George Edward Nicholas Weston (1796-1856)

Alternative Name
George Edward Nicholas Weston was also known as Edward Weston. Many references to him in newspapers of the day refer to him as Edward Weston. The records of birth for 2 of his children are under the name of Edward Weston. The record of death for his eldest child, Emma Pryce nee Weston shows her father's name as Edward Weston.

Sorting Fact from Fiction
Of what is written about George Edward Nicholas Weston, some is fact, some if fiction, and some needs further research before a decision of fact or fiction can be made.

Fiction

 * It has been said that "Captain Edward Weston" was Superintendent of the Hyde Park Barracks, in relation to today's suburb of Weston in the A.C.T. named for a land grant in the area of today's Canberra . This is not true. References and newspapers of the day to the man who was Superintendant of the Hyde Park Barracks show his name to have been John Weston, a different man to Captain Edward Weston (George Edward Nicholas Weston). The newspaper references include a birth announcement for a son born to "Mrs Weston, wife of Mr John Weston, Superintendant of Hyde Park Barrackes" on 16 Aug 1830 , a time when Edward Weston (George Edward Nicholas Weston) was in India. In relation to the land grant in the area of today's Canberra, George Edward Nicholas Weston did own a land grant there on the Yarrow-lumba (Yarralumba) plains. Weston Creek on this grant was named after him, and consequently the suburb of Weston in the A.C.T. He owned this grant from 31 Oct 1831 to Aug 1834 when he sold the land grant to Francis Mowatt. During the time of ownership he was virtually an absent landlord.


 * It was been said that George Edward Nicholas Weston was a Major . This is not true. In May 1829 when George Edward Nicholas Weston married Blanche Johnston in Sydney he held the rank of Lieutenant (records re his marriage ) in the Honourable East India Company's Forces. When he returned from India in Jul 1831 after nearly 2 years there from about Sep 1829 to about Apr 1831 he had obtained the rank of Captain (records re the "Caroline" on which he and his family returned ). He never obtained the rank of Major.


 * It has been said that George Edward Nicholas Weston served as a judge in India . This is not true. On 23 Jan 1818 there was a Lieut. Weston, of the Native Infantry of the East India Company's Forces, who was made a Deputy Judge Advocate General, initially at Calcutta . On 19 Mar 1823 he was also to act as secretary and Persian interpretor to Colonel Adams during the absence of a Captain Beckett . Then on 1 Oct 1828, now a Captain (and now of the Saugor division), he was absent from his duties and replaced during his time of absence by a Capt. J.T. Croft . It is clear that this Captain Weston is not George Edward Nicholas Weston as he was still a Lietenant in October 1828. It becomes even clearer that these are 2 different men when Capt. Weston, Deputy Judge Advocate General to the Saugor Division, fathers a daughter born in India on 8 Aug 1829 (when George Edward Nicholas Weston was still at sea travelling to India with his new bride), and he is identified as Capt. H.J.S. Weston . Further references can also be found in The Asiatic Journal & Monthly Register and The Oriental Herald, which use both the other man's initials of H.J.S., J.S.H., or J.H.S., and his job title, to this man's transfer from the Calcutta to the Saugor Division and later to the Meerut Division, his marriage, births of other children, and his continuation of service in India after George Edward Nicholas Weston is living in Australia. Applying references of Lieut. Weston without initials, and then Capt. Weston without initials, to the wrong man (in this case George Edward Nicholas Weston) without first checking if these references belong to another is inappropriate, but unfortunately a common genealogical mistake. Captain J.S.H. Weston, the Deputy Judge Advocate General, was his elder brother John Samuel Henry Weston (1791-1850).


