Alexander Newell (1811–?)
Alexander Newell migrated to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) in 1832 aboard the Princess Royal as a fee-paying passenger. His mother Sarah and sisters Henrietta, Sarah (jnr) and Ann were also on the ship as part of Princess Royal Girls free immigration scheme to Tasmania.
In 1832 he married Harriet Twyford in Hobart. Following her death he married Margaret Flaherty in 1836 in Launceston and in 1845 bigamously married Jane Wainwright who was a convict, holding a ticket of leave. I have been unable to locate a death certificate for him in either Tasmania, New South Wales, Queensland or Victoria. His second wife, Margaret Flaherty, remarried in 1852 claiming that she was a widow.
In November 1845 Newell was charged with bigamously marrying Jane Wainwright. It appears that she was not aware of his marriage to Margaret. During the court proceedings it was decided that Newell's marriage to Jane, which had occurred in the chapel at the Launceston Female Factory, was invalid because it was a not a consecrated site.
There was an Alexander Newell, tailor, living in Currie St, Adelaide, in 1847.
Additional Resources and Scholarship
- is charged with bigamy, Cornwall Chronicle (Launceston, Tas), 15 November 1845, p 336
Related Entries in NCB Sites
- Newell, Harriet (wife)
- Hills, Margaret (wife)
- Newell, Jane (wife)
- Flaherty, Jemima (mother-in-law)
- Flaherty, Thomas (father-in-law)
- Lowe, Hannah (sister-in-law)
- Lowe, Richard Henry (brother-in-law)
- Flaherty, Thomas (brother-in-law)
- Flaherty, Patrick (brother-in-law)
Citation details
'Newell, Alexander (1811–?)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/newell-alexander-27783/text35517, accessed 25 May 2025.
Life Summary [details]
Alternative Names
- Newall, Alexander
- Newhall, Alexander
Birth
17 March,
1811
London,
Middlesex,
England
Cultural Heritage
Includes subject's nationality; their parents' nationality; the countries in which they spent a significant part of their childhood, and their self-identity.
Religious Influence
Includes the religion in which subjects were raised, have chosen themselves, attendance at religious schools and/or religious funeral rites; Atheism and Agnosticism have been included.