Jump to content

Henry Kable

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Henry Kable
Born1763
Laxfield, Suffolk, England
Died16 March 1846
Pitt Town, Sydney, Australia
Resting placeWindsor
Other namesHenry Cable
OccupationEntrepreneur
SpouseSusannah Holmes
Children11

Henry Kable(1763–16 March 1846), born inLaxfield,Suffolk,England, was an Englishman transported to Australia in theFirst Fleetand became a prominent business man.

Conviction and transport to Australia

[edit]

On 18 March 1783, Kable was convicted ofburglaryatThetford,Norfolk, England and sentenced to death. His sentence was commuted to transportation for fourteen years to the United States, however, theAmerican Revolutionmade transportation to America impossible and Henry was returned to theNorwich Castlejail.[1]

At Norwich Castle gaol, Henry met and began a relationship with Susannah Holmes, who gave birth in prison to a son Henry. Holmes had been sentenced to death on 22 March 1784 after being found guilty of theft. Her sentence was also commuted and she was sentenced to transportation to the United States colonies for a term of 14 years.[2]

When Susannah was chosen to be transported toBotany Bayon theFirst Fleet,[3]the ship's captain refused to accept the child on board as the order was only for Susannah. Moved by their plight several people became involved, ensuring Henry and the baby were included in the First Fleet, and money and good were raised for them.[4]

Mrs. Jackson, a well-known actress from Covent Garden, organised a public subscription which yielded a substantial sum[5]to buy Henry and Susannah a parcel of goods on their arrival in the new colony. Lady Cadigan wife of Lord Cadigan, rewarded the turnkey after the event for his kindness in the Kable case.

Henry and Susannah were transported on the ship theFriendship,sailing in theFirst FleettoNew South Wales.[6]

The parcel of goods put together by Mrs Jackson in a hessian parcel was stowed on the shipAlexanderfor the journey. The gift, however, was plundered on the voyage. In the first civil suit heard in New South Wales, Henry and Susannah Kable won damages of £15 against the captain (Duncan Sinclair) of theAlexander,this despite the rule that prisoners who had been sentenced to death were unable to sue in English law.[7]

Life in Australia

[edit]

On 10 February 1788, Henry and Susannah Kable married inSydneyin a group wedding (the first European wedding ceremony in the new colony).[8]

Soon after his arrival,Governor Phillipappointed Kable an overseer. The oddity of being the plaintiff in the first civil suit won by a convict may have brought Kable to the governor's notice, however, Kable later claimed to have had influential letters of recommendation.[6]

In 1798, Kable opened a hotel called the Ramping Horse, from which he ran the first stage coach in Australia, and he also owned a retail store.[9]

Henry became a constable of police, and later chief constable in the new colony and was involved on the prosecution side in criminal cases. Kable was dismissed 25 May 1802 for misbehaviour, after being convicted for breaches of the port regulations and illegally buying and importing pigs from a visiting ship.[6]After this, he became merchant and ship owner. Like others in the colony, and perhaps because of his early success, Henry used the courts to argue cases against his opponents. He seems to have prospered; in 1808 shipping records show Kable and two partners, boat builderJames Underwoodand the otherSimeon Lord,as principal ship owners in the expanding commerce of acquiring and exporting sealskins to the colony.[10]Kable was one of 70 signatories to a petition toGovernor Hunterfrom creditors who were anxious to prevent debtors from frustrating their demands by legal delays.[6]The partnership dissolved in some bitterness shortly afterwards but not before Henry had managed to divest himself of a good deal of his property to his son, in order to avoid the consequences of any court order.[5]Kable did much to pioneer sealing and shipbuilding in New South Wales, working withSimeon Lordwho marketed the skins and James Underwood who built the ships.[6]

