Catherine Johnson

75

iain Frazier on 23rd April 2026

Family connections for Catherine (Johnson) are: JOHNSON Catherine (Johnson) was possibly born in September 1770 in the London Parish of St Sepulchre Parish. She was tried for shoplifting w/1other, on 3 3 1787, of cloth from Joseph (Osborne) & Thomas (Ashly) of Holborn Bridge at Old Bailey on 18 4 1787, sentenced to 7years, held at London Gaol Delivery & arrived in NSW as a convict on 22 1 1788 after a voyage of 9months on First Fleet ship PRINCE OF WALES. She was transferred to Norfolk Island on HMS SIRIUS on 2 3 1789. She was involved in thefts & received 50lashes on 7 9 1789 for disobeying orders. She associated firstly (1of4) with Edward (Smith/Beckford) & produced 2children. She was recorded about June 1794 with 3children umsupported.>>> [Some details taken from this Website] CCONVICTnot here but Edward (Smith aka Beckford) is: Edward (Beckford) arrived in NSW as a convict on 22 1 1788 after being on board for 12months on First Fleet ship SCARBOROUGH. (He has an alias of Edward (Smith) who was tried w/1other for stealing, on 10 9 1784, handkerchief of Hill (Walker) at Old Bailey on 15 9 1784 (quick justice), sentenced to 7years, held at London Gaol Delivery & arrived in NSW as a convict on 22 1 1788 after a voyage of 12months on First Fleet ship SCARBOROUGH.) Edward (Smith/Beckford) from SCARBOROUGH is recorded as arriving on Norfolk Island on 13 10 1788. He lived with Catherine (Johnson). He left the island on 5 3 1795. Noted an Edward (Smith) convict died on 28 4 1823 age37 & was buried at St Phillips CofE Sydney.] Edward (Beckford) does not have an entry on this Website as yet although Edward (Smith) does; some details taken from this Website. [Noted an Edward (Smith) is recorded as arriving on Norfolk Island on 13 10 1788; as having been a sailor <1794 & now on Norfolk Island; & leaving the island on 5 3 1795. [Noted there is also an Elizabeth (Beckford) on First Fleet ship LADY PENRHYN (same Fleet as Edward) who may be related. ++ Trickilly, there is mention on this Website of Catherine (Johnson) being possibly daughter of Robert (Moore) & Margaret (???) - & of a William (Johnson) who may have sired a child with Catherine (Johnson): 1.Elizabeth (Johnson) was born before July 1791, perhaps in Sydney. She was moved to Norfolk Island on MARY ANNE. She may have been one of the 3children recorded with Catherine (Johnson) in 1794 & therfