James Yarnold was born in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England on June 13, 1816.
His father was James Henry Yarnold and his mother Hannah Matilda Williams. His grandfather was William Charles Yarnold, although we have no reliable record of his grandmother's name.
James Henry Yarnold (senior) was a lace and hosiery merchant in Tewkesbury.
It is believed that James (junior) also had two sisters, Caroline and Bessie. Caroline married a Thomas Craddock (no other details) and Bessie married Christopher Craddock, who later became Sir Christopher Craddock, a British naval rear admiral. Again, we have no other details about the two sisters.
In 1839 James Yarnold was sentenced to seven years imprisonment for theft and was transported aboard the H.M.S. Barrosa to the then-penal settlement of Sydney, Australia.
The Archive Authority of New South Wales has the following information taken from the
Barossa's indent.
James Yarnold: 21 years, reads, Protestant, single, Bristol (native place); shoemaker
(calling); stealing stockings (offence); Gloucester (Tewkesbury) Quarter Sessions (where
convicted); 9th July 1838 (when convicted); 97 (Indent no.); 7 years (term of conviction);
2 months (prior conviction); 5 feet and 2 and a half inches (height); dark ruddy and pock
pitted (complexion); dark brown (hair); chestnut (eyes); eyebrows partially meeting, small
mole on each side of neck, tomb, two flags, woman standing on a heart, holding two wreaths
on upper, tree, heart pierced with two darts, CYLB and woman inside and mole outside lower
left arm (description). (1)
James Yarnold was granted a Certificate of Freedom on July 30, 1845. This was a document which stated that a convict's sentence had been served.
Like many former convicts, James had little interest (and probably no funds) to return to England. Instead he worked for free settlers performing mainly farming duties until eventually granted a parcel of land on the New South Wales mid-North Coast. Small land grants to freed convicts was a common practice in those days. The British authorities had little interest in Australia or its land, and were more than happy to give it away freely in the hope that it would encourage former convicts from returning to the motherland.
Ironically, some of Australia's greatest pioneers and wealthiest men have the British government to thank for their windfall!
James is rumoured to have fathered several children with a native koori (Aboriginal) woman whilst living in the Maitland district near the present day city of Newcastle. Several koori families proudly bear the Yarnold name in that region even today. It is thought he abandoned his native wife and children to marry Isabella Kidd in 1854. Isabella was the daughter of a Scottish free settler named Alexander Kidd, a former shipbuilder from Dundee, Scotland. It is believed she had some kind of deformed leg, possibly she was one-legged.
James and Isabella set up a farm in the Taree region of New South Wales which is a coastal farming community specialising in dairy cows. The region and the surrounding towns and communities of Wingham, Cedar Party (where my parents still live) Killabahk, Comboyne and Gloucester are today home to numerous Yarnolds and their descendents.
| # | name | born | died | spouse | |
| 1. | Albert | b. 13 March 1857 | d. 1902. | Hannah Bishop | |
| 2. | Jane Isabella | b. 4 July 1858 | d. 1902 | James Weeks | |
| 3. | William Charles | b. 1860 | d. 1913 | Elvina Weeks | |
| 4. | Arthur James | b. 1862 | d. 1925 | Mary Craig | |
| 5. | David Thomas | b. 1864 | d. 1936 | Roseena Richards | |
| 6. | James Henry | b. 1866 | d. 1919 | Ellen Williams Richards | |
| 7. | Alice Amelia | b. 1868 | |||
| 8. | Anna Matilda | d. 1941 | (1) Israel Benjamin Richards 2. Joe Gillogy | ||
| 9. | George Daniel | b. 1872 | d. 1948 | Sarah Anne Houston-Witchard | |
| + | 10. | Alfred Benjamin | b. 1874 | d. 1919 | Annie Catherine Chapman. * |
| 11. | Abraham John | b. 1880 | d. 1940 | Margaret McKay |
