The 1828 census: John Horsley

I have previously written about John Horsley (1776-1834), who married my 5th great-aunt Maria Champion de Crespigny (1776-1858).  Their marriage broke down and John Horsley emigrated to Australia in 1814. Maria remained in England.

In November 1828 the first census of the colony of New South Wales was held. There were 36 598 non-indigenous inhabitants. 20,870 of these were free and there were 15,728 convicts. 23.8  percent of the population had been born in the colony. 24.5% of the population were women. There were 25,248 Protestants and 11,236 Catholics. Aborigines were not counted.

There are two copies of the 1828 census: an Australian copy, which had been locked away and only became available for viewing in the mid 1970s, and an English copy that has more errors and slightly less detail than the Australian copy.

John Horsley was among those counted in 1828.

1828 New South Wales, Australia Census (Australian Copy) for Jno Horsley retrieved from ancestry.com.au (click on image to enlarge)

John Horsley was aged 52 (born about 1776), living at Liverpool. He had arrived on the Broxbournbury in 1814. He was employed as coroner. He was free (not bonded), and his religion was Protestant. He had 700 acres of land, of which 340 were cleared and 17 were cultivated. He had one horse, 47 horned cattle and no sheep. In the same household were

• Fanny aged 12
• John aged 10
• Mary Morris aged 8
• Caroline aged 7
• Charles William aged 4
• Eliza Vivian aged 2
• George aged 1

The mother of John's children, Jane Horsley formerly Cross née Jackson, is listed as Jane Cross, aged 38. She had also arrived in 1814 on the Broxbournbury. Her occupation is given as housekeeper for John Horsley, Coroner, Liverpool.

The English copy of the census record for John Horsley and his children is easier to read but doesn't give the information about his land or cattle.

1828 New South Wales, Australia Census (TNA Copy) for John Horsley retrieved through ancestry.com

Sources

• Foster, S. G. (Stephen Glynn), 1948-, Aplin, G. J. (Graeme John) and McKernan, Michael, 1945- Australians, events and places. Fairfax, Syme & Weldon Associates, Broadway, N.S.W, 1987. 
• Ancestry.com blog The First Census held Australia: November 1828
• Ross Beattie's CROSS, HOBSON and JACKSON Genealogy Page at http://magni.webcity.com.au/~rnb47409/families/cross.html last updated 17 January 2016 and retrieved 17 August 2016
  

Related post 

• Maria Champion Crespigny born 1776 married John Horsley