It is an amazing coincidence that there were two young women who came to Australia on the First Fleet and were named Elizabeth Cole. This was at first most confusing, but eventually we found proof of which one was ours and her whole story fitted together. We have been told that our Elizabeth Cole was baptised on 25 May 1762 in the Parish Church of the small Devon village of Lamerton, not far from the western edge of Dartmoor and her parents were Thomas and Elizabeth Continue Reading »
Henry Waterhouse
Midshipman Henry Waterhouse arrived with the First Fleet aboard HMS Sirius. He was the eldest son of William and Susanna (Brewer) Waterhouse, born 13 December 1770 and christened 28 December 1770 at St James Middlesex. William had be page to the Duke of Cumberland who was Henry’s god-father. He entered the navy at an early age (16) and on 20 November 1786 joined HMS Sirius as midshipman (having been recommended to Captain Phillip), raising to the rank of acting third lieutenant on 28 Continue Reading »
Rachel Early
Variations of her surname on official records are Hurley, Earley, Harley, Arily. Rachel was born on 23 April 1769 at Lambourne Berkshire England. Her mothers’ name is given as Christian Early, no fathers’ name is recorded. Rachel was unemployed of St Giles London, when she was tried at Reading on 24 July 1786 for stealing an ounce of tea, tabacco and sugar, 3 yards of silk ribband and a linen cap with a value of 3 Shillings, (30 cents today). Sentenced to 7 years Continue Reading »
Frances Davis : Mary Marshall
Many of the girls who arrived aboard the Lady Penrhyn became friends. They came from similar backgrounds and circumstances and supported each other during the long voyage and in Port Jackson. Two of these women were Frances Davis 22 and Mary Marshall 29, who is not to be confused with the other Mary Marshall, also on Lady Penrhyn. Early in the morning on 2 September 1785, Frances Davis, spinster, broke into the house of Agnes Bennett widow, and stole one Canvas Bag and Continue Reading »
Rebecca Boulton
Mother and child were buried within a week of each other at Sydney Cove in April 1788. The child Rebecca Bolton/Boulton was born in Lincoln Gaol around April 1786 as her mother Rebecca awaited embarkation on the Prince of Wales. It was stated at her trial, that as Rebecca Gibson, she had married Thomas Bolton at Panton Lincolnshire in 1778. Rebecca, was aged 23 when tried at Lindsey Quarter Session at Spilsby Lincolnshire on 16 July 1784. She gave a voluntary confession on 8 May Continue Reading »
Ann Daly : John Seymour
Port Jackson November 1788, convict girls Ann Daly (Warburton) and Amelia Levy were sharing a hut together. A fire was kept lit between their hut and Ann Farmer; sometimes in the evenings John Ryan and Bartholomew Reardon took advantage of the warmth from the fire. During the evening of 11 November a man had come into the girl’s hut and taken some clothing. Ann claimed that she was lying awake in her hut when the door opened and a man came in. She thought the man had come in after Continue Reading »
Dorothy Handland / Gray
Dorothy Handland is claimed to be the oldest female convict to have sailed on the First Fleet and one of the most colourful. Arthur Bowes Smyth estimated Dorothy be 82 years old, but in Newgate Prison she was recorded as 60; another entry has her as 62, which is most likely correct. Bowes Smyth’s pen and ink side faced sketch of Mother Gray, depicts a woman with a very pointy nose and chin, wearing a bonnet. Shoemaker Robert Grey married Dorothy Coolley on 22 September 1766 Continue Reading »
Nancy Yates
Like many of his fellow officers, Captain David Collins who became the Colony’s Judge Advocate, took convict women as mistresses during his years in Sydney Cove and Hobart Town, Van Diemen’s Land. One of his mistresses was convict milliner Nancy / Ann Yates / Yeates. She was tried as a single-woman aged 17, at Yorkshire Summer Assizes held at York on 9 July 1785 with Jonathan Howard for burglary. Breaking and entering into the dwelling of John Strickland in the township of Milton Continue Reading »
Seamen
Seamen were are tough bunch of men. They crewed the First Fleet ships, fathered children to convict women, settled in the new colony, while others died on the inward and outward voyages. Life at sea during the age of sail was filled with dangers, even though these men were familiar with the discomfort and hardship of ship life. Seamen were separated from their homes and families for long periods at sea. They were crowded below decks in skimpy and cramped living conditions, Continue Reading »
Thomas Prior : Rebecca Davidson
In the Anglican Section of the Old Sydney (Devonshire/Sandhills) Burial Ground, was a very small headstone that marked the grave of Thomas Prior. The stone was embellished with several Masonic emblems and inscribed with the wording: Sacred to the memory of THOMAS PRIOR, who departed this Life, July 24th, 1836, Aged 88 Years, who Arrived in the first fleet 1788. Freemasonry has been associated with the British discovery and settlement of New South Wales from the beginning. Thomas Prior Continue Reading »