BETSY MARSDEN

An account by Rita Savage (009/162)

Betsy Marsden, the daughter of William Marsden,  was born in Leeds on 20th August 1810. She came from a family with a taste for adventure, her mother, Elizabeth Lewen,  having been born at sea on the way to America in 1779/80. At the age of 21, on the 2nd February 1832 Betsy was married in St.Peter’s, Leeds Parish Church, to Jeremiah Cullingworth, a printer in business with his father Henry, and four years older than herself.  Amongst the witnesses at the marriage were James Marsden, and Thomas Lewen Marsden, two of Betsy’s brothers. The Cullingworths were a Methodist family, very much involved at the Brunswick Chapel. At a time when Leeds had a high rate of unemployment and depression, Betsy and her family were pleased that Jeremiah was able to offer her a secure life. They lived above the business premises at Trinity Street.

The family grew in the next 10 years, William Henry in 1833 (named after his two grandfathers), Thomas Lewen in 1834 (Lewen being his grandmother’s maiden name); Elizabeth in 1836 (named after her grandmother); Walter in 1838 and Selina in 1840.  Jeremiah was concerned about raising his family in a city which was growing rapidly as a result of the industrial revolution, and as yet had no sanitation, poor quality water, and much poverty and misery. When he heard about the new colony being developed in New Zealand, he did not need much persuading by Betsy to plan to emigrate. Various advertisements appeared in the newspapers at that time, offering free passage and employment to young men with surveying or building skills. He did not qualify for these, but the one that finally attracted his attention offered fore-cabin fares at £20 per adult, cheaper fares for children, for “Farmers and small Capitalists” on the splendid new ship “Phoebe”. Applications were to be made to the New Zealand Company by Saturday October 15th 1842. On that date Jeremiah paid the deposit of £15 for himself, Betsy, and five children. The balance of £70 was paid four days before departure.

Plans were then set in motion to begin their adventure to a new country. It was now possible to travel from Leeds to London, either by Royal Mail coach, in 21 hours, or by train, though it was necessary to change on the way, there being no direct line.  The ship was due to sail from West India Docks on November 16th.  Betsy was at this time six months pregnant, but undaunted, began preparing for the journey. On November 5th little Selina, aged two went down with a fever. Before long it became apparent that she was very ill with pneumonia. Day and night they watched over her, waiting for the fever to break, but on November 8th she quietly slipped away. With so much to do and so little time left, there was scarcely time to grieve her loss before their departure. Betsy’s youngest brother, Thomas Lewen Marsden was qualified as a surgeon, and felt quite helpless that he was unable to save the small child. His own wife Elizabeth was at that time expecting a baby - their third - and when she was born six months later they named her Selena in memory of her little cousin.

The voyage to New Zealand was pleasant and comparatively uneventful after some initial problems with rough weather and seasickness. Dr.J.D.Greenwood travelled as ship’s surgeon, in company with his wife and seven children. He discovered that the cargo was arranged in such a way that food and medical supplies were difficult to find, but after speaking to Captain William Dale, the sailors helped him to rearrange the hold and he was then able to make better provision for the passengers.

Betsy gave birth to another son, Charles, off the coast of Africa, on January 2nd. Five other births were recorded during the voyage, which came to an end when they arrived at Nelson on March the 29th, 1843. There was much of interest during the voyage - the children attended lessons, and learned a number of skills from the sailors - splicing and plaiting ropes, and learned to climb like monkeys on the rigging. They enjoyed watching sharks and other fish alongside the ship, and gazed in wonder at the stars and a comet which made a magnificent sight in the night sky.

When they finally came in sight of their destination, it was a beautiful sight watching the mountains grow higher as they approached the land on a bright sunny day. The doctor’s wife, in her diaryexpressed regret that such a pleasurable journey had come to an end.

The Cullingworth family remained in their new land for only a few months. By February of the following year they were on board the ship “Himalaya” on the return journey to Britain. Life in the new colony was not easy, and when 19 employees of the New Zealand Company were massacred by the Maoris at Wairau, Jeremiah and Betsy felt it unwise to remain with their young children in a place where life was uncertain, and where they were not happy with the way in which land was being acquired from the Maoris.

