Charlotte BREADMORE, the daughter of John BREADMORE and Ann DICKER, was born at Sunningwell, Berkshire in 1810, the second of four children.
In 1819 John BREADMORE died and Charlotte's mother Ann married James PARSONS, a shopkeeper of Blewbury, Berkshire (now Oxfordshire). Ann died in 1849 and when James died Charlotte inherited a third share of her step-father's property, Cleeve Cottage, in Blewbury.
In 1827 Charlotte had married John Thomas BRITT, a carpenter, at Blewbury. A son Thomas was born in 1829, but died when he was four, in 1833, and is buried in a family grave in the village. No other children are recorded and there were no children with Charlotte and John Thomas in 1841 when they were living in the village of Compton.
On 18 December 1841 Charlotte and her husband John Thomas BRITT sailed from Gravesend on the barque ‘Diadem’ arriving at Port Leschenault (now Koombanah Bay) on 10 April 1842. They had spent 18 days at Cowes enroute and the voyage had taken 113 days, during which time there had been three births and twelve deaths.
Records show that their 'second child' John Thomas was born in November 1843.
John was employed as a carpenter and wheelwright at Northam until August 1847. However their house was washed away by floods in 1849 and they then moved to the Toodyay townsite.
John BRITT had secured over 20 acres of land in 1848 and 1849, on the road to Bindoon near 'Culham' where they built a neat, brick, two storey house, calling it Blewberry Farm. There they built a flour mill and had hopes of opening a wayside inn but were refused a licence to do so.
John was known to be a very competant carpenter and did voluntary carpentry on the new Culham Church in 1857. He was also employed to construct a wooden cogwheel from York gum for a mill the same year. He then made one for himself and erected his own mill which remained in operation for many years until the sifting silks wore out. Between 1856 and 1870 Thomas employed eleven 'ticket of leave' men on various occasions
John Thomas BRITT died on 3 October 1884, aged 78, and Charlotte died aged 80 on 31 August 1890. The farm at Toodyay remained in the BRITT family until 1936 and althought the name had not been used for many years it has now been reinstated as 'Blewberry Farm'.
Andrew Young -
andrew@breadmore.org - © Margaret and Andrew Young
Breadmore One-Name Study - Blewberry Farm, Toodyay -
http://www.breadmore.org/