Sarah Gardiner (Roberts) (1813-1892)

Family Stories > 5th Generation

Sarah Roberts Gardiner (1813 - 1892)

Spouse : George William Launder (1811 - 1855)

Sarah and George Launder were my Great-Great-Grandparents

Sarah Gardiner was 20 years of age when she married her husband, George Launder in 1834. She gave birth to and raised eight children in England. Then after receiving her inheritance from her natural father’s will in 1847, her husband, George Launder left his family to scout out the new land of Australia. He left England in 1849 and two years later in 1851, Sarah followed, travelling with her eight children on the long and dangerous voyage to the other side of the world.

In Australia, a raw, new, and relatively untamed country, she worked side by side with her husband, also giving birth to another three children. That she raised 10 out of her 11 babies to adulthood is a remarkable feat in itself for the times in which she lived. She must have been quite a strong, capable, and resilient woman with ample common sense.

Shortly after the death of her husband 1855, she lost her last baby but unlike other women, she did not fade from history. At 42 years of age, she took over the licence of her husband’s hotel, which she later sold to finance a long holiday back in Kent. However, although George’s last will and testament left everything to his wife for her lifetime and at her death his estate to be divided between his children, the very ugly business that afterwards occurred with the subdivision and sale of the Launder land in Hawthorn was likely formulated by some of Sarah’s children as they became impatient to get their hands on their share of the property.

As with most family disputes involving distribution of wealth, it seems that most of the siblings lost in the end, except perhaps the three eldest. It must have saddened Sarah deeply to witness her children squabbling over the spoils of George and her hardships and the privations they had endured in order to establish themselves in their new country.

Sarah Gardiner – Her Early Years

1813 - Birth

In 1813, a young unmarried woman named Sarah Gardiner, living in Sevenoaks, Kent, became pregnant with a child by a man called William Roberts who was a well-to-do gentleman resident of Sevenoaks. It is also possible he may have been a member of the clergy. William Roberts owned quite a bit of land and property in Kent as well as shares and cash and employed a number of servants, quite possibly including young Sarah. Whether he looked after the young mother-to-be during her pregnancy is not known, but the young woman went to a near-by village, Brasted, to give birth to her baby.

The unmarried mother, Sarah Gardiner, gave birth to a daughter on November 25 in 1813 and the little girl was christened three days later on November 28. She was given the same name as her mother – Sarah Gardiner.

The entry in the church baptismal records, which I have obtained but are faint and therefore difficult to copy, shows the birth labelled as “B.B.” which means “Base Born” or born to an unmarried mother.

Transcription of Parish Register of Brasted, Kent, 1813
                                                                                     Parents’                                               Usual Place
Date                       Child’s Name                     Given Names     Surname              of Residence
Nov 28^th                Sarah Roberts                    ………
                               BB daughter of                  Sarah                     Gardiner              Sevenoaks

Whether it was courage, defiance, anger, resentment, pride or some other motivation, the young unmarried mother entered the surname of the father of her baby as “Roberts”. Her usual place of abode was Sevenoaks. William Roberts was about 47 years old at the time of Sarah’s birth. Perhaps the young mother, Sarah Gardiner, had been a servant in the house of William Roberts, a gentleman resident in High Street, Sevenoaks. We can only guess at what happened to the young mother either before the birth or after.

Name:                                                            Sarah Roberts Gardner
Gender:                                                         Female
Baptism Date:                                             28 Nov 1813
Baptism Place:                                             Brasted, Kent, England
Mother:                                                         Sarah Gardner
Ancestry.com. England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975

Thus, with this inauspicious start to life, our ancestor entered the world – baby Sarah Gardiner. Sarah would later adopt the surname of her father and be known as Sarah Roberts.

Sarah grew up in Sevenoaks, and it can be assumed that she had contact with her biological father, William Roberts, because before he died, he wrote a will which acknowledged Sarah as his natural daughter and included a substantial entitlement to her. It was possibly under his influence that Sarah gained a good education – there were good schools in the area at that time.

Transcription of LWT of William Roberts

1892 – Death of Sarah Launder

At the age of 79 years, Sarah succumbed to bronchitis which had plagued her for the last month of her life. She passed away at her daughter, Sarah Smith’s house at 16 Canterbury Street in Moonee Ponds on the 3^rd day of November in 1892. Sarah had been in Australia for 42 years at the time of her death. A transcription of her death certificate reads –

Deaths in the District of Bourke in the Colony of Victoria

When and where died 3^rd day of November 1892

Canterbury Street, Moonee Ponds, Town of Essendon

County of Bourke

Name and Occupation Sarah Launder, Wife

Sex, Age Female, 79 years

Cause of Death Bronchitis, Exhaustion

Duration of Illness 1 month

Medical Attendant by whom Certified Dr. Dickinson

When last saw Deceased 1^st November 1892

Name and Surname of Mother & Father William Roberts, Unknown, formerly Unknown

Rank or Profession Gentleman

Signature, Description & Residence of Informant Sarah Smith, Daughter, Moonee Ponds

Date and Where Registered 4th day of November, Essendon

When and Where Buried 5^th day of November 1891, Melbourne General
Cemetery

Where Born & How Long in Australian Colonies Kent England. Colony of Victoria 42 years

If Married, Where, Age and To Whom Kent England, 20 years, George Launder

Issue, in order of Birth, Their Names & Ages Ellen Launder, 58

William, deceased

George, 54

Sarah, 52

Thomas, 50

Amy, 48

Jane, 46

Roberts, 44

Harry, 40

Mary Ann, 38

Sarah Launder was laid to rest two days later at the Melbourne General Cemetery and joined her husband, George.

And so, ended the lives of George and Sarah Launder, the first generation of the Launder in Australia.