→ John Blinco (1834, Barrow, Suffolk) → Newcastle, NSW . Arrived: 1854.
Barrow, Suffolk
When John was growing up his village of Barrow was almost entirely made up of Agricultural Labourers growing crops like Barley, Wheat and Sheep. The village by this time was completely enclosed ie small fields closed off with hedging and fences.
John’s father James 1805 was a Barrow born villager and a Agricultural Labourer his mother Sarah Last was also a local born girl. The six siblings five boys and a girl were with one exception younger that John . Times were very hard and through 1851 the family stayed together but the lack work and the poverty force all three sons of James Blinco to go away from Barrow. One year after sister Susan died, John decided to take an assisted passage to Australia. In the same year (1854) brother William joined the Coldstream Guards, brotherMark a little while later joined the Royal Marines and youngest brotherJames the 64th Regiment of Foot. So the brothers had all left by 1866.
The Assisted passages to Australia were being advertised in towns and villages of England the Australian Colonies and the British Parliament eager to move some people to the Colonies. Reduce unemployment at home and grow the Doninion for the welth of both countries. So John who was illiterate would have been helped to apply and arrange the trip to post of embarkation etc.
The Voyage
So John Blinco at age 19 in July 1854 was to travel to Southampton (probably his first trip of that distance) likely by cart and train . By 1854, the London and South Western Railway had made the port easily accessible. The soot, the speed of the locomotive, and the sheer scale of the Southampton docks—crowded with masts and steam funnels—would have been an overwhelming introduction to his new life and he would have been boarded near the ship until it departed. The day came to board the Ellenbourough a 1084 tons ship, Captain Thornhill, departing on July 14. The ship took approximately 109 days to complete the voyage and docked 31 Oct 1854 in the new port of Necastle in the New South Wales Colony. Newcastle was a rugged frontier compared to the English countryside. As John stepped off the ship, he would have been greeted by the sight of Nobby’s Head (then still an island) and the early coal workings that defined the settlement. of the assisted passages A major portion of the group were specialized workers. Of the 399 emigrants onboard Ellenborough, 106 labourers were specifically brought out for the Hunter River Railway Company to begin work on the line from Newcastle to Maitland. The remainder were largely agricultural labourers, reflecting the high demand for farm hands in the colony.
So John went to work for the Hunter Railway Company a private venture that was by 1859 going broke and was taken over by the Colony ie the NSW Railways . Most like at first John was employed as a day labourer and his farm labouring would have been good training for the heavy digging lifting of the rail line build. But John was a hard work and digent and in 1860 The NSW Railways employed him in the capacity of a sub inspector, here is the employment record.
- NumberINX-50-291
- TitleBLINCO John
- Index NameRailway Employment Records 1856-1917
- NameJohn
- SurnameBLINCO
- Index Number50
- First Position ListedSub Inspector
- Date of First Position Listed1/07/1860
- Item NoNRS 19407
- Page No108
In the 1860s, a Sub Inspector of the Permanent Way was responsible for overseeing the maintenance and construction of a specific section of track.
To hold this role, John would have needed to understand:
- Ballasting and Sleepers: How to properly bed the track.
- Labour Management: Leading the “gangers” (the men actually swinging the picks).
- Surveying Basics: Ensuring the line remained level.
1856–1888 In these years John was employed by Department of Public Works; John Whitton was the manager leading leading the build and expansionof the line.
1888–1896 The NSW Government Railways (NSWGR) was formally established; centralized operations begin.
– Broad gauge adopted; major inland routes built; railways become key to settlement.
Marriage 1858 While still working as a Ganger John met an Irish Lass Mary Burke and they got married at East Maitland NSW that year. Once he engaged as a Sub Inspector they started a family and lived at West Maitland.
The above scene ie flooding would have been one of the engineering challenges for the rail line going through this area, prone to flooding then maintenance work a regular problem for John to have to work on.
Native Rose Leichardt 1898
John retired after 34 years on the Railways in 1896 and was awarded a pension. There is a John Blinco who is the licensee of the Native Rose Hotel, Leichhardt (now called Rozelle) in 1898. Is this our John?, did he use his Pension to buy himself a license role ? On the face of it its a big change, a move of 178km away into the Sydney suburbs and taking on a hotel at 55 years a big ask. The facts found, prove it happened. The two main pieces piece of evidence are 18 Feb 1898 he was granted a license.
| Name | John Blinco |
|---|---|
| License or Certificate Date | 18 Feb. 1896 |
| Public House Location | Metropolitan Licensing, New South Wales, Australia |
The absolute proof of his id comes in the form of the Death Announcement when Mary his wife died. This from the newspapers;
Another story in the newspapers confirms him as Publican (although not yet Licensed) of the Native Rose.
Publican, Licensee
Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 – 1930), Friday 20 November 1896, page 3
At the Redfern Court yesterday, John Blinco, licensee of the Native Rose Hotel, Leichhardt, was fined £5, with 5s 6d costs, or one month’s gaol, for keeping his premises open for the sale of liquor at 1 a.m. on Sunday November 8 .Not was strictly forbidden day to sell Alcohol in 1896.
Remarried 1898
John remarried on 5 Sep 1898 to Sarah Wiseman (nee Lindsay) a Widow age 40 years of Newcastle, Father and Mother in attendance at All Saint Leichardt. Given Sarah was born in Newcastle its entirely possible the two knew each before 1898.