It was not easy to settle down again in Leeds having had a taste of the freedom and wide open spaces of New Zealand. They renewed their links with the Brunswick Methodist Chapel, paying Pew Rent by annual subscription, and the children attending Sunday School. When William Henry was fourteen years of age he began helping with Sunday School teaching. In 1845 Theresa was born, and in 1848 another son, Alfred; the other children had been baptised at Leeds Parish Church but Alfred was Christened at Brunswick Chapel.

Jeremiah had brought back with him from New Zealand a number of interesting Maori artefacts, some of which he presented to the Leeds City Museum. In 1846 the Leeds Philosophical Society mentioned these gifts in their report.

The unemployment situation in Leeds had not improved much, and Jeremiah needed to supplement the earnings of himself and his father Henry, and in 1847 took up a position as secretary to the newly erected Stock Exchange, with his son William as an assistant.. He was responsible for the printing and distributing of the transaction lists. After a few months there was a dispute between him and the Committee members about who should receive the money due from the sale of these lists, and Jeremiah and William were asked to resign. There was money owing to Jeremiah, and to his mother, Mary (for work that Henry had done) and a settlement was finally brought about when more than £100 was paid to the Cullingworths by the Stock Exchange Committee.

Jeremiah found it even more difficult after this to remain in Leeds. In 1849 he came across another advertisement which sent him hurrying home to consult Betsy. J.C.Byrne and Company were promoting emigration to Natal, South Africa, for persons of moderate means. Land was offered - depending on the type of fares booked by the persons concerned. Once again, Betsy was pregnant, but on October 17th 1849, the family set sail on the “King William” from London. There were many Methodists among the 200 persons on bosrd, for the Methodist Society sent a party out under the care of Mr. Irons to begin a colony at Verulam. The Cullingworths were not actually in his party, but soon became very attached to Mr. Irons and his group.

Shortly before the ship reached Port Natal (now known as Durban) Betsy gave birth to a daughter, and gave her the name of her sister who had died in 1842, Selina. The early days in their new land were truly pioneering. The settlement was little more than a collection of tents in a muddy area. Where the passengers of the King William settled was for a while called Kingwilliamstown. The land was found to be quite unsuitable for its stated purpose of cotton growing, and before long Jeremiah resorted to his original trade of printer, having taken his Eagle press with him to Africa. He was involved in editorial and printing work on the Natal Mercury, and later the Natal Star. He continued as a printer for a number of years, printing  amongst other things, a yearly Port Natal Almanac, a Pietermaritzburg Directory, lesson sheets for native schools, English lesson sheets, a Zulu vocabulary, a Hindustani-English dictionary. He was also an agent for selling Wesleyan hymn books. In 1861 he published, in England,  a `Guide to the Colony of Port Natal’, based largely on his own experiences on ten years in the colony.

Meanwhile Betsy established a home for her husband and children, in simple wattle and daub buildings to begin with, and added one morechild to the family, James Marsden, born in 1852. The family as a whole found the climate quite delightful and healthy, and began to enjoy their new-found freedom and prosperity.

In later years Jeremiah was able to look back and say “One of the great recommendations of colonial life, especially to those who in England have had to contend with the high pressure state of competition, so universal in all trades and occupations is, that they can at once maintain a respectable position upon very slender means, on account of their freedom from the artificial restrictions imposed upon society at home.... A state of independence is soon attained by those who are ready to put their hands to any occupation which presents itself.” He prospered, bought property, and was able to leave substantial resources for his unmarried daughter Selina, and the rest of the family, when he eventually died in 1887 at the age of 81.

Jeremiah and Betsy returned to England in 1871, but not to Yorkshire. They lived at two addresses in London between 1871 and 1886, and it was there that Betsy diedin June 1884, and lies buried in the New Southgate Cemetery. Jeremiah returned to Durban with his daughter Selina, and there in the Wesleyan Cemetery,  along with the record of his death in June 1887, Betsy’s name is inscribed.

A large number of descendants live on in South Africa; the name Marsden, and the name Lewen have ceased to be used by the family, remembered now only by those interested in tracing ancestral roots.

Editor’s Note: It is hoped to publish a further article about the life of Betsy’s brother, Thomas Lewen Marsden, a surgeon and minister of the Swedenborgian church, in a future issue.

Modified 1 April 2002