Like Lord and other early Sydney entrepreneurs, Kable always had a substantial landholding as a kind of 'sheet anchor'. He had been granted farms atPetersham Hillin 1794 and 1795, and in the latter year bought out four near-by grantees within a week of their grants being signed. In 1807 he owned at least four farms of about 170 acres (69 ha); in 1809 in addition he held five farms at theHawkesburyand 300 acres (121 ha) at theCowpastures,with a variety of real estate in Sydney itself including his comfortable house and extensive stores. He also had 40 horned cattle, 9 horses and 40 pigs. His business reputation seems to have been dubious, for he was regarded with distrust byGovernor Kingand with active hostility byGovernor Blighwho thought him and his partners fraudulent and had them imprisoned for a month and fined each £100 for sending him a lettercouched in improper terms.It is certain that Kable played no part in public life comparable withSimeon Lord's multifarious activities. His commercial career inSydneyseems to have ended soon after Lord & Co. broke up, for as early as February 1810 he announced that his son Henry Junior had taken over the entire management of hisSydneyaffairs. In 1811 Kable moved toWindsorwhere he operated a store and brewery, the latter in association with a partner, Richard Woodbury and hisSydneywarehouse was let to Michael Hayes.[6]

Kable's grave

Kable died on 16 April 1846, atPitt TownnearWindsor,New South Wales and was buried on 18 April 1846, atSt Matthew's Anglican Church, Windsor.

Legacy

[edit]

Henry and Susannah Kable had 11 children[6]in total. Henry who had been born in England and another 10 children born in New South Wales including Dianna (1788–1854), Enoch (1791–1793), James (1793-1809), Susannah (1796-1885), George Esto (1797-1853), Eunice (1799-1867), William Nathaniel (1801-1837) John (1802-1859), Charles Dickenson (born 1804), and Edgar James (1806–1849).[6]

In 1968, on the 180th anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet, more than a hundred descendants of Henry and Susannah Kable met in Sydney atCrows Nestto honour them as one of Australia's founding families.[citation needed]It was the first reunion of descendants in Australia to acknowledge convict ancestry.[citation needed]

The 1977 folkoperaThe TransportsbyPeter Bellamyis based on the story of Henry Kable and his wife Susannah.[11]

In 1984, Zillah Kable Thomas and Lola Wilkinson, descendants of Henry and Susannah, unveiled a plaque commemorating Henry's land grant on the site of the former Regent Hotel (and the current Four Seasons Hotel) and the opening of the Kable's restaurant.[citation needed]

In 1988, a family reunion saw 500 of Kable's descendants meet to celebrate Henry and Susannah's 200th Wedding Anniversary and theBicentenary of Australiaon the site of the first gaol in Sydney and the one that Henry controlled as the first chief constable in the colony.[citation needed]The event was recognised as an official Bicentennial event by the Australian Bicentennial Authority.[citation needed]

In 2018 another family reunion was celebrated.[12]

Celebrity veterinarianKatrina Warrenis a descendant of Henry and Susannah Kable through their son John.[13]

References

[edit]
  1. ^Kable & Whittaker 2007,p. 20-21.
  2. ^Kable & Whittaker 2007,p. 32-36.
  3. ^Kable & Whittaker 2007,p. 41.
  4. ^Kable & Whittaker 2007,p. 43-50.
  5. ^abNeal 1991.
  6. ^abcdefghHainsworth, D. R. (1967)."Kable, Henry (1763–1846)".Australian Dictionary of Biography.Vol. 2. Canberra: National Centre of Biography,Australian National University.ISBN978-0-522-84459-7.ISSN1833-7538.OCLC70677943.Retrieved27 January2021.
  7. ^"Decisions of the Superior Courts of New South Wales, 1788–1899. Cable v. Sinclair. Court of Civil Jurisdiction. David Collins J.A., July 1788".Archived fromthe originalon 22 October 2020.Retrieved29 September2014.
  8. ^Kable & Whittaker 2007,p. 62.
  9. ^"The Transports".Archived fromthe originalon 9 September 2007.Retrieved25 August2007.
  10. ^"Colonial Secretary Papers, 1788–1825".NSW Government Records.21 December 2015.
  11. ^The Transports
  12. ^Martin, Deborah (2018)."Kable-Holmes Family Members Celebrate a Family Reunion"(PDF).Hills to Hawkesbury.Vol. 35, no. 1. p. 2.
  13. ^Trace Your Family Tree Part 2 (The Sunday Daily Telegraph)

Bibliography

[edit]
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henry_Kable&oldid=1168655407"