16. From England : Cant family (Cant lineage)

Acknowledgements: Brother Tony Butler has written a chapter about the Cants in his blog What The Butler Did: https://whatthebutlerdid.wordpress.com/tag/cant/ The story of this branch of the Cant family in Australia is told by Pat Barden and Nell Pyle in Thicker Than Water (available to read at the Society of Australian Genealogists library in Sydney). Two family trees on ancestry.com also trace the Cants. Some of the information about Griffin and Ann (nee Covington) are from the ‘Trevena’ family tree on Ancestry.

The Cants arrived as Assisted Immigrants

The system of Bounty Immigration whereby the government paid for the passage of immigrants was first suggested by Edward Gibbon Wakefield, as a way of replacing the free land grant scheme. His idea was that the revenue from the sale of Crown land be used to boost immigration of mechanics, tradesmen and agricultural labourers. The first regulations were gazetted by Governor Bourke in October 1835. The immigrants needed character references from local notables such as magistrates and clergymen, as well as baptism certificates to prove their age.

The government (Wakefield) and bounty systems operated unchanged until the establishment of the Immigration Office and the appointment of the first immigration agent in Sydney, James Pinnock, in 1838. The government system operated until 1840, and the bounty system until 1845.

The Cants of Great Gonerby, Lincolnshire

The family of Gwenneth Cant (1930-2008) hailed from Great Gonerby in Lincolnshire. It is about 1 mile north of Grantham. Locals pronounce the name as “Gunerby”.

Griffin Cant and Ann Covington - 5th great grandparents. Griffin was born about 1745 in Lincolnshire and married Ann Covington. They had 5 children: Mary (b1760), John (b1765), Frances (b1768), Ann (b1770), Francis (b1770)

Francis Cant - 4th great grandfather - was born in 1770 in Great Gonerby. About 1790 he married Elizabeth Green - 4th great grandmother - who was born in 1771 in Barkston, Lincolnshire. Barkston is about 5 miles from Great Gonerby, both in the Grantham district.

Elizabeth died in 1842 in Grantham, Lincolnshire. Francis died before 1844 (source: son William’s shipping arrival information)

Francis and Elizabeth had a son William - 3rd great grandfather - in about 1796.

Susannah Cant née Curtis. Photo c/- Tony Butler

William Cant c/- Tony Butler

William Cant married Susannah Bridget Curtis - 3rd great grandmother - who was born 29 Jan 1799 at Ufford, Suffolk). She was the daughter of Jeffrey and Sarah Curtis, née Blomfield - 4th great grandparents. Both Geoffrey and Sarah were alive in 1844 when William and Susannah emigrated to Australia. At the 1841 Census, Geoffrey, age 74, agricultural labourer was living with Sarah, age 76 in East Lane, Ufford.

William died aged 83 in 1876, at Carcoar, NSW.
Susannah died aged 70 on 23 October 1869, at Gruggenbun Creek, Carcoar, NSW

William and Susannah's children  

•  1. Sarah born 6 January 1817 at Great Gonerby
•  2. Frances born 3 September 1820 at Great Gonerby died 26 April 1821
•  3. Susanna born 24 February 1822 at Great Gonerby, died 26 June 1878 at Inverell
•  4. William born about 1825 at Great Gonerby, died 1906 West Maitland
•  5. Francis - 2nd great grandfather - born 14 August 1826 at Pickworth, Lincolnshire, died 4 October 1890 at Goulburn, NSW.
•  6. Richard born 21 September 1828 at Great Gonerby
•  7. Simon born 12 September 1830 at Great Gonerby, baptised 12 Dec 1830
•  8. Jeffrey Curtis born 26 August 1832 at Great Gonerby, baptised 28 August 1832
•  9. Abraham born 1834 at Great Gonerby, died 1917 at Carcoar [NSW BDMs 10753/1917]
• 10. Mary Anne born September 1838 at Great Gonerby
• 11. John born March 1839 at Great Gonerby, died on 24 July 1874 at Mudgee (accidentally shot)

Arrival in Australia 

William, Susannah and their children - Sarah and husband Robert Gibson; Susanna and her husband Jeremiah Briggs; William and wife Elizabeth, nee Kennewell; Francis and his wife Susan, née South; Richard; Simon; Abraham; Mary Anne and John arrived aboard the Briton on 28 June 1844. Son Jeffrey Curtis, died on the voyage.

