James Hannell (1 December 1813 – 31 December 1876) was an auctioneer, publican, and Australian politician elected as a member of the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

, the first Mayor of Newcastle, and the first Mayor of Wickham.

Early life

Hannell, was free-born in

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia, on 1 December 1813. He was the eldest son of two

convicts A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convict ...

. His mother Elizabeth Hannell arrived in Sydney in 1812 from

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

, England (Convict – 7 years). His father James Walton of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England, a

Private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

of the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

. Hannell was registered with NSW Births, Deaths and Marriages Register with his father's family name 'Walton,' as were his brothers John (b. 27 August 1815) and Jesse (b. 15 November 1817), however in life they used their mother's maiden name. Hannell was baptised on 13 May 1814 at St. John's Church, Parramatta. Hannell's mother was incarcerated in the ''

Parramatta Female Factory The Parramatta Female Factory, is a National Heritage Listed place and has three original sandstone buildings and the sandstone gaol walls. The Parramatta Female Factory was designed by convict architect Francis Greenway in 1818 and the only fem ...

''. She was involved with other convicts (James Garland and James Stubbs) in a scam to obtain money from forged receipts and was convicted and sentenced in June 1820, to 'Life' in Newcastle. She was transported to Newcastle, on the ship, 'Princess Charlotte', and arrived on 27 July 1820. She had a daughter Mary Ann (b. 10 May 1821) with a convict called John White (died Nov.1828). Elizabeth was granted permission to wed the District Constable, and ''

ticket of leave A ticket of leave was a document of parole issued to convicts who had shown they could now be trusted with some freedoms. Originally the ticket was issued in Britain and later adapted by the United States, Canada, and Ireland. Jurisdictions ...

'' man, John Butler Hewson, on 28 May 1828. Hewson became the foster father of the children, including Hannell, when they joined their mother in Newcastle. Hannell was educated at Christ Church School, Newcastle. On 12 March 1836, Hannell married Mary Ann Sophia (b. 1819, Sydney), second daughter of Edward Priest (a former convict who arrived in Newcastle in 1817). Hannell and Mary had eleven children: Clarence Hewson, Stephena Mary, Emily Frances, Fanny Anne, James Edward, Mary Elizabeth, Florence Jane, Constance Myra, Arthur Hubert, James Edward (d. 1842), and John Henry (d. 1860). The area known as Smedmore, where the Hannell home was situated, became known as Maryville, in honour of Hannell's wife, Mary. The main street of Wickham is Hannell Street.

Career

Hannell was a Police Constable from 1833–1836. He became Newcastle's first licensed auctioneer in September 1839. He bought a licensed

Public House A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

called the 'Ship Inn' on the corner of Hunter and Bolton Street, Newcastle. Hannell's brother, John Hannell, became the licensee of the Wheat Sheaf Inn at

Hexham Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden, Northumberland, Warden nearby, and ...

, near Newcastle. He was a sportsman, and pilot of ships on the Hunter River. When the punt service was opened, around 1862, John was appointed to run it. Another of Hannell's brothers, Jesse Hannell, became Signal Master and the first lighthouse keeper at obby'sLighthouse. In 1857, Hannell was gazetted as a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

and attended the Newcastle bench. Hannell was a churchwarden and trustee of Christ Church Cathedral. Hannell was involved in the incorporation of Newcastle and became its first mayor in 1859–62, serving again in 1868–69 and 1871. He was Mayor in 1868 when the

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the city of Edinburgh in Scotland, was a substantive title that has been created three times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not produc ...

visited on 5 March. In 1859–64, 1866–71 and 1873–76 he represented city ward in the Newcastle Council. Hannell became Mayor of Wickham when it became a Municipality in 1871. He served alongside Peter Fleming, Charles Thomas, James Harrison Hubbard,

Charles Upfold Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

, and William Henry White. Hannell became

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

's Member of the

. He represented the City Ward in 1860, and was re-elected in 1864. He contested and won the

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

vote and was returned to Parliament. Hannell organised concerts for the Newcastle Hospital, in which he took part as a comic singer. When the new hospital 'Wing' was completed it was named the 'Hannell Wing' in honour of Hannell and his son Clarence. Hannell was President and judge of the Newcastle Jockey Club. He organised the first regatta and was President of the Newcastle Regatta Committee for thirty years. He was President of the Newcastle Cricket Club. He helped establish the Newcastle Mechanics' School of Arts. In 1858 was a trustee of the Newcastle National School. In 1867 he became a member of the Board of the Newcastle Public School.

Death

Hannell died from pneumonia, on 31 December 1876, and was interred at the burial ground of Christ Church Cathedral. His tombstone is still in the grounds, just outside the Warriors' Chapel. Hannell was survived by Mary and nine of their eleven children:
1) Clarence Hewson, b. 15 October 1836 (BDM V18361179 20/1836) – d. 3 April 1909 (BDM 2528/1909) – m. Maria Phoebe TIGHE,
2) Stephena Mary, b. 2 June 1838 (BDM V18381282 22/1838) – d. Sep. 1927 (BDM 12068/1927) – m. Henry ROUSE,
3) James Edward*, b. 30 June 1840 (BDM V18401483 24A/1840) – d. 3 December 1842 (BDM V18421155 26B/1842),
4) Emily Frances, b. 25 December 1841 (BDM V18411572 26A/1841) – d. 7 May 1906 (BDM 9634/1906) – m. Thomas Albert CLACK,
5) Fanny Anne, b. 27 January 1844 – d. 29 October 1910 (BDM 14480/1910) – m. '
Joseph WOOD
'',
6) James Edward, b. 15 November 1847 (BDM V18472158 32A/1847) – d. 2 March 1903 (BDM 2481/1903) – m. Jane Danson RUSH,
7) Mary Elizabeth, b. 6 October 1850 (BDM V18502927 35/1850) – d. 30 April 1884 (Unsure) – m. Edwin Alfred MITCHELL,
8) Florence Jane, b. 9 December 1853 (BDM V18551671 42A/1855) – d. 16 June 1931 (BDM 8321/1931) – m. John Aloysius CRAVEN,
9) Constance Myra, b. 11 October 1857 (BDM 9291/1857) – d. 8 November 1928 (BDM 17776/1928) – m. Rev. William Jenton JAMES,
10) John Henry*, b. 28 August 1858 (BDM 10433/1859) – d. 19 April 1860 (BDM 4955/1860),
11) Arthur Hubert, b. 13 January 1862 (BDM 10868/1862) – d. 30 December 1938 (BDM 23685/1938) – m. Sarah Jane BRIGGS, James Hannell's estate was valued at under £1000. * Denotes infant death.

Notes

Statistics from th
''NSW Birth Deaths and Marriages''
[Roberto's Blogs – Famil

) ]

References

External links

* For more information on the Roberto's Family Tree, see '

'', by Bob Suker. * Location of ''The Ship Inn'': {{DEFAULTSORT:Hannell, James Australian auctioneers Lighthouse keepers Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly History of New South Wales Convictism in Australia 1813 births 1876 deaths People from Newcastle, New South Wales 19th-century Australian politicians Mayors and Lord Mayors of Newcastle 19th-century Australian businesspeople