Mary HARRISON

Story

Mary HARRISON was born in England in 1774. In 1790, she was performing live-in servant duities for the family of Thomas and Catherine WEST at 26 Lower Sloan Street, Chelsea, being employed there for about 5 months. Whilst working at the house certain items of haberdashery (silk, thread, cotton, tape, teaspoons, pepperbox, gauze) went missing. Mrs WEST accused Mary, but nothing was found in her room. Mary then left, and went to live with her sister. Mrs WEST was still suspicious of Mary, and arranged for a search warrant to be obtained for the sister’s house. Constable Thomas HAYLEY executed the search warrant, and the property was located in a box. When the property was found, young Mary did not say anything but fell down crying. On 27/10/1790, Mary appeared before Justice HEATH at the Old Bailey, Middlesex. She called upon one character witness. Mary was found guilty of the offence, and at the tender age of 16 years, she was sentenced to 7 years transportation.

Mary HARRISON was transported from England on 16/2/1791, aboard the “Mary Ann”, mastered by Mark MUNROE. This was a 298 ton vessel which was built in France in 1772. It arrived in Sydney on 9/7/1791, a voyage of 143 days which was a record at that time for a trip from England to Australia. This included a 10 day stopover at St.Jago for supplies. Of a total 150 female convicts to leave England, Mary HARRISON, was one of 141 that survived the voyage. Once again there is conjecture as to which Fleet the “Mary Ann” was part of. Some books have it sailing from England with another ship independantly from the the 2nd and 3rd Fleets, while other books have it as the first vessel of the 3rd Fleet, although the majority of the 3rd Fleet proper sailed from England some time after the “Mary Ann”. There is no record of any period of indenture or assingment upon her arrival in Sydney.

During Mary’s first years in the Colony she met up with another convict, Edward ROBINSON, and it appears that they were together in the new convict settlement at Toongabbie. If it is accepted that Mary’s ship was the first of the 3rd Fleet, and Edward’s was the last ship of the 3rd Fleet it is of some interest that of 2047 convicts of this Fleet, 554 were dead by the end of 1792, which just shows how harsh the conditions were for our convict ancestors.

Mary HARRISON died at the age of 36, on 24/2/1810. She was buried two days later in the Old Burial Ground, George Street, Sydney, but was later moved to the ROBINSON vault at the Devonshire Street Cemetery. This cemetery was later moved to Botany when Central Railway was built in 1901.

Although Mary and Edward were apparently not married, they had seven children. All birth records indicate the father as “unknown”, and each child bore the surname of HARRISON, after the mother, however, all records after this indicate the surname as being ROBINSON, after the father. For convience, I have recorded the children’s surnames as ROBINSON, and they are as follows;

1: Elizabeth ROBINSON, born 10/5/1795, at Toongabbie and died 12/5/1859. She married convict George SMITH, and after he died, married another convict, John SMITH.

2: Harriet ROBINSON, born 5/3/1797, at Wilberforce. On 6/10/1823, she married Abraham ELIAS, a convict. Abraham was sentenced to 14 years and transported on the prison ship, “Shipley”, arriving in 1817. A memorial window was erected to the memory of Harriet, and her brother Edward ROBINSON, in St.Matthews Church Windsor.

3: Ann ROBINSON, born 4/6/1798, at Wilberforce. On 3/5/1819 she married her first husband, Ezekiel WOOD, a convict who had been tried in Lincoln, England, sentenced to life, and transported to Sydney on 26/4/1815, aboard the “Indefatigable”. Ann married her second husband, Henry Edward MARR, a former convict, who had been sentenced at the Old Bailey on 9/1/1799 to 7 years transportation. He arrived in November, 1800, aboard the “Royal Admiral”. He too had been previously married, to First Fleeter, Elizabeth (nee GORE) NEEDHAM, she having died in 1825. Ann died on 30/9/1848.

4: Mary ROBINSON, born 1800 at Wilberforce. She married Edward POWELL, a free born Australian on 17/1/1820 Mary ROBINSON died 14/8/1867.

5: Maria ROBINSON born 1803, at Wilberforce. She married James POWELL, brother of Edward POWELL who married Mary ROBINSON (above). Maria ROBINSON died 1/5/1868

6: Robert ROBINSON, born 1804, at Wilberforce. He died in infancy.

7: Edward William Alexander ROBINSON, born 25/12/1805 at Wilberforce. He married Jane BEASLEY on 4/6/1827 She was a free born Australian, though the daughter of two convicts.

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