A family named Kennewell (William’s wife Elizabeth’s family name) also made the voyage on the Briton. They were James and Ann, both age 42, and children Charlotte 12, Thomas 10, John 7 and Elizabeth 4. There was also a single female Sarah Kennewell, aged 17 and man William, aged 15. They were probably also children of James and Ann, but old enough to be bounty immigrants in their own right. These Kennewells were possibly cousins of William Cant's wife, Elizabeth (see below).

There must have been a reasonable “push” factor to encourage the family to emigrate, and possibly knowledge of “pull” factors. We don’t know whether other Cants who were in Australia already were “ambassadors” for emigration, or even in touch with this branch of the family. Agents were employed to encourage emigration. These agents chartered ships, and potential emigrants applied to the agents to be included on a voyage. When they arrived in Australia, they were interviewed by the Immigration Board, and if deemed suitable, the bounty was paid to the agent.

“Settlers in N.S.W. were allowed to recruit their own workers in the U.K. Most employed agents to do this. The government also had an Agent-General in London after 1837, and agents in other embarkation ports. Under the Bounty Scheme the settler who wanted workers paid the emigrants' passages. On arrival these workers were examined by a Board appointed by the Governor and, if the Board were satisfied, the settler would be issued with a Certificate entitling him to claim the Bounty money back from the Government.” (http://www.angelfire.com/al/aslc/immigration.html)

William Snr was a 48 year old labourer, able to read and write. He was a native of Barkston, Lincolnshire. The bounty paid for him was £18/7s/6d. His wife Susannah was a farm servant, with the same bounty. Son William was a farm labourer, and his wife Elizabeth (nee Kennewell), a home servant. Francis was also a farm labourer (and his wife, Susan née South), a servant.

Susannah’s papers name several people providing certifications:
Registry of Baptism - Rev John Thorold, Great Gonerby
Physician certifying healthy condition - Wm Eaton, Grantham
Householder certifying character - several at Great Gonerby
Employer and clergyman certifying correctness - William Royston, Great Gonerby and Rev John Thorold, North Parade, East Grantham.

After arrival

Being Bounty Immigrants, when they arrived they made agreements with employers.

On 3 July 1844 William Snr and Susannah entered an agreement for themselves and their family with Mr Francis Mitchell of George St to be farm servants for 12 calendar months at “£20 per annum, and ample rations and a comfortable house”. The agreement also states that “It is absolutely understood the said Mr F Mitchell is to have this service as of the son of the said Mr Cant.”



Left: Francis Mitchell (1804-1876) was a merchant, sail-master and ship's chandler.

Right: Buildings in Lower George St, Sydney, dating from 1844







1. Sarah (nee Cant) and Robert Gibson

Sarah Crocker/Gibson née Cant c/- T Butler

Daughter Sarah, aged 27, a farm servant, was accompanied by her husband Robert Gibson, aged 26, a labourer. He could read and write, she could not. He was from Great Gonerby, son of Robert and Elizabeth Gibson, who were still alive.

The Gibsons were recorded as being Wesleyan. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, regularly preached in a Chapel in Gonerby which is now the Post Office. The village became a Methodist stronghold resulting in a Gonerby group introducing Methodism to Grantham and Lincoln. The Wesleyan Methodists and Primitive Methodists both had small chapels here, as for a while did the Independents (all built prior to 1841). [http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LIN/GreatGonerby]

On 29 June 1844, the day after arrival, Robert and Sarah Gibson entered a 12 month agreement with Thomas Arndell (foreman) of Cattie Creek, Windsor. He was to be a general farm servant, and she a laundress and house servant. Payment was £20 per annum, and provision for them and their children with all necessary food and lodging.

Left: The homestead at Cattai. The Gibsons' employer, Thomas Arndell arrived as a surgeon on the First Fleet. He was given a land grant, at first known as 'Catty', later Cataie or Cattaie, and by 1865 Caddie. The creek and locality were known as Cattai.

The Arndell family owned the land and homestead until 1980 when they sold it to the State Government. It became a State Recreation Area, and then in 1992 a National Park.

Thomas Arndell died there on 25 February 1865.


There are no records in NSW for the birth of any children to Robert and Sarah.

Tony Butler says in his blog that after Robert Gibson died Sarah remarried to a man surnamed Crocker.

A Robert Gibson died, aged about 57, at Mudgee in 1874 (6209/1874) and one at Blayney, aged about 48, in 1861 (2660/1861). Either could be Robert.

