William's ironmongery was not doing well, and in September 1824, he was declared bankrupt. Fairly well connected, William fell on his feet, and by 1826 held the position of church sexton at St George's Hanover Square, London.This was certainly a strong position in a wealthy parish of West London. The young family moved residence to Northbank, Regents Park, a more upmarket area than their earlier home.
When Bessie was 13, her mother Sarah became very ill, and died when her 10th child Decimus (!) was just a newborn. As the only daughter, it would have fallen largely on young Bessie's shoulders to care for her mother, and perhaps her baby brother. Unfortunately, at 3 months baby Decimus too passed away. The following year another brother, John died, aged 13.
Despite this tragic time, the Parker family lived a fairly comfortable life, in a nice home, with 2 servants. In November 1834, William had his domestic servant, Ann Coates and her mother, charged with theft. Ann had been working for the Parkers for almost a year, and had confided in young Elizabeth of her desperate situation. Bessie had given her some household items to help her out, which had evidently been pawned by Ann's mother, and had kept the secret from her father. When the servant confessed to William that she had taken some items in her distress, he declared "I said she robbed me to a great extent and I could not listen to her". Ann Coates and her mother were sentenced to 7 years transportation to New South Wales.
In 1839, Bessie decided to leave her family, and England. She applied for free passage to South Australia, registering as an emigrant labourer, and listing herself as a governess. On the 19th May, she boarded the ship Recovery, and arrived in Port Adelaide on the 19th September 1839. On board was also the new Surveyor General of South Australia, Colonel Light and his family. There is some oral history in the family which suggests that one of Bessie's brothers worked for Col Light, and this may have been her motivation to travel so far.
Probably, Bessie did work as a governess for some time in Adelaide. Young women were very much in demand in the fledgling town. In 1840, however, she is recorded as a 'sick and destitute emigrant' receiving government medical relief, so clearly she didn't have the support of a family employer at this time.
Soon after, Bessie met Henry Kempson, another recent emigrant, and married him in 1842. She probably didn't know that Henry had a wife and son back in England. Bearing 2 healthy sons, Henry and Frederick, they settled for a time in Walkerville and Mount Lofty. Henry Sr joined the Police Force, and began working some land, but their settled family life didn't last long. In July, 1848, Bessie died at age 31, in childbirth with twin daughters. It seems such a shame that Elizabeth wasn't able to fulfil her dreams of a new life in Australia, when she had been so courageous to travel alone and so far from all that she knew.
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