The WILLIAM VIDLER / MARY COPPER line

• November 23rd, 1773 - William, son of Richard and Mary Vidler
• September 21st, 1770 - William, illegitimate son of Mary Vidler

As Richard (the father of the 1773 baptism) and Mary (the mother of the 1770 baptism) were siblings, we can at least be almost certain that the grandparents of William were John VADLER and Elizabeth BOWLING, who were married at Battle on June 3rd, 1742.

Mary COPPER was a native of Sandhurst, Kent. She was born there on October 5th, 1775, and married there on December 29th, 1796. William at the time of his marriage was described as a bachelor of the Parish of Benenden.

William and Mary had a total of 9 children:

1. Mary      - born: May 4th, 1797 at Sandhurst, KEN
               bapt: June 4th, 1797 at Sandhurst, KEN
               marr: October 7th, 1818 at Sandhurst, KEN
                 to: Charles MUMMERY
               arr : (NZ) March 17th, 1841 aboard "Lady Nugent"
               arr : (NSW) September 12th, 1843 aboard "Ann"
               died: May 14th, 1875 at Jamberoo, NSW
               bur : May 16th, 1875 at Jamberoo, NSW

2. William   - born: April 18th, 1799 at Sandhurst, KEN
               bapt: April 20th, 1799 at Sandhurst, KEN
               marr: September 10th, 1820 at Sandhurst, KEN
                 to: Harriet WATERS
               arr : November 5th, 1838 aboard "Maitland"
               died: December 25th, 1881 at Jamberoo, NSW
               bur : December 27th, 1881 at Jamberoo, NSW

3. John      - born: September 19th, 1801 at Sandhurst, KEN
               bapt: October 25th, 1801 at Sandhurst, KEN
               marr: September 19th, 1826
                 to: Harriet ROUSLEY
               marr: March 25th, 1836 at Rye, SSX
                 to: Mercy EILDEN
               arr : November 5th, 1838 aboard "Maitland"
               died: April 17th, 1892 at Jamberoo, NSW
               bur : April 19th, 1892 at Jamberoo, NSW

4. James     - born: August 10th, 1803 at Sandhurst, KEN
               bapt: October 23rd, 1803 at Sandhurst, KEN
               marr: May 11th, 1825 at Sandhurst, KEN
                 to: Hannah BOVIS
               arr : November 5th, 1838 aboard "Maitland"
               died: September 11th, 1884 at Jamberoo, NSW
               bur : September 14th, 1884 at Jamberoo, NSW

5. Stephen   - born: 1807 at Rye, SSX
               bapt: October 30th, 1807 at Rye, SSX
               marr: August 9th, 1834 at Sandhurst, KEN
                 to: Sarah BOVIS
               arr : November 5th, 1841 aboard "Fairlie"
               died: July 9th, 1885 at Jamberoo, NSW
               bur : July     , 1885 at Jamberoo, NSW

6. Kezia     - born: October 14th, 1810 at Rye, SSX
               bapt: November 18th, 1810 at Rye, SSX
               marr: August 19th, 1831 at Westwell, KEN
                 to: George STEADMAN
               arr : February 14th, 1842 aboard "Sir Edward Paget"
               died: April 25th, 1894 at Cambewarra, NSW
               bur :

7. Edwin     - born: June 15th, 1813 at Rye, SSX
               bapt: July 24th, 1813 at Rye, SSX
               marr: August 9th, 1834 at Sandhurst, KEN
                 to: Mary BUSS
               arr : November 5th, 1838 aboard "Maitland"
               died: May 26th, 1895 at Jamberoo, NSW
               bur : May 28th, 1895 at Jamberoo, NSW

8. Samuel    - born: at Rye, SSX
               bapt: February 23rd, 1816 at Rye, SSX
               died: 1817
               bur : 1817 at Sandhurst, KEN

9. Sarah Ann - born: January 1822 at Sandhurst, KEN
               bapt: February 12th, 1822 at Sandhurst, KEN
               arr : November 5th, 1838 aboard "Maitland"
               marr: February 17th, 1840 at Wollongong, NSW
                 to: Joseph KNIGHT
               marr: 1873 at Bolong, NSW
                 to: Isaac STOTT
               died: May 13th, 1905 at Cambewarra, NSW
               bur : May 15th, 1905 at Cambewarra, NSW

Following their marriage in 1796, William and Mary lived at Sandhurst until about 1805, when they moved to Rye. Vidler was a common name in this town, so it is possible they moved because of relatives, but this cannot be confirmed. In late 1816 or early 1817 the family moved back to Sandhurst, where they remained until leaving for Australia in 1838.

Mary died at Sandhurst in September 1829, and was buried there on the 29th. William subsequently remarried, to a widow, Mary Smith (nee Maynard), at Sandhurst on January 15th, 1832, and it was she who accompanied the family on the "Maitland" in 1838. (For details of the voyage of the "Maitland", see Bruce Fairhall's site.)

Subsequently, William and Mary had one son, Reuben:

10. Reuben - born: August 2nd, 1840 at Dapto, NSW
             marr: June 27th, 1882 at Cambewarra, NSW
               to: Mary CONDIE
             died: November 2nd, 1910 at Cambewarra, NSW
             bur : at Cambewarra, NSW

On arrival in NSW, William and his family settled first at Dapto, but very soon moved to Jamberoo. At this time, an attempt was being made to establish a hop-growing industry at Jamberoo, and coming from a hop-growing area of Kent, the Vidlers would have had this expertise.

Hop growing was not a success in Jamberoo, and like most other landholders in the area, dairy and mixed farming soon took over.

Descendants of William's children still live in the Illawarra area of NSW, although they have now spread to every state of Australia and overseas. The first large migration came in the last quarter of the 19th century, by which time the original farms in the Illawarra could not be economically divided among the members of the second generation, and males from this generation were encouraged to move to the Northern Rivers area of NSW, which was just being opened up. Once again, there are now many descendants living in that area.

FURTHER RESEARCH