The name is of Norman origin and first appeared in the ancient records of Huntington, England.

We find no nobility, gentry down through the years, just plain ordinary folk who worked the land and used their hands to make a living, farmers, common labourers, shepherds and miners..and whilst they might have occasionally enjoyed minimal prosperity, the norm was poverty by todays standards and education, even the basics of learning to read and write did not happen till the 1800s.

It would appear that our line of Bugden's, their mobility over the centuries was limited to the Donhead area of Wiltshire, England from the 1600s to mid 1800s.

They would have lived in those early days in houses which most likely had floors of unbaked earth, comprising of one and up to three rooms. The windows would have no glass but just openings that could be barred or shuttered. The inside was as simple as the outside...walls were bare, with an open-hearth fire for cooking and to provide warmth during winter. There would be an opening in the roof for the smoke to escape.

No television, radio or computers..furniture would consist of a bed or two, table, benches and chairs.

Iron equipment and earthenware or wooden mugs, plates,dishes etc.

Their diet, meagre...wheat and other grains used for bread plus they probably grew their own vegetables with onions and garlic being the base of stews. Milk, cheese, eggs if you were lucky. Meat was rare with the exception of the occasional rabbit.

Disease such as Hot Ague, thought to be influenza spread throughout England in 1615 and erupted again in 1623, 1660 and in 1661..a contagious sickness with a burning fever which in many cases resulted in death..

Small pox was prevalent in 1634-5 and local outbreaks of malaria occasionally caused alarm and whilst our research has taken us back to only 1688, many kin prior to this period would have endured these diseases.

As time progressed many of the wooden, rat infested dwellings would be destroyed by fire, an efficient and global method of destroying disease and buildings would be now of clay/mud brick construction....such diseases became a reminder of how they destroyed life, wealth (for those lucky to have) and in some areas wiped out entire villages.

The our kin back then had to contend with famine and war after war which at times all these hurdles in life, undermined any reassurance we might normally find in family and friends etc.

The first of our Bugden line takes us back to JOHN in 1688 and he would have fitted into the described above and we establish he married a lass with the Christian name of Elizabeth, with little more than that known about these two people.

In general, basic education as simple as reading and writing was not generally available till the early 1800s thus so many of our forbearers would have been illiterate.

In order to gain a better life, it became evident that one would need to venture to the new colonies by way of emigration.

Emigration however was the most far reaching decision for people to

make. They would need to consider how difficult the challenge, the ability

to adapt and how they might face the unbearable loneliness of a new land whilst their kin be thousands of miles away.

Then there was the long sea voyage of three/four months in their trip to the unknown land...how would the children handle such a voyage.....

The enticement of the Macarthur family (of John Macarthur who died in 1834) in offering the guarantee of a land lease at the completion of their "bonded period", which for the English was three years, convinced one of our forbearers in THOMAS BUGDEN with wife Elizabeth and their two young children to take the great step.

The Macarthur family by way of grants of land John Macarthur had received from the Crown had land at Camden..Richlands in the Goulburn area in addition to other acres in surrounding areas and needed people to work the land, tend the sheep etc and during the of April 1837 and March 1839 the Macarthur family would bring a total of 41 families to resettle in Australia. Six of the families from the valley of the Rhine in Germany ( who had to serve a five year bonded period) and the balance including Thomas and family from the southern part of England.

Edward, son of John Macarthur was in charge of the English end which meant finding the people interested, signing them up and seeing them onto ships.

Transportation was via four vessels over this period..

the Brothers...Kinnear...Royal George and the

John McLellan (Thomas and family arrived on

the John McLellan). Surnames of families

that came to Australia under this scheme included

BRADLEY:NEW:THORN:VINCEN:WEEKS

..believed to be from Sixpenny Handley, Dorset.

From Donhead, Wiltshire came BUGDEN:PENNY

:READ:TALBOT: SMITH

From Winterborne Strickland, Dorset was the BUTT

family..from Tallard Farnham, Dorset RIDEOUT:

COX:ELLIOTT

A family by the name of ARNOLD from Child Okeford,

Dorset along with a family by the name of NORRIS.

The LOADER family of Dorset, GUMBLETON

from Bishopstone, Witlshire and also ELIAS INGRAM

from Donhead, Wiltshire ( a single man)..

.OTHERS INCLUDED

APPS:BARRETT:BISHOP:BOOTH:CLOUT:DAVIS:

DOUCH:FULLER:FURNALL:HAYTER:SANGER:SHEATHER:SHELOCK:WATMAN.

