Wood Ancestry
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At this stage I have been unable to find John's death, nor any additional children, nor a marriage or death for his son, Henry. Making things difficult is that John appears as John, Charles and John Charles and with the surname Wood and Woods.


1. John Charles Wood,[133] born c.1786[15,138]/c.1791,[142] England. Appeared in The Old Bailey, London, England, 13/1/1813, charged with the offence of shoplifting on 31/12/1812, found guilty & sentenced to transportation.[142]
"John Charles Wood was indicted for feloniously stealing, on the 31st of December, a cloth pelisse, value £1, the property of John Clark, privately in his shop. Thomas Norman: I am foreman to John Clark, his shop is 44, Holywell-street, Shoreditch. On the 31st of December, while I was serving a customer behind the counter. A gentleman came in, and said a person had taken a pelisse, and run out with it.
Q. Who was there in the shop at that time - A. Myself, a lady that was serving, and two customers.
Q. Did you miss the pelisse from the shop - A. I missed it from the door immediately upon being told. I had seen it at the door five minutes before. It is a blue cloth pelisse; it is worth one pound. The door opens inside. The pelisse was hanging on the door, part inside of the shop, and part out. I pursued the prisoner without effect on my part. I did not see him until he was brought back.
Q. You did not see the pelisse snatched away did you - A. No, I did not.
Thomas Hampton: On the 31st of December last I was crossing Holywell-street, Shoreditch, opposite of Mr. Clark's house, and just as I got upon the curb-stone I saw the prisoner take the pelisse from the door. He ran away with it under his left arm. I called out, stop thief, and pursued him; a man named Constable stopped him. The prisoner threw down the pelisse. I picked it up, and seized hold of the prisoner. I saw him throw it down, and with assistance I brought him back to Mr. Clark's shop, and while a constable was gone for, the prisoner tried to make his escape out of the shop, but the mob being at the door he could not get out. I marked the pelisse with a needle and thread, and then I delivered it Thomas Norman.
William Wake: I am a constable. On the evening of the 31st of December, I took the prisoner into custody. The pelisse was in the possession of the last witness. I searched the prisoner, and found on him a duplicate, half of a one-pound bank note, and a play card, with writing and figures on it. This is the pelisse.
Thomas Hampton: That is the pelisse I saw the prisoner throw down; my mark is on it.
Thomas Norman. This pelisse is the property of John Clark. I hung it up myself about half an hour before it was taken down.
Prisoner's Defence. When I was taken into custody the constable took from my person part of a one-pound note; I should be glad to have it again.
Verdict: Guilty, aged 22.
Sentence: Transported for Seven Years.
First Middlesex jury, before Mr. Baron Wood."[142]
John appeared in the Old Bailey on the same day, charged with the offence of shoplifting on 30/12/1812, but was aquitted of this offence.[143]
"John Charles Wood was indicted for feloniously stealing, on the 30th of December, a cloth pelisse, value £1, the property of John Clark, privately in his shop. There being no evidence adduced, the prisoner, of this charge, was acquitted. First Middlesex jury, before Mr. Baron Wood."[143]
{A Pelisse was originally a short fur lined or fur trimmed short jacket that was usually worn hanging loose over the left shoulder of light cavalry officers, ostensibly to prevent sword cuts. It was fastened there using a lanyard. The pelisse jacket was characteristically very short, extremely tight fitting, with patterns sewn with lace on the back, cuffs, and collar. In the 19th century pelisses were in use throughout all armies in Europe, and even North and South America. The term was also applied to a woman's long, fitted coat with set-in sleeves and the then-fashionable Empire waist.[Wikipedia]} Sent to Australia as a convict,[15,138] sentenced to 7 years transportation,[15,138,142] 13/1/1813, at the Old Bailey, London,[142] Co Middlesex, England.[15] Arrived 1814,[15] Port Jackson, Sydney, NSW, Australia on the 'Somersetshire'.[15,138] The 'Somersetshire' departed Spithead, England on 10/5/1814 with 200 convicts on board & under command of Alex Scott, arriving Sydney, NSW on 16/10/1814, taking 159 days for the voyage.[172] The 'Somersetshire' was launched in London in 1810, 450 tons, her voyage to Australia in 1814 went via Madiera and Rio. She made a second voyage in 1841 when there was a mutiny on board.[173] By 1833 had gained his freedom.[138] There is, however, no evidence John received a ticket of freedom (not listed in the 1810-1875 ToL Index maintained by the Society of Australian Genealogists). If he received a Certificates of Freedom, then it was before 1823 (note his sentence would have expired 1821). In 1818 John, then assigned to John Webb of Parramatta, NSW, Australia, was recommended by John Webb for a ticket of leave.[140] Carpenter (as listed on death certificate of daughter).[133] On 5/4/1823 Charles Wood was listed on the return of allotments in the town of Parramatta.[174] Married Jane Roberts,[133] 1833, St John's, Church of England, Parramatta, NSW, Australia.[138,139] Marriage performed by Rev. Samuel Marsden,[138] by permission (Jane was still serving her sentence, 'whom' the permission was granted by was not stated on the marriage certificate, presumably the Governor or a local magistrate). Jane born 1805,[15,138] possibly Co Lancaster, England.[15] Jane arrived in Australia as a convict,[15,138] sentenced to 7 years transportation,[15,138] 1823, Co Lancaster, England.[15] Arrived 1833,[15,141] Port Jackson, Sydney, NSW, Australia on the 'Diana'.[15,138,141] The 'Diana' departed Spithead, England on 11/12/1832 with 100 female convicts on board & under command of George Brathwaite & ship's surgeon James Ellis, arriving Sydney, NSW on 25/5/1833, taking 165 days for the voyage.[172] Jane received her Certificates of Freedom 23/9/1839.[141] Possibly the Jane Woods who died 1865, Sydney, NSW, Australia (s/o Robert -> Roberts?).

