John Sevior
| First name | John |
|---|---|
| Last name | Sevior |
| Country of Origin | England |
| Date of Birth | c1800 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | c1829 |
| Submitted by | Sally E Douglas |
Story
John Sevior (Seviour) was likely to have been born in Somerset, England. Like all immigrants of his day he would have voyaged to Van Diemen’s Land for the adventure and opportunities.
John was a Settler/Farmer in the vicinity of “Ben Lomond”, Parish of Ashford near Launceston, Van Diemen’s Land where he had two farms by the late 1820’s and early 1830’s – “Nile Rivulet” and “Pidgeon Plains”. Moreover, in 1831 John was granted a second class allotment in Charles Street, Launceston where he also became a Publican. From 1829 onwards he employed convicts from the ships “Surrey”, “Bussorah Merchant” and “Prince Regent”. By 1835 John was on “Jury Lists” and perhaps his greatest achievement was being on Juries and becoming a Bank Manager of the Union Bank.
John Sevior married Mary Lucas and had two sons – John and Robert – who became entreprenuers in Victoria in their day. John and Robert Sevior worked together and separately from when they were young adults and became – Land Owners, Horse breeders, Horse trainers, Racing Stewards, Publicans, Wholesale and Retail Butchers, Storekeepers, Grain Merchants and Dealers.
Unfortunately John did not live to see his sons grow up – John was only 36 when he died (buried at St John’s Launceston, Tasmania) – his son John was barely 2 and Robert only a few weeks old. One great wish for John was that his sons “…go to a respectable school on the Island and be educated”.