On arrival in Sydney, temporary accommodation in the woolsheds near Sydney Cove was provided for a few days whilst basic requirements were assembled, formalities completed, leases signed and transport to Camden organised..the latter, transport, for the adults this was a four day walk to Camden whilst bullock drawn drays were provided for the basis needs and children...during this march they would have to put up with the wet weather..camping overnight under the armed guard of overseers..not so they may be prevented from taking off..BUT to protect all from the possible attack by aboriginals.

Ships records show that Thomas and Elizabeth were both able to read and write and were Roman Catholics

(State Archives Ref.A.O. reel 2134 lists 4/4784)

James and William, sons of John Mcarthur sponsered Thomas and family and the bounty on each being..

Thomas eighteen pounds...Elizabeth eighteen pounds..Agnes five pounds and young Austin came free.

The Bugden family first worked property for the Mcarthurs at Richlands near Goulburn before returning to Camden where the family settled and became part of this area for many years to come.

Every man over the "bonded period" was paid 15 pounds per year with rations and he, his wife and children had a choice of doing piece work as well. Each family was provided with a cottage usually built of good thick pise walls. It had a kitchen, two bedrooms, a small pantry and a verandah set on a quarter acre of land where they allowed to have a garden. In addition they could keep a milking cow, pigs, and poultry "on condition" of they getting into NO MISCHIEF.

The Mcarthurs Camden Park Estate was to become part of Australian history. In 1803John was granted some 5,000 acres of land for the raising of pure bred merino sheep and after considerable difficulties, the opposition of the new Governor Bligh, disease, isolation and the killing of sheep by aborigines, his industry prospered and by 1839 Camden park comprised some 28,000 acres.

Dairying was introduced at the Camden Park Estate round 1826 and Macarthur employed 14 female convicts but wool remained his primary source of income which in 1835 produced 3,776,191 pounds in weight.

In the early 1840s (John has since passed on ) the entire district turned to wheat growing and by 1850s, with the indomitable spirit of the pioneering farmers, such as the Bugdens, wheat became the predominant activity which was reaped before the increasing onset of rust in the grain, which caused many problems.

In order to expend production, large areas of the Estate were subdivided in various areas and leased for 13 or more years to settler farmers. Thomas and Elizabeth leased land in an area referred to as Mayfarm whilst in later years sons henry worked Tenant Farm 94 and Lewis had a lease at Menangle.

Records show that they held lease on lots 91 92 94 in what then was referred to as the Parish of Camden in the County of Camden..best described today as being along Calf Farm Road with the nearest location being the big bend in the road.

Thomas, back in Wiltshire we understand that after leaving school he worked for some years in London, as a labourer/gardener for a "noble " family.He returned to Donhead and on August 8,1835 he married Elizabeth Reed, who was the daughter of William and wife Rebecca (nee Williams)...Eizabeth was born July 22,1814 and we know that she had at least a brother by the name of Cornelius who was born about 1811.

Elizabeths father, William was born in 1771.

Donhead is a district of steep hills and deep combes and streams. Since early medieval times Donhead has consisted of two Parishes, Donhead St.Mary and Donhead St. Andrew..both Parish Churches being very old with St. Marys being the better preserved of the two...a fine building with 12th century arcades and much 15th century work. St. Andrews has earlier material and belived to date back to the late Saxon time.

Thomas and Elizabeth were to have a total of 14 children and via following the Family Tree we can establish and follow their respective lives from those early days......................

We have as of 1999 been able to trace this branch of the family back 300 years and during our research whilst we have not yet made a connection we have found the following people with the surname of BUGDEN which one day may tie into our family line...

SYMAN BUGDEN who was a Curate of the church in Donhead, Wiltshire 1623-1624

Married at Donhead St. Marys/St.Andrews..

.CHARLES 1626. .GABRIEL 1681.. ROBERT 1731.. CHARLES 1767

GEORGE 1767.. JOHN 1780.. JESSE 1800.. .JAMES..1808. .GEORGE 1810

(this information from the Nimrod Marriage Index)

Again and no connection at this time we found in the records of St.Andrews church Donhead the following marriages

March 13,1841 James Bugden (30) married Mary Fry (23)

Feb 22,1842 Robert Bugden (24) married Emily Dimmer (22)..

Nov 14,1863 Henry Bugden (22) married Elizabeth Adlen (24)...

Dec 12,1868 James Bugden (23) married Mary Butt (22)...

Jan 20,1869 John Bugden (20) married Sarah Jane Marcer (25)..

and from the Vestry Book of Donhead St.Andrews/St.Marys...Jane Bugden married John Burden on October 12,1749