Ferdinand Meurant (1765 - 1844)
Ferdinand Meurant was born in Frontignac France in 1765, He escaped the French Revolution by fleeing to Ireland. He lived in Dublin and married Sophie and had at least one child, Edward, who was later apprenticed to a saddler.
Ferdinand was an engraver by trade, but when he used his skills to forge banknotes, he was tried and sentenced to transportation to Australia. He arrived on the Minerva in 1800. He is mentioned in the 1801 list of Persons off Stores as a watchmaker and then, on the list of those convicts who had received Conditional emancipations of 1801, as a goldsmith.
Meurant's legal wife, Sophie, was still in Ireland, despite having applied to accompany her husband to Australia. It is believed Meurant formed a relationship with Mary Pritchard and they may have had children. Mary Pritchard is listed in the 1805-06 muster as having a ticket of leave and residing with, or employed by, Ferdinand Meurant.
After gaining favour with Governor King, Meurant 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, his shop was in Bent Street in Sydney, where today there is a commemorative plaque, unveiled by the French Ambassador in 2000.
Meurant named his 50 acre property at Seven Hills (now Parklea) Frontignac, after his birthplace. The house is believed to have been pulled down in the early 1880s.
While there are no marriage records for Ferdinand Meurant in Australia, he had many children with Rose(tta) Martin, several of whom can be found in the NSW Registrar General's birth, death and marriage index.
Meurant's death is not officially registered but it has been reported that he died in 1844, aged 79 years, and is buried on the family property at Parklea.
Sources and further information
Blacktown City Libraries, Max Webber Library - Local History Section - Vertical File: Biography - Meurant
Blacktown Historical Society's Website:
http://roots-boots.net/history/blacktown/meurants_cottage.html
Coffey, Petra (email correspondence) November 2007
Heritage Office Website
http://www.heritage.nsw.gov.au/07_subnav_01_2.cfm?itemid=5045181
Magann, H. (1997). They left their mark. Blacktown, NSW
Powerhouse Museum Website
http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/database/?irn=79059
