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FF JACOB
BELLETT
Convict ‘Scarborough’ (c1766-1815)
of HUGUENOT HERITAGE
- this story is under review by Membership Team
When telling the story of the Bellett family, it is
probably a good idea to start with the Huguenots, a
group of French Protestants with a history going back
many hundreds of years to an era that existed well
before the formation of the German Lutheran Church. The
denomination may have evolved from the Protestants of
Tours, who, it is said, met each evening with the
mythical King Hugonet or Hugon. It was the new church
of the day and expanded rapidly as many people no longer
wanted the Catholic faith.
Later on between 1562 and 1598 the Catholics and
Huguenots fought each other with a lot of violence. The
Catholics had the support of the Spanish. The
Protestants had Henry of Navare who eventually
claimed victory over the Catholics in France in 1572.
He named himself Henry 14th in 1594 and that
was the end of the struggle for a while.
After the death of Henry, Cardinal Richelieu
began to cause trouble. He did some things that were
unacceptable to the Huguenots and the fighting between
the two churches started again with many killed.
So began the great migration of the Huguenots to
countries such as England, North America, Switzerland,
Germany, Holland and elsewhere. Some sixty thousand
Huguenots moved into Holland. They were made welcome by
the Dutch Government but unfortunately it was too great
a number to be absorbed into the Dutch community. To
overcome the problem, 20 000 Huguenots were move to the
Cape of Good Hope. There are many Huguenots living in
South Africa today.
For those Frenchmen who did not emigrate to another
country, life became decidedly unpleasant. The
Protestants and Catholics had a very powerful and active
dislike for each other which, in the end amounted to
outright hostility, once again with the Catholics
gaining the upper hand this time. In 1685 the Catholic
cardinals persuaded King Louis XIV to revoke
every religion except the Catholic Church.
After the revocation it was estimated that about a
further quarter of a million Huguenots left France for
other countries as soon as they possibly could.
Enter the newlyweds, Thomas Bellette and his young
wife Judith le Sauvage, who arrived in London in
August 1687. They made their reconnaissance at
Threadneedle Street, London on 17th August
the same year. Being Huguenots, they had decided to flee
France and start a new life in London. A sensible move
considering the dreadful persecution that was taking
place in France. Many an edict was issued by King Louis
XIV, all of which attempted to make life increasingly
difficult for his Protestant subjects.
The laws and tactics used to attack the position of the
Huguenots were similar to those used by Nazi Germany to
attack the Jewish people in World War 2.The Huguenots
were forbidden to be lawyers, doctors or midwives and
they were not allowed any position in the King’s
Government. Their churches were demolished, schools
were closed down and worst of all their children were
taken away from them and sent to convents to be
indoctrinated into the Catholic faith. Imagine the
relief Thomas and Judith must have felt when they
arrived in London.
Three generations later, Jacob Bellette was born
at Webs Square, Shoreditch and subsequently christened
at the church of St Leonards. The year was 1765 with
Jacob’s birth date as recorded as 21-1-1765.
St Leonards is situated near the boundary of Shoreditch
and Bethnel Green and has an interesting history.
Another church has stood in its place dating from the
thirteenth century until 1736 when destroyed by Fire.
It too had been called St Leonards. Two hundred years
later in 1944, the new church of 1736 was badly damaged
by a flying bomb as were surrounding streets. It was
repaired after the bombing and can be seen on the map of
Shoreditch. This church is famous for its thirteen
distinctive bells.
Considering the social conditions in England at the end
of the eighteenth century, historians estimate that
approximately 115 000 people were living from the
proceeds of crime. Not only that, the people of London
consumed at least eight million gallons of gin
annually. It was estimated that there was a Gin House
for every one hundred and eighty people. Gin was made
locally and was cheap to buy.
The police service was run mainly by the church with
some help from other organisations assisting with police
work. The first government controlled police force
commenced duty in 1829. Robert Peel was mainly
responsible for this initiative and the early policemen
were known as Peelers.
It is estimated that more than seventy percent of
children born in London died before the age of five.
The lower classes simply could not afford to keep their
babies. They developed a practice of abandoning their
little ones on door steps of different places around the
city in the hope that someone would take the child in
and look after it. England, in particular London, must
surely have been one of the saddest places on earth.
The term Merry England hardly sees applicable.
To his great credit King George 2nd,
with the help of some wealthy citizens opened some
orphanages around the city of London. They introduced a
system where baskets were placed at the entrances of the
various institutions so that any mother could simply
leave her baby in one of the baskets where by the child
would be taken inside and cared for by the staff at the
respective orphanages.
Children would be looked after until the age of six when
they would, sadly, be turned out to look after
themselves. British history sank to what is possibly its
lowest moment when a six-year old boy was hung for
stealing a handkerchief.
How fortunate was Jacob Bellett? Considering the above,
both he and his siblings had been very well brought up
by their parents. The family did not have a lot of
money but their mother and father were able to have the
children educated by the French Sisters. As they were
part of the Huguenot society, it is not unreasonable to
assume that Jacob would have been literate in French as
well as English.
