[THIS INFORMATION WAS SENT TO ME ANONYMOUSLY; SO NO GUARANTEE IT IS CORRECT]
Ferdinand Meurant
Born in Frontignac in 1765, Ferdinand Charles Meurant (original name was De Meurant) was a French jeweller, silversmith and watchmaker who at the age of 24 escaped to Belgium during the French Revolution of 1789. Ferdinand married his first wife Sophia in 1781 and had two children.
Meurant was convicted in March 1798 with John Austen (an engraver) at Kilmainham, Dublin, Ireland and sentenced to death for forging bank notes on the Bank of Ireland. This sentence was commuted to life to be transported to Australia on the "Minerva" as a Catholic. His wife Sophia petitioned the court on 3/1/1799 & 29/3/1799 to accompany Ferdinand but was unsuccessful and remained in Ireland. (The National Archives of Ireland.)
Meurant, being of aristocratic class, apparently had influence (and money) as he immediately entered into an agreement with Captain Cox, the newly appointed paymaster of the NSW Corps, which enabled him to take his engraving instruments on board. During the voyage Meurant sat on deck working on ornamental watches purchased by Capt. Cox, which were then sold at great profit whilst on a stopover in Rio.
Meurant arrived on the Minerva in Sydney at 11am on 11/1/1800, and was immediately given a ticket of leave and set free to practice his profession in the colony. After gaining favour with Governor King for knocking 500-pounds off the price of a necklace he made for Governor King's wife, he was granted full pardon in 1803, as well as a land grant at the Hawkesbury and a valuable leasehold behind Government House in Sydney.
Reputed to be one of the first two working jewellers in Australia (alongside W. Moreton in Sydney), his shop was in Bent Street in Sydney, where today there is a commemorative plaque, unveiled in 2000.
At that time there were many quality silversmiths, many of them Irish, and most of them transported for forgery. Forgery was a common crime in that profession. Austen, in a nice colonial irony, went on to become an engraver for the newly-established Bank of New South Wales. All these many artisans and makers of fine goods began as convicts. They got conditional pardons so quickly because the colony needed their skills. (Highlights from the Boyer Collection, presented by Donald McDonald, Chair of the ABC and author of The Boyer Collection, published in 2001 by ABC Books.)
Governor Bligh's arrival in the colony led to the cancellation of leases around government house, between July and November 1807 Ferdinand had his fine house demolished.
In 1808 the Rum Rebellion forced him into self-imposed exile at his Hawkesbury farm. Eventually he returned to Sydney where he had businesses at 13 and 84 Castlereagh St. In 1817 he retired to his land grant at Seven Hills (now Glenwood) which he named Frontignac after his birthplace in France.
Ferdinand had two children, William Edward b.1803 and Elvira b.1804 with his assigned convict servant Mary Pritchard.
William later moved to New Zealand and Elvira died in a farm house fire on her fathers farm on the Hawkesbury in 1810 aged 6. Mary later married John Maskey.
In 1811, he married his second wife, Rosetta (Rose) Martin (born in the colony to convict parents Owen Martin and Sarah Walden) at St Johns Church of England Parramatta and was married by Rev. Samuel Marsden.
Ferdinand and Rosetta had twelve children together.
Ferdinand had land grants at Hawkesbury, Seven Hills and Dural. Ferdinand died in 1844 aged 79 years and is buried on the family property at Meurants Lane, Glenwood. Part of the properties building still stands.