James Grant was the son of James and Margaret Grant of Nairn, Scotland. James Grant (1786-1870) and his wife Caroline ( -1868), daughter of John Neve of Tenterden, Kent, U.K.) arrived in Tasmania by the "Heroine" in April 1824, following his brother John who had arrived in January 1823, as a merchant, partner in Grant and Bethune. John Grant obtained adjoining land grants for himself and his brother and James arranged to send merino sheep, seed, harness, etc. for him and also arranged for farm labouring families to emigrate as servants. However John moved to Sydney for his health and died there in 1825 leaving his property to James. James named his property Tullochgorum. For some years he lived mainly in Hobart acting as Lloyds' agent, of his Hobart homes being "Cottage Green", but he visited his property regularly and established a home and sheep run there.
James and Caroline Grant had two children, James (1823-1890) and Rose (1831-1905)
and several other babies who died.
A friend, James Meers Hammond (1797-1830), son of William Hammond, ironrnonger of London, and Eliza (Mitchell), accompanied the Grants to Tasmania. He
also received a grant of land in the Fingal Valley but lost it through absence when he returned to England in 1826-8 and again 1828-9. He died in 1830 and his wife, Eliza (King) and an infant daughter died in 1831 (the 2 eldest children, Tom and Rachel, having died earlier) leaving a four year old orphaned daughter Maria, who was adopted as their foster daughter by James and Caroline Grant. James Grant appealed to Governor Arthur on behalf of little Maria and she was granted 1000 acres in the Avoca district named Melrose, which she held until she died in 1912. James Hammond's brother, Thomas Mitchell Hammond (1795-1854), a surgeon of Brixton U.K., married Caroline Grant's sister, Maria Neve (1794-1826) in April 1824. They had a son, Thomas Montague, in 1826 before Maria died. Thomas later married Ellen Demain and had 6 other children (Horatio, Ellen, Percy, Sydney, Matilda, Emily). Thomas Montague (called Montague) Hammond (1826-1860) was consumptive and travelled to Tasmania for his health with his cousin James Grant, who had been in England to attend a London College. The Grants' son, James (1823-1890) married Charlotte Mary Thomas (? 1823-1875), daughter of Jocelyn and Charlotte (Partridge) Thomas of Northdown in 1851 and settled first at Garth, part of Grant's property, and Melrose until their house was burnt down and then at Tullochgorum, and they had children: James Henry (Harry), Edward (Ted), Katherine Mary (Kate), Wallace Partridge, Edith Caroline, Franklin Stanhope and Herbert. Charlotte died in 1875 and James later married Miss Cobham. Rose Grant (1831-1905) married her cousin (Thomas) Montague Hammond (1826-1860) in 1853 and had 4 children: Caroline Mary (Lina), Rose Katherine, Jessie Harriet and a boy who died in infancy. They lived at Emley Park, Balian, Victoria until Montague's death in 1860, when Rose and her children returned to Tullochgorum. She later moved to Launceston and finally settled in Victoria.
Maria Hammond (1827-1912) married John Meredith (see above) and her daughter, Jessie Rosina (1863-1944), married her cousin Franklin Grant (1860-1926), son of James and Charlotte, who had settled in Queensland. A sister of James Grant sen., Alice C. married a Mr Wallace, and settled at Elderslie near Geelong. A nephew of James Hammond, Edward Pilgrim, a medical practitioner, son of Elizabeth Hammond and Edward William Pilgrim, came to Australia in 1853 and after practising in Victoria near his cousin he moved to Fingal, Tasmania, and later Swansea.
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