If you grew up in the UK, you’ve probably heard of the Swing Riots of 1830, a wave of rural unrest that swept across the southern counties. These disturbances were driven by farm labourers who, worn down by years of war, low wages, unemployment and high taxes, felt they had reached a breaking point. The introduction of the threshing machine, blamed for putting thousands out of work, became the main target of their anger as mobs gathered across towns such as Newbury, Thatcham, Kintbury, Hungerford, Inkpen and Lambourn, smashing machinery in protest.

By the end of 1830, it is believed that nearly 2000 people were involved in the riots. In the aftermath, nine of the rioters (including one Kintbury man, William Winterbourne) were hung and a further 450 (including thirteen from Kintbury and four from Hungerford) were transported to Australia.

When these rioters were sent to Australia, they left behind families who suddenly had to survive without them. Wives became single parents overnight, children grew up without fathers and in many cases, parishes had to step in to help.

So, what happened to these families, and how did their lives unfold after their men were sent to Australia?

Edmund Steele

At the time of the riots, Steele was aged about forty-one-years-old, making him amongst the older of those arrested and sentenced. Originally sentenced to death, Steele managed to have his sentence commuted to transportation following backlash from the local community concerned that sentences were too harsh. Consequently, Steele departed for Australia aboard the convict ship the ‘Eliza II’, which arrived in Australia in May 1831.  

Edmund left behind a wife and eight children, and the Kintbury Overseers records for June 1831 seem to suggest his wife Maria was pregnant during the trial and his transportation.  

Letter discussing that Steele and fellow prisoners will be tried in Reading. 

Edmund married Maria Thatcher on 30 September 1811 at St Nicholas Church, Newbury. In 1812 they welcomed their first son John. Followed by Mary Anne in 1813, William in 1814, Maria Thatcher in 1816, Sarah in 1817 (possibly died), Alfred in 1819, Sarah in 1821, David in 1823, Edmund in 1825, Mary Thatcher in 1828 (who passes away aged 2 months, buried at Kintbury on 20 April 1828) and Charles in 1829.  

Tracing the family in the 1841 census proved rather challenging, but some details were found. Sarah, Edmund and Charles were all still living with their mother Maria in Kintbury. John and David were each living independently – John in Newbury and David still in Kintbury. William Steele also remained in Kintbury, living with two young children, Mary and George, both aged 2. No record was found for Alfred or for Maria Thatcher. 

Maria died in 1844, being buried at Kintbury on 1 December 1844, with her death certificate listing her cause of death as breast cancer.  

Just four years later, in 1848, five of the Steele children (William, Sarah, David, Edmund and Charles) all departed for Australia aboard the Adelaide, presumably to join their father, who by that time had remarried and had a further two children.  

Marriage entry in Newbury St Nicholas parish register.

Their departure meant that only three of Edmund and Maria’s children remained in England, John, Alfred and Maria Thatcher. As seen through previous searches Alfred and Maria are pretty elusive and difficult to research.   

John, however, is a different story. By the 1851 census, he had moved more than 60 miles away to Twickenham and was married to Mary Ann. His occupation is recorded as a coach painter on the baptism records of his children, but at the time of his marriage he was working as a coach builder. The couple welcomed three children in total, Emma in 1848, Alfred in 1850 (buried 23 November 1851), and Agnes in 1853.  

John’s youngest daughter, Agnes, went on to marry auctioneer and estate agent, Richard Wealthy Forge at Twickenham on Valentine's Day 1874. The pair had six children together, only three of which survived to adulthood, Raymond James, Eva Agnes and Clarissa Mary.  

Emma remained living with her parents until her death in 1892, at the age of 43. John outlived her by four years, dying in 1896.