Sarah Flintoff

53

Beth Taylor on 4th February 2026

1844, 13 August – “COUNTRY NEWS. PARRAMATTA MURDER We briefly alluded in our issue of Saturday, to the horrid tragedy that had occurred in this town. On Friday a Coroner's Inquest was held at Mr. Livingstone's, the Glasgow Arms; in Church- street, to enquire into the death of the deceased Sarah M'Manus, and a jury of eighteen were impannelled. The husband of the deceased was present in charge of the Police, and during the earlier, stage of the Inquest, sat at the table fronting the coroner (C. B. Lyons, Esq.,) but subsequently retired to, a sofa, which was in the room. His general demeanour throughout the whole of the lengthy investigation, too clearly proved that he was perfectly, acquainted , with the nature and cause of the proceedings, although he at times assumed the feebleness, of, age, and the half-silliness of imbecility. The first witness called ,was William Bragge who deposed — I am a constable in the Parramatta Police ; yesterday evening at about a quarter before six o'clock I was on duty on the bridge, and I heard a lad say, the old man had murdered the old woman ; I asked who it was, and he told me M'Manus, I hastened to the residence of Terence M'Manus, who is now, in custody, and I found him in the charge of Mr. Barker and Mr. Hill. Dr. Gwynne was in the house and as he informed me the woman was dead, I took the prisoner to the watch-house ; about half-an-hour after he had been confined, he called me by name to come to him, I went and, asked him what he wanted with me, he said ' they 'gave me something in my broth' ; I asked him 'who'? he replied a big woman that was at the house ; 'I then asked him if he knew what it was that was given him? he said 'no', but it ran through all his veins ; I asked him if it had been given him that day?' he said 'yes and before'; this was the whole of last night's conversation. This morning about eight o'clock I went into his cell, and asked him if he wanted anything? he said 'no', he wanted to be taken out of that ; I asked him why? He said to suffer for what I have done ; I then asked him, if he was aware that he had killed the old woman ? he said 'yes' ; I asked him why, why he did it? he replied, that he did it for the purpose ; here the conversation which was voluntary on his part ceased ; when the conversation took place last night, he was the same as he is now; he was not drunk ; I have known him upwards of 20 years, and he was 10 years with me in the police; I think him in as sound mind as ever he was; he knew me quite well last night, and called me by name then, and again this morning. Mr. William Barker deposed — I am a blacksmith and reside in Ross-street, in this town ; the same street in which the prisoner and deceased lived ; just at dusk yesterday evening Mr. Flintoft's apprentice came running past me and Mr. Hill, who were standing talking together, and said ' Mac has killed the old woman ;' both myself and Mr. Hill immediately ran to the house of the deceased ; and rushed in and found the deceased Sarah M'Manus lying in a gore of blood ; Mr. Hill caught hold of the prisoner, and pushed him to me, and I held him until the constables came ; I saw that the deceased's head was cut, and her face lying in the blood ; the prisoner would not answer any question I put to him ; I should say he was sober enough ; I have known him six or seven years; and I do not think that he is insane, nor ever has been; I heard of his attempting to cut his own throat some few weeks since ; he looks worse than usual now. George Cuminings Flintoft deposed.' — I am a shoemaker, residing in Ross-street in this town ; the deceased, Sarah M'Manus was my mother, and the prisoner, Terence M'Manus, possessed considerable property in right of her— now that she is dead it belongs to me, in virtue of a joint deed of gift of my mother and the prisoner ; I was to maintain them, pay all their debts, and bury them ; the deceased would have been 90 years of age on the 12th of this month; - yesterday, about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, a person named Dewhurst claimed some money as owing him by the prisoner; I went and asked him, if it was a just debt, and he told me to let him be quiet and go to sleep, and he would tell me another 'time or by-and-by — and begged I would allow no one to disturb him, I promised him I would, and I wished my mother (the deceased) to come out of the room, and not annoy him; the prisoner's answer was, she will not annoy me ; I closed the door and left him, and occupied myself till about 6 o'clock in the evening, when I went into the prisoner's house with two cups of tea, my little girl accompanying me with some bread and butter.; the outer door was closed, I opened it and found the inner one also closed. I opened it and went into the room and found the prisoner leaning against the bed. I put the tea down and told him to take it while it was warm, he did not take it but said it was very good, I then said, Mother, come and get your tea while it is warm. The room was very dark, and thinking that the deceased was lying on the bed or walking about, I repeated this two or three times, when the prisoner said to me, ' Oh!' I've done for her, there she is for you. I turned round to call her again, and felt her head at my foot ; I stooped down and said, "Mother are you laid there,' and found my left hand