Joseph BLUNDELL (2) was baptised on 10th October 1798 at Thurnham near Maidstone in Kent, the eldest of seven children of Joseph Blundell (1774 - 1840) and Elizabeth Presnall (1781 - 1845).

In 1826 Joseph was sentenced to death for an assault on a gamekeeper at East Farleigh near Maidstone; subsequently this was commuted to life imprisonment and transportation to Australia.

He left England on 16th May 1826 on board the "Marquis of Huntly" and arrived in Port Jackson on 13th September 1826; he was disposed of to Dr Robert Townson of Bunbarry Curran.

Joseph was described as 5ft 6in, of ruddy complexion with light brown hair and blue eyes; he had a scar at the corner of his right eyebrow and his left leg was bowed above the ankle.

He would have been re-assigned by 1827 when Dr Townson died. Subsequently he gained a certificate of Freedom in 1834 and in 1842 a Certificate of Pardon.

The Convict Indents fiche shows him to have been married with no children prior to transportation, however no marriage has been found in England despite extensive searching.

Joseph (UK) vs. Joseph (Australia)

In the past, doubts have been expressed as to whether Joseph (UK) and Joseph (Aus) are one and the same and these have centered upon Joseph's (Aus) age at death - shown as 88 on his death certificate in 1874 (and the record which shows that his age at marriage was 54).

With the help of researchers in both the UK and Australia, however, we can now confirm that the birth certificate for Joseph's last child Catherine in 1859 shows him to be aged 62 and puts his birth at 1797-8 - the same as Joseph (UK); there is no doubt that the death and (daughter's) birth certificates relate to the same man and one is therefore drawn to the conclusion that the information provided by others after his death was incorrect.

Additionally, Joseph was granted a Ticket of Leave at Cassilis in the Liverpool Plains area which is close to where his first son John Blundell was born; this was shortly after the date of his pardon.

A further concern related to the ages of both Joseph and Susan when their last children would have been born and the suggestion has been made that there might be a 'missing generation' - that Joseph (Aus) was perhaps the son of Joseph (UK).

Catherine's Birth Certificate clearly dispenses with this point in that it shows both parents ages as being 62 and 46 respectively, so whilst these are advanced years to be still producing children, there can be little room to add an intervening generation.

At the same time it is worth noting that there are other childbirths within the immediate family to mothers aged up to 47 and fathers up to 60. (Had Joseph been 15 years older - as per the death certificate, then this would certainly have ruled this out!!).

In the light of this additional evidence, we are drawn to the conclusion that our 'two' Josephs are indeed one and the same; there is little doubt that Joseph's past and perhaps his age, were unknown to his immediate family and at that time there would certainly have been a stigma attached to it. This conclusion cannot be absolute, but it appears unlikely that there can be any more likely interpretation.

Susan remains a mystery - she could not write so her surname could have been spelt in many ways; there has been speculation that she too might have been a convict but there is no evidence for this, nor indeed has anything been found to identify her birth or parentage.

Click here to link to our Family Tree showing Joseph's many descendents in Australia

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