Page:A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Colonial Gentry Vol 1.djvu/316

 288 BURKE'S COLONIAL GENTRY. and buried in tlie church of St. Mary Overy. One John Blaxland, supposed to be a descendant of Jobn Blaxland, of Holborn, m. the daughter of John Oxley Parker (of the family of Matthew Parker, archbishop of Canterbury in the time of Queen Elizabeth), and had four sons, I. John (Hon.). II. Christopher. III. Samuel. IV. Gregory, of Brush Farm, Parramatta River, New South Wales, b. in co. Kent, 1771, was sent to New South Wales, by his eldest brother John, in 1804, and settled on an estate called the' JBrush, not far from the banks of the Parramatta Rirer. In 1813, he, together with W. C. Wentworth and Lieutenant Lawson, discovered tbe famous pass in the Blue Mountains, a task which had several times pre- viously been unsuccessfully attempted, and which heroic work nearly cost them their lives. Through this act the colony of New South Wales was opened out to the extent that it now is, and abundance of pasture for the flocks and herds discovered at a time vrhen it was about to be abandoned on account of the prevailing drought. All three were rewarded with grants of land. It was Gregory Blaxland who planted the first vineyard in the colony with vines from the Cape, and he made the first wine, for which he gained the first gold medal, and the silver medal. He also first brought the buffalo grass from the Cape, which has since proved so beneficial. Gregory Blaxland m., in 1798, in England, Eliza, daughter of John Spurdon, Esq., and d. 3rd January, 1853, having had issue, 1. John, m. Ellen Falconer, daugh- ter of a banker in England, and had issue, six sons and one daugh- ter. 2. George, to. Mary Rees, niece of Governor Darling, of New South Wales, and had issue, two sons and two daughters. 3. William. 4. Charles, of Cleves, Parramatta River, New South Wales, m. Elizabeth, daughter of Major Russel, and had issue, seven sons and four daughters, one of whom, Mary Elizabeth, to. 3rd June, ]889, as his second wife, Arthur George Walker, Esq. of Adding- ton, Ryde, near Sydney, New South Wales, who has issue by his first wife (see Walkee of Ryde). 5. Gregory. 1. Elizabeth, eldest child, to. Dr. Forster, surgeon of the 50th (Queen's Own) Regiment. They lived at the Brush Farm, near the banks of the Parramatta River, and had issue, two sons and four daughters. The elder son, William, was the second agent- general for New South Wales, and was a most valuable member of Parliament. The eldest child, Elizabeth, to. at Hunters Hill, New South Wales, 17th October, 1839, her cousin, Arthur Blax- land, Esq. of Fordwich, Broke, via Whittingham, New South Wales, who d. at Fordwich, where she now resides. She has had issue, four sons and four daugh- ters. 2. Jane, m. Captain Hayes, and had issue, three sons. The eldest son. The Hon. John Blaxland, formerly of Newington Hall, co. Kent, England, and afterwards of Newington, Parramatta River, New South Wales, was b. at Fordwich, co. Kent, 4th January, 1769, and was educated at King's School, Canterbury. On the death of his father he took up his residence at the Hall, Newington, co. Kent, formerly a rectory, to which was attached the great tithes of St. Nicholas. He also possessed Hartlip, and a valuable part of the Romney Marshes. John Blaxland was a captain in the Duke of York's Cavalry. Having previously, in 1804, freighted a ship with every necessity, and sent his youngest brother, Gregory, to New South Wales, he built another ship, which he called " The Brothers," and in which he left England with his wife and family and farm servants, under a convoy of a hundred sail, in July, 1806, and, after a nine months' voyage, arrived in Port Jack- son, Sydney, April, 1807. On his arrival, the severe treatment with which he met at the hands of Governor Bligh caused him to return to England, and on representing to the Government the measures which had been directed against him, he was to a certain ex- tent compensated. In 1808 he took part in the deposition of Governor Bligh. He sat in the Legislative Council from 1824 to 1844. John Blaxland to. first, in Kent, 1790, Miss Davies, who d. after the birth of her in- fant, which did not survive. He to. secondly, in 1797, Harriott, only daughter of John Ijouis de Marquet, of Calcutta, formerly an officer in the Garde du Corps of Loiris XVI, by Elizabeth Carter, his wife, adopted child of Colonel White. By this marriage he had, I. John de Marquet, b. in Kent, dis- covered the Bulga Pass in the Blue Mountains, as also large tracts of valuable land for pasturage. He d.unm. II. George, a merchant captain, trading between China and India, was b. in Kent. His log-book and charts are considered most valuable. He m. Maria, third daughter of Sir James Dowling, chief justice of New South Wales (see Dowling of Sydney), by his first marriage. She d. in child- birth.