in blood and my right hand on her cold face ; I screamed out all of you come in here, my Mother is dead. My apprentice boy then came in with a light which I had previously ordered him to bring, I then perceived she was killed, I directed the boy to go for the Chief Constable and in about a minute after, Mr. Barker and Mr. Hill rushed in and, seized the prisoner; before they came I asked him what did you kill my mother for ? he made some reply but I cannot say what it was ; I have heard the prisoner say he was 67 years of age ; he was in the habit of beating my mother sometimes so cruelly that I was obliged to call Dr. Rutter to attend her ; I employed a man named Patrick to attend upon the prisoner and, the deceased; he was a favorite of my mother and a townsman of the prisoner's ; about six weeks since the prisoner attempted to cut his throat; he has always been on good terms with me, excepting some times, when he used my mother ill ; I do not think that he is out of his mind or ever was ; some months ago I heard him say he would be hung for her (my mother the deceased,) but he would get rid of her ; I should say that for the last two or three years he had made away with £200 or £300, which he spent in Sydney and other places; this money he got by the sale of horses, and cattle ; he was very dissipated ; I did not like to go to his house as my mother had always some complaint to make against him. On this witness's examination being read over to M'Manus, and asked if what had been said was true, he, said No, it is not true ; he was asked in what respect it was incorrect : he replied it was all wrong. He was further questioned, and he then said he did not spend £300, where was he to get it ? Some of the jury asked him if he was aware the old woman was dead; his answer was Oh yes. Henry Prince deposed — I am apprenticed to Mr. Flintoft the last witness ; the prisoner and deceased lived under the same roof with my master, but there is no common entrance to the two residences ; there is a brick partition ; Flintoft lives at the back, and the prisoner and deceased resided in the front; when Dewhurst came yesterday I went into the prisoner's residence for a bucket ; he had come for the balance of some money, and the prisoner and deceased began to jaw ; they often quarrelled about money ; about three weeks since I saw the prisoner catch hold of the deceased so tight, that it was necessary to cut the stays off her to get her away from him ; and he went to bed with them in his hands, and then would not let them go but slept with them ; he was not drunk ; sometimes the deceased was sensible, and sometimes not ; I never thought the prisoner mad, but very stubborn; he has often beat her black and blue, and I have been sent for a doctor in consequence.On the foregoing evidence being read over, the prisoner asked the witness why he had said he had beat the old woman? Prince replied; I said you beat her black and blue. M'Manus, instantaneously ; and in a sharp tone of voice, replied, Did you see me do it?' Mark M'Donogh deposed — I went to M'Manus's home yesterday evening when the alarm was given; I picked up the bar now produced, and handed it to Dr. Gwynne ; it is a door bar; there is blood and hair on it ; the blood was quite fresh, in fact wet, when I took it up. (The bar which had been made for the purpose of securing a door was about 3 feet long by 3 inches in thickness. Such had been the violence with which it had been used, that a large splinter was broken off the end where the blood and hair were matted together.) Mary Coffey deposed — I am servant in Mr. Flintoft's employ; I have frequently taken tea, soup, and other things, to the deceased and the prisoner ; I took them tea yesterday, and I think soup the day before; we have never quarrelled but about a year ago ; the prisoner offered. me £50 to live with him, and promised to give me one of the cottages , after the old woman's death ; I refused; I never put any drugs or anything into his tea or soup. During this woman's examination, and particularly at the close the prisoner exhibited great vehemence and indignation, and kept exclaiming, ' turn her out; I never gave or promised her a farthing in my life ; I don't care what I suffer for the old woman ; (and then, alluding to the witness), you wretch, I wish I had a hold of you. Gorden Gwynne, Esq., Surgeon, de - posed — Have known the prisoner and the deceased for the last three or four years ; yesterday evening I was stopped on the bridge by the witness Prince, and told what had happened ; I went to the house and found the deceased lying upon her back on the floor ; life was and had been for some time extinct ; I made an examination of the body, and found several wounds in the left side of the head; the skull was fractured in two distinct places; the wounds appeared to have been inflicted by an instrument with a sharp edge — such as the door bar — now produced ; her left arm is badly broken, in fact, crushed at the shoulder joint; there are also several ribs broken, on the same side,: the floor was covered with blood ; the injuries were such as would, produce instantaneous death ; I attended upon the prisoner where he was said to have cut his throat ; I believe it to have been a mere threat for the purpose of intimidation ; it was scarcely perceptible ; I have been in the habit, by Mr. Flintoft's desire, of seeing him since; he