A Battle against the odds, Chapter 12, part 5

 A transcription of the NSW family history book A Battle against the odds, Chapter 12, part 5. This section concerns the Irish convict, Mary Tully Smith (1799-1868), my GG Grandmother.

 

Mary Smith

 
Mary appears in the records with several surnames, but the main ones are Ellis, Ennis and Tully.
We tend towards Tully, as baptismal records in the church archives almost always show her maiden name as Tully. On her death certificate her father's name is shown as Charles Tully. Mary's was Irish and her trade was "silkwinder". She was tried and convicted of "house robbery" in Dublin (Cloudwell) in July, 1817 and sentenced in September, 1817 to transportation for seven years. She remained in Dunlin Prison, a place of disease and degradation until taken by ship with 69 other female convicts to Cork Harbour where, on 11th July, 1818 they were put on board the ship "Elizabeth" which had been used as a convict transport to Australia once already. Three other ships named "Elizabeth" later plied the same route with a similar cargo so, to distinguish them in the records they appear as "Elizabeth" I, II, III, and IV. As this was."Elizabeth" I's second trip the figure (2) is also added.
So the ship Mary found herself on was ."Elizabeth" I (2). Its first voyage to Australia as convict transport was in 1816 and its third and last was in 1820.
......................

Transcription of A Battle against the odds Chapter 12 to be continued.....