Descendants of William BOXWELL

12. Thomas BOXHILL was born in Jan 1799 in Salehurst, Sussex, ENG, was christened on 3 Mar 1799 in Salehurst, Sussex, ENG, died on 12 Aug 1875 in Gerringong, NSW at age 76, and was buried on 13 Aug 1875 in Gerringong Cemetery, NSW.

General Notes: Thomas didn't venture too far from his birthplace in Salehurst for the half of his life that he spent in England. He married there, on February 5th, 1821, to Mary PUXTED.

Mary was baptised at Ewhurst, Sussex (a village 3 miles east of Salehurst) on October 24th, 1802. She was the daughter of John PUXTED and Eleanor GOODSELL. Her mother's family had lived in Ewhurst for centuries, and there are still GOODSELLs living there today. One branch of the family, that of Henry GOODSELL, also came to Australia and settled in the Shoalhaven area.

Thomas and Mary spent the next 18 years living in the area around Salehurst. Baptisms of most of their children are recorded in the Salehurst Parish Register.

Mary's brother Elhanan PUXTY (the name had changed from PUXTED) arrived in NSW in 1838 aboard the Lady Nugent, and settled in the Hunter Valley. My belief is that his letters home, describing the good agricultural conditions then prevalent in NSW, was the encouragement needed for Thomas and Mary to uproot their family in 1839 and travel half way around the world, seeking a better life.

Life in Sussex at that time, particularly for those in the agricultural labouring class, was not easy. Wages were low (about 2s6d per day in summer), and living conditions verged on poverty for many families. The bounty immigration scheme was in full flight, and many small villages in Kent and Sussex lost large percentages of the young single people as they left for NSW. This in turn encouraged families left behind to also emmigrate, once word filtered back about the good climate, abundant work and high wages available in NSW.

On June 1st, 1839, the ship Neptune sailed from Gravesend with 290 passengers, bound for Sydney. Of the 290 who left England, no less than 99 were from the Salehurst parish. During the voyage there were 3 births and 9 deaths, resulting in 284 new immigrants landing in Sydney on September 27th, 1839.

Of particular interest to us was the fact that these 284 included Thomas (40) and Mary (37) BOXSELL, and their four youngest children: Richard (10), Edward (7), James (4) and Martha (2). The three eldest children (Mary aged 17, Thomas aged 14 and William aged 12) remained in England, and I have yet to find what happened to them.

Like many families aboard the Neptune, the BOXSELLs headed for the Hunter Valley. In their case, with Mary's brother Elhanan already farming there, there was a family reason for the move. Thomas first farmed at Seaham, working as a labourer for Mr Caple, and it was here that the first Australian-born member of the family arrived, with the birth of John 11 months after the family arrived in NSW. Two more children were to be subsequently born in the Hunter (at Nelsons Plains).

Thomas did well while farming in the Hunter, but eventually decided to venture to the Illawarra area. At about this time (around 1850), Alexander Berry was opening up his estates to settlers willing to take on a clearing lease, and this may have been the attraction. Whatever the reason, the Boxsell family were well ensconced in the Gerringong area by 1854, when the first town lots were auctioned off. At the sale, Thomas purchased 8 blocks straddling Coal St (between Belinda and Jupiter Sts), and another block on the north-east corner of the Belinda St & Coal St intersection, while his son Richard purchased two blocks on the eastern side of Fern St, between Belinda and Jupiter Sts.

By this time, Thomas was one of the "elder statesmen" of Gerringong. Always a devout Christian, he was a stalwart of the Methodist Church from its inception until his death in 1875 aged 77. He was buried in Gerringong Cemetery, where he was joined by Mary only four months later. Their headstone is still extant, thanks to some fine repair work by their great-great grandson Richard on the occasion of the Boxsell Family reunion at Gerringong in 1989.
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Thomas married Mary PUXTED, daughter of John PUXTY and Eleanor GOODSELL, on 5 Feb 1821 in Salehurst, Sussex, ENG. Mary was christened on 24 Oct 1802 in Ewhurst, Sussex, ENG, died on 17 Dec 1875 in Shellharbour, NSW at age 73, and was buried on 21 Dec 1875 in Gerringong Cemetery, NSW.

