This letter of 21 July 1850 from John (Balsom Thomas) Hingston of Maitland Farm, Longford in Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) was sent to his cousin Sarah (Robins) Hingston of Ashford, Aveton Gifford in Devon England. Giving news of the death of his father, and of how the brothers and sister who emigrated with him were getting on, it also offers a fascinating picture of life for colonial settlers in Tasmania in the mid-nineteenth century.
Some explanation of the family background may be helpful.
Sarah's father, Andrew, (September 1776 - 22 February 1855) was the eldest son of Andrew Hingston (29 October 1744 - 25 May 1802) and Honour (née Balsom, 1751 - 10 October 1834), of Holbeton in Devon. Andrew and Honour had 9 children, and on his death Andrew placed on his eldest son the care of his younger siblings, including John's father James (1789 - 18 July 1849). At the time of his marriage in Holbeton in 1818 to Elizabeth Thomas, James was described as a yeoman and living a few miles away in Newton Ferrers. There James and Elizabeth lived, at least between the birth of their eldest son Andrew in 1820 and the baptism of John, their fifth child, on 28 December 1827. They may then have moved, as there is no record there of the baptism of their two further sons James and Robert. An article reproduced from The Examiner newspaper in 1942 relates the story of the family's emigration to Australia in 1841, by which time James is described as a widower and there is no mention of his son Andrew, though we know from John's letter home that he was then still alive. It is possible he elected not to go.
The two cousins, Thomas and William, mentioned toward the end of the letter cannot be identified with certainty. But Agnes, an aunt of John and Sarah, married a Joseph Thomas and had sons Thomas and William, of whom Thomas is said in another family account to have emigrated to Sydney and to have married the daughter of a wealthy sheep farmer and inherited the farm. He may well have tried farming in Tasmania first.
We can only guess at Sarah's reaction to the suggestion in the letter that she go out to keep house for her cousins and to find a husband. She may not have been tempted. Already 43, she was living with her parents and elder sister, also unmarried, on her father's farm. Her brother lived nearby. She would not have seen John since he was a boy, and his eccentric spelling and punctuation must have reinforced any impression that Tasmania was a hard, uncultured and overwhelmingly male environment. The neat copperplate hand in which the letter is written suggests some care over John's schooling, but the spelling and style of the letter contrasts sharply to that in a surviving fragment of a domestic note to Sarah, presumed to be written by her brother. Sarah probably went to school until the age of twelve, as her sister Ann is known to have done, and all the evidence points to her's being a more comfortable and cultured existence than was on offer in Tasmania.
Sadly, Sarah's home life did not long survive. In little more than four years she lost first her mother, then her eldest nephew, her father and her only surviving brother. Ann and Sarah let the family farm and moved to Plymouth, where they lived together for the rest of their lives.
Maitland Farm July 21 1850
Dear Cosin
I now embrace this opportunity in writeing these few lines, most sincerely hopeing it will find you and Uncle and Aunt and all your family and relations enjoying the blessings of health and happiness, and I am glad to be able to inform you that all your family here are enjoying good health at present which is a blesing we cannot be too thankfull for, wile one after another on every hand around us close their eyes in death we still are spared I have no doubt but that long before this time you have heard of the death of our Dear Father who departed this life twelve mounths ago the 18 of this mounth it was a great comfort and consolation to us all to see him so resigned to the Lords will I hive heard him say he had allways looked forward to death with dread but said he if this is death it is a way in which I never expected to meet it, the sting of death seemed quite taken away he did not speak for some hours before he died, but seemed to be enjoying sweet sleep and so life departed without a sigh or a struggle I dare say you have heard by Uncle Williams letters how the property was to be divided Brother Andrew was to have 40(L) Brother Henry and William as they were both started in farms for themselves were to have 1(L) each the remainder was to be equally divided between miself and James and Robert and Elizabeth, Brother William has got one part of our farm to himself his part is about 100 acres his house is about three quarters of a mile from our house I and James and Robert are carrying on the other part of our farm together our part is about 236 acres, we are all three single and for anything I know now, are likely to remain so for some time all though I must allow a good wife about the house would seem comfortable but their is not so good a choise here as there is at home there are no steady old house keepers here like there is at home they generally get married that are any ways steady they frequently marry verry young here often not more than 15 or 16 young woming think if they are above twenty they are gatting quite old maids I must now tell you that our Sister Elizabeth has entered into matrimony she was married on the 12 day of June by license at the wesleyan chappel at Longford which is about 6 mile from our house and I think that she will have a very comfortable partner he is a verry respectable young man from Summersetshire and we have had an opportunity of knowing him for this 5 or 6 years, his name is Fredrick Look Frampton, we find