Samuel Niblett was born in Stroud in 1791 and lived in Westbury-on-Severn where he worked as a labourer. On 3 April 1816, at the age of 25, he was sentenced to be transported for 7 years for the theft of a pig from Joseph Mountjoy. After a spell on the hulk, the Justitia, he was transferred to the Shipley which set sail for New South Wales on 18 December 1816 and arrived on 24 April 1817. He was detailed to work at Grose Farm which had been granted to Lieutenant-Governor Francis Grose in 1792.
Niblett gained his certificate of freedom on 1 December 1825. He applied to marry Marth Potts in August 1826 but this was refused because her husband was a potter in Staffordshire and her 7 years separation had not elapsed. He married Mary Ann Murphy, aged 22, in October 1828 and had eight children. Murphy was born in Cork in 1806 and was also a convict. She was transported from Cork and arrived in Sydney Cove on 17 May 1826.