

Sneyd
Given Name:Samuel
Middle Name:Charles
Arrival in Queensland1849
Date of Birth15 March 1811
Place of BirthHanley, Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England
Date of Death4 July 1885
BurialToowong Cemetery
Place of residence in QueenslandEnoggera
SpouseCatherine Margaret “Kitty” Mulcahy
Place MarriedWollongong
ChildrenWilliam Hartley (1837), James Goulbourn (1839), John Braidwood (1840), Ellen Mary (1844), Joseph Samuel (1846), Emma Martha (1848), Samuel Hartley Stafford (1849), Elizabeth Margaret (1853), Arthur Oliver (1855)
SpouseMargaret Hyland
ChildrenMary Catherine (1860), Brindley Stoke (1862), Robert McDowell (1863), Edith Blanche (1867), Hugh Herbert Hanley (1870), Annie Eda McDowell (1871)
Occupation
Mounted Police, NSW
Chief Constable, Moreton Bay
Governor of Goal, Brisbane
Samuel Sneyd was the son of Baptists Samuel Sneyd, a grocer, and Elizabeth Margret Oliver. He was born in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England on 15 March 1811. His sister Mary was born in 1814, and brother James in 1818.
In 1832, at the age of 22, he came to Australia with the “4th Battalion of the King’s Own” regiment. In the early days, he was selected along with other hand-picked men from the regiment to suppress bushranging in the colony.
On 13 February 1837, he married Catherine “Kitty” Mulcahy, originally from Black Rock near Cork, Ireland, at Wollongong Church. Catherine came to Australia on the ship “James Pattison”. They went on to have nine children.
A year later, in 1838, Sneyd joined the Mounted Police where he rose to the position of Sergeant-Major of the Goulbourn Division. Sneyd worked with the police in New South Wales, having been stationed in Wollongong, Bowen’s Hollow, and Goulbourn among other places. In 1850, he was appointed to Chief Constable for the Brisbane police as a replacement of William Fitzpatrick. At the time of his appointment, he was in Sydney, while his family remained in Goulbourn. Hence, he had to petition the Colonial Secretary for additional time to move his family to Brisbane, which was approved.
As evidenced by rising prosecutions for breach of conduct in the police, Chief Constable Sneyd was viewed as a meticulous man fond of rules and regulations and was well respected for his integrity and the execution of his duties.
On 25 July 1858, aged 46, Kitty died of an epileptic seizure. Sneyd then married Margaret Hyland and had six more children, five of whom grew to adulthood.
Soon after, in 1859, injuries obtained during Sneyd's service in the bush prevented him from maintaining his high standard of work, and led to his resignation as Chief Constable. As an expression of gratitude for his service, he was presented with a gold watch and Albert chain and key by the Brisbane police force. The watch was a Hunter Lever, and bore the following inscription on the inside of the case “Presented to Mr. S. Sneyd, Chief Constanble of the Brisbane police force, by the men serving under him, as a token of respect upon his retiring from the service Dec. 15, 1859 [sic]”.
Following a vacancy at Her Majesty’s goal, Sneyd was appointed to the governorship shortly after his resignation as Chief Constable in 1859.
On 4 July 1885, aged 75, Sneyd died of a heart disease at his residence in Enoggera, Brisbane.
If you have further information on the life of this person please contact the Harry Gentle Resource Centre ([email protected])
Prepared by Dr Anastasia Dukova and Constance Schoelch.
Newspapers
The Morals of Brisbane: Account of a local resident where Sneyd plays a part
The Moreton Bay Courier
27 Nov 1858, p. 2
Sneyd’s resignation
Warwick Argus and Tenterfield Chronicle
29 Jul 1868, p. 3
Resignation as Chief Constable
The Moreton Bay Courier
17 Dez 1859, p. 2
Brisbane police awarding Sneyd
The North Australian, Ipswich and General Advertiser
20 Dez 1859, p. 3
Appointment of Sneyd to governor of goal
The Moreton Bay Courier
26 Nov 1859, p. 2
Marriage notice
The Sydney Monitor
24 Feb 1837, p. 3
Death notice of first wife Catherine
The Moreton Bay Courier
28 Jul 1858, p. 2
Death notice
The Queenslander
11 July 1885, p. 67
Death notice
The Brisbane Courier
15 Jul 1885, p. 1
Cause of death
The Northern Miner
7 Jul 1885, p. 2
Death notice of Sneyd’s father
The Moreton Bay Courier
12 Jan 1856, p. 3
Death notice of son
The Telegraph
19 Jul 1905, p. 6
Online Resources
Samuel Sneyd BiographyGeni Entry Samuel Sneyd
Geni Entry wife Catherine