Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Voyage
Transportation
Susan Courtney was transported on the Friendship, departing 31st May 1817 and arriving 14th Jan 1818 with 102 passengers.
This convict ship, being 274 tons and 75 feet long was one of the light weight ships in the fllet and was skippered by Master Francis Walton. Built in Scarborough in 1784, she carried 76 male and 21 female convicts. During her return voyage to England her crew came down with scurvy and with insufficient crew to man her, she was scuttled in the straights of Macassar. The survivors were transferred to the Alexander.
FriendshipReferences
| Primary Source | Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 88, Class and Piece Number HO11/2, Page Number 352. Tasmanian Archives. Old Bailey Court records. |
| Source Description | This record is one of the entries in the British convict transportation registers 1787-1867 database compiled by State Library of Queensland from British Home Office (HO) records which are available on microfilm as part of the Australian Joint Copying Pro |
| Original Source | Great Britain. Home Office |
| Compiled By | State Library of Queensland |
| Database Source | British convict transportation registers 1787-1867 database |
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Convict Notes
Family connections for Susan (Courtney) are: COURTNEY Susan/nah (Courtney) was born about 1796. She was tried for coining (counterfeit) at probably Old Bailey on 16 4 1817, sentenced to 7/14years, held at Middlesex Gaol Delivery & arrived in NSW as a convict on 14 1 1818 after a voyage of 7.5months on FRIENDSHIP; she was described as a common prostitute, insolent and mutinous; she was transferred to DUKE OF WELLINGTON for transport to Van Diemens Land (Tasmania), arriving in February 1816. On 18 11 1819 she was tried for robbery of Mrs (Anson), & was discharged. She married John (Peck) on 27 5 1822 at Hobart Town. On 30 6 1822, now with her Ticket of Leave, she escaped to England on EMERALD, using the name Elizabeth (Jones), & was tried for returning before her sentence had expired at Old Bailey in 1824, sentenced to death reprieved to Life, held at probably Middlesex Gaol Delivery & arrived again in NSW as a convict on 23 1 1825 after a voyage of 4months on GRENADA; she was a house maid 5'2.5" fresh complexion light brown hair hazel eyes. On 14 6 1826 she was charged with being at large without authority & served 3months in Female Factory. [Some details taken from this Website] John (Peck) (said to be the scond son) was born in 1792 on Norfolk Island according to Smees records - or was he William at Prospect Hill as stated in Ref:'Exiled...'. As John now, he was taken on 30 3 1793 to Port Jackson on CHESTERFIELD/KITTY by his parents to Prospect. In about 1803 he was taken back to Norfolk Island by his parents. He was recorded in February 1805 off stores on Norfolk Island. He left Norfolk Island with his parents as part of the first evacuation on 25 12 1807 on HMS PORPOISE to Derwent Van Diemens Land (Tasmania), arriving on 17 1 1808, to New Norfolk. He was recorded in 1818 at Hobart Town. In December 1818 he supplied 250lb fresh meat to Government. He may have been living in Northern Tasmania in 1819. He was tried at Hobart on 3 6 1824 for receiving sheep from John Anderson & acquitted. He was sentenced at Hobart Supreme Court w/2others for a similar charge, receiving stolen sheep of Edward (Lord) & John (Beaumont), to 14years at Macquarie Harbour on 17 7 1824. After release he went to Patterson Plains. In 1831 he received property in Elizabeth St Hobart from Will of his sister Mary Ann, which was claimed in April 1845 by his nephew James, which was won by James. He died on 9 11 1872 age about80 at Patterson Plains & was buried in the family vault at St Peters Cemetery St Leonards/St Peters cemetery. Details of John (Peck)s famly are given in entry for Joshua (Peck/Peek SCARBOROUGH/CHARLOTTE 1788) on this Website. REFERENCES Craig James Smee 'Births and Baptisms Marriages and Defacto Relationships Deaths and Burials New South Wales 1788-1830' ..a complete listing from church & other records in the early colony. Irene Schaffer & Thelma McKay 'Exiled Three Times Over! Profiles of Norfolk Islanders Exiled in Van Diemens Land 1807-1813' James Hugh Donohoe 'Norfolk Island 1788-1813-The People and Their Families' Reg Wright 'Forgotten Generation of Norfolk Island & Van Diemens Land'
New South Wales, Australia, Colonial Secretary’s Papers, 1788-1856 Main Series of Letters Received, 1788-1826 - names of convicts with their characters during the voyage from London to New South Wales on the transport ship Friendship. pp 6597 to 6605 A common prostitute, insolent and mutinous
Marriage in the District of Hobart Town. Year 1822 John Peck - Free. Age; 28 years Susannah Courtney - Convict. Ship; Friendship. Age; 28 years Date; 27 May 1822 By Banns
We perceive by the London Papers, ...—We also find in the same Journals that several prisoners had been convicted at the Old Bailey for returning from transportation; among the number were William Ludlow, and Susan Courtney, a pretty looking woman, about 27 years of age, who escaped from this Colony. Hobart Town Gazette, 20 Aug 1824.
Susan COURTNEY was convicted at Middlesex Gaol, London on 16 April 1817 for coining offences. Pleaded Guilty, however not guilty on further charges of forgery and deception. Transportation 14 yrs. Sent to Australia, New South Wales per the ship "Friendship" 1818. Susan Courtney was then transferred to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) per the ship "Duke of Wellington" 1818. Assigned to work services in the Colony of VDL. 18 Nov 1819: Committing a robbery at Mrs. Anson's house. Discharged. Rev'd R. Knopwood, Magistrate. No further notes on her Conduct Record. A story of her life is highlighted in the book "Notorious Strumpets & Dangerous Girls" by author Philip Tardif. "On the voyage she was described by the ship's surgeon as a common prostitute, insolvent and mutinous". (ref. The Canberra Times newspaper 29 Sept 1990) Susan COURTNEY married John PECK at Hobart Town in 1822. Susan COURTNEY/PECK made the return journey to England, but however on 10 Sept 1823 found herself charged with returning from transportation before the expiration of her term at Middlsex Court. Guilty, death sentence. She used the alias name of "Eizabeth JONES". Then aged 27 yrs. The sentence was commuted to Transport for Life and she returned to Austraia per the ship "Grenada" arriving 25 Jan 1825. (https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/courtney/susan/85187) Further research is needed on her life in New South Wales.