Esther Beuzeville Hewlett
(1818-1902)
Esther Beuzeville Hewlett, youngest daughter of James Philip Hewlett I and Esther Beuzeville, and Ebenezer Sargent 1806-1879) were married in 1841 at Eastry, Kent. Ebenezer Sargent, a brother of George Eliel Sargent was a handsome, clever and eccentric man and Esther was a little woman with strong Beuzeville features and a lovely complexion. Ebenezer was a solicitor in Birmingham and the family lived at "Eagle House" and were both active members of the Birmingham Baptist church.
Left: Esther Beuzeville Sargent in her later years.
Right: Esther and her husband Ebenezer Sargent.
Notes & Sources
Sincere thanks to John Sargent of Busselton, Western Australia, for sharing his research.​
Children of Esther Beuzeville & Ebenezer Sargent
Esther Beuzeville Hewlett and Ebenezer Sargent and raised their family in Birmingham during the middle years of the nineteenth century. Between 1842 and the early 1860s they had ten children, whose lives later carried the family story far beyond England, with several eventually settling in New Zealand and North America.
​
An unusually large number of photographs of this family survive. These images owe their preservation to Ebenezer Sargent’s brother, a chemist who possessed glass photographic plates. Through later family connections—one of whose descendants migrated to Western Australia—many of these plates were preserved and are now associated with collections held at the Battye Museum in Perth. Together they provide a rare visual record of a Victorian family spanning several continents.
1. Dursley (male)
Born: 21 Jun 1842 St. Martin, Birmingham, Warwick, England
Died: 21 Nov 1908 Humboldt, Richardson, Nebraska, USA. Died from Cancer. Worked in the newspaper trade, trained by his uncle William Byles of Bradford, England.
Married: Mary Nimmo
c. 1863, Bradford, Yorkshire, England
(Dursley is a town in Gloucestershire where his father was living when he commenced his courtship)
​
2. Beuzeville (male)
Born: 30 Aug 1843 Birmingham, Warwick, England
Died of respiratory problems.
Married: Ann (Nettie) Podmore
Had one daughter Esther Athla who died 20 June 1876 aged on year and 20 months.
(Beuzeville was the maiden name of his maternal grandmother who was a descendent of the French Protestant refugees)
​
3. Zwingli (male)
Born: 7 Jan 1845 Birmingham, Warwick, England
Solicitor, until jailed for fraud in 1885; worked for railways.
Married: Nettie Sargent (his brother’s widow)
(Zwingli – From the Swiss reformer)
​
​​​4. Sylvana (female)
Born: 1847 Birmingham, Warwick, England
Died: 1927, Auckland, N.Z. Buried: Waikumete Cemetery.
Midwife.
Married: John Byles 1833-1858 (her cousin)
Migrated to N.Z. in 1883. They had nine children.
(Sylvana - A Latinized form of her paternal grandmother’s maiden name, Wood)
​
5. Ailwin (female)
Born: 16 Dec 1848 Birmingham, Warwick, England
Did not marry. Died in her twenties from respiratory problems.
This image is presented in its original mount bearing the name of 'Obeithio Sargent', Selly Oak, Birmingham.
(Ailwin is Saxon - Beloved of all)
​
6. Lysken (female)
Born: 18 Jan 1851 Birmingham, Warwick, England
Did not marry, stayed with her mother.
(Lysken - A Dutch martyr – the wife of Jeronimus Segerson)
​
7. Obeithio (male)
Born: 20 Mar 1852 Birmingham, Warwick, England
Died: 1916. Chemist, Dentist and Photographer.
Married: Mary Ann Lewis 30 Sept 1878?
Migrated to Western Australia in May 1886 on “Elderslie” They had six children.
(Obeithio is Welsh – Trust in the Lord)
​
8. Philadelph (male)
Born: 22 Oct 1855 Birmingham, Warwick, England
Migrated to Kansas, USA, 1871
Died about 1919 in the first gasoline tank explosion in America.
Farmer in a town called Hayes.
Married: Ada Vondy
10 Apr 1892, Bridgeport, Saline, Kansas
(Philadelph – Lover of his brethren)
​
9. Automella (female)
Born: 22 Feb 1858 Birmingham, Warwick, England
Married: Cephas Luther Edwards who worked for Cadbury’s.
(Automella – From the Greek of He careth for you)
​
10. Dumah (male)
Born: 21 Jun 1860 Birmingham, Warwick, England. Died: 1942.
Worked as a clerk in Birmingham.
Married: Elizabeth Allen
No children. Image in original mount bearing the name of 'Obeithio Sargent', Selly Oak. Birmingham.
(Dumah – In reference to the chequered scenes of human life)
​
Notes & Sources
Many of the photographs of the Sargent family derive from glass plate negatives associated with Ebenezer Sargent’s son, Obeithio, who worked as a chemist and had access to early photographic equipment. Obeithio migrated to Western Australia—a number of these plates are preserved and are held in the Battye Museum, Perth.
​