[Index]
Sophia PALMER (1777 - 1833)
Children Self + Spouses Parents Grandparents Greatgrandparents
John CAMPBELL (1802 - 1886)
Robert CAMPBELL (1804 - 1859)
Sophia Palmer CAMPBELL (1807 - 1811)
Charles CAMPBELL (1810 - 1888)
Sophia Ives CAMPBELL (1812 - )
Sarah CAMPBELL (1815 - 1856)
George Palmer CAMPBELL (1818 - 1881)
Frederick Marsden CAMPBELL (1821 - 1844)
Sophia PALMER (1777 - 1833)

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Robert CAMPBELL (1769 - 1846)
John PALMER (1727 - 1808)











Sarah TAYLOR (1735 - 1796)











Robert CAMPBELL

Sophia PALMER
Robert CAMPBELL Sophia PALMER
Pic S1. Robert Campbell (1769 - 1846), by unknown artist, courtesy of National Library of Australia. nla.pic-an11030057-206

b. 1777 at Portsmouth, Hampshire, England
m. Nov 1801 Robert CAMPBELL (1769 - 1846) at Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
d. 05 May 1833 at Sydney, New South Wales, Australia aged 56
Near Relatives of Sophia PALMER (1777 - 1833)
Relationship Person Born Birth Place Died Death Place Age
Father in Law John CAMPBELL 1728
Mother in Law Agnes PATERSON 1729

Father John PALMER 1727 1808 81
Mother Sarah TAYLOR abt 1735 abt 1796 61

Self Sophia PALMER 1777 Portsmouth, Hampshire, England 05 May 1833 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 56

Husband Robert CAMPBELL 28 Apr 1769 Greenock, Renfrew, Scotland 15 Apr 1846 Duntroon, ACT, Australia 76

Son John CAMPBELL 1802 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 1886 Petersham, New South Wales, Australia 84
Son Robert CAMPBELL 05 Oct 1804 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 1859 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 55
Daughter Sophia Palmer CAMPBELL 1807 New South Wales, Australia abt 1811 England 4
Son Charles CAMPBELL 20 Sep 1810 At sea 17 Aug 1888 Inverness, Inverness-shire, Scotland 77
Daughter Sophia Ives CAMPBELL 1812 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Daughter Sarah CAMPBELL 1815 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 28 Mar 1856 Madeira, Atlantic Ocean 41
Son George Palmer CAMPBELL 27 Jun 1818 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 25 Oct 1881 London, Middlesex, England 63
Son Frederick Marsden CAMPBELL 1821 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 1844 23

Brother John PALMER 17 Jun 1760 Portsmouth, Hampshire, England 27 Sep 1833 Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia 73

Daughter in Law Anne Sophia RILEY 1817 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 10 May 1881 South Kensington, London, England 64
Daughter in Law Catherine Irena PALMER 1816 Windsor, New South Wales, Australia 28 Apr 1863 Bayswater, London, Middlesex, England 47
Son in Law Arthur JEFFREYS Surrey, England 13 Sep 1861 Barnes, Surrey, England
Daughter in Law Marrianne Collinson CLOSE 1827 Morpeth, New South Wales, Australia 02 May 1903 Duntroon, ACT, Australia 76

Granddaughter Anne Sophia CAMPBELL 1837 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Grandson William Robert CAMPBELL 1838 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 03 Jul 1906 Elizabeth Bay, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 68
Granddaughter Fanny CAMPBELL 1840 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Granddaughter Lucy CAMPBELL 1845 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Granddaughter Florence CAMPBELL 1846 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Grandson Francis Selwyn CAMPBELL 1850 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Granddaughter Mary Louisa CAMPBELL 1854 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Grandson Walter CAMPBELL 1838 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Granddaughter Agnes CAMPBELL 1841 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Granddaughter Susan CAMPBELL 1843 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Grandson Christian CAMPBELL 1845 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Grandson Frederick CAMPBELL 1846 Duntroon, ACT, Australia 19 Aug 1928 Narrandera, New South Wales, Australia 82
Granddaughter Sophia CAMPBELL 1848 New South Wales, Australia
Grandson Robert CAMPBELL 1850 New South Wales, Australia
Grandson John JEFFREYS 1845
Grandson Arthur F JEFFREYS 1848
Grandson Robert JEFFREYS 1851 New South Wales, Australia
Granddaughter Sophia JEFFREYS 1851 New South Wales, Australia 1851 0
Grandson John Edward Robert CAMPBELL 20 Jul 1855 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 19 May 1936 Malvern, Worcester, England 80
Granddaughter Sophia Susanna CAMPBELL 1857 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 1885 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 28
Grandson Frederick Arthur CAMPBELL 1861 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 21 Dec 1931 Woollahra, New South Wales, Australia 70
Grandson Edward Charles Close CAMPBELL 1862 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 15 Dec 1905 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 43
Granddaughter Sarah Marrianne Emily CAMPBELL 1866 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia
Grandson Robert George CAMPBELL 1871 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 1871 Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia 0

Nephew George Thomas PALMER 26 Apr 1784 Brompton, Kent, England 26 Oct 1854 Bath, Somerset, England 70
Nephew John Westwick PALMER 1786 Brompton, Kent, England 1787 1
Nephew Henry Westwick PALMER 1787 Brompton, Kent, England 1788 Brompton, Kent, England 1
Nephew John PALMER 1797 Brompton, Kent, England 1839 42
Nephew Edmund PALMER 1800 Cape of Good Hope, South Africa 1800 0
Nephew Edwin Campbell PALMER 1801 Woolloomooloo, New South Wales, Australia 1802 1
Niece Sophia Susannah PALMER 1803 Woolloomooloo, New South Wales, Australia 1856 53