it rather strange without a woman about the house and I dare say you will think so but there is many houses here that has not got a woman about the place there is a great many woming here that has been transported here that will do themselves but very little good or any body else they are principally from great towns and many of them worthless carracters the are hired out to the settlers from the government factorys I think there wages generally are from (L)6 to (L)10 per year and their meat and drink and if they do not suit your purpose you have only to send them to the factory again to remain there untill they can get another place, so you see that their wages here is better than a great many woming servants at home Dear Cosin you must be aware that we have met with a great loss to loose our Dear Sister I may say that we have lost in her our second mother but there is one thing she is not gone far from us her house is about a mile and a half or too mile from our house brother williams is about half way between the too, so our sister is able to come down once now and then to put things to rights a little it is a very great comfort that our family are settled around so near each other so that we can very often advise or assist each other when nessary our Brother Henry lives about 4 miles from our house they are all pretty well his Wife has very lately been confined of another little boy which is their fourth boy their names are William Andrew and Fredrick the one before this last died and was buried in the same coffin as its grandfather Dear Cosin you must be aware that our expences last year were very great but it is a comfort for me to be able say that we were able to meet it without much difficulty our doctors bill only and medcine was between (L)30 and (L)40 and then he told me he had taken off several pounds, doctors charges here are very high and they do not find medcine, so it only their labour, the write a prescription for you to go to the druggist and you have to pay very dear for your medcine it is a great comfort to us all to be able to say that allthou our Dear Father has been called away from us he has left behind him a good name and I am sure if we had wanted to borrow 50(L) we could very soon have got it so you see we are not without friends and I hope the Lord will direct our path so that we may walk in the right way and do the thing that is right for we are told that a good name is better than riches
I dare say you have allso heard of the death of Mr. French, Brother Williams wifes Father, he died about the middle of January last and the day after the funeral Brother Wms wife was confined of a little girl which makes their second their names are Elizabeth Jane and Louisa Ann Brother Wm sent a letter to Uncle Andrew about two or three mounths ago and I know their has been one or two more sent some time ago but we never received any answer from them nor never heard weither they arrived or not Brother Wm has lately received a letter from Uncle William we were sorry to hear that Uncle John had been so unwell, but we ware glad to hear by Uncle Wms last letter that he was recovering I sent a letter to Brother Andrew the same time that Wm wrote to Uncle Wm and Cosin Thomas sent a letter to his wife the same time but neither him, nor me received any answer to ours nor did not hear wither they arrived or not I will now give you a little account of Cosin Thomas and Cosin William they are quite well they have taken a little farm together about two miles from Launceston it is about 30 acres their rent is (L)25 per year there is a fine garden upon it about an acre well stocked with fruit trees there garden will be worth many pounds a year as it is near town they have lately bought a nice young mare broken in and quiet for (L)13 they have got 2 cows of their own, we have been able to assist them with different things we have lent them a horse to help put in their crop and lent them corn to sow there ground and for there own use and brother Wm has given them his old cart and I hope we shall be able to assist them farther untill they can get a little return and then I hope they will be able to get along I believe Cosin Wms Wife is expecting to be confined very shortly I believe they are all verry glad they are come out here this is a very good climate it is rather warmer in summer than England and not so cold in winter but rather more changeable you can get most of the common nessarys of life here very cheap beef and mutton are now from 1½d per lb bread from 4d to 5d the 4lb loaf most kinds of fruit is very cheap here and grows well we have a nice garden but it is rather young yet but trees bear much younger here than they do at home, and we have a cofortable house of six rooms 4 below and 2 above, we hear that you are still unmarried I think if you were out here you would soon pick up a husband, so now Dear Cosin I must conclude and hope you will forgive whatever you see amiss, my dear sister and brothers send their love to you please to remember us all to Uncle and Aunt and all enquireing friends I hope you will send me an answer as we are allways glad to hear from home please direct to Mr John Hingston Maitland near Longford, Launceston Vandiemens Land and so no more at present from your affectionate Cosin John Hingston
[Addressed to:] Miss Sarah Hingston, Ashford, Parish Avvertongifford Near Modbury Devon England
[Marked:] Longford 20/8/50
[Franked:] Launceston 28AU23 1850 VR 20FE20 1851
[Transcribed by Treeby W Hingston c1945, and checked against the original by AJH Mar 1998 - in the HTML version the English pound symbol has been replaced by (L) so that it can be read worldwide.]
(Placed here by permission of Andrew Hingston)
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Page written 5th May 1999. C.J.Burgoyne