The John Small Story

The John Small Story. By Sybil Small

John Small came to NSW in 1798 on the convict ship "Charlotte". He was an ex-marine who served for Britain in the War of American Independence. Mary Parker was on the convict ship Lady Penrhyn".

They were married in Sydney in May 1788 by The Rev. Richard Johnson under a gum tree. By 1818 John and Mary were well established on land granted by Gov. Phillip in1790 an later more

land granted them by Gov. Macquarie in 1811.

Their daughters Rebecca and Mary (born 1789 and 1791) were married with children by 1818 and their sons William, John and Thomas were in their teens and working on the farms. The twins

Sarah and Samuel were still at school (did l mention that Mary married a school teacher so all the children were literate).

Later the older boys invested in a small sailing ship called "Susan" which they used to carry cedar logs from their land in the Grafton area to a saw mill they established by the Parramatta River near Rhodes.

John Small senior was a devout Methodist and both he and his son William were lay preachers. William developed apple orchards and the famous Granny Smith apple was a natural hybrid found in a creekbed near his property in later years.