A Sarah Gibson died 4 November 1859, according to other family histories. There does not appear to be a record in NSW Births, Deaths and Marriages.

3. Susanna (nee Cant) and Jeremiah Briggs

Daughter Susanna, age 22, a farm servant, was accompanied by her husband Jeremiah John Piccaver Briggs, and their daughter Sarah Briggs, aged 3 or 4. Susannah was a farm servant, and Jeremiah an agricultural labourer. He was aged 32, and from Aylesworth, Northampton, born on 6 December 1811 and baptised 17 February 1812 in Castor, Northampton. He could read and write. His parents were James Briggs, farmer, and Christina, nee Piccaver.

Jeremiah and Susanna’s marriage was registered in Grantham in April-June quarter 1839. They had a daughter, Sarah in 1840. She came to Australia with them.

In 1841, Jeremiah, aged 25 and Susanna, aged 20 and their daughter Sarah, 8 months, were living in Town St, in the Parish of Colsterworth, Lincolnshire.

Upon arrival in Australia, Jeremiah entered into an agreement at Sydney on 4 July 1844 with Mr Benjamin Lee of the Paterson River. In it, Jeremiah agreed to be a farm labourer for Mr Lee for 12 months. Payment was set at £14 pounds per annum, plus weekly rations of:

Beef or mutton 15 lbs
Flour 15 lbs
Sugar 2 1/4 lbs
Tea 5 oz

Benjamin Lee came as a bounty immigrant after retiring from the armed service in England. In 1829 he was indentured to TP Macqueen and managed his property, Segenhoe on the Paterson River. Lee subsequently bought land there, as well as allotments in Parramatta.

Official records in NSW show that after their arrival in Australia, Jeremiah and Susanna added four children to their family:

• James, born in 1846 [2554/1846]
• Mary, born in 1848 [2913/1848]
• Simon C born in 1855 [2749/1855]
• Susannah, born in 1857 in Armidale [4228/1857]

Other family historians also list William (1845), John (1849), Christina (1851) and George (1858). While these births are quite possible, there is no formal record of their births in NSW.

Jeremiah died in Inverell, NSW on 29 Jan 1873. Susanna died on 26 June 1878, also in Inverell.

4. William Cant (Jnr) and Elizabeth, nee Kennewell - 3rd great aunt and uncle

William Cant 1825 - 1906

The younger William Cant, aged 21 was a farm labourer who could read. His wife, Elizabeth, aged 20 was a farm house servant. Her employer was John Treadgold of Great Gonerby. She was born in Allington, Lincolnshire, daughter of Richard (born 1795 in Grantham) and Jane Kennewell, nee Johnson (born 1800 in Grantham) who emigrated in 1846.

William and Elizabeth entered a 12 month agreement on 29 June 1844 with William Russell of Regentville, Penrith. He was employed as a general farm servant and Elizabeth as a laundry and otherwise useful servant. They were paid £22 per year, and “board and lodging usually given to servants in the colony.”








William and Elizabeth had at least five children:

• William Richard, born 24 July 1844, Penrith NSW, baptised 18 Aug 1844 at Penrith [Elizabeth was therefore pregnant on the voyage]
• Jane born 1 June 1846 at Black Creek, Bulwarra near Maitland, baptised 25 August 1846 at West Maitland [the family have moved to Maitland area after Penrith]
• Susannah, born 18 Dec 1847, baptised 20 Feb 1848 at West Maitland, NSW
• Frances Eliza, born 27 July 1850 in Bowden, Adelaide SA, baptised 4 Aug 1850 at Christ Church North Adelaide, died 9 Feb 1926 at West Maitland
• John Simon, born 14 April 1852 in Bowden, Adelaide South Australia, died 9 Feb 1853 in South Australia. This suggests that William and Elizabeth were living in South Australia with or near her family.

Elizabeth died on 10 Oct 1852, in Adelaide, aged about 28. Perhaps she died in childbirth? Her son, John died 4 months later.

William remarried, to Elizabeth’s younger sister, Jane. This marriage took place on 11 August 1853, in the Wesleyan Church in Maitland. Jane was aged 15.