+ 27 M ii. Thomas BOXSELL was born on 22 Mar 1824 in Salehurst, Sussex, ENG.

+ 29 M iv. Richard BOXSELL was born on 6 Apr 1829 in Salehurst, Sussex, ENG, died on 6 Jun 1878 in Gerringong, NSW at age 49, and was buried on 7 Jun 1878 in Gerringong Cemetery, NSW.

+ 30 M v. Edward BOXSELL was born on 8 May 1832 in Salehurst, Sussex, ENG and died on 2 Nov 1895 in Tilba Tilba, NSW at age 63.

+ 31 M vi. James BOXSELL was born on 2 Jan 1835 in Poppinghole, Salehurst, Sussex, ENG, was christened on 15 Feb 1835 in Salehurst, Sussex, ENG, and died on 9 Oct 1909 in Cootamundra, NSW at age 74.

+ 32 F vii. Martha BOXSELL was born on 20 Jun 1837 in Sussex, ENG and died on 21 Jul 1897 in Jaspers Brush, NSW at age 60.

+ 33 M viii. John BOXSELL was born on 3 Aug 1840 in Seaham, NSW and died on 20 May 1895 in Berry, NSW at age 54.

+ 34 M ix. Joseph BOXSELL was born on 11 Feb 1844 in Nelsons Plains, NSW and died on 2 Aug 1907 in Mullumbimby, NSW at age 63.

+ 35 F x. Louisa BOXSELL was born on 3 Aug 1846 in Nelsons Plains, NSW and died on 16 Apr 1899 in Meroo, NSW at age 52.

18. Richard BOXSELL was christened on 24 Mar 1803 in Salehurst, Sussex, ENG, died on 7 Nov 1873 in Sydney, NSW at age 70, and was buried in Ashfield Cemetery, NSW.

Richard married Philadelphia WESTON, daughter of Thomas WESTON and Mary, circa 1828 in Sussex, ENG. Philadelphia was born circa 1811 in Mayfield, Sussex, ENG, was christened on 14 May 1815 in Mayfield, Sussex, ENG, and died on 6 Aug 1866 in Glebe, NSW at age 55.

+ 36 M i. Albert BOXSELL was christened on 22 Sep 1828 in Salehurst, Sussex, ENG and died circa 1828 in Sussex, ENG.

+ 37 M ii. Albert BOXSELL was christened on 25 Jan 1829 in Salehurst, Sussex, ENG.

+ 38 F iii. Mary Jane BOXSELL was christened on 5 Jul 1830 in Salehurst, Sussex, ENG and died on 29 Jun 1891 at age 60.

+ 39 M iv. Henry BOXSELL was born on 2 Aug 1832 in Salehurst, Sussex, ENG and was christened on 22 Sep 1832 in Salehurst, Sussex, ENG.

+ 40 M v. Charles BOXSELL was born on 3 Dec 1833 in Salehurst, Sussex, ENG, was christened on 21 Jan 1834 in Salehurst, Sussex, ENG, died in 1901 in Darlington, NSW at age 68, and was buried on 20 May 1901 in Rookwood Methodist Cemetery, NSW.

+ 41 M vi. Thomas BOXSELL was born on 25 May 1835 in Salehurst, Sussex, ENG and was christened on 6 Jul 1835 in Salehurst, Sussex, ENG.

+ 42 F vii. Emily BOXSELL was born on 26 Jan 1837 in Salehurst, Sussex, ENG and was christened on 28 Feb 1837 in Salehurst, Sussex, ENG.

19. Benjamin BOXELL was christened on 9 Jun 1805 in Salehurst, Sussex, ENG and died in 1843 in Ticehurst, Sussex, ENG at age 38.

20. Charles BOXHILL was christened on 25 Oct 1807 in Salehurst, Sussex, ENG.

+ 46 M i. James CRISFORD was born circa 1852 and died in 1921 in Brunswick, Vic at age 69.

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Descendants of William BOXWELL

Fourth Generation