Children of John Charles Wood & Jane Roberts:
*
 i.
  
 Harriet Jane Wood, born 1836, Parramatta, NSW, Australia,[4,133,195] & baptised 1838, St John's, Parramatta, NSW, Australia.[4] {Father listed as Charles} Married William Austin Knowles. Refer to Knowles chart for further information & descendants.

ii.
Henry L. Wood, baptised 1844, St John's, Parramatta, NSW, Australia.[4] {Father listed as Charles} Died 1900, Balmain South, Sydney, NSW, Australia.[4] Married Margaret Hughes, 1866, Parramatta, NSW, Australia.[4] Possibly the Margaret Woods who died 1868, Sydney, NSW, Australia.[4] Margaret possibly baptised 1842, St Lawrence, Sydney, NSW, Australia, d/o Robert & Martha.[4] There is no evidence Henry remarried if this was his wife. {There is no evidence that Henry had any children. There were 10 children born to a Henry & Margaret Wood(s) in the Wellington district, however that couple married in Mudgee in 1866 and he was the son of Henry Sr. There is no trace of children in the NSW, Victorian or Queensland BMD indices. There were 34 Margaret Wood(s) who died in the right time frame in NSW alone. Which one, if any, was Margaret Hughes, is impossible to tell. Perhaps the Margaret Woods who died 1868, Sydney, NSW, aged 25yo. Assuming Margaret was born in NSW, there were at least 5 possible candidates: Margaret, d/o Robert & Martha, baptised 1837 St James, Sydney; Margaret, d/o Robert & Martha, baptised 1842, St Lawrence, Sydney; Margaret d/o John & Mary, baptised 1842, RC Liverpool; Margaret d/o James & Margaret, baptised 1845, St Andrew's, Sydney & Margaret, d/o John & Catherine, baptised 1847, RC Bathurst. The 1st Margaret died in infancy & leaving aside the Roman Catholics, that leaves Margaret d/o Robert baptised 1842 & Margaret d/o James baptised 1845. If Henry Wood's wife was the Margaret who died 1868, 25yo, that would fit with the Margaret baptised 1842, d/o Robert & Martha}


