Elizabeth Cooper

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Penny-Lyn Beale on 26th September 2020

UK, Royal Navy Medical Journals, Age 36. The surgeon describes her as "of a tall and slender formative of body, she suffered much from this affliction duty the who passage Nature of Disease; Asthenia induced by excessive Sea Sickness

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Maureen Crawley on 13th December 2016

On 22 April 1835 received Certificate of Freedom (NSW AO 35/0372 Reel 994) stated wife of Charles Turner The Sydney Morning Herald - Monday 9 Jan 1854 page 8 DIED On the 7th instant, Mrs Elizabeth Turner, wife of Mr Charles Turner, Prince Albert Inn, Paddington, after a long and painfull illness aged 60 years. The Emprie (Sydney) - Monday 9 January 1854 page 2 On the 7th instant, Mrs Elizabeth Turner, wife of Mr Charles Turner, Prince Albert Inn, Paddington, after a long and painfull illness aged 60 years.

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John Squires on 20th September 2016

Elizabeth appears to have been born in Surrey in about 1791. In the records of the London Assizes, on 10 April 1828, she was brought before the court charged with “Robbery of Lodging”. She had been working as a Charwoman and Washerwoman in London. Elizabeth was convicted and given a sentence of transportation for seven years. Also on trial that day was her oldest daughter, Carol, aged 16, charged with “Stealing a Kettle”. She had been working as a domestic servant (noted as “Nurse Girl”). Like her mother, she was given a sentence of transportation for seven years. Elizabeth and Carol were sent to the colony on the same ship, the Competitor, along with Elizabeth’s other two daughters, Louisa and Matilda. John Steward was the commander of the Competitor, which set sail from London on 13 June 1828 and arrived in Sydney on 10 October that year. It carried 99 female convicts on board. A muster held on the day after arrival, 11 October, describes her as: “Elizabeth Cooper, aged 37, no education, Protestant, widowed, 2 children with her, [with a] wart left under lip, 5?3½?, fair complexion, light brown hair, hazel eyes”. Carol, her daughter, is described as: “Elizabeth Watts or Carol Cooper, aged 16, reads and writes, Protestant, single, 5?2?, fair complexion, sandy hair, hazel eyes”. Upon leaving the ship, Carol was sent to work for Joseph Underwood. Her mother, Elizabeth, was sent to George Tate. Her two young daughters, Louisa and Matilda, were sent to the government’s Female Orphan School at Parramatta on 20 October 1828. Elizabeth was resourceful; early the next year, she petitioned for marriage, and on 26 January 1829, Elizabeth Cooper (alias Lawrence) married William Bedmington. Rev. Richard Hill conducted the service at St James, Sydney. William was a bachelor, aged 33, who had been transported to NSW in 1819 on the ship Lord Sidmouth. This newfound status enabled Elizabeth to petition the Governor for her daughters to be returned to her. Her letter of 31 March 1829 noted that she had “married about two months ago to Mr. Bedminton, a Bricklayer, and can now support the children”. Her request was successful; the two girls were returned to her on 7 April. Unfortunately, William Bedmington died the next year (1830), at the age of 34. Elizabeth was once again widowed! She soon petitioned once more for permission to marry—and so Charles Turner and Elizabeth Bedmington were married in 1830 at St Phillip’s Church, Sydney. Charles is identified as a freeman. On 22 April 1835, Elizabeth was granted her Certificate of Freedom, as the seven years of her sentence had been served.