Family Treeof Trudy Mae COWLEY
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BurialEsther was buried with her husband in St David’s Cemetery (now St David’s Park), Hobart Town on 6 November 1826 by William BEDFORD. Her family erected a headstone for the grave in 1826. The headstone gave Esther’s age as 52 years, but the burial register gave her age as 56 years. The headstone no longer exists. CensusIn February 1805, Esther was
listed as Hester THORNTON, a woman whose sentence had expired, victualled from
the stores at Norfolk Island. Her
children Mary, John and Elizabeth were listed as children above two years of age
on the stores, and her children Ann and William were listed as off the stores. Esther was listed in the 1811 general muster for Buckingham, taken at Hobart on 21 March 1811. ChildrenAccording to an article at http://www.linkt.com.au/~jdark/nathresearch.htm (sourced on 21 June 2002), it is possible that William and Esther were profound Royalists since their eldest daughter was named Anne after the Queen and their eldest son was named William after the King. In this article, the
author hypothesises that 15 families on Norfolk Island at the time William and
Esther were there were profound Royalists as all of them named their eldest born
son William and their eldest born daughter Anne. The majority of other families on Norfolk Island at the time
named their eldest born son after the father and their eldest born daughter
after the mother. Included in the
other 15 families are Nathaniel LUCAS and Olivia GASCOIGNE. Elizabeth’s birth/baptism was recorded on the St Phillip’s Church Register, Sydney. It is possible the other five children were christened on arrival in Hobart (possibly at St David’s or Queenborough), as there were limited opportunities for religious ceremonies on Norfolk Island. It is interesting that Sophia
is not mentioned as a child of William and Esther on their embarkation per City
of Edinburgh, though Sophia was aged 10 months at this stage.
It is possible that because she was still being breast fed and so did not
require rations from the stores, she was not listed. DeathEsther died on 3 November 1826, aged 56 years. She was a poor woman when she died, William’s property having passed to her son John on his death four years earlier. FreedomEsther
received a conditional pardon on 13 September 1796, the same day her husband
received his absolute pardon. The pardon reads: Whereas
His Majesty by a Commission under the Great Seal of Great Britain having date
the eighth day of November in the thirty first year of His Majesty’s Reign has
been graciously pleased to give & Grant full Power of Authority to the
Governor for in case of his death or absence the Lieutenant Governor for the
time being of His Majesty’s Territory of the Eastern Coast of New South Wales,
& the Islands thereunto adjacent by an Instrument or Instruments in writing,
under the Seal of the Government of the said Territory, or as he or they
respectively shall think fit & Convenient for His Majesty’s Service to
remit either Absolutely or Conditionally the whole or any part of the Term or
Time, for which Felons or other Offenders shall have been, or shall hereafter be
respectively conveyed & Transported to the Eastern Coast of New South Wales,
or to the Islands thereunto adjacent. By
virtue of the Power & Authority vested as aforesaid, I John Hunter Esqr
His Majesty’s Captain General & Governor in Chief in & over the said
Territory & its dependencies taking into consideration the good Behaviour of
Henry Wright, Thomas Lympus, Jasper Harris, James Cham,
Esther Thornton & Grace Mattocks, at the recommendation of
Lieutenant Governor King, do hereby in consequence of these circumstances, &
so enable them to become Settlers, conditionally remit the remainder of
the Term or Time, which is yet unexpired of the Original Sentence or order of
Transportation passed on the said Henry Wright, Thomas Lympus, Jasper Harris,
James Cham, Esther Thornton & Grace Mattocks.
‑‑ Provided & on condition that they do continue to reside
within the limits of this Government, for owing the Terms of their
respective Sentences. – on pain that if the said Henry Wright, Thomas Lympus,
Jasper Harris, James Cham, Esther Thornton, & Grace mattocks, so return to
& appear within any part of the Kingdom of Great Britain or Ireland during
the Terms or Times of their respective sentences, the remission of such
Sentences so to them hereby conditional granted shall in such case be wholly
Null & Void. Given
under my Hand & the Seal of the Territory, at Sydney in New South Wales this
thirteenth day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand seven
hundred & ninety six. Signed
Jno Hunter Registered
in the Secretary’s Office. ImmigrationOn
17 September 1807, the government gave a general order that settlers and their
families were to be removed to Hobart Town – William, his wife Esther and five
children were among those listed to be removed. The authorities had decided to abandon the settlement at
Norfolk Island and remove everyone to Van Diemen’s Land. A year later on 3 September 1808, William, Esther, their two sons (William and John) and four daughters (Ann, Elizabeth, Mary and Esther) embarked from Norfolk Island for Hobart Town per City of Edinburgh. The ship’s master was Simeon PATTERSON. The family is listed on the Memorial to the First Fleeters and Norfolk Islanders who came to Van Diemen’s Land during the evacuation 1807-1813 in St David’s Park, Hobart.
MarriageOnly five to eight weeks after landing at Sydney Cove, on 30 July 1790, William SHERBURD married Esther THORNTON, the service being conducted by Richard JOHNSON, Chaplain of the colony. The marriage was recorded in the St Phillip’s Church Register, though no church had been built at this time. They
were married by Banns which were twice published, the third publication
dispensed with because Esther was draughted off to Norfolk Island.
Witnesses to the marriage were Thomas SARGENT and Margaret WOOD.
William and Richard signed their names, Esther and Margaret made their
marks. Thomas
SARGENT and Margaret WOODS were also witnesses to the previous wedding (on the
same day) and William SHERBURD was a witness to Thomas SARGENT’s marriage to
Jane TAYLOR, also on the say day.
