| Leggett Home Page England Bet Bet Berrimal Descendants Resources/Links |
| Leggett History in Bet Bet |
All the children of Edward Henry and Ruth were born in Bet Bet over the period from 1864 to 1873, with Edward Henry shown as "farmer" on the birth records. Edward Henry is listed in the Tullaroop Shire Rate book in 1866 (#97, 47 acres - house N.A.V. £ 15.10/-) and 1872 (#1064), and in the 1868 Maryborough Postal Directory as a farmer from Bet Bet. Henry was admitted to Maryborough Hospital in 1873 and 1876, and was listed as from Bet Bet, with C of E religion. The book "Bet Bet, the growth and withering of a rural community" by John Anderson mentions Henry Leggett as one of the names on the Amoretty's petition in 1878 .... Amoretty was a local publican who had offered his house as a school .... the offer was rejected. ... another petition written by William Sewell the following year was also signed by Henry Leggett ... Farmer Bet Bet. The BET BET map produced by the Department of Lands and Survey, dated 1888 and held by the State Library, identifies the original purchasers of land from the Crown. Lot 57B is shown with E.H.Leggett, the purchase date 14.2.73, and the land area 12.1.25 in acres, roods, and poles. Lot 58 is shown with H.Leggett, and the land area 25.2.26 in acres, roods, and poles. It is likely that the H. Leggett refers to Edward Henry's son, as making multiple selections using other family member names was a common ploy. The adjacent land selections were on opposite sides of Four Mile Creek, closer to Betley than Bet Bet, with Lot 58 fronting Main Road. The State Library has several maps of the Bet Bet area (a scan of the 1888 map: left half - 389kB, and right half - 355kB ). A list of the names on the 1888 map is here. Of interest is that Lot 57B was sold to J. Currie, who owned Lot 57A and his family farmed the land till the 1940's. The original house on Lot 57A is now a B&B called Cumberland House, after the district the Curries came from (Editorial thanks to John Currie for providing the Currie information). An earlier 1857 map from The State Library of the Bet Bet area, with the Leggett selections overlayed. A map of the towns surrounding Bet Bet is here. The family appear to have moved from Bet Bet to Avoca Forrest around 1880, and then on to Berrimal around 1881. Edward Henry was a Dunolly hospital Inpatient from 25-10-1880 to 20-12-1880; listed as a farmer from Avoca Forest (now called Logan, which is situated about 40km NNW of Bet Bet, and about 12km south of Berrimal). |
