Summary
Personal Information
Transportation
Catherine Makesay was transported on the Edward, departing 1st Jan 1829 and arriving 26th Apr 1829 with 178 passengers.
Built 1806 in Bristol, England. 406 tons. 4 voyages to Australia from Britain transporting convicts. Please note some registers of person are not yet complete - a work in progress. ************** 1829 - Edward arrived from Ireland in Sydney Cove; 26 April 1829. Female Convict Ship; Commander; Gilbert. Surgeon Superintendent; William C Watt M.D. Muster held on Board; 28 April 1829. Mustered; 174. Died on Voyage; 3. Total; 177
Edward (generic)References
| Primary Source | Mayberry, Peter; Comp, Irish Convists to NSW 1788-1849. |
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Convict Notes
The convict indent for the "Edward" recorded her as Catherine Makesay alias Mackesy, age 20, single, Catholic, with no education. Her native place was Carlow, and her occupation was listed as "country work". She had no former convictions. She was 5 feet 1½ inches tall with ruddy, freckled complexion, dark brown hair, blue eyes, with a large burn scar on her left arm, and a small scar on the right arm with a dark mole on the upper part. The Convict Death Register recorded her date of death as 5 December 1833, and she was buried on 7 December 1833 in St John's Cemetery (Section 4, J, 3) in Parramatta, funeral performed by Rev. Samuel Marsden (however the date of death on her gravestone is 10 December 1833). The inscription on her headstone reads: Catherine MACKERAY Wife of WM BURSILL Died Decr 10th 1833. Aged 23 years.
Catherine was 18 when she was tried and convicted at Kilkenny, Ireland for Vagrancy in 1827, sentenced to transportation for 7 years, charges of vagrancy generally resulted in either a fine or transportation if the prisoner could not afford the fine. It would appear that no one paid Catherine's fine, and no one appealed her sentence. Left Cork on 1st January 1829. Ship:- the 'Edward' sailed with 177 female convicts on board of which 3 died during the voyage. Arrived on 26th April 1829. Her behavior aboard the Edward is recorded to have been "very bad". The convict muster records her as 20, single, catholic and with no education. Her occupation was listed as "Country Work". Theres no record on the muster as to who she was assigned to, so she was sent straight up to the female factory. There she got into trouble almost immediately and was given 24 hours solitary confinement for quarrelling. There aren't any other mentions of her in the records, which is odd considering William Jnr was born at the factory. After Williams birth Catherine disappears of the records for a while but is back on in 1832 when she and William apply for permission to marry. They're request is granted (a new govener who was more flexible towards convict marriages had just arrived and lots of people applied at this time) and two weeks later they were married. On May 4th 1832, Catherine married convict William Bursill ('Asia I' 1820) at Parramatta. They had two children, William 1831 and Mary Ann 1833. Catherine died on10th December 1833 at Parramatta Hospital aged 24, only 5 months after the birth of Mary Ann, William was left with 2 tiny children. The following year, William remarried, to Hannah Smith at Campbelltown, December 17th 1834. Hannah was the daughter of convicts Joseph Smith ('Fortune' 1806) and Ann Gibbons ('William Pitt' 1806). Hannah and William had a large family of 12 children between 1835 and 1860, (8 daughters and 4 sons).
Catherine married William Bursill (Convict, Asia, 1820) on 4th May 1832 at Parramatta. The couple had two children; William 1831 and Mary Ann 1833. Catherine died in Parramatta hospital only 5 months after the birth of Mary Ann. William remarried the following year, December 17th 1834, to Hannah Smith. Hannah was the daughter of Joseph Smith (Convict, Fortune, 1806) and Ann Gibbons (Convict, William Pitt, 1806).