William and Jane had twelve children:

• Matilda (Tilly) born 14 February 1854, West Maitland. Jane was therefore pregnant when she married William. Married 26 Dec 1877 James Vile. Died 26 June 1936
• Amelia (Melie) born 26 May 1856 at Black Creek near Maitland. Married George Dean on 19 June 1878. Died 2 Aug 1939.
• Rosanna (Rose) born 8 June 1858 at Maitland. Married George Fairhall on 29 May 1878.
• Abraham born 14 Jan 1861. Married Charlotte Caroline Whybin on 4 Aug 1881. Died 17 Dec 1908.
• Louisa born 18 August 1863 at Hillsborough near Maitland. Married Benjamin Fairhall on 4 April 1882 at Melville. Died 20 July 1928 at Lower Belford.
• Rebecca Curtis born 26 Feb 1866 at Maitland. Married 2 feb 1882 at Maitland to Richard Partridge. Died Dec 1938.
• Edwin George Arthur born 23 January 1869. Married Alice Susan Whybin on 29 February 1888. Died 24 March 1951.
• John Hall born 30 October 1870. Married Phoebe Whybin and then Lillian Mary Percy in 1939. Died 18 February 1939 at Paterson.
• Richard James Geoffrey born 15 November 1871. Married Katherine Cant in 1894. Died 13 February 1950.
• Violet Sarah (Vol) born 6 June 1874. Married Andrew John Dooley. Died 16 April 1942.
• William Thomas Theodore (Billy) born 20 May 1877. Married Amy Catherine Hartcher.
• Frank Oliver born 8 August 1879. Married Harriot Ella Whybin. Died 20 may 1934.

Jane died on 12 Dec 1895 at ‘Hillsborough’, their farm near Maitland. She was 57 years old. She had ‘Bright’s Disease’ which today would be called nephritis - kidney disease and paralysis.

William died on 18 August 1906 at Maitland Hospital, West Maitland of pyonephritis (pussy kidney inflammation) and cystitis. He was aged 82.

Both William and Jane are buried at Campbell’s Hill Cemetery, Maitland.

The family of Elizabeth and Jane Kennewell

There are two Kennewell families of interest who migrated from Lincolnshire. The first arrived on the Briton along with the Cants.

They were James aged 42, a farm labourer, his wife Ann, 42, a farm servant and children Charlotte 12, Thomas, 10, John 7, and Elizabeth 4, along with Sarah, 17 William, 15, both farm servants.

This family lived in Pinfold Lane Somersby (near Grantham, Lincolnshire) in 1841 at the time of the Census in England. All the children above are listed, as well as a ‘Mary’ who was the correct age to be ‘Sarah’ on the ship. Elizabeth who was married to William was the daughter of James’ cousin, Richard, who arrived in Adelaide two years later.

Father James was the son of Thomas Kennewell (1778-1847) and Dinah Fewson - or Tewson (1778-). James, a shoemaker, died in North Botany in 1893.

Thomas had a brother Jonathan (1774-1811) who with his wife Elizabeth had a son Richard. So Richard and James were cousins.

Richard was born 16 February 1795 in Grantham. He married Jane Johnson (1800-) in Grantham. They were the parents of Elizabeth and Jane who both married William Cant. Richard and Jane arrived in Port Adelaide as Bounty Immigrants on 31 July 1846, aboard the Canton. It set sail from London, via Plymouth on 27 April 1846. They had children Richard, Jonathan, Sarah and Thomas listed, though it is likely that Jane was also with them.

At the 1841 England Census they lived in East Allington. There was Richard 45, wife Jane 40, Elizabeth 15, Sarah 12, Thomas 10, Richard 8, Jane 3, George 6 months.

7. Simon Cant

Simon was born on 12 December 1830 in Great Gonerby. In 1852 he married Mary Canning at Black Creek, Maitland. They had at least 11 children between 1853 and 1875.

8. Abraham Cant

Abraham was born in Great Gonerby in 1834. He married Catherine Martineer in 1856. Between 1858 and 1882 they had 12 children, all born at Carcoar.

He died on 1 September 1917 at Carcoar. Catherine died on 12 Oct 1920. They are buried at Lyndhurst Cemetery near Carcoar.

10. Mary Ann Cant

Mary Ann was born in Great Gonerby in 1838. She married William Wick (1825-1919) at Black Creek, Maitland in 1853.

11. John Cant

John was born in March 1839 in Great Gonerby. He married Elizabeth Towner (1849-1876) at Black Creek, Maitland in 1867.

John and Elizabeth had three children between 1869 and 1873.

He died on 24 July 1874, age 35. An inquest determined that he had been accidentally shot. Elizabeth died in 1876.

