John Smith's Family Tree Website

Flitt family

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Part 3: Edmund Flitt III (1811 - 1836)

Working life and marriage to Elizabeth Wright

Edmund Flitt III was the second child of Edmund Flitt Jr and Elizabeth Wright. He was born 02 September 1811 and baptised 29 September the same year at Christ Church, Southwark, London. His family later moved to CHipping Barnet, Hertfordshire. He was able to sign his name at his marriage so he had had some education. He worked a blacksmith and farrier but probably was not able to make ends meet. In July 1829 came the first of his known trials. He was convicted at St Albans, Hertfordshire, of larceny and sentenced to one month’s imprisonment and a whipping.

He married Lucy Rabbitts (c1812 - 1872) 16 June 1833 at St Giles Church, South Mimms, Hertfordshire. Just six months after their marriage, Edmund was sentenced to two months hard labour for poaching. At the Midsummer Sessions the following year, he was sentenced to one month’s imprisonment and a whipping for stealing a shirt. It was possible he was still in prison when his first daughter Lucy was born c1834. Their second daughter Jane Elizabeth was born c1835.

Transportation sentence

The family appeared to be living in Surrey in the second half of 1835 and Lucy Sr was a house servant. She and Edmund were convicted of stealing a coat and other articles from a house in Kingston (possibly the one in which she worked). At their trial 14 September 1835, they were both sentenced to seven years transportation to Australia. Edmund would never see his wife and daughters again. He was sent to the Horsemonger Lane Gaol (also known as Surrey County Gaol) and then 26 September was moved to prison hulk HMS Leviathan, moored at Portsmouth, Hampshire.

During the Industrial Revolution, there were enormous social changes. Mechanisation reduced the need for human labour in some industries but also led to more work being available in the major cities. The population shifted from being mostly rural to urban-dwellers as people went in search of work and new opportunities. Unfortunately, there was never enough work in the cities and people took to committing petty crimes such as poaching and stealing low-value items. Throughout the 18^th century, serious crimes had often resulted in transportation to the American colonies. However the American War of Independence (1775 - 1783) meant this option halted and prisons became severely overcrowded. Even the use of ‘hulks’ (decommissioned naval ships) to house prisoners did not alleviate the situation. In 1787, a decision was made to transport prisoners to New South Wales (which later became Australia).

Conditions on the hulks were appalling and diseases spread easily. At night prisoners were shackled to their bunks. During the day they endured hard labour on a poor diet. Edmund died on HMS Leviathan 17 May 1836, aged 24, and although a cause of death was not recorded, it is likely he succumbed to some infectious disease.

Children of Edmund and Lucy

More information about Lucy (c1834 - 1915) appears in Part 4.

Jane Elizabeth (c1835 - 1898) was baptised 24 December 1836 at St John the Baptist Church, Frome, Somerset. On subsequent census records, she was listed as being born in Frome, but it is most likely she had been born in Hertfordshire or London. While their mother was serving her sentence in Van Diemen's Land, Jane was brought up by her mother's family in Somerset, while Lucy was brought up by their Flitt grandparents in Hertfordshire. After her mother's was given a Free Pardon, returned to England and remarried, Jane went to live with them. She married mariner Matthew Marsh (c1826 - 1882) 30 January 1860 at St George's Church, Bloomsbury, London. Jane worked as an upholstress (making pads and covers for furniture). 

In the 1861 census, Jane was living with her mother but Matthew was not at home. He may have been away at sea. In 1863, the couple emigrated to Australia. They arrived in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, 03 September 1863, on board the 'Royal Visitor'. Matthew was now listed as a 'bootmaker'. One of Jane's half-sisters had emigrated to Victoria the year earlier. In July 1882, Matthew was admitted to the Liverpool Asylum for the Infirm and Destitute in Sydney. He died a few months later 26 October, aged 59. Jane was admitted to the Kew Asylum in Melbourne, Victoria, 15 February 1898. She died four days later, aged 62. It is possible Jane was suffering from a mental illness at the time.

Next: Lucy Flitt

Footnotes