Benjamin Jackman was born about 1808 in Stowmarket, Suffolk, England. In 1837, he was convicted of stealing malt and transported to Tasmania, arriving in Hobart in January 1838. Granted a ticket of leave and later his freedom, he settled at Bothwell, working as a brewer and maltster. Mary Ann Reid was born in Bothwell in 1827. After time in the Queen’s Orphanage with her sisters, she returned to her father in 1841. She married Benjamin Jackman at Bothwell in June 1844. Between 1845 and 1871, the couple had a large family: Alfred, Walter, Martha, Mary Ann, John Frederick, Sarah, Lucy, Laura Matilda, William Henry, Elizabeth, Eliza and Arthur James. They lived mainly in Patrick Street, Bothwell, where Benjamin owned a house and yard. Benjamin often served as a juror at local inquests and supported the Wesleyan chapel. Several of their children married locally and in other colonies; some later moved to Victoria and New South Wales. A tragic moment came in March 1873 when their daughter Lucy drowned in the Clyde River at age fourteen while trying to save a child. Her funeral drew many townspeople and Sunday-school children. Benjamin died in Bothwell in November 1879, aged 71. Mary Ann remained in Bothwell for decades, later moving to Queenstown. She died there in September 1915, aged 88. Over the years, their children married into local families – Branch, Manser, Sault, White, Commane – and dispersed across Tasmania and mainland Australia. The Patrick Street property remained in the family for many years and was finally conveyed to a new owner in 1919.

Benjamin Jackman.

b: abt 1808, Stowmarket, Suffolk, England; d: 24 Nov 1879, Bothwell, Tasmania; bur: aft 24 Nov 1879, Public Cemetery, Bothwell, Tasmania.

Spouse - Mary Ann Reid, daughter of William Reid and Margaret Aldridge.

b: 8 Mar 1827, Bothwell, Tasmania; bap: 17 Oct 1827 Hobart, Tasmania; m: 27 Jun 1844, Bothwell, Tasmania; d: 5 Sep 1915, Queenstown, Tasmania.

Children of Benjamin Jackman and Mary Ann Reid:

1. Alfred Jackman - b: 22 Apr 1845, Bothwell, Tasmania; bap: 1 Jun 1845, Bothwell, Tasmania; d: 2 Nov 1912, West Wyalong, New South Wales.

2. Walter Jackman - b: 24 Jun 1846, Bothwell, Tasmania; d: 29 Aug 1927, Hobart, Tasmania; bur: 30 Aug 1927, Cornelian Bay Cemetery, Hobart, Tasmania.

3. Martha Jackman - b: 13 Dec 1847, Brighton, Tasmania; d: 1894, Marrickville, New South Wales. Spouse - William E Bailey, b: date and place unknown; m: 1888, Petersham, New South Wales.

4. Mary Ann Jackman - b: 1 Jun 1850, Brighton, Tasmania; d: 16 Aug 1928, Bothwell, Tasmania; bur: 18 Aug 1928, Public Cemetery, Bothwell, Tasmania. Spouse - Henry (Saxon) Branch, son of Matthew Saxon and Eliza Pegram, b: 10 Aug 1847, Launceston, Tasmania; m: 13 Jan 1873, Bothwell, Tasmania; d: 4 Dec 1925, Bothwell, Tasmania; bur: 6 Dec 1925, Public Cemetery, Bothwell, Tasmania.

5. John Frederick Jackman - b: 26 Jan 1853, Hobart, Tasmania; d: 1904, Hay, New South Wales.

6. Sarah Jackman - b: 22 Jun 1855, Hobart, Tasmania; d: 10 Jun 1941, Bothwell, Tasmania; bur: 12 Jun 1941, Public Cemetery, Bothwell, Tasmania. Spouse - William Manser, son of Charles Manser and Sarah Edwards, b: 25 Aug 1854, Bothwell, Tasmania; bap: 30 Jan 1855, Bothwell, Tasmania; m: 24 Jan 1878, Bothwell, Tasmania; d: 31 Jul 1941, Hobart, Tasmania; bur: 3 Aug 1941, Public Cemetery, Bothwell, Tasmania.

7. Lucy Jackman - b: 20 Apr 1858, Bothwell, Tasmania; bap: 13 Mar 1859, Bothwell, Tasmania; d: 1 Mar 1873, Bothwell, Tasmania; bur: 4 Mar 1873, Public Cemetery, Bothwell, Tasmania.

8. Laura Matilda Jackman - b: 10 May 1860, Bothwell, Tasmania; bap: 22 Jul 1860, Bothwell, Tasmania; d: 19 Oct 1919, Hobart, Tasmania; bur: 21 Oct 1919, Cornelian Bay Cemetery, Hobart, Tasmania. Spouse - Michael William Commane, son of Thomas Commane and Bridget Corbett, b: 24 Jun 1849, Ireland; m: 3 Sep 1892, Hobart, Tasmania; d: 29 Dec 1914, Hobart, Tasmania; bur: 31 Dec 1914, Cornelian Bay Cemetery, Hobart, Tasmania.

9. William Henry Jackman - b: 13 Feb 1863, Bothwell, Tasmania; bap: 26 Apr 1864, Bothwell, Tasmania; d: 30 Apr 1929, Tasmania; bur: 1 May 1929, Cornelian Bay Cemetery, Hobart, Tasmania. Spouse - Harriett Jane Williams, b: abt 1863, place unknown; m: 14 Jun 1884, Hobart, Tasmania.

10. Elizabeth Jackman - b: 29 Apr 1865, Bothwell, Tasmania; bap: 12 Jun 1865, Bothwell, Tasmania; d: 22 Oct 1934, Glenorchy, Tasmania; bur: 24 Oct 1934, Cornelian Bay Cemetery, Hobart, Tasmania. Spouse - James Lee Sault, son of Richard Sault and Sarah Ann Johnes, b: 1860, Preston, Victoria; m: 1887, Victoria; d: 27 Mar 1935, Glenorchy, Tasmania; bur: 29 Mar 1935, Cornelian Bay Cemetery, Hobart, Tasmania.

11. Eliza Jackman - b: 9 May 1868, Bothwell, Tasmania. Spouse - John White, b: abt 1869, place unknown; m: 2 Apr 1894, Hobart, Tasmania.

12. Arthur James Jackman - b: 20 Feb 1871, Bothwell, Tasmania; d: 3 May 1942, Hobart, Tasmania; crem: 4 May 1942, Cornelian Bay Cemetery, Hobart, Tasmania. Spouse - Amelia Sarah Jolley, daughter of James Jolley and Amelia Haig, b: 11 Aug 1870, Hobart, Tasmania; m: 10 Dec 1893, Hobart, Tasmania; d: 25 Jan 1955, Hobart, Tasmania; crem: Cornelian Bay Cemetery, Hobart, Tasmania.