http://brighousemottfamilyarchives.blogspot.com.au
Samuel Mott and Sarah Jane Mew
Samuel Mott born 13 July 1792 in Deptford St.Paul, Portsmouth, England and died 5 May 1873 in Belfast, Port Fairy, Victoria, Australia. Samuel married (Sarah) Jane Mew born 1797 in Kingswood, Hampshire and died 1866 in Victoria, Australia on 5 February 1816. Samuel Mott was buried at Port Fairy Cemetery, Victoria, Australia.
Samuel and Jane Mott had 7 children:
1. Samuel Mott born 1817 in Portsmouth, Hamptonshire, England and died 2 October 1817 (3 months)
2. Jane Mott born 30 October 1818 in Portsmouth, Hamptonshire, England.
3. William Mott born 25 May 1821 in Portsmouth, Hamptonshire, England.
4. Samuel Mott born 1823 in Portsmouth, Hamptonshire and died 7 July 1906 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Samuel married Alice McGuiness born 1830 and died 12 March 1888, on 17 June 1850.
5. Mary Couzens Mott born 16 September 1825 in Portsmouth, Hamptonshire, England.
6. Phoebe Mew Mott born 2 February 1828 in Portsmouth, Hamptonshire, England.
7. John Wesley Mott born 7 November 1831 Portsmouth and died 21 March 1904 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. John married Diana Sarah Jeves born 29 September 1829 in Lewisham, Middlesex, England and died 30 May 1912 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia on 8 February 1852.
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| Samuel Mott 1792-1873 |
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| Sarah Jane Mott 1797-1866 |
Winifred Mott, a Descendant of Samuel Mott wrote a book many years ago with her recollections of the Mott family living in Port Fairy. An extract from the book is below.
Samuel Mott of Port
Fairy - His background and descendants.
This is the
story of Samuel Mott, christened 1792 at St.Mary’s Church Portsea, Portsmouth,
England. The background of his lifestyle
in Port Fairy, Victoria, of his descendants who were born and lived there and
of as many of his descendants as we could find.
There are
several unmarked graves in one part of the old cemetery at Port Fairy, three of
those graves could be the last resting places of (according to record):
1. An old
whaler who died in the year 1873, Samuel Mott.
2. His wife,
Jane Mew Mott, who died earlier in 1866.
3. His
daughter-in-law, Alice McGuiness Mott who died in 1888.
Alice came to
the colony as a young girl, married the son of that old whaler in 1850 and
lived her whole life in the town.
We decided
that, before all records of them and their children were lost we would find out
all we could about them and put the result together, so that our children and
theirs would know of their heritage. We believed that this would be a comparatively
easy task, after all I’d lived with one of them for over 40 years, listened to
their background stories; but, learning by word is one thing and proving it by
record is quite another. The months have
turned to years. What we knew by word
was:
1. That the
family had left France at the time of the Huguenot uprising.
2. The
original family had been named De la Motte.
3. On arrival
in England they had first settled in Norfolk, some in Sussex and later in
Portsmouth.
4. That four
names were constantly mentioned, William, Thomas, Andrew and Samuel. John Wesley came later.
5. They were
a family conscious group and still are.
6. That they
were industrious and seamanship was a way of life for many of them.
7. We also
were told that there was a castle and a certain amount of wealth.
8. We knew
they were quiet folk who cared very much for others.
9. That the
branch of the family in which we were interested came from Portsmouth.
10. Samuel
Mott, having offended a lady, ran off to sea at an early age.
11. That he
returned to England in the year 1816 and married the girl of his choice.
12. We had
always been told that a cottage had been built in Port Fairy, for a bride, and
Jane had come to a sandstone cottage, also that it was in the early 1800s that
Samuel had first come to the area and that four generations of Mott folk, we
were told, had lived at Port Fairy by 1880 and a fifth by the turn of the
century; that there was a Samuel in each of four generations by the year 1880.
We had also
learnt – with regard to the names of Mott men known to the family :
John Robert
Mott born approx. 1710 died 1788 Yeoman Farmer of Plovers Barrow Farm, Clare,
Suffolk, England.
He had 4
sons: Samuel, William, Andrew, Thomas (father of Samuel Mott of Port Fairy).
The name of
De La Motte: Fouque’ Baron De La Motte – Romanticist, who spent many years in
or near Paris devoted to literary persuits.
He was of Huguenot ancestry.
The village
of La Motte is near Cambrai in France.
Samuel Mott (1790-1873) was a Shipwright in 1851 Census. In 1857 Samuel, a Whaler, returned to England to get his wife Jane. At that date they had 7 children born between 1817 - 1831.
On 9 October 1859 Samuel & Jane Mott arrived in Australia on "Zambesi".
The National Trust now owns "Mott's Cottage" in 5 Sackville Street, Port Fairy, Victoria, Australia.
Mott's Cottage is a top tourist attraction in Port Fairy.
The Historical Society in Port Fairy advises me that the Mott family were not the original owners of the cottage, but had a very long association with the cottage.
Mid 1800s John Hooper had a large family and leased the property at 5 Sackville Street along with the property that backed onto it. In 1885 John Hooper bought the house for 198 Pounds. 1916 it was a Boarding House run by the Hooper family.
vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/vhd/heritagevic#detail_places;2837
"Mott's Cottage, named after the owner and occupant, Sarah Jane Mott from 1918 until 1944, is located within the main street grid of Port Fairy. The Mott family worked as fishermen, boatmen and labourers in Port Fairy. The oldest part, the single storey, two-room timber sertion may date from about the time the town was surveyed and laid out in 1845, or even before since it is skew to the street. The two storey stone section was built before 1856 when Mrs Jane Chastel leased the property. Another tenant, John Hooper, a successful stone mason purchased the property from Atkinson's Special Survey sale in 1885 and subsequently he, or his daughter Caroline, ran it as a boarding house, perhaps the reason for a skillion addition at the rear, used as the kitchen. Another room and simple cast iron trimmed verandah were added at the front possibly at the same time, but were since removed when the cottage, purchased by the National Trust in 1973, was converted to its current use as a house museum in 1977. The garden gazebo was built in the early 1990s to house a sundial. The house is relatively intact to the 1860s period and is in good condition".
This Sarah Jane Mott born 5 April 1856 in Longford, Tasmania and died 23 June 1950 in Essendon, Victoria at the age of 94. Her second marriage was to William Mott, born 1876 in Port Fairy and died 19 January 1944 in Port Fairy, in 1904. William was the great grandson of Samuel & Jane Mott.
Sarah was born Sarah Jane Turner (1856-1950). Her first marriage was to William Stevens (1860-1901), on 11 June 1874 in Longford, Tasmania, Tasmania. They had one son Clarence Ernest Stevens born 4 July 1881 in Longford. William Stevens died 28 December 1901 in Port Fairy at 41 years.
Three years later Sarah married William Mott in Port Fairy, and it seems Sarah had a long association with Mott's Cottage (1918-1944).
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| Mott's Cottage in Port Fairy, Victoria, Australia - built in 1850s. |
Darren and Fiona visited Mott's Cottage.
William Mott died 19 January 1944 and his wife Sarah Jane Mott, died 23 June 1950 at the age of 94.
They are buried in Port Fairy Cemetery, Victoria.
1851 Census - Samuel & Jane Mott with daughter Phoebe.
If you have anything to add, a correction or comment please contact the author of this blog,
Joy Olney via email - joyolney@gmail.com