| * Annie Chapman is probably the most infamous Yarnold wife. In 1919 she was charged with the murder of her husband Alfred Benjamin (known as Ben) Yarnold and faced a murder trial in Sydney. Ben Yarnold had been shot at close range with a shotgun. Annie was acquitted on the grounds of self-defence and the fact that she had eight children to raise. Her only witness at the trial was son Walter, ten years old at the time. Walter (my grandfather) gave evidence that his father had been beating his mother prior to his death. In his later years, Walter admitted to me that in fact his father had been sitting down eating breakfast when his mother gunned him down, apparently after an earlier argument. Annie had persuaded her son to lie by telling him that he would be sent to an orphanage if she was found guilty. |
| # | name | born | died | spouse | children | |
| 1. | Stella Agnes | b. 1898 | d. 1961 | Bert Elbourne | Four children: Cecil, Phyllis, Norma, Arthur. | |
| 2. | Clarice | b. 1899 | Cyril Day | Three children: Gorden, Frances, Walter. | ||
| 3. | Frederick | b. 1903 | d. 1972 | Annie Stewart | No children. | |
| 4. | Douglas | b. 1907 | d. 1984 | Kathleen McGilvray | Three children: Noelene, Valerie, Arthur. | |
| 5. | Annie Thelma | b. 1908 | d. 1984 | Frank Fox | Adopted son Peter. | |
| + | 6. | Walter | b. 1909 | d. 1984 | Verlie Short | Five children: Robert, Geoffrey, Nancy, Shirley, Brenda. |
| 7. | Albert | b. 1913 | Lottie Baker | Nine children: Rita, Neil, Athol, Kevin, Brian, Colin, Kathleen, Irene, Wayne. | ||
| 8. | Alice Maud | b. 1914 | d. 1983 | Ken Atkens | Two children: Faye and Wayne. |
| 1. | Graydon Vernon | b. 1922. | Father unknown | (1) Doris Turner (2) Ethel Ninnes |
Five children: Wayne, Raymond, Anne, Dennis, Christine. |
| # | name | born | died | spouse | |
| + | 1. | Walter Robert | b. 1933 | Mary Frost | |
| + | 2. | Geoffrey Lloyd | b. 1939 | Daphne Parish | |
| + | 3. | Nancy Margaret | b. 1941 | (1) Kevin Wilks (2) Warren Lowe | |
| + | 4. | Shirley Heather | b. 1944 | George Slater | |
| + | 5. | Brenda Jean | b. 1949 | (1) William Abdoo (2) Russell Gill |
Walter Robert Yarnold, first child of Walter and Verlie (Short) Yarnold, was born 1933 in New South Wales, Australia. He married Mary Frost in 1955. Their children:
| # | name | born | died | spouse | children | |
| 1. | Sharon Maree | b. 1959 | Gordon Bamback | Two children: Russell Gordon and Tracy Anne. | ||
| 2. | Jennifer | b. 1961 | Eric Tradd | Two children: Naomi Amina and Josiah Robert. | ||
| 3. | Toni Lee | b. 1972 | Rick Tiedeman | One child: Hannah. | ||
| 4. | Micheal Craig | b. 1974 | Cindy Cooper |
Geoffrey Lloyd Yarnold, second child of Walter and Verlie (Short) Yarnold, was born in 1939 in New South Wales, Australia. He married Daphne Parish. Their child:
| # | name | born | died | spouse | children | |
| 1. | Michelle | Craig Brown | One child: Kieran. |
Nancy Margaret Yarnold, third child of Walter and Verlie (Short) Yarnold, was born in 1941 in New South Wales, Australia. She married first Kevin Wilks. Their child:
| # | name | born | died | spouse | children | |
| 1. | Debbie Kay | Gregory McGarry | Two children: Jesse Adam and Caitlin Maree. |
Nancy Margaret (Yarnold) Wilks wed second Warren Lowe. Their child:
| # | name | born | died | spouse | children | |
| 1. | Annette Maree | Kenneth Greenbury | Two children: Brendon Lee and Aaron Micheal |
Shirley Heather Yarnold, fourth child of Walter and Verlie (Short) Yarnold, was born in 1944 in New South Wales, Australia. She married George Slater. Their child:
| # | name | born | died | spouse | children | |
| 1. | Cindy Louise | William Dowling | Two children: Nicholas William and Thomas James. |
Brenda Jean Yarnold, fifth child of Walter and Verlie (Short) Yarnold, was born in 1949 in New South Wales, Australia. She married first William Abdoo. Their children:
| # | name | born | died | spouse | children | |
| 1. | Donna | |||||
| 2. | Theresa Anne | Geoff Sowter. | Two children: Bradley and Hannah. | |||
| 3. | Mark Anthony |
Brenda Jean (Yarnold) Abdoo wed second Russell Gill.
Footnotes:
1. source: Australian Convict Records, 1788-1868, Family History Library microfilms.