Samuel CHARLESWORTH was born in 1827 at Nottinghamshire, England. His parents were Thomas CHARLESWORTH and Dorothy SLANEY. Both of Samuel’s parents had been born at Nottinghamshire.
Thomas CHARLESWORTH and Dorothy SLANEY were married 22 August 1806 at Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire, England. They had 10 children: Elizabeth CHARLESWORTH 1807, William CHARLESWORTH 1809, Mary CHARLESWORTH 1811, George CHARLESWORTH 1814, Thomas CHARLESWORTH 1821, John CHARLESWORTH 1824, Ann CHARLESWORTH 1826 all before Samuel CHARLESWORTH who was born about 1827 at Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. He was baptised on 11 January 1827.
In 1829 another sister was born at Mansfield; Hannah CHARLESWORTH.
In 1831 Samuel’s eldest sister Elizabeth CHARLESWORTH married Henry MUSGRAVE at Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire, England. Henry MUSGRAVE was born in 1808 at Edingley, Nottinghamshire, and was the son of John MUSGRAVE and Ann BAGGALEY. He worked as an agricultural labourer.
Elizabeth CHARLESWORTH and Henry MUSGRAVE had a large family who all seemed to have stayed in Mansfield and surrounding towns of Nottinghamshire for the next few generations. They mostly worked in the Coal Mines or the Cotton Mills. It’s unclear what sort of relationship Samuel would have had with his sister. He was only 2 years old when she married and she started having children of her own soon after that.
After the marriage of Samuel’s sister, Elizabeth, another brother was born in Samuel’s family. Henry CHARLESWORTH was born in 1832.
It’s unclear when Samuel’s older brother William CHARLESWORTH got married. He was definitely married by 1851. William married Sarah Anne and worked in the Cotton Mills. He moved his family to Lancashire which produced a lot of cotton at that time. William’s children also worked in the cotton mills.
Samuel would have had a closer relationship with his siblings who remained at home during his childhood. Older siblings, Mary, George, Thomas, John, Ann and younger siblings Hannah and Henry were still living at home with their widowed mother in 1841. It would appear that Thomas CHARLESWORTH, Samuel’s father had died.
In July of 1844 Samuel’s brother John CHARLESWORTH married Sarah GRAFTON. Samuel would have been 17 by that time. John stayed in Nottingham and raised his family there. He worked as a stone mason for most of his life. The 1881 census shows him taking his skills further and by then he was listed as a Master Builder employing two men.
Samuel’s brother John named his first son Samuel. He was known as Sam. Perhaps he was named after Samuel CHARLESWORTH who is featured here. This nephew is significant though because the two of them both ended up emigrating to Australia.
On 2 December 1846, Samuel’s brother George CHARLESWORTH married Elizabeth HURST. George worked in the cotton mills. His wife Elizabeth, known as Betty worked as a dressmaker and shopkeeper at Hayfield. By 1861, George and Betty were living apart possibly for work reasons. A lot of cotton was being produced in Lancashire from 1861 to 1865. This time was known as the cotton panic or cotton famine. George was still lucky to have work in 1871. He remained in Lancashire while his wife worked as a dressmaker and seamstress at Hayfield, Derbyshire. It’s uncertain as to how much contact George would have been able to have with his brother Samuel at that time.
Elizabeth CHARLESWORTH, known as Betty, wife of George CHARLESWORTH, previously Elizabeth HURST died in 1883 at Hayfield, Derbyshire, England. Samuel’s brother George with his son Darius CHARLESWORTH and daughter Sarah Hurst CHARLESWORTH emigrated to Dakota, United States of America in 1891. George CHARLESWORTH died the same year on 10 August 1891 at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States of America. He is buried at Pilgrims Rest Cemetery, Milwaukee, Milwaukee County.
George’s son Darius CHARLESWORTH worked from 1900 as a printer in Ohio. In 1910 he worked at the Republican Office, Mitchell City, United States America. He was living at Math Avenue, Mitchell Ward 3, Davidson, South Dakota, United States of America and his cousin Sarah HURST who had been raised with the family was also in the United States. Darius CHARLESWORTH and his wife Anna ALCOCK had five daughters. Darius died on 7 August 1916 at Davidson, South Dakota, Untied States of America.
The same year that Samuel’s cousin Darius CHARLESWORTH married Ann ALCOCK, his brother Thomas married Harriet GREAVES between April and June of 1846 at Nottinghamshire, England. Thomas worked as a wire worker and remained in Nottingham so would have been able to maintain some relationship with his brother Samuel. There is a separate video and story about Thomas CHARLESWORTH.
