AUSTRALIANA Biography –

“A glimpse into the life of Elizabeth Fenton appeared in print in 1901 when her early diaries of colonial life in India and arrival in Van Dieman’s Land were edited and published in London. Now Mrs Fenton’s direct descendant, Tasmanian journalist Margaretta Pos, reveals the full story of Elizabeth Fenton’s life, from her joyful but ultimately tragic life as a well-bred young Anglo-Irish wife in India to her new life as wife, mother and grandmother in the still-wild colony of Van Dieman’s Land – Tasmania.”

“Building on never before published diary entries by Elizabeth Fenton, Pos weaves historical details and contemporary newspaper reports and letters into a… nineteenth century tale of a colonial family…”

Elizabeth Sinclair Knox was born in Ireland in 1804. In 1826, she married Captain Niel Campbell, who died in 1827; in 1828, she married Captain Michael Fenton, and they emigrated to Van Diemen’s Land in 1829, settling on an estate they called Fenton Forest, in the Derwent Valley. Michael Fenton became one of the first members of the Tasmanian Legislative Council. Elizabeth died in 1876.

• x, 211 pages : illustrations, facsimiles, genealogical table, portraits ; 22 cm #291125
• Fenton, Elizabeth, 1804-1876 — Diaries
• Fenton, Elizabeth, 1804-1876 — Travel
• Fenton, Elizabeth, 1804-1876 — Family
• Fenton, Michael, 1789-1874
• Fenton family
• Fenton Forest (Glenora, Tas.)
• Pioneers — Tasmania — Diaries
• Politicians — Tasmania — History — 19th century
• India — Description and travel — 1803-1851
• Mauritius — Description and travel — 1803-1851
• Tasmania — Description and travel — 19th century
• Tasmania — Social life and customs — 19th century
• Derwent Valley (Tas.) — Social life and customs — 19th century
• Hobart (Tas.) — Social life and customs — 19th century
• Tasmania — Biography