5. Francis Cant -  2nd great grandfather; first wife Susan South 

At immigration, Francis was aged 17, a native of Pickworth, Lincolnshire. He was a farm labourer, with good strength. An Episcopalian, he could neither read nor write. He was married to Susan, a native of Hoffham (or Hougham), Lincolnshire when they arrived in Australia. Her parents were Richard and Elizabeth South, both alive. She was a 23 year old farm servant who could read, and an Episcopalian. They were married in The July-Sep quarter of 1843 [UK registries Vol 14 page 529]

The Episcopalian “tendency” in the Church of England meant adhering to advocacy for government of the Church by bishops. It is “High Church”, adhering to many pre-Reformation practices and rituals.

At the 1841 Census Susan's parents Richard, aged 55 and Elizabeth, aged 45 South lived at Hougham, Lincolnshire. Also in the household were Lucy 20, Elizabeth 15, Thomas 12 and Mary 9

After their arrival in Australia Francis and Susan entered a 12 month agreement with R Davidson for J Rickards of George Street Sydney to be a cook and porter. The payment per annum is illegible. It included board and lodging.

Francis and Susan were parents to

• Mary A Cant, born 12 November 1850 on a property at Marooan in Glen Innes [2576/1850]. Father Francis's profession was groom.
• Susanna born 6 July1852 at Rocky River near Glen Innes. Francis was then a gold digger. 

About Francis, Tony Butler writes:

“Francis was so young that one wonders whether this was a marriage of convenience for the sake of the voyage, though later there were two children: Mary Ann born in Glen Innes 12 November 1850 and Susanna born 6 July 1852. These children were kidnapped when Francis was in Queensland in long-since forgotten circumstances – family lore suggests kidnapping by an American couple, by Aborigines or by gypsies. Francis and some fellow workers tracked them back over the border and found Mary Ann, but not Susanna. Mary Ann married Henry Grimshaw on 11 April 1872 and died 5 February 1898.

“In 1856 Susan appears to have been a witness to Francis’ brother Abraham’s marriage to Catherine Martineer at Dingo Creek near Wingham on 23rd February. After that she disappears from records, there being no record of her death. "

 Bridget Horan - 2nd great grandmother

After Susan’s death, Francis married Bridget Horan at the Catholic Church in Goulburn on 15 July1858 [1777/1858].

“Bridget Horan was the youngest of the six children of Patrick Horan and Mary Hickey, and was born 19 May 1840 at Corbally in the parish of Portrae, Killoran, Castletown, Tipperary. Her eldest brother Martin was born in 1826 and remained a bachelor; Ellen, born in 1827, married William Tosney, but they had no children; Thomas was born in 1829 and married Alice Kennedy, who bore him nine children; James, born 1834, also remained a bachelor; and Catherine was born in 1838, married Denis Hall and had three children.” (Tony Butler)

On 20 June 1854, at age 14, Bridget had arrived from Ireland, with her older sister, Catherine, on board the Switzerland. As was common in Ireland at that time amongst the peasantry, neither could read nor write. The £8 bounty was paid by another, older sister, Ellen, who was in the service of Mr. Owen Boyle of the Harp of Erin Hotel, Goulburn. It was to Goulburn that Bridget went, and where she married and died, though several of her children were born in other rural areas of central and southern NSW, probably in places they moved for Francis’s work.

On the marriage record, Francis was described as a bachelor and a labourer, Bridget as a spinster and domestic servant. There was no mention of Francis’s previous marriage or children. “Even on his death certificate these details are not mentioned.” (from Tony Butler).

Francis was received into the Catholic Church on 11 August 1879.

Francis died 4 October 1890 at Addison St Goulburn, Bridget died 7 January 1916 in Goulburn.

Francis and Bridget’s children include:

• Sarah Ellen born 22 June 1859 at Goulburn
• Francis Patrick 23 May 1863 at Goulburn
• Martin born 30 April 1865 at Goulburn, died 1947 Manly 
• William - great grandfather - born 14 June 1867 at Sheet of Bark, Carcoar, died 1940 Auburn. 
• Mary born 6 October 1870 at Molong
• Jeffrey James born 8 July 1871 at Bombala
• Bridget born 27 April 1873 at Goulburn
• Thomas Joseph born 4 June 1875 at Goulburn
• Gertrude Matilda born 4 June 1877 at Goulburn