Born in 1794, James Moxham was a son
– probably the oldest – of Thomas and Sarah Moxham of Birmingham, baptised on
20th July, 1795.
In 1813, James joined the Foot Guard
during the Napoleonic Wars.
This Moxham family established
themselves as gunsmiths and later, maltsters and were upwardly mobile in
Birmingham throughout the 19thcentury.
James’ brother, Thomas (born 1804)
was originally a gun stockman, then a gunsmith, and at his death was described
as a gun manufacturer, leaving an estate of “less than £12,000” at his death in
1878. His son Thomas, a maltster was also wealthy, leaving just under the same
amount.
However, in February 1819, James
Moxham was convicted at the Northampton Assizes of uttering forged notes and
transported to New South Wales for fourteen years. He arrived on the Prince
Regent in early 1820 and was sent to Parramatta for distribution. At one
stage he was located at Port Macquarie, but returned to Sydney well before
obtaining his ticket of leave in 1831. He was given a certificate of Freedom in
early 1833 when his sentence expired.
By 1826, James had requested and been
approved to marry another convict Diana Hughes, also known as Mary Anne
Rycroft, a dressmaker from London who was sentenced to transportation for life,
arriving on the Midas in 1825.
By 1829, he was working for a Mr
Jennings in Castlereagh Street, making shoes for children with misshapen feet,
and gaining an excellent reputation for such work. When he gained his
certificate of freedom, he set up in his former calling as a gunsmith.
There is no NSW record of any
children being born to James Moxham and his wife Diana/Mary Anne. It would
appear that James died in 1848 in the Goulburn area, aged 55.
