The Ebbott Family in 1851 Census

John’s grandparents had had 10 children, 5 boys and 5 girls, by the 1851 census however the number of aunts and uncles living in the area had begun to diminish, only one of their daughters now lived close by, with the one having gone to the USA with her husband, other 3 had predeceased their parents.

Two sons had also moved away, Henry as a Methodist minister had gone to Canada possibly around 1844 and Gregory had moved to the USA with his new wife, Catherine, although she had returned by 1849 after leaving her husband, but the divorce didn’t officially come through until 1854.  One of his uncles, the youngest, Uncle William was still living at home, and his Uncle Philip had moved back onto the same property bringing his family and widowed mother in-law with him, presumably Philip had taken over the reins on his parents farm as his father had retired.

John’s family in contrast had moved to Launceston, where his father was still engaged in farming, having moved since 1841, he was possibly already preparing for the journey to Australia in 1852.

It is interesting that he chose to live in Launceston as according to historic accounts it was a hot bed for Methodism. 

“About the year 1837 or 1838 (for precise details are difficult to obtain upon the point), some local members of the Wesleyan Methodist Connexion, dissatisfied with the attitude of their ministers on various points of church government, seceded from the parent body, and met for worship in a private house, shortly afterwards engaging the Western Subscription Room for preaching services.  Their numbers so increased that in 1840 the erection of a chapel was commenced in the North Road, the money being raised by shares, which were afterwards sold and given up, the building being settled ona trust in conformity with the rules of the Wesleyan Methodist Association.  In 1850 and 1852 further secessions took place from the original body, additional strengthening the local forces of the Association, which joined the Wesleyan Reformers in 1857 to form the United Methodist Free Churches though the name of "Association Chapel" did not die out for many years.”[i]

 This was obviously the flavor of the family’s religious fervor as Philip Ebbott, I’m not sure whether it was the father or the son, is in the newspaper in 1845 as follows:-

In “The West Briton & Cornwall Advertiser” on the Friday 6 JUNE 1845 the following article appeared

“STATE OF PARISH CLERKS The clerk's salary cannot be removed by law, neither can the church wardens legally make a rate to pay him. The following is a copy of the notice referred to:"HENRY OLVER take Notice that the farmers of Trest[rail] have agreed not to pay you any more Sallery for the clerk's office then Last year therefore you must Look to Morgen (the perpetual curate) for it. " "April ye 11th 1844, Philip Ebbott Churchwarden"The farmers of the parish of Warbstow have also voted not to pay the clerk's salary as well as the sexton's; while the churchwardens of the parishes of Lezant, St. Petherwin, and St. Thomas by Launceston, have given notice to the clerks that they will not pay them any more salaries.[ii]”

 There were obviously changes afoot in the wider community and the Ebbott family were right amongst it.

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[i] Launceston, Past and Present by Alfred F Robbins. First published in 1888.

[ii] [From "The Book of St. Austell" by Hammond, originally the Parish clerks, who were voted into office, were allowed, as a salary, to charge 2d. for entering a marriage or baptism in the register. They also were allowed to conduct a service, but this ceased quite soon, as people preferred clergy to conduct the ceremony. By this date, their duties had changed, and the people didn't nominate or vote for them.]

Arriving in Australia

Port Adelaide: South Australian 1867

Young John Ebbott family arrived in Australia on the Gloucester which left Plymouth on the 30 April 1852 and arrived in Adelaide on the 12 August 1852, a big journey for a lad who was only 11 years old at the time.   The Gloucester was 13^th ship from England to arrive in the South Australia with government passengers that year[i]. 

South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) Saturday 14 August 1852 p 2 Article extract

The whole family travelled together

1. John Ebbott was listed as an agricultural labourer aged 43 years
2. Sally, (Sarah) was 36
3. Jno, was 11 years old
4. Philip 8
5. Emma 5
6. William 1 (who was not amongst the passengers to disembark the ship at the end of the journey.)

The trip took 3 and half months in total.

South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) Saturday 14 August 1852 p 2 Article extract

It was a horrendous journey.   “The Gloucester had 25 deaths during this particular journey. .   This was a particularly high number of deaths, as the average voyage death percentage rate was 1.8 for a journey such as this.  It was in the top eight of vessels out of the seventeen vessels that suffered more than 16 deaths at sea, accounting for five per cent of all ships arriving after 1848”[ii].

Even on arrival the journey was not smooth sailing

South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) Wednesday 18 August 1852 p 3 Article

 “FATAL ACCIDENT - On Monday afternoon last, as the ship Gloucester was being towed up the harbour, the ship's boar, containing two men, which was being towed by the ship, was capsized, and one man unfortunately drowned.  Boars were immediately sent to the spot, as also a police-boat with drags; but up to a late hour the body had not been found.”