Jacob worked for a silk weaving company, Gearing Vaux
and Taylor with his father. On Christmas Day, 1784,
at the age of nineteen, he was arrested for stealing a
quantity of cloth on the evidence given to the police by
the factory foreman, William Cole.
Three weeks later he was tried at the Old Bailey 12th
January 1785 and found guilty. He was sentenced to
death but that was eventually commuted to seven years
transportation beyond the seas. He was to sail on board
the transport ‘Scarborough’, after some time
spent on the prison hulks, ‘Ceres’ and ‘Censor’
Whether Jacob was guilty or not is highly debatable. He
was convicted on the word of his factory foreman who
gave two different versions of events. Firstly, William
Cole gave a statement to the police which resulted in
Jacob being arrested and three weeks later at the Old
Bailey gave a totally different story altogether. The
sad part was that neither the judge, or the clerk of the
court and more importantly, the police, questioned Cole
about giving two different stories.
Being able to read and write English and almost
certainly French, Jacob was, by the standards of the
day, well educated. On the other hand, Cole was
illiterate. It is likely the educated young man was an
asset to the company and Cole saw him as a threat to his
position and in order to get rid of him, concocted a
story. He had the temerity to take it to the police who
acted upon it. What a pity the judge, clerk of the
court and police did not do their job and query the
evidence given by Cole.
The First Fleet arrived at Botany Bay on 18 January 1788
and six days later on 26 January all ships had anchored
in Port Jackson, the now chosen and superior site for
settlement. Jacob remained in Sydney for the next two
years
A
colony had been set up on Norfolk Island early in 1788
so HMS Sirius
was sent there in March 1790 transporting
convicts, including Jacob Bellett, and much needed
supplies. On 19 March 1790 Sirius was wrecked off
Norfolk Island, some of the supplies never making it to
shore. After the loss of the Sirius HMS Supply was
now the only link between Port Jackson, Norfolk Island
and the rest of the world.
In
January 1790 a Second Fleet of six ships had left
England for Port Jackson. The fleet was stocked with
provisions but also carried more convicts. The
Surprize and the Justinian were sent to
Norfolk Island in August 1790 which saved the colony of
Norfolk Island from starvation. Aboard the Surprize
was
Ann Harper,
future wife of Jacob Bellett. Ann was convicted in
Bristol for receiving stolen goods and was transported
aboard the Lady Juliana.
No
record has been found of a marriage certificate but
according to Phillip Gidley King's
Journal, ‘Several of the Settlers requested my permission
to marry some of the best-behaved female convicts; As
the Rev. Mr Johnson, Chaplain to the Territory came here
in the Atlantic, I requested him to marry them;
Upwards of one Hundred Couples were married in the
course of three Days. ’Reverend Richard Johnson
visited Norfolk Island in November 1791.
Jacob’s sentence expired in December 1791 when he was
listed as farming twelve acres in First Setters Vale,
today known as Music Valley. He was living with his wife
Ann who had been given a grant of thirty-nine acres next
to Jacob’s grant and the two holdings were farmed as
one. Ann Harper was the only woman to be given a grant
of land in her own right. Her sentence expired in 1796
and that year, with all the land officially theirs, the
young couple decided to stay on Norfolk and make a go of
living on the island rather than returning to England.
Later Jacob became a constable and apart from being seen
as trustworthy by the authorities he was literate and
that would have been a big plus for him when only a
small percentage of settlers could read and write. Their
farming efforts were successful, and seven children were
born to them while on the island, from Elizabeth
in 1792 to William in 1805.
A decision was made, however, to close the Norfolk
Island settlement.
Jacob and Ann Bellett and departed Norfolk Island in
September 1808 aboard the City of Edinburgh to
travel to Hobart.
On arrival in Hobart Jacob
was granted
45 acres at Queenborough and a further 40 acres at
Gloucester, areas known today as Sandy Bay, Pittwater
and Sorrell. They finished up doing quite well for
themselves from their farming endeavours. In March 1812
Jacob and Ann had another son, George.
Jacob died suddenly in Hobart Town on 3 December 1813,
aged 47,
and was buried in
wall set up in 1926 when the cemetery was refurbished as
St David’s Park.Ann
died at Sorell on 10 September 1842.
On 22 January 1814 the Sydney Gazette reported his death
thus:
‘Died suddenly at Hobart Town on 2nd
December ult., Mr Jacob Bellette, settler, formerly of
Norfolk Island. A minute or two before his death he was
in jocular conversation with some of his friends from
whom he was in an instant snatched by the awful mandate
of a supreme director, leaving behind him a wife and
infant family in whose affection all who were acquainted
with him must feelingly participate’.
The Fellowship of First Fleeters installed a FFF Plaque
on Jacob Bellett’s Grave on 2nd November
1988.
Refer FFF Web Site:http://www.fellowshipfirstfleeters.org.au/graves.html
Under
 FFF
Plaque 69 – Installed 2nd November 1988
for
FF JACOB
BELLETT Convict‘Scarborough’ (c1766-1815)
Note - a reinstallment of Jacob Bellett's plaque
occurred in 2022
Article contributed by #1379 Peter Bellette. |