Cobley
(1963) notes that for Friday, 30 July 1790: Six
weddings were celebrated. In five
of these, the marriage took place before the banns had been published three
times, as the parties were about to leave for Norfolk Island. Thomas SARGENT had also been transported per Scarborough 2, having been tried in Middlesex on 9 September 1789 and sentenced to transportation for life. Margaret WOOD had been transported per Lady Juliana, having been tried in London in April 1787 with her death sentence commuted to 7 years transportation. William THORNE had also been transported per Scarborough 2, having been tried at Middlesex on 9 September 1789 and sentenced to transportation for life. It is likely that Esther knew William whilst they were in Newgate Gaol together for 2-3 years. This could help explain why they were willing to marry so quickly upon arrival at Sydney Cove. It is even possible that William protected Esther whilst she was in gaol at Newgate. TransportationOn 7 May 1789, a month after her stay of execution, Esther was embarked per the convict transport Lady Juliana. By this time, she was 18 years of age. The ship remained in the Thames for six months loading convicts from Newgate and county gaols before setting sail on 29 July 1789 carrying 226 female convicts. Not really part of the second fleet as she sailed independently sometime before the second fleet left England, the Lady Juliana, however, did arrive at Sydney Cove on 6 June 1790 just prior to the arrival of the second fleet which arrived at the end of June. The Lady Juliana had taken nearly a year to make the voyage. The day after their marriage, one month after their arrival at Port Jackson, William and Esther SHERBURD were transferred to Norfolk Island as husband and wife prisoners to help settle the island colony. They were transported per the Surprise along with 194 mostly female convicts, arriving at Norfolk Island on 7 August 1790. Esther was transported on the same ships (Lady Juliana and Surprise) as other ancestors, Catharine RILEY and Elizabeth RILEY. TrialEsther was arrested at the
Kensington
Gravel Pits on 25 February 1787 and charged with stealing, a month
previously on 26 January 1787, £5
1s 6d from the house of Francis RILEY, 2 Church St, St Giles,
London. The
money belonged to Thomas MURPHY, a mat maker, her employer.
Esther had been hired at the Spitalfields market as a servant by MURPHY
and his wife, Mary, who was pregnant at the time. Three months after hiring
Esther, on 26 January 1787, Mary MURPHY made an allegation of theft against
Esther to the magistrate, Sampson WRIGHT Esq.
Mary stated that she was brought to bed for the birth of her child on 24
January 1787 and that Esther THORNTON was a servant to her at that time.
Mary alleged that two days later on 26 January, Esther violently and
feloniously took Mary’s pocket containing 3 half guineas, 16
half crowns and some shillings and sixpences, monies amounting to £5
(101 shillings),
whilst she was sick in bed. Mary
had not seen Esther since that day until this day. Mary MURPHY was illiterate as
she made her mark (x) on her statement. Esther was tried in the Justice
Hall at the Old Bailey on Wednesday, 18 April 1787 before Mr Baron HOTHAM.
Esther was indicted for feloniously stealing three half guineas (value £1
11s 6d), sixteen half crowns (value 40s) and 30 shillings in monies, the
property of Thomas MURPHY. Information
on her trial is provided in the Old Bailey Trial Proceedings, Sessions Rolls and
Sessions Papers. Thomas MURPHY was the first
witness to give evidence at the trial. He
swore that his wife was robbed and that Esther was apprehended on 25 February at
the Kensington Gravel
Pits. Mary MURPHY was the next
witness to give evidence. She swore
that last January she was robbed of upwards of five pounds, consisting of
sixteen half crowns, three half guineas in gold, the rest in shillings and
sixpences. She stated she had given
birth two days previously when Esther came to her bedside and took her pocket
from under her head and ran down the stairs.
She said she saw her do it. Mary
screamed but couldn’t run after her to follow her.
Mary had not known Esther before her husband hired her as a weekly
servant. Mary said that Esther was
apprehended a month after robbing her, on 25 February, but that she never
recovered any of her money. Mary was asked how come she
kept all of her money in her pocket. She
replied that the man that worked for her was coming in and out and that she was
obliged to give change. Thus, she
was obliged to keep her money in her pocket.
It was all the money she had in the world and she was sure it was in her
pocket as she had had it not a quarter of an hour beforehand.
She had had it in her hand and put it in her pocket and Esther had seen
her with the money in her hand. Mary
said she set up during the time as she kept two men to hawk her mats. Esther testified that she had
lived with Mary MURPHY for three months. She
denied taking Mary’s money or robbing her of anything.
She left them on the Friday and they came to her and said she had robbed
them. The court then asked Mary
MURPHY, the prosecutor, in whose house she lived. She said she lived in the house of Francis RILEY at 2 Church
Street, St Giles. No other witnesses were called.
Esther was found guilty of the theft and sentenced to death by hanging.
A recommendation for mercy was put to the court as Esther was only 15
years old. The court ordered a
payment of £5 to the prosecutor, apparently from public funds. Esther was taken from court to Newgate Gaol. She was held there under a temporary respite from execution until 22 April 1789, over two years later, when she was put to the bar along with other female convicts and informed that His Majesty’s pardon was granted to them on the condition that they be transported during the term of their lives. Esther THORNTON accepted these conditions and so her sentence was commuted. His Majesty's pardon was granted to many prisoners at this time because he (Mad King George) had recovered his sanity and was fit to reign once more. Margaret WOOD, who was later to be a witness at Esther’s marriage to William SHERBURD, was another of the female convicts who accepted the conditions and had her sentence commuted to transportation for seven years. William SHERBURD was put to the bar at the same time to have his sentence commuted. |
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