James A Bartram (1826/27–1905) was a leading pioneer in the

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

n town of

Beverley Beverley is a market and minster town and a civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, of which it is the county town. The town centre is located south-east of York's centre and north-west of City of Hull. The town is known fo ...

Early life

Bartram was born in the village of Aylmerton (in the parish of

Erpingham Erpingham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Its area of had a population of 541 in 210 households at the 2001 Census. Including Ingworth it increased to 700 at the 2011 Census. Governance For the purposes of loca ...

) in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, England. He was the son of William John Bartram of Aylmerton and Ann Jane Strange. His mother Ann Strange (sister of Richard Strange) was a descendant of the Dukes of Atholl on the wrong side of the blanket. His mother died when he was young and his father died when he was 15. Bartram was one of seven children. His grandmother Lady Bartram was an Italian Jew who his grandfather met in Italy when he was visiting his Bartram relatives in Civita Vecchia. Their cousin Richard Bartram was the English Consul there. The above information needs some real referencing - rambling blog posts without references does not a reference make.

In Australia

In 1843 Bartram at the age of 16 went with his relative Thomas Carter to Western Australia. He firstly worked for Carter at his Merrow Farm Inn - the half way house between Guildford near

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

and

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

. He later became a leading farmer in Beverley as well as the Justice of the Peace and postman. He also assisted the presentation Catholic nuns in Beverley even though he wasn't a Catholic.Cork to Capricorn: A History of the Presentation Sisters in Western Australia, 1891–1991 by Ruth Marchant James He returned to visit England in 1858 and brought back farm equipment including the first wheat stripper in the Beverley district. Bartram also was the first miller in the district, and built the first police station in Beverley in 1861. Bartram may have brought his horse drawn mill from England. Bartram and George Kersley, Sr. firstly leased Avon Dale from Nicholas Carey in 1844 (August 15) when Bartram was only 17. Carey had first come to Perth in 1835 and he returned to visit England in 1841 where he may have met Bartram through Carter who was also visiting England at this time. Carey, Carter and Bartram all returned together on the ''Janet'' in 1843. One document about the Avon Dale research station states: Today this property is the Avondale Agricultural Research Station. Bartram farmed at Avon Dale and Emerald Hills. He had a secret Jewish wedding ceremony in 1847 to Jane Ann Williams (born 1830) the daughter of Thomas Williams of Kilmagig Wicklow,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and Eliza Leason (Pollard) of Safed, Palestine. They legally married in 1851 in a registry office. They had eight children - two sons and six daughters. His son Henry Bartram was a leading pioneer of the area around Lake Dumbleyung. His younger son John Robert Bartram remained in the Beverley district and farmed Emerald Hills and married his relative Julia Sophia Strange. Bartram went bankrupt at one stage. He died in Beverley in 1905 as a revered pioneer of the district.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartram, James People from Beverley, Western Australia Year of birth uncertain 1905 deaths