In all this confusion their William their youngest child at the time, he died of gastro enteritis on the 12 August, the day of arrival.  He is said to have been buried on the banks of the Torrens River. 

When the Gloucester finally arrived 284 people disembarked, including 113 children and infants; these were made up of 277 English, 3 Scots, and 4 Irish.

South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) Saturday 14 August 1852 p 2 Article extract

(Note although the Ebbott family is not listed on the passenger in the newspaper, after consulting the original ship records that is Ebbott family listed and no Elliot family listed, it is likely that the journalist misheard the name and put down Elliot instead of Ebbott.)

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[i] Webpage for the Ship Gloucester on The Shipslist Kindly transcribed and submitted to TheShipsList by Robert Janmaat, Adelaide, from a variety of sources, http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/gloucester1852.shtml accessed 23 August 2012

[ii] Bound for South Australia Births and deaths on government-assisted immigrant ships 1848-1885 Robin Haines, Judith Jeffery, and Greg Slattery ISBN 0 947284 41 9

1841 was a busy time

On Thursday 3rd June 1841 John’s uncle Philip Ebbott married Grace Piper in Warbstow in the local parish church by licence.

St Werburgh's Church, Warbstow photographed by Neil Lewin10 July 2006 

In 2013 the church now lies between two other Canworthy Water Methodist Church built in 1859 and Bethel Methodist Church perhaps indicative of the fervour of Methodism in the area that was gradually building in the 1840s.

The Ebbott and Bone families were close not only because John’s parents had married but because we see Jane Bone, older sister of Sarah Bone, being a witness at the marriage. 

Warbstow was only 2.6 Miles/4.2 Km South East of Tresmeer so it would have been an easy journey for John’s parents, and the extended Ebbott family, to attend the wedding. John, who was only one year old at the time, he probably stayed home with one of the servants, and although the journey was short it would have been tiring for John’s mother in her delicate state (3 months pregnant).

Jane even in her official capacity as a witness to the marriage probably wouldn't have travelled alone, she most likely either travelled to the wedding with her parents. A wedding was always being a fine occasion for celebration and a chance to get out. It is difficult to know however whether Jane was accompanied by both her of parents or just her father. Jane’s mother (John’s maternal grandmother) died only 2 days after the wedding was it from all the excitement, or had she been poorly for some time, unfortunately we may never know as the details have been swallowed up by time.

It must have been a roller coaster of a year, with events moving from the excitement of the wedding on Thursday to the death of his grandmother two days later on the Saturday, and then to cap off the year his younger brother Julius dies at the age of two weeks, the day after Christmas day so unexpectedly, that there hadn't even been an opportunity for the young infant to be baptised. Sarah his mother was still lying in recovering from the ordeal of childbirth and taking a much needed rest to recuperated. It must have seemed that the good is so very predictably followed by the bad, not that he would have been able to follow all the goings on, but his young mind would have absorbed the unexplained emotion none the less.

It would be a few more years before John would be joined again by another sibling.

A firm Religious foundation

John Ebbott Jnr was born into a Cornish farming family in Badharlick, Egloskerry.  The eldest male child to John Ebbott Snr and Sarah Bone,  the life he would eventually carve out for himself in Australia would be quite different. He was baptised in 1840 in Launceston, Cornwall as a Wesleyan Methodist, unlike his father and mother who were baptised into the Church of England.


His father was a religious man, and family myth has it that he was one of 3 brothers who left the Wesleyan heartland in Cornwall to take the message further a field, one went to Canada, one to the US and John’s father came out to Australia, with wife and children in tow including John Jnr who was only 12 at the time.

Comparing the Wesleyan population to the church of England in the area of North Cornwall where John Ebbott  was born.  source 1851 Religious Census http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_rate_page.jsp?u_id=10056743&c_id=0&data_theme=T_REL&id=9

The Ebbotts had become Wesleyan Methodists and members of the second largest group of churches after the Church of England.


In an article in The Spectator in 1907, the influence that John’s father had on his life is evident.

"Mr Ebbott, senior, as before mentioned, was connected principally with Chewton.  This brother was conspicuously successful in pioneering work.  Wherever he went, he formed a new Methodist society[sic translation - church or similar), and God prospered his undertakings.  He was a man who experience much worldly misfortune; once the bush-fires swept his farm, leaving him and family homeless; disease took his cattle, and continued ill-health added its distressing influence to his last days, but his faith in God never and he died in 1867, regretted, respected and beloved by all.  His sons Philip and John, followed his example in their attachment to the Methodist cause, and the latter is now a leading man in the Chewton congregation."

 So it is no surprise that we later find him amongst his other endeavours heavily involved in the Methodist movement in Australia as he gets older.