Death 1906 – Obituary
John died in Camperdown in Sydney 9 Sep 1906, and was buried at
Rookwood General Cemetery newspaper announcement :- The Friends of Mrs. JOHN BLINCO are
respectfully invited to attend the Funeral of her dearly loved HUSBAND, to leave his late residence 99 Norton-street, Leichhardt, THIS (TUESDAY) MORN-1NG at 8.45, for the Necropolis, via Petersham Station
Timeline
| Event | Date/Location | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Full Name | John Blinco | |
| Birth Date | 1834 | |
| Birth Place | Barrow, Suffolk | |
| Census UK 1841 (6 Jun) | 6 Jun 1841, 8 Hill Road, Barrow, Thingoe, Suffolk | James Blincoe Male 30 1811 - Sarah Blencoe Female 30 1811 - Henry Blencoe Male 9 1832 - John Blencoe Male 7 1834 - William Blencoe Male 4 1837 |
| Census UK 1841 (6 Jun) | 6 Jun 1851, Barrow Street, Barrow, Thingoe, Suffolk | James Blenio Head Married Male 46 1805 Ag lab Barrow, Suffolk, England Sarah Blenio Wife Married Female 44 1807 - Barrow, Suffolk, England Henry Blenio Son Unmarried Male 19 1832 Ag lab Barrow, Suffolk, England John Blenio Son Unmarried Male 17 1834 Horsekeeper Barrow, Suffolk, England William Blenio Son - Male 14 1837 - Barrow, Suffolk, England Mark Blenio Son - Male 8 1843 - Barrow, Suffolk, England Susan Blenio Daughter - Female 5 1846 - Barrow, Suffolk, England James Blenio Son - Male 3 1848 - Barrow, Suffolk, England |
| Emigrated a Blencowe variant | 1854, Newcastle, NSW | 31 Oct 1854 Arrived on an assisted passage, the Ship Ellenborough, 1084 tons, Captain Thornhill, from Southampton July 14. Passengers—Mr. James H. Atkinson, Dr. Storeweather, Surgeon Superintendent, and 399 immigrants. John Blincoe Age 19 and Illiterate when he emigrated but rose to become an Inspector on the Railways |
| Marriage | 13 Dec 1858, East Maitland NSW | To Mary Burke 1835, Lishean Tipperary, Ireland |
| Occupation | Jun 1859, NSW | Railway Inspector Served 34 yr 6 mnths before retiring in 1896 Retirement pension award see photos |
| Birth of Son William John | 21 Dec 1860, West Maitland, NSW | |
| Birth of Son Mary Flora | 21 Jul 1862, West Maitland, NSW | |
| Birth of Son James Francis | 8 Apr 1864, West Maitland, NSW | |
| Birth of Daughter Catherine | 9 Feb 1866, West Maitland, NSW | |
| Family Story | 12 Jan 1892, Murrundi NSW | John sued for rates not paid see newspapers article image |
| Occupation | 1895, Native Rose Hotel, Leichhardt, NSW | Publican, Licensee Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Friday 20 November 1896, page 3 At the Redfern Court yesterday, John Blinco, licensee of the Native Rose Hotel, Leichhardt, was fined £j, with 5s 6d costs, or one month\'s gaol, for keeping his premises open for the sale of liquor at 1 a.m. on Sunday November 8 |
| Residence | 1898, 29 Junior St, Leichardt, NSW | death notice of wife |
| Widower | 16 Jul 1898, Leichardt, NSW | Death of Mary Burke |
| Remarried | 5 Sep 1898, All Saints, Leichhardt, NSW | To Sarah Wiseman (nee Lindsay)Widow |
| Death | 9 Sep 1905, Camperdown NSW |
Descendants
All four sons had from time to time run ins with the law and this extended to grandsons as we will see, it must have been the rough upbringing in West Maitland. All the sons seemed to move away from West Maitland but there are numerous newspaper articles about there misdemeanors. Daughter Catherine “Kitty’ though was a Singing and Music Teacher at age 26 This news advertisment :-
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate (NSW : 1876 – 1954), Monday 16 May 1892, page 1
EDUCATIONAL. MISS KATIE BLINCO, Teacher of Music and Singing, Souvenior House, Beaumont.street, lslington, NSW. She married Lancelot Joseph Snowdon (a Foreman) and they lived in Mosman, NSW
In 1922 Catherine now a widow and reverting to her Blinco name was robbed. The newspaper story revealed that South Sidney Football medals were among the stolen items. It transpired that her nephew Jack Blinco had won them and given them to her. I then further discovered this was John “Jack” Henry Walter Blinco 1889-1931 who is in the WW1 pages here. Jack had a long criminal record from early on and despite his football success couldn’t stay out of trouble, discharged for indiscipline in WW1 he died vety young in 1931.
Jacks brother another Grandson George Albert John Blinco 1894-1958 served with full honours in WW1 a L/Cpl, 3307A, 5th Machine Gun Bn. 14th Machine Gun Coy he was seriously wounded on the 2nd April 1917 in France. He was invalided to England and discharged unfit to serve. Georges son a Great Grandson of John Blinco 1834 was also to serve in WW2 as John Walter Henry Blinco, NX111067, Staff Sergeant, 9 Field Regiment Australian Military Force AMF
Sources
- Daphne Austin Blencowe Database
- Ancestry and Family Search
- Trove Newspaper archives