A trial at the Old Bailey, c.1810
A trial at the Old Bailey, c.1810
Image - Wikimedia
Old Bailey, London
Old Bailey, London
Image - London Travel Guide
British hussar officer (1807) wearing a military pelisse slung over the shoulder
British hussar officer (1807)
wearing pelisse over shoulder
Image - Wikipedia
Woman's fur-lined Pelisse, 1811
Woman's fur-lined
Pelisse, 1811
Image - Wikipedia

St John's, Parramatta. The original chapel was built 1799-1803, replacing a temporary place of worship opened in 1796. The 1803 building occupied the oldest church land grant in Australia and was Australia’s first substantial church. In 1820 Lieutenant John Watts added the four-storey twin towers with brick walls in stucco, stone quoins and foundations, each roofed by a broach spire, the idea being based upon the ruined church at Reculver, Kent. The first Rector was The Revd Samuel Marsden, who arrived in the colony in 1794 and who retained the Parish of Parramatta until his death in 1838. In 1852 the earlier chapel was demolished and a new sandstone nave built in the Norman-style which was opened in 1855. The transepts were added in 1883. The building includes nave, aisles, transepts and chancel, with distinctive circular Norman arches, columns and carved capitals. There is a wealth of memorial tablets and stained glass, witness to a long and illustrious history. Given the status of pro-cathedral in 1969, St John’s today is one of the finest Norman-style buildings in the country.[St John's] Parramatta was founded in 1788, the same year as Sydney, making it the second oldest European settlement in Australia. The British Colony had only enough food to support itself for a short time and the soil around Sydney Cove proved too poor to grow the amount of food that 1000 convicts, soldiers and administrators needed to survive. During 1788, Governor Arthur Phillip had reconnoitred several places before choosing Parramatta as the likeliest place for a successful large farm. Parramatta was the furthest navigable point inland on the Parramatta River and also the point at which the river became freshwater and therefore useful for farming. On Sunday 2/11/1788, Governor Phillip took a detachment of marines along with a surveyor and made his way upriver to a location what he called The Crescent, a defensible hill curved round a river bend, now in Parramatta Park. As a settlement developed, Governor Phillip gave it the name "Rose Hill" which in 1791 he changed to Parramatta, approximating the term used by the local Aboriginal people.[Wikipedia] By July 1789 a redoubt with barracks and store had been erected on the south bank of the river (today Parramatta Park) together with some convict huts, a barn and granaries. The first successful harvest was in 1789. In 1790 a township was formed and work began on a house for the Governor when he visited the settlement (for a time Parramatta even became the seat of government for the colony and, by definition, the nation's capital). The plan of the township was on a grand scale, laid out by Baron Augustus Alt and Lieutenant William Dawes. The main street (High Street, later George Street) was to be 1.5 kilometres long and 62 metres wide, on an east-west axis from Government House to the public wharf. A second street parallel to the High Street and 33 metres wide was also laid out, called South Street. Wide cross streets at right angles to the main axis were laid out in front of Government House; by the church (ending at the north end in an open plaza with the size for a Town Hall as its focus); and also further to the east, as a crossing point over the river. These streets all survive today. For a short period Parramatta had a larger population than Sydney, but it soon lost its dominance. Sydney was the only real port for overseas trade and with the opening up of the Hawkesbury from 1794 that district became the granary of the colony. In 1793 a ferry from Sydney to Parramatta was established and in 1794 a road was built from Sydney. The river however remained for some time the more popular, and comfortable, means of transport. The second stage of the planning of Parramatta took place in 1811 when extensions to the town were laid out by Governor Macquarie, as surveyed by James Meehan. Macquarie's extension of the town plan included the formation of a number of additional streets parallel to the original High Street and of more cross streets, together with the formation of a tighter grid of streets in the vicinity of the church. In addition to his alterations to the layout of the town, a number of new public buildings were also added to the settlement during the Macquarie period. Some were additions to, or replacements of, building stack which was by this stage very decayed. Others were new enhancements.[Lancer Barracks]
A typical convict transport
A typical convict transport
Photograph - National Educational Network
Parramatta, 1825
Parramatta, 1825
Painting by Joseph Lycett (Parramatta Lancer Barracks)
St John's, Parramatta, 1820's
St John's, Parramatta, 1820's
Image - Life & Works of Samuel Marsden