Date of Conviction: 10/03/1827

Age at Conviction: 17

Crime Convicted of: Uttering Forged Money

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

Sentence Length: Life

Ship Transported on: Louisa

Where Arrived: Port Jackson, New South Wales

Departure Date: 21/08/1827

Arrival Date: 03/12/1827

Biography: Mary, from Bury had received a death sentence which was reprieved on condition of transportation for life. She was the third member of her family to be transported for passing forged notes with her brother William transported in 1821 (ship- Shipley) and father Joseph, in 1825 (ship- Sesostris) and would soon be followed by a fourth member- another brother James (ship- Eliza). The previous September, she had taken a forged £1 which she used to purchase bread from a shop in Hopwood near Rochdale. The shopkeeper suspicious of the note, unhappy with her account of it, gave her to the police and after enquiries, it was found she had already passed off several others in the last few months in Bury.

Mary may have reunited with her brother and father upon arrival but in 1830, Mary’s brother William died from an unexplained illness. Mary was thrice sent to the female factory for six weeks in 1831 for absconding or being absent without leave and this year had a daughter, Jane, with a John Vaughan. In July 1832, Mary married William Smith (ship- Eliza- did her brother on the same ship introduce them?) at St Johns Parramatta. The couple had a daughter, Anniss in 1837. In July 1843, Mary received a conditional pardon for her crimes. At that time she was described as a farm servant, 5ft 3, dark brown hair, ruddy complexion, hazel eyes and was ‘good looking’. In 1850, Mary’s husband was jailed at Goulburn for six months for obtaining goods under false pretences but was discharged due to ill-health. In 1853, Mary’s father Joseph died aged 75 at Berrima and in 1858 the last record for the couple is on their daughter Anniss’ marriage certificate also at Berrima. Mary’s older daughter Jane also had her family in Berrima, suggesting they had all settled there.