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John Buckby and Mary Wood © Records indicate that John was the son John Buckby and Mary (nee Threadgold), he was born on the 12th February, 1805, and baptized on the 30th June, the same year at St Andrews, Cranford1. Nothing is known of the movements or early occupation of John, but at some stage he must have re-located to Finedon, probably for work. As it was in the Parish Church of St Mary’s, Finedon, on the 20th March, 1826, that John and Mary Wood were married2. The record indicates they were both from Finedon, John a Bachelor and Mary a Spinster. The record suggests neither John nor Mary could read or write, as both made their Mark. The Vicar was S.W. Paul and the witnesses William Clapham and James Thompkins. It is thought William was either Mary’s grandfather or Uncle. Finedon3 is 5km south of Cranford, and in 1086 when the Domesday Book was completed it was a large royal manor, previously held by Queen Edith. At this time the village was known as ‘Tingdene’, which originates from the Old English words ‘þing’ meaning assembly or meeting and ‘Denu’ meaning valley or vale. Tingdene and the later version, Thingdon, were used until the early 19th Century when Finedon finally became the commonly accepted version, both in written format as well as in pronunciation. The importance of Finedon at the time of the Domesday Book is clear, as with a population of 102 it was one of only four towns listed in Northamptonshire with a population greater than 50. The Parish Church, St Mary's, is a mid-14th Century church which boasts an impressive organ, said to have been originally built for St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle in 1704. Popular legend has it that Handel played on the organ before it came to Finedon, but this has never been decisively proved. Born on the 12th December, 1807, and baptized in Finedon on the 2nd January, 18081, Mary was the daughter of John Wood, a Labourer, and his wife Pheobe (nee Clapham). Whatever the reason for John moving to Finedon, things must not have gone according to plan, as a Removal Order4 for John and his wife Mary has been located. This order, dated 14th October, 1826, was issued only seven months after their marriage, requiring John to take himself and his wife out of Finedon and back to his legal place of settlement of Cranford. A person’s legal place of settlement was based on where they were born, and when a woman married she automatically took the legal place of settlement as her husband. Parish Records of St Andrew indicate John and Mary had nine children, all baptized in Cranford St Andrew: Richard 1827; George 1829; James 1831, he married Anna Maria Sutton 1851 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; William 1833; Cordielia 1836; John 1837; Hannah 1840; Mary Wood; 1843; and David 1848. Found on the 1841 Census5 Cranford, St Andrews, John is recorded as a 35year old Agricultural Labourer, his wife Mary as aged 35, also listed are children: Richard 13; George 12; James 10; and William 8, all recorded as Agricultural Labourers; and Cordelia 6; Jno 4; and Hannah 1. Before the next Census John and Mary lost son Richard in 1849, and daughter Cordelia in 1850, both to Consumption. Sadly John was also to lose his wife Mary to Consumption on the 2nd January, 18516. Mary was buried a few days later in the churchyard of St Andrews, but to-date the actual burial record has not been seen. Family story7 tells that a memorial stone was erected by her husband to mark her final resting place. It is said the inscription reads: Sacred to the Memory of Mary,
Beloved wife of John Buckby, Consumption8 is an old, and once common, term for wasting away of the body, particularly from Tuberculosis, and was also often referred to as Phthisis. Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacterium. Typically Tuberculosis affects the lungs but it can also infect any other organ of the body. Highly contagious, it is spread from person to person, through the air, when someone with an active infection of the lungs or throat coughs, sings, laughs or sneezes. A fairly uncommon disease in modern times, Tuberculosis was once the leading cause of death, particularly during the 17th–19th Centuries, especially in crowed rural communities, with poorly ventilated homes, and little knowledge of how diseases were spread. The 1851 Census5 has John, a 45year old Agricultural Labourer, born in Cranford. Listed as living in Cranford St Andrew, with his niece Elizabeth, aged 19, as his Housekeeper. With him were his children William 18; John 13, both recorded asAgricultural Labourers; Hannah 11; Mary 8; and David 3, recorded as Scholars. By 1853, three of John’s sons: George; James; and William, had immigrated to Australia9, and three years after the death of his wife, John decided to take the rest of his family to Australia, in hopes of a better life. Shipping records of the Monsoon9, tell us they left the shores of England on the 13th May, 1854, and as was reported in the Brisbane Courier Mail, arrived in Moreton Bay on the 15th August. Inspected on the 17th August, 1854, the manifest show passengers John Buckby, age 49, with his children: John Buckby age 14; Anna (Hannah) age 14; Mary age 11; and David age 5. It is believed on arrival in Australia, John took his family to German Station Nundah, where his son James and wife Anna lived. The first free settlers in Brisbane were German Lutheran Missionaries who came to Australia at the bidding of a Reverend J D Lang, in order to ‘civilize the Indigenous inhabitants’. They set up a settlement, initially name ‘Zions Hill’, just north of Brisbane town. This settlement soon became known to the locals as ‘German Station’. The small group set about making themselves self-sufficient and studying the local Aboriginal languages. Interactions between the settlers and the local indigenous people were at first quite friendly. However, the Aboriginal preference for their own Dreamtime rather than the Christian teachings soon saw the popularity of the settlement fade, and in 1843 Government funding was withdrawn. The mission station gradually became run down, although many of the early missionaries stayed and before long many ‘English’ settlers took up residence in the area, today the suburb is called Nundah10. Records11 show in 1855 John purchased 32acres of land in Nundah and in 1869, along with son George, he purchased a further 80acres of land, at One Pound an acre, also in the parish of Nundah (formerly German Station). An article in the Courier Mail, in 198412 states, that in the early 1860s, John and his son James were contracted for the building of the first Presbyterian Church in Bald Hills, a northern suburb of Brisbane roughly 10km north of German Station. The small church was a slab and shingle construction, and it was reported they were paid £30 for their labours, and on completion in 1864, John’s son George opened the first school in the building. Today the little church is a much sturdier wooden construction. John and his family are also reported to have made major contributions to the development of the area around Nundah and Bald Hills. John died at German Station on the 28th January, 18666. Cause of death was reported as Decay, which he had been suffering from for 12months, the informant was his son John also of German Station. John was laid to rest in German Station Cemetery, now known as the Nundah Historical Cemetery, on the 1st February, 18666. Alex Caldwell a Presbyterian Minister officiated. It is not known exactly where in the cemetery John was buried, or if a headstone was placed on his grave. John left a Will which shows he bequeathed all his assets to his sons George and James Buckby, of Eagle Farm, upon trust to provide for, maintain and educate his younger children David and Mary during their minority. He further directed that any assets remaining at the time of marriage, or coming of age of his aforementioned younger children, then the assets were to be equally divided between all his children: George, James, John, David, Hannah (married to Joseph Melton) and Mary. The Will was signed by John.
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