of his physical appearance.

 

CERTIFICATE OF FREEDOM No 28/300

Date: 15 April 1828
Prisioner No:
Name; William Solomons
Ship: Mary (2)
Master: Arkoll
Year: 1822
Native Place: Edmunton
Trade or Calling: Labourer
Offence:
Place of Trial: Surrey Ass
Date of Trial: 29 March 1821
Sentence: Seven Years
Year of Birth: 1803
Height: 5 feet 8 ¼
Complexion: Fair
Hair: Light Brown
Eyes: Dark – right defective
General Remarks: Dimple on chin, perpendicular scar in centre of forehead.

The defective right eye and perpendicular scar in centre of forehead would be a dead giveaway if any record of William Samuel Makin showed he had them.

 The next record we have for William is his marriage to Eleanor Selena Bolton in Sydney on the 23^rd January 1837.

When Thomas was born 4 Jan 1838, William’s occupation was listed as Sheriff’s Bailiff. This would have been during the appointment of Thomas Macquoid, who held the Office of Sheriff from 1829 – 1841. Macquoid’s period of office was plagued with controversy.[1] His position was worsened by financial concerns tied to his office and he lapsed into a state of depression and serious insolvency committing suicide in October 1841. Following Macquoid’s death serious discrepancies were found in the fees that should have been held by his office. There should have been a total of three thousand seven hundred and forty three pounds, instead there was just 9 pence.

I have been unable to find any record to confirm William being a Sheriff’s Bailiff for Thomas Macquoid, however, it was after Macquoid’s death that the family left Parramatta.

The following article appeared in the Wollongong Advertiser on 6/2/2013.

 Large Makin family made its mark

 Date: 06/02/2013
 Words: 561
 Source: ...           Publication: Wollongong Advertiser
 Section: News
 Page: 21

 Wollongong has a fascinating history and each week the Advertiser brings you a story from its rich past.

When William Samuel Makin, a sawyer, married Ellen (later known as Eleanor) Bolton in January 1837 at Parramatta, this was the start of a family whose offspring would not only leave their mark on the Illawarra's but also Australia's history.

Leaving Parramatta around 1842, they arrived at Charcoal Creek where Mr Makin took up a clearing lease. In December 1843, William Makin was declared insolvent with personal debts in excess of 75 pound and with personal property valued at less than six shillings. The Makins then moved to Fairy Meadow around 1849 and for a short while William was farming. Then by 1851, they were dealers in Crown Street.

In 1853, the family moved into Corrimal Street near the Harp Hotel. The Makins first purchased two corner lots on Market Street, and then they purchased the old Steam Packet Hotel, which was turned into the family home. Mr Makin held the position of agent of the Illawarra Steam Navigational Company for 35 years. Both lived into their 80s. William Samuel Makin died in January 1887. Eleanor buried William on their 50th wedding anniversary. Mrs Makin died in March 1890.

Their first child, Thomas, was born in 1838 at Parramatta. He served many years as a blacksmith at the Mt Keira Coal Mine. While Thomas was attending his sister Mary's funeral in October 1871 his children were left alone at the old Corrimal Street home. Six-year old Thomas climbed up to reach a shelf with a lighted candle. Somehow, some grains of gunpowder spilt onto the candle. The flask of powder exploded and in no time, the kitchen was filled with flames and smoke. Samuel Stumbles heard the noise and when he arrived managed to extinguish the fire.

Ben Fawcett also attended and applied homeopathic medicine to the boy's burnt hands and face.

Mary Ann Makin was born about 1840 and at the age of 21 married Edwin Searle, who became a director of the Illawarra Mutual Building Society in its early days. Mary Ann Searle died in 1871, aged 31.

Joseph, the Makins' third child, was born in 1843 at Charcoal Creek. As a young man, he carted loads of metal from the Keira Street Quarry. Later he drove people from Wollongong Harbour to local hotels and years later owned and operated the Royal Hotel from 1892-1911.

John, the fourth child, was born in 1845 at Dapto. He and his wife Sarah operated the Royal Alfred Hotel from 1871-73. They moved to Sydney in 1873 and by 1892, their cruel activities ensured them a place in Australia's legal history as the "baby farmers", caring for illegitimate children in exchange for payment. John was executed in 1893 and Sarah sentenced to a long jail term.

William, born about 1847 at Wollongong, was five years old when he fell into a pot of boiling water in January 1853. For over a week, the poor boy was hovering between life and death. William remained a single man and devoted his life to training racehorses.

Alfred, born in 1849 at Fairy Meadow, moved to Canowindra where he was a mail contractor for more than 37 years.

Daniel, born 1853, became a fruiterer.

George Henry, born 1860, remained single and became the agent of the Illawarra Steam Navigational Co after the death of his father.

Frederick Edwin, the youngest son, was born in 1877 and worked as a blacksmith's assistant to J. A. Walker. He died before his 17th birthday from typhus fever.

Two daughters, Emily, born in 1851, and Elizabeth, in 1856, married and raised families.

William Samuel Makin died 20^th January 1887 and is listed on the Memorial at Pioneer Park, Wollongong, NSW.

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[1] http://www.bailiff.com.au/nsw/TheSheriffOfNSW.htm