People Australia

John Marrott (c.1751-1812), a labourer, was found guilty on 24 March 1784 at Gloucester, Gloucestershire, of breaking into a house with Joseph Marrott and stealing four pieces of printed cotton, two pieces of printed linen and a cotton handkerchief valued at £7.2s. John Marrott's death sentence was commuted to 7 years transportation. Sent to the Censor hulk in 1785, he was dispatched to the Alexander in February 1787 and arrived at Sydney in January 1788 as part of the First Fleet.

Marrott (as John Merritt) married Ann Taylor on 23 December 1791 at Parramatta. He received a 50 acre grant of land at Prospect Hill in January 1794. By mid 1800 he shared land held by purchase with James Sherrard at Mulgrave Place. Two years later they held 110 acres; it probably included Marrott's original 50 acres at Prospect Hill.

By 1806 Marrott held 105 acres known as Sherrard's Farms at Caddi. His partnership with Sherrard seems to have been dissolved by this time. Two acres were planted in maize, 45 were in pasture and 58 were fallow. He owned a bull, four cows, two oxen, 230 sheep, 25 goats and nine hogs. The farm was supporting his wife, two convicts and one free man. No children were recorded.

John Marrott died on 7 May 1812 and was buried at St Matthew's churchyard, Windsor; his age was given as 68 on his headstone.

* information from Mollie Gillen, The Founders of Australia: A Biographical Dictionary of the First Fleet (1989), p 236