is a man of extremely peverse and sullen disposition ; he at first refused to take any nourishment, but, on my threatening to gag him and force him to eat, he has since taken nourishment regularly ; I cannot from my general knowledge of the prisoner, and especially from his conduct during this enquiry, consider him to be of unsound mind ; I think he is by no means in so debilitated a state as persons would at first glance believe him to be. The Jury, at once without retiring, handed in, by their foreman, Mr. Robert Shackles, a verdict of wilful murder, and the prisoner was committed to gaol. The evidence lasted nearly five hours, and excited the greatest interest in the town from the long residence of both the prisoner and the murdered woman in Parramatta. Mr Flintoft, in giving his evidence, appeared deeply and poignantly affected ; so much so that he was at times unable to proceed with his statement. , The prisoner made no comment on being removed to the gaol ; and although on leaving the Jury Room he required the aid of two constables to support him — stating that he was unable to walk or even to hold himself up; it was subsequently reported that on reaching the gaol, he walked briskly across the yard ; during the course of the examination he several times moved his hands across his breast, and requested. Dr. Gwynne, who was present, to take away something that was there. In delivering their verdict, the jury stated it to be their unanimous opinion, that M'Manus was then, at the time of committing the murder, in a perfectly sane state of mind.” (Source: The Australian, 13/08/1844, p4) 1844, 23 Aug. – There was a notice of a deed & gift to G. Flintoff from [the late] Sarah Flintoff & Terence McManus. The deed [will?] had been dated 4 July 1844. (Source: Sydney Gazette, 23/08/1844, p2) 1847, 22 June - “Extended Conditional Pardons…His Excellency the Governor directs it to be notified that, in accordance with the Regulations dated 2nd December last, the conditional pardons granted to the undermentioned persons have been so far enlarged as to enable the holders to proceed to any part of the world except the country or colony from which they were respectively transported:- "Pardons available everywhere, except in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland" • Flintoft, George Cummins, Ocean 2” (Source: NSW Government Gazette. Tuesday June 22 1847) [Note: George was a son of Sarah Flintoff] NSW BDM: 1) Edward Flintoff (Sarah’s 1st husband), died on 19 April 1821, aged 63. He was buried at St Johns Cemetery Parra [From Parramatta Cemeteries Book. There is a headstone.] 2) Sarah Flintoff married Terence McManus at St Marys RC, Sydney, on 23/04/1830. (Terence McManus; & Sarah Flintoff; married 23 Apr 1830, registered St Marys Roman Catholic Sydney; Witness: Patrick Frayne; Witness: Elizabeth Kirk; Witness: Ellen Kirk. Source: St Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral, Sydney NSW: Church Register - Marriages; ML ref: Reel SAG 7 & V1830-370-128) 3) Sarah McManus, aged 90, from North Parra, died on 8 Aug 1844 & was buried on the 10th Aug. Her profession was listed as “trade”. The service was held at Marsfield C of E. 4) Terence McManus died on the 20 Aug 1844 of natural causes. [Source: Coroner’s report] Children born (England) to Edward and Sarah FLINTOFF: • Edward FLINTOFF jnr born ? Yorkshire, died ? • Thomas FLINTOFF born c1787 Easingwold, Yorkshire (IGI), died ? • Sarah FLINTOFF born c1789 Easingwold, Yorkshire (IGI), died ? • George Cummins FLINTOFF born c1797 Yorkshire, marr 1829 Sydney RC to Elizabeth Kelly, died c1850 (surname spelt Kintoft in BDM index, TROVE gives correct spelling) Camperdown • John FLINTOFF born c1804 Pocklington, Yorkshire (IGI), died ? • Christiana FLINTOFF born c1806 Pocklington, Yorkshire (IGI), died ? Jess’ Girls – SAG:  Occupation – needleworker  1814 – Muster  Pop. Book 1819 – TL, 1 child, widow  1822 – Muster  1825 – FS, housekeeper, Parra  1828 – Census  Indent – TL 940 (no info) Convict Indents: 1) Edward Flintoff (Sarah’s 1st husband) came to Sydney from England on the ship Larkins (1) on 22 Nov 1817. He had been tried at York Lent Assize on 8 March 1817 [for “receiving stolen goods” – PRO] (same as son George) & was given a 14 year sentence. He was a native of York, a farming man, aged 49, 5’7” tall, fair pale complexion, grey hair & grey eyes. 2) George Cummins (alias Flintoff, son of Sarah) came to NSW on the ship Ocean II which reached Sydney on 10 Jan 1818. George had been tried also on 8 March 1817 [for “burglary”, death recorded – PRO] at York Lent Assize & was given a life term. He had been a native of York, a shoemaker, aged 21, 5’5” tall, sallow complexion, light brown hair & grey eyes. TL – 2185. CP – 375. 3) Terence McManus reached NSW on the ship Daphne from Ireland on 21 Sep 1819. He had been tried at Sligo in 1819, was aged 35, a labourer, 5’5” tall, dark complexion, black hair & hazel eyes. TL – 28/294. CP – 548. [Also written – he died Parramatta Gaol 9 Aug 1844, where he was under committal for the murder of his wife]. Terence McManus per Daphne received a CP on 22/04/1842, no description given (Source: SRNSW Convict Pardons, Reel 799, 4/2567) Notes from the book “Journey to a New Life…” the story of the ships Emu & Broxbornebury by Elizabeth Hook (3rd ed. 2014). I am the author & can be contacted on tbeth3370@gmail.com for further info

