Date of Conviction: 04/09/1813

Age at Conviction: 27

Crime Convicted of: Theft

Court Convicted at: Lancaster Assizes (held at Lancaster Castle)

Sentence Length: 7 Years

Ship Transported on: Broxbornebury

Where Arrived: Port Jackson, New South Wales

Departure Date: 22/02/1814

Arrival Date: 28/07/1814

Biography: Maria, originally from Cheshire, stole a number of bank notes from John Murphy at Liverpool.

Peggy Barrow who Maria had become friends with after being held with and tried on the same day at Lancaster before sailing together, was a witness at her wedding at St John’s Parramatta to Michael Clapstone/Clapson (ship- Minorca) in 1815. Following this the couple had two girls (Sarah and Elizabeth) but the marriage was very short lived as Michael died in February 1818. The following year, Maria married again, this time John Whitehead (ship- Morley), a parish clerk and they had a further daughter, Mary, in 1821. She would have been free by servitude by this time.

After a quiet life, Maria had a legal dispute in 1838 with her daughter, Sarah, over land which had passed from her earlier husband Michael, to John and Sarah felt should have belonged to her instead. Maria had a brief run in with the law in 1839 when she was locked up for 3 days. Maria died in March 1849, a school master’s wife and is buried at St John’s Cemetery.