Sister in Law Susan STILWELL 06 Aug 1762 Staten Island, Richmond, New York, USA 22 Nov 1832 Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia 70
Events in Sophia PALMER (1777 - 1833)'s life
Date Age Event Place Notes Src
1777 Sophia PALMER was born Portsmouth, Hampshire, England 6
abt 1796 19 Death of mother Sarah TAYLOR (aged 61)
1800 23 Immigration Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Note 1 6
Nov 1801 24 Married Robert CAMPBELL (aged 32) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Note 2 6
1802 25 Birth of son John CAMPBELL Sydney, New South Wales, Australia V18021069 1A/1802 6
05 Oct 1804 27 Birth of son Robert CAMPBELL Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 6
1807 30 Birth of daughter Sophia Palmer CAMPBELL New South Wales, Australia V18071756 1A/1807 6
1808 31 Death of father John PALMER (aged 81)
20 Sep 1810 33 Birth of son Charles CAMPBELL At sea Hindostan 6
abt 1811 34 Death of daughter Sophia Palmer CAMPBELL (aged 4) England 6
1812 35 Birth of daughter Sophia Ives CAMPBELL Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 6
1815 38 Birth of daughter Sarah CAMPBELL Sydney, New South Wales, Australia V18153582 1A/1815 6
27 Jun 1818 41 Birth of son George Palmer CAMPBELL Sydney, New South Wales, Australia V18184510 1B/1818 6
1821 44 Birth of son Frederick Marsden CAMPBELL Sydney, New South Wales, Australia V1821225 6/1821 6
05 May 1833 56 Sophia PALMER died Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 6
Note 1: per "Porpoise" with brother John Palmer and his wife Susan Stillwell
Note 2: V1801500 3A/1801, CA, St Phillips CofE
Personal Notes:
Sophia Campbell nee Palmer (1777–1833) was an early Australian artist.

One of eight children, Sophia Palmer was born in Portsmouth and educated in London. She came to Sydney with her naval officer brother John Palmer (1760-1833) and his family, a second unmarried naval officer brother Christopher Palmer (1767-1821), and her unmarried sister Sarah Sophia Palmer (1774-?) on board the Porpoise in November 1800. Her brother John Palmer was bringing his family to settle permanently in New South Wales, and had previously come to Sydney in 1788 as Purser on the Sirius, the flagship of the First Fleet. He had also been Commissary General of New South Wales from 1791 to 1811, remaining employed in the Commissariat until he retired in 1819; and he was a magistrate from 1793.[1]

Sophia first settled on John Palmer's 100 acres (40 ha) 1793 grant which he named Woolloomooloo Farm. Within a year, on 17 September 1801, Sophia married the merchant Robert Campbell, a Scottish Presbyterian eight years her senior, in St. Phillips Church, Sydney.

Sophia moved to Wharf House, her husband Robert Campbell’s home behind his wharves on the west side of Circular Quay. Apart from two trips to England (in 1805-06 and 1810-15) and shorter journeys to various parts of New South Wales, she lived in Sydney until her death.

Sophia, a highly gifted amateur artist, recorded daily life as seen from her house. She visited the Illawarra, Broken Bay and Newcastle and recorded the scenes she witnessed in watercolours and pencil sketches. Her watercolour of Newcastle shows Christ Church in 1818, as well as the washing on the line and the gardens of her neighbours.
Newcastle with Christ Church in the distance

Her detailed sketches of her surroundings in early Sydney and Newcastle can be viewed as typical examples of the art generally thought to be practised by colonial ladies. Art was an acceptable pastime pursued within a lifestyle perhaps offering limited diversions.

Two sketchbooks survive. One is still owned by Sophia’s descendants and held in a private collection. The other is owned by the National Library of Australia, Canberra. It was acquired around 1940 as part of the John Ferguson Collection which consists of over 34000 items. Sir John Ferguson had spent a lifetime collecting and describing library materials, with a particular concentration on Australiana.

Both of Sophia’s sketchbooks are filled with images dating from about 1816 to about 1820. She is thought to be the first woman known to have painted Australian scenes and people. Her sketches are entirely of public rather than private subjects. The watercolours of the Illawarra district are the earliest known views of the area then still outside of the boundaries of settlement.

Sophia died in 1833 and was buried in St John’s Cemetery, Parramatta.

[edit] References

1. ^ [1]

Colonial Secretary Index

* Clifford Amandus Burmester, National Library of Australia. Guide to the Collections, Volume 1. National Library of Australia, Canberra 1974
* Joan Kerr, The Dictionary of Australian Artists, Painters, Sketchers, Photographers and Engravers to 1970. Oxford University Press Australia 1992 ISBN 0909798996

[edit]
Source References:
6. Type: Book, Abbr: Queanbeyan Register, Title: Biographical register of Canberra and Queanbeyan: from the district to the Australian Capital Territory 1820-1930, Auth: Peter Proctor, Publ: The Heraldry & Genealogical Society of Canberra, Date: 2001
- Reference = 40 (Name, Notes)
- Reference = 250 (Immigration)
- Reference = 250 (Death)
- Reference = 40 (Marriage)
- Reference = 250 (Birth)

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