342

Maureen Withey on 10th November 2025

1813 – City of York and County of the same city, to take their Trials at the Assizes and General Gaol Delivery, holden for the said city and County of the same, on Saturday the Thirty-first day of July, 1813, before the Honorable Sir ALAN CHAMBRE, Knight, one of the Justices of his Majesty's Court of Common Pleas, at Westminster, and the Honorable Sir GEORGE WOOD, Knight, one of the Barons of the court of our Lord the King, of his Court of Exchequer. GEORGE CRESSEY, and Gentlemen, Sheriffs. JOSEPH AGAR, Prisoners' names Justices' Names 2. (Aged 43) SARAH FLINTOFT, and ) committed the 10th day of July, 1813, 3.(Aged 30) ESTHER BLAYDES, ) upon the oaths of Mary Wright, Betsey Chippendale, and others, with having, on Thursday and Friday last at the parish of St. Trinity, Micklegate, in the said city, feloniously coloured with a wash, producing the colour of silver, several pieces of base metal, of a fit size and figure to resemble the current silver coin of this Realm, called sixpences, contrary to the Statute in that case made and provided.” (Source: Photocopy from Lord Chancellor's Department, London, Margaret Lyall has original) Crime: Coin forgery. Aged 30 on 31st July 1813 at Westminister. "upon the oaths of Mary Wright Betsy Chippendale and others, with having, on Thursday & Friday last at the parish of St Trinity Mickelgate, in the said city, feloniously coloured with a wash, producing the colour of silver, several pieces of base metal, of a fit size and figure to resemble the current silver coin of this Realm, called sixpences, contrary to the statute in that case made & provided." (Source: Margaret Lyall)

342

Maureen Withey on 10th November 2025

Esther Blaydes and Sarah Flintoff. convicted of High Treason, it appears, were adepts at ‘clipping and coining.' They were accidentally discovered by Mrs  Wright, (who lived on the opposite side of Micklegate, looking out of her upper window; and they were observed, on two successive days, by Mrs. W. and another witness, clipping, bending, and silvering. After this, Pardoe, the constable, went to the house, and found each of the prisoners with some of the base coin upon them. . Lancaster Gazette, 14 Aug 1813. Sarah Flintoff, and Esther Blaydes, to be transported beyond the seas, each for seven years. York Herald, 25 Dec 1813.

174

Iris Dunne on 9th November 2018

1820 Settler & Convict Lists: Married Parramatta 1822 Convict General Muster: Sarah Flintoff, Free by Servitude, Employed at Parramatta 1823-1824 Convict Records:- Category: Assignment and Employment of Convicts Title: Persons Assigned Convict Mechanics, 1823-1824 at Parramatta 1825 Pardon: Sarah Flintoff, Free settler seeks permission to marry Terence Macmanus, convict per "Daphne", 1825 April, 4/1786 p33. 1828 Census (Australian Copy): Sarah Flinthoff, Aged 60, Wife of Terence McManus (with Geo C. Flintoff aged 30, Ticket of Leave, Ship Ocean 2 1818, Sentence: Life, Trade: Shoemaker)