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by Janice Johnson (Author)
This is a summary of the introduction written by Janice.
In March 2000 I began identifying those who were buried in the cemetery of St. John's Anglican Church Camden. This meant researching not only their date of death but their backgrounds, as far as possible, before they came to the colony of New South Wales. I was assisted by local families who shared their knowledge of their forebears and by Church burial records which provided additional insight.
By the time that listing was complete I had identified three men who had taken part in the Napoleonic Wars - including one who had served in the Royal Navy during the Battle of Trafalgar. At that time, I was satisfied that I had identified all the men that had participated in wars before arriving in the colony. As I continued with my database and to delve deeper into the histories of early burials in the Macarthur region, I identified others who had participated in not only the Napoleonic Wars but also other conflicts.
An article appearing in the Camden News in July 1897, and sent me again delving into the history of Camden's early settlers.
Following the completion of my work into Camden's World War I Diggers I looked further into the early colonists who had lived, and in many cases died, in the greater Camden area and had military connections. I identified other military men, and found that the Camden News was incorrect with respect to Captain Hovell's connection with Camden's military past.
William Hilton Hovell had been born on 26 April 1766 Yarmouth, Norfolk, England and gone to sea as a boy. By 1808 he was in command of a vessel trading with South America.12 In November 1811 he applied for permission to settle in the colony of New South Wales but did not arrive until 9 October 1813 on the Earl Spencer. Shortly after arrival he applied for a 600 acre (243 ha) land grant in the Cowpastures at Narellan which he called Narellan Grove. The Deed was not issued until 1816.
Hovell is credited with discovering the Burragorang Valley in 1823, and in 1824, together with Hamilton Hume, explored the area between Lake George and Bass Strait, before settling in the Goulburn district.
Back in 2000, local resident Mrs. Shirley Rorke challenged me to look not only at prominent landowners, such as John Macarthur, but also the butchers, the bakers and labourers, and told me about her ancestor, Jesse Dunk. Jesse's story started me delving into the history of the ordinary people who had led extraordinary lives.
It has been a fascinating journey. Many of the early colonists who had lived and worked in the Camden district had connections with our military past. Some came in chains, others arrived as free settlers and others were part of the various military regiments that came to the colony. Undoubtedly there are many I have not been able to identify and so I apologise to any whose ancestors I have omitted
Janice
