Domingo my 3x great-grandfather, and quite the most interesting to trace of my ancestors so far. Everything I have learned about him has upset my speculations and proved me wrong about him - he was a real character who lived a very interesting life. There is still a lot of story to be unearthed, and his early years are almost completely unknown as yet - but what we do know is very interesting and I am really enjoying finding out more about him. Here is his story so far, which I'll update periodically.

Alex Rogers - 18/5/1999

Domingo probably started off his life known as Domingo GARCIA - certainly the first records we have of him give this name. I have seen his given name as Domenic and Dominique and his surname as Gresser, Gressiere, and de Gressiere as well. He used Domingo Gressier throughout most of his adult life, so that is the name I will use as well, although he was probably called Domenic by many.

He claimed to have been born in Lisbon, Portugal in 1812, but recent discoveries have thrown open new possibilities. Family legend had it that his family was originally French, and fled France during the Revolution as they had an aristocratic name - De Gressiere. Other speculation on his family name - "Gres" in Portuguese is "Sandstone" and a Gressiere is a sandstone quarrier / miner.

Recent discoveries make this very unlikely - Domingo was actually a convict, something that was nowhere evident in any of the records found in his later life, and it is possible that all the family stories and even his usual surname was made up to conceal his earlier history from those around him. I am not interested in "ruining" his long-gone reputation, but find the story of the real man extremely interesting, and hope that my family and others may do as well.

The first mention of Domingo is in a document by the East India Company, referring to a decision by the Supreme Court of Indicature at Bombay, and assigning all rights to Domingo GARCIA (and two others) to penal servitude in New South Wales. The following is a brief extract from this document:

"... on Monday the Eighth day of July in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty nine Before the Supreme Court of Indicature at Bombay, tried upon an Indictment then and there preferred against them for stealing in a Dwelling House to the value of Fifty Company Rupees and having been found guilt of the said offence, sentence was passed against them as follows that is to say the said Manoel GARCIA should be transported to New South Wales for the term of fourteen years and that the said Domingos GARCIA and Jose Antonio should be transported to New South Wales each for the term of seven years each from the above mentioned date...."

The lengthy indictment continues to assign their labour and the proceeds of the same for this period to the Governor of NSW, and an attached schedule describes the prisoners. A seperate printed indent indicates that it was jewellery that they stole. Domingo was described as an illiterate, unmarried shoemaker, who had never before been convicted, and whos conduct as a prisoner was good. He was 27 years old (so confirming his birth year as 1812), 5'8" tall, fair complexion, black hair and brown eyes, with a large burn scar on the inner part of his left forearm. The later indent gives him a dark sallow complex, and lists a number of extra scars on his head, hands and legs - of course both his complexion and scarring could have been changed by the conditions of his labour in Australia. He was also described as having eyebrows that partially met. Manoel was 29, and quite possibly his brother - he was a farrier, and also never before convicted. Jose Antonio was another Portuguese speaker, a 35 year old sailor. His relationship to the others is unknown, probably just a friend.

Eight prisoners were shipped from Bombay to Calcutta on the brig "Arifax" in September 1839, to wait for the first available transport to New South Wales. They were duly transported from Calcutta on the barque "Seppings", together with another 3 prisoners and 4 guards assigned to watch over them on the journey. The "Seppings" was a merchant ship, carrying sugar to the colony under Captain Rawlings. She sailed on 1 Dec 1839, stopped at Port Phillip (now Melbourne) to pick up 7 passengers and 8 more prisoners, and arrived at Port Jackson (now Sydney) on 22 April 1840. Manoel GARCIA was dead, having succumbed to "consumption" (TB) on the voyage. Jose Antonio also died on the voyage - the convict indent remarks "Jumped overboard on the passage and was drowned." So Domingo arrived in NSW in 1940 as a convict, having lost his brother and companion on the voyage, and facing 7 years of forced labour.

Very little is currently known of Domingo's servitude, although I expect to be able to find out the some details of this in due course. His ticket-of-leave (a conditional pardon given to the convicts, normally allowing them their freedom to work for themselves, subject to being revoked upon any complaint - almost like a parole) was issued on 9 July 1844, in Bathurst, so he had served 4 of his 7 years, and probably worked in or near Bathurst. He was given his ticket of leave as Domingos Garcia - but when he next entered the official recordt, he has changed the name GARCIA to GRESSIER, possibly out of a wish to leave his past behind him, but just as possibly through usage - his overseers and companions may have found GRESSIER easier to pronounce.

He was to spend the rest of his long and eventful life in Bathurst. He started off working as a bootmaker, his old profession. He married Anne Clarke there in 1848, had at least three children there between 1851 and 1856, and died there in 1892, so becoming both a Bathurst pioneer and one of its long-term citizens. His marriage papers and the birth registrations of his children (Francis Joseph in 1851, Henry in 1853, and John in 1855) were all in the name GRESSIER. In 1853 he applied for naturalisation as an Australian citizen - this was necessary in order for foreign-born nationals to own land, or get government licenses, and Domingo needed a license to run a saloon / hotel. He gave his age on the application as 33, whereas in reality he was 41. Together with the name change, this leads me to think that he was trying to make a complete break from his past.

On gaining his naturalisation and then pub license, he went on to be a publician and hotelier, being the licensee of the "Bushman's Inn" (from 1852-3), the Waggoner's Inn (1855 - 60) and the West End Hotel (1861 - 1865) His son Francis took over this last license, so apparently followed him into the business. Francis married Isabella Shore, in what appears to have been a very unhappy marriage which ended in tragedy. He appears to have left Bathurst after this, and little more is known of him. Henry stayed nearby, and was still in Bathurst, unmarried, in 1892. Anne, Domingos wife, died in 1861, apparently only 27 years old - if this is true she was only 14 when they got married.

His obituaries describe him as a real local identity and character, much liked, and very much part of the early Bathurst scene. He apparently made quite a respectable living from his hotels for a while, and later from trading in commodities - he described himself as a dealer later in life although I do not know what commodities he dealt in. His fortunes obviously changed, for on his obituary he was described as living on "the wreckage" of his previous estate.

He died of "Old age and bronchitis" aged between 80 and was a Roman Catholic. He left his belongings to be split equally between "my two sons John Gressier and Henry Gressier", so his other son Francis was probably dead by then - although the local newspapers referred to 3 sons living. His estate was worth £325, so he was not entirely destitute when he died.

Domingo is proving to be one of my more interesting ancestors, and I intend to do a lot more research into him and his background, so I hope to be able to update this story periodically.

- Alex Rogers 18/5/99

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