Samuel CHARLESWORTH married Eliza HURST on 28 May 1849. Eliza was possibly related to Elizabeth HURST who married Samuel’s brother George. Dorothy CHARLESWORTH previously Dorothy SLANEY had died only a few months earlier on 22 March 1849.
Samuel’s first child was born on 28 June 1850. A daughter, Sarah Ann CHARLESWORTH born at Hayfield, Derbyshire, England. Sarah Ann CHARLESWORTH, daughter of Samuel and Eliza CHARLESWORTH was baptised 1 September 1850 at Hayfield, Derbyshire, England.
The 1851 British Census a year later lists Samuel CHARLESWORTH as a cotton carder. His wife Eliza was a cotton weaver.
There are birth and death records of another daughter, Henrietta CHARLESWORTH who was born 19 March 1856 at Hayfield, Derbyshire, England. She died 11 days later on 30 March 1856 at Hayfield.
Samuel and Eliza had another daughter. Harriet CHARLESWORTH was born at Glossop, Derbyshire, England in 1860.
As a result of the American Civil War there was an over supply of cotton. 1861 to 1865 was known as the cotton panic. More cotton was being produced than could be sold and raw cotton was being held in warehouses and dockyards. The price of cotton increased due to a blockade and lack of imports all of which caused a change in the social circumstances of the cotton mill workforce in Lancashire and surrounding regions. Queensland, Australia with it’s hot and humid conditions was being considered for cotton mills so those who had worked with cotton were encouraged to emigrate.
Samuel and Eliza’s daughter Sarah Ann CHARLESWORTH died some time between 1861 and 1863. She would have been about 13 or 14 years old. Samuel states on records at the end of his life that five children had died before the couple ventured out to Australia.
Samuel CHARLESWORTH and his wife Eliza sailed for Australia in 1863 with only one surviving child, Harriet CHARLESWORTH. Eliza was expecting another child so it would have been a hard voyage for them both. The ship Fiery Star was overcrowded during it’s voyage from England to Brisbane. The maximum number of passengers was 470, but 554 emigrants were noted on arrival. Although the captain and surgeon were praised by saloon passengers, others were very unhappy. The sale of alcohol from a storeroom in the single females quarters encouraged harassment of these women by inebriated men. It was also noted that married men were unable to protect their wives and children from drunken persons.
It seems that Samuel and Eliza’s little daughter, Harriet died on the voyage. She is reported to have died in Queensland 0n 26 October 1863. The Fiery Star didn’t actually dock until November.
Samuel CHARLESWORTH and his wife Eliza moved to the Darling Downs in Queensland, Australia. This area was quite isolated but there was labouring work and sheep stations.
Samuel and Eliza CHARLESWORTH had another child, Samuel Hurst CHARLESWORTH born in Queensland, Australia on 23 October 1864. In 1866 when the baby was just a toddler, Eliza died leaving Samuel with his young son by the same name.
It’s not certain how Samuel managed with a small child but there are records of Samuel Hurst CHARLESWORTH being put in a Reform School so he may have been in some sort of trouble on 11 November 1888. This school was known as the Reformatory School for Boys. It was place for boys to be sentenced to a term of confinement at the reformatory by Children’s Courts.
Samuel continued to work on the Darling Downs in Queensland as a labourer and shepherd. In 1885 he fell into a 16 foot chasm while driving sheep. He never completely recovered from the accident. He spent the rest of his life at the Benevolent Asylum at Dunwich on Stradbroke Island off Brisbane in Australia.
The Benevolent Asylum was established in 1864 and was designed to service all of Queensland. It was built along the lines of the British Poor House where you put out of the public eye any illness, poverty or infirmity. There were no pensions in those days so the council built the people a town on Stradbroke Island. The people were mostly old pioneers from England who had come and worked in the Australian Bush. They were unwanted by both the Brisbane hospital and colonial government so an institution was sent to Dunwich because of the availability of vacant buildings. People were therefore removed from the main city and moved to Stradbroke Island. Anyone who was unable to keep up with the demands of society was admitted and most accepted their fate because they had become institutionally dependent.
The asylum occupied most of Dunwich. There were buildings with wards as well as a kitchen, bakery, laundry and other service buildings. It had a public hall and recreational facilities.
Samuel CHARLESWORTH died on 8 December 1888 at Dunwich, Stradbroke Island, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. He was buried on 9 December 1888 at Dunwich Benevolent Asylum Cemetery, Stradbroke Island, Queensland, Australia. Over 8000 people who died at the Benevolent Asylum are buried in the cemetery.
Samuel’s surviving son Samuel Hurst CHARLESWORTH spent his life at Maranoa in Queensland. It was a long way away and we can’t be sure of whether he kept in touch with his father. Samuel Hurst CHARLESWORTH died 21 January 1946 at Maranoa, Queensland, Australia.
