> Family Lines > John
John Rope was born on 22 December 1795.
John married Maria Field on 17 Feb 1817 at St Matthews Church in Windsor. Maria was the daughter of Edward Field and Elizabeth Mitchell. Edward was a Private in the NSW Corps, he arrived in the 2nd Fleet on the Scarborough 28 June 1790. Her mother was born Elizabeth Sarah Mitchell, she arrived as convict Betty Mitchell in the 3rd Fleet on the Mary Ann on 9 July 1791.
John and Maria had a large family of 10 children. Maria died in childbirth along with her last child, William on 28 August 1842. She is buried next to her parents in Castlereagh Cemetery. Note It was her father Edward's headstone that recently fell in a storm and had to be repaired, see the Field Monument page.
Maria's headstone reads:
{Sacred to the - top removed}
Memory of
Maria Rope who
departed this life
on August 28th AD 1842
Age 40 ys 11 months
-----
In the pains of labour
Long I lay
Physics Were in vain
Till God was pleased
To give me ease
Away my pains
John and Maria Rope farmed next to the Nepean River. In 1828, John and Maria were farming 25 acres with 12 horned cattle on Stanyards farm on the bend of the Nepean at Birds Eye Corner. They had 2 assigned convicts to help them. John also had 60 acres called Rope's Farm that he received as a land grant in Londonderry. This 60 acres was later sold to Samuel Terry.
John died on 11 July 1845 and is buried at Castlereagh. Several of his children moved to Mudgee after this.
Intensive research has shown that the gallows had to be constructed for the "first time" after George Rope was sentenced to death. This was not a permanent structure as the gallows also had to be constructed for George Pitt in 1876. Neither man had any hand in any of the construction works at Mudgee Gaol.
The fact we do have about George Rope is that he was executed because one night he got into a drunken fit of rage and shot his sister-in-law, Hannah Jane Thompson ROPE, in the stomach with a shotgun. She died that night.
There is no current co-ordinator for this line but you may contact the Chairperson for information or to provide family photos or dates etc.
John Rope and Maria Field
John Rope was born on 22 December 1795.
John married Maria Field on 17 Feb 1817 at St Matthews Church in Windsor. Maria was the daughter of Edward Field and Elizabeth Mitchell. Edward was a Private in the NSW Corps, he arrived in the 2nd Fleet on the Scarborough 28 June 1790. Her mother was born Elizabeth Sarah Mitchell, she arrived as convict Betty Mitchell in the 3rd Fleet on the Mary Ann on 9 July 1791.
John and Maria had a large family of 10 children. Maria died in childbirth along with her last child, William on 28 August 1842. She is buried next to her parents in Castlereagh Cemetery. Note It was her father Edward's headstone that recently fell in a storm and had to be repaired, see the Field Monument page.
Maria's headstone reads:
{Sacred to the - top removed}
Memory of
Maria Rope who
departed this life
on August 28th AD 1842
Age 40 ys 11 months
-----
In the pains of labour
Long I lay
Physics Were in vain
Till God was pleased
To give me ease
Away my pains
John and Maria Rope farmed next to the Nepean River. In 1828, John and Maria were farming 25 acres with 12 horned cattle on Stanyards farm on the bend of the Nepean at Birds Eye Corner. They had 2 assigned convicts to help them. John also had 60 acres called Rope's Farm that he received as a land grant in Londonderry. This 60 acres was later sold to Samuel Terry.
John died on 11 July 1845 and is buried at Castlereagh. Several of his children moved to Mudgee after this.
Myth about George ROPE (Born 28.5.1824 ; Executed 1875) :
A myth has been spread about John and Maria's son, George Rope. A story came to the family in the 1980's which was purportedly from a newspaper. It discussed the building of the gallows in Mudgee and came up with the supposed fact that George Rope and George Pitt helped build the gallows which they later died by. This story was previously reported on this web site but has been found to have no basis in fact.Intensive research has shown that the gallows had to be constructed for the "first time" after George Rope was sentenced to death. This was not a permanent structure as the gallows also had to be constructed for George Pitt in 1876. Neither man had any hand in any of the construction works at Mudgee Gaol.
The fact we do have about George Rope is that he was executed because one night he got into a drunken fit of rage and shot his sister-in-law, Hannah Jane Thompson ROPE, in the stomach with a shotgun. She died that night.
There is no current co-ordinator for this line but you may contact the Chairperson for information or to provide family photos or dates etc.