 * It is said that George Edward Nicholas Weston arrived in Sydney on the "Vesper" from Mauritius via Hobart on 14 Mar 1829 or this claim can be condensed to his arrival in Sydney in 1829 . This is not true. The man who arrived on the "Vesper" was variously described as "Major Weston of the Bengal Army" or "Captain Weston and lady" . This is not George Edward Nicholas Weston who at that time was a Lieutenant and unmarried. There is no known record of when George Edward Nicholas Weston, on furlough from the East India Company's Forces, arrived in New South Wales. His most likely reason for having taken a furlough from his military duties was the death of his brother William Francis Weston (1793-1826) on 26 April 1828 at Dapto near Wollongong. After receiving word of his brother's death (a letter would have taken at least 3 months to reach him) he would have had to request a furlough to come to New South Wales to assist his sister-in-law (leaving behind his Indian mistress and his 2 daughters, 1 of whom may have still been in the womb) and then obtain passage to Sydney (again at least 3 months). The earliest that he could have arrived in New South Wales under these circumstances is near the end of 1826. (However, as furloughs were usually for 2 years, allowing only 18 months in New South Wales after taking off sailing time at both ends, he could well have arrived 12 months later than this.) That Lieutenant George Edward Nicholas Weston was already in New South Wales on 14 Mar 1829 when the "Vesper" arrived is evidenced by his marriage just 2 months later on 19 May 1829 in Sydney. He then almost immediately sailed back to India to resume his military service.


 * It is said that George Edward Nicholas Weston lived in a large Indian tent during the time that his house at Horsley Park was being built in 1832, that he had "brought a number of servants with" him from India, and that he was "tended by many Indian servants" whilst living in the tent The first part, about living in a tent whilst the house was being built, is correct, and is verified in an article written shortly after the death of his wife Blanche in 1904 (see entry for Blanche Johnston (1806-1904)). The part about bringing a large number of servants from India with them, and then being attended by them whilst they lived in the tent, is incorrect. When "Capt. Weston, Mrs Weston and 2 children" (his 2 half-indian illegitimate daughters, Emma & Mary) arrived in Sydney on 31 Jul 1831 aboard the "Caroline" they had with them "1 servant" . Subsequent research (refer to the entry of Alexander Davidson (c1792-1856)) reveals this to be a male native servant from India. That there was only 1 Indian servant is also verified in the article written shortly after the death of his wife Blanche in 1904 (see entry for Blanche Johnston (1806-1904)). This article refers to the time after the house was completed and only mentions the 1 Indian servant. Specifically referred to is a punkah (a large Indian fan) attached to the ceiling of the house that was kept constantly moving by a "black boy", with "black" referring to the colour of his skin (but not aboriginal as the same article refers to aboriginals as "blackfellows"), and "boy" being the patronising way of refering to a adult male native servant.

It is interesting to compare the facts of George Edward Nicholas Weston (1796-1856) with those of Alexander Davidson (c1792-1856) (1) Honourable East India Company (2) Described as scarlet lined (3) Described as dressed in turbans and white dresses

Requires further research

 * It is said that while living in the house at Horsely Park that the family of George Edward Nicholas Weston was attended by "a team" of Indian servants, or alternatively that "Mrs Blanche Weston...employed a retinue of Indian servants at Horsley" . The reference given in one case for this claim is the article written shortly after the death of his wife Blanche in 1904, which makes no such assertion (see entry for Blanche Johnston (1806-1904)). The article instead talks about the many servants that she had in her employ for long periods of 20, 30 or 40 years with no mention of any of these servants having come from India. Based on this article alone the claim is unsubstantiated. If the family did employ more Indian servants than the 1 adult male that they brought out on the "Caroline" with them in 1831 they would have to have been imported for the family on later ships. Further research needs to be undertaken to ascertain if servants would or could be imported from India, and if this claim of many Indian servants being employed by the Weston family at Horsley Park is correct. This could be an exaggeration where 1 indian servant has become many.


 * It is said that prior to joining the forces of the East India Company that George Weston joined the Royal Navy as a Midshipman and was serving on the warship "HMS Shannon" when it engaged and defeated the American ship "Chesapeake" in a violent sea battle off Boston in 1813 (when he would have been 16 years old). It was not usual for a navy man to transfer to the army, and may even have been impossible. This could be a mixing up of the details of two different individuals, a common genealogical mistake, and requires further research.

Furlough in Sydney (c1827-1829)
The first time that Lieutenant George Edward Nicholas Weston of the Honourable East India Company's Forces is found in Australian records is at his marriage to Blanche Johnston at Sydney on 19 May 1829. When he arrived in Sydney is unknown.

To be in Sydney, where he met, wooed, and married Blanche Johnston, George Edward Nicholas Weston had first to obtain a furlough from his duties in India. Furloughs were usually for 2 years which would have allowed him no more than 18 months in the Colony. He would have visited his sister-in-law Elizabeth Crouch (c1795-1853), recently widowed to his late brother William Francis Weston (1793-1826) who had died in April 1826, his 2 nephews and 3 nieces, during his furlough in the colony. He may have obtained his furlough specifically to be able to assist them. His surprise would have been when his sister-in-law presented him with her new illegitimate daughter born in October 1827.

At the time of his marriage Lieutenant Weston's furlough was soon to end, and he had to return to his military duties in India. In May 1831, prior to his marrige, he had obtained passage for himself and his bride-to-be on the next ship to be sailing from Sydney to Calcutta. On 2 Jun 1829 (delayed from 22 May), Lieutenant Weston and his new bride were aboard the merchant vessel Reliance which was sailing out of Sydney Heads for Calcutta via Ceylon and Madras.

George Edward Nicholas Weston, artist and book illustrator
On 29 Jul 1829 the Reliance, enroute to Calcutta, sailed into Raffles Bay at the top end of the Northern Territory, along with the Thompson and the man-of-war HMS Satellite. The Reliance and the Thompson had both stopped in at Raffles Bay to obtain a supply of water.

Whilst at Raffles Bay Lieutenant Weston spent some of his time ashore, and on the evening of 30 Jul "Lieutenant Weston, of the East India Company's service, took a very spirited and correct sketch" in black & white, which may contain the earliest depiction of a digeridoo, called "Dance of the Aborigines at Raffles Bay". This sketch was later published in "Narrative of a Voyage round the World" by Thomas Braidwood Wilson (1792-1843), Sherwood, Gilbert, & Piper, London, 1835. (Thomas Braidwood Wilson being "Surgeon Braidwood Wilson" who was depicted in the sketch, and is the man after whom Braidwood in New South Wales is named.)

Thomas Braidwood Wilson also noted in his book that on 3 Aug Captain Laws had "a d é jeun é à la fourchette on board the Satellite, Captain Barker, Dr. Davis, Lieutenants Weston and Gray, and three ladies were present’ . Presumably one of the ladies was Lieutenant Weston's bride Blanche.

The drawings for the two colour plates in Wilson's 1835 book: "Wreck of the Ship 'Governor Ready’ in Torres Straits"; and "Jolly Boat’s Crew Soliciting To Be Received into the Long Boats" were imaginative reconstructions from Wilson’s descriptions skillfully drawn by Weston, and identified as drawings by Weston in the published book. As Wilson did not return to New South Wales until 1836 after his book was published in London, it is likely that the 2 pictures were drawn by Weston in Jul 1829 at Raffles Bay.

The Reliance is also recorded as having stopped over at Raffles Bay enroute to Calcutta in the Journal of Captain Collet Barker. Captain Collet Barker was the Commandant of the short-lived Raffles Bay Settlement (1827-1829), a settlement that was abandoned on 28 Aug 1829. Lieutenant Weston's wife Blanche is specifically mentioned: "Took natives to the Reliance after they were dressed & shewed them to Mrs Hays & Mrs Weston."

The Reliance sailed from Raffles Bay on 7 Aug 1829 to continue its journey to Calcutta.

Family relationship & Business partnership with his brother-in-law David Johnston

 * "NOTICE. WANTED, an OVERSEER to undertake the Management and charge of a Sheep Establishment in Argyleshire. He must be capable of keeping Accounts, and to produce satisfactory testimonials of good conduct. Application to be made to Mr. Johnston, at Annandale, or Edward Weston, Esq., Horsly, (District of Melville, near Abbotsbury)", The Sydney Herald, 12 Nov 1832, p1


 * "landholders and free inhabitants of the district of Illawarra...Edward Weston, David Johnston", The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, 1 May 1834, p2


 * "Marriage. By special license, on Wednesday last (10 Feb 1836), at St. Lukes Church, Liverpool, by the Rev. Richard Cartwright, David Johnston, Esq., of Georges Hall, Banks Town, to Miss Selina Wiltey, neice(sic) of Major Antill, of Jarvisfield. The bridal party set off for Horsely the seat of Edward Weston, Esq.", The Australian, Tue 16 Feb 1836, p2

Family relationship with his brother-in-law Robert Johnston
Robert Johnson's overseer at Annandale.", The Sydney Monitor, 2 Jul 1834, p4
 * "James Coley, assigned to Mr. Edward Weston was put to the bar on a charge of assaulting Mr.

Interest in Horse Racing

 * "Cumberland Turf Club...Stewards,...Edward Weston, Esq.", The Sydney Herald, 3 Aug 1837, p1


 * "Cumberland Turf Club...Judge, Edward Weston, Esq." The Australian, 17 Jul 1838, p1

Fox Hounds & the Hunt
Present-...Weston...Committee of Management for the general purposes of ihe Hunt...Edward Weston, Esquire...Edward Weston, Esq. be nominated to the management and coniroul of the Kennel and its establishment", The Sydney Herald, 22 Feb 1838, p2
 * "CUMBERLAND HUNT. AT a Meeting held pursuant to public advertisement, at Mrs Walker's Inn, at Parramatta, on THURSDAY, the 15th day of February, for the purpose of establishing a Club for the maintenance of a Subscription Pack of Fox Hounds, to be called the Cumberland Hunt.

Land
near Liverpool, or on the premises.", The Australian, 17 Aug 1838, p4
 * "TO BE LET, AT MINCHINBURY, 25 miles from Sydney, on the Great Western Road, a Comfortable COTTAGE, containing seven or eight rooms, with Offices and Farm Buildings complete; there is an excellent garden, and Orchard, and Land in cultivation, if required. Apply to Edward Weston, Esquire, Horsley,


 * "Colonial Secretary's Office, Sydney, 24th April, 1838. LANDS. HIS Excellency the Governor having approved of the applications that have been made for the undermentioned portions of Land; Notice is hereby given, that the same will, after measurement be put up to Sale on an early day, of which due particulars will be given...Advertisement of 10th July. 1837...Deed dated 30th November, 1847(sic). 264. Edward Weston, 571 aores. Cumberland, lot 10.", The Australian, 1 May 1838, p1-2

Surname, all Christian names and residence of the party in whose favor the Deed is to be prepared, written at full length. Also (if required in any name but that of the original promisee), the grounds of the claim, and a letter from the said promisee, if living, and from all intermediate assigns, if any, giving his and their consent and sanction thereto, and witnessed either by a magistiate, or a solicitor of the Supreme Court...
 * "GOVERNMENT GAZETTE. SATURDAY, MAY 25, 1839. Colonial Secretary's Office, Sydney 25th, May 1839. GRANTS OF LAND. THE following description of Grants of Land, with the names of the Persons to whom they were originally promised, or by whom they are now claimed are published for general information in order that all parties concerned may have an opportunity of correcting any errors or omissions that may have been made inadvertently. It is requested that within three month from the present date, the particulars required by the Government Notice of the 1st October, 1838, may be accurately furnished to this office:

362 Edward Weston, two thousand five hundred and sixty acres, parish unnamed, at Yarralumla. Authorised by Sir Halph Darling on the 5th September, 1831, and possession given on the 18th October following, as a primary giant. Quit-rent £21 6s. 8d. sterling per annum, commencing on the 1st January, 1839.", The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, 4 Jun 1839, p4

Magistrate

 * "The following is the list of the Magistracy for the ensuing year :—...Edward Weston", The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, 11 Dec 1838, p2

(More to come.)