Date of Conviction: 25/03/1815

Age at Conviction: 25

Crime Convicted of: Uttering Forged Coins

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

Sentence Length: Life

Ship Transported on: Lord Melville

Where Arrived: Port Jackson, New South Wales

Departure Date: 29/08/1816

Arrival Date: 24/02/1817

Biography: Martha had used the alias ‘Betty Metcalf’. She had used a base metal coin at Cheetham, Manchester and was given the death sentence (later commuted to transportation for life) She left Lancaster Castle to be taken to the ship on the 8th July 1816.

In New South Wales, Martha was assigned as a servant and described as being a native of Halifax, Yorkshire, 5ft 3 tall with a dark ruddy complexion, black hair and dark eyes. Martha was listed as being a servant to Deputy Commissary David Allan Esq in 1818. Incredibly in June 1819 she received an absolute pardon and was permitted to return home. She announced in the newspapers in July 1819 that she would soon sail for England onboard the Surry, which she did on the 31st of that month along with her employers, the Allans (who she was presumably accompanying as their servant) and an Agnes Worthington of Glasgow who had also been on the Lord Melville. The ship came back via St Helena and landed at Gravesend on the 2nd December that year.

It is possible Martha remained with the Allans two years more and left in 1821 when they were about to sail for Mr Allan’s new job in Barbados but Mrs Allan abruptly died. Sadly despite some avenues it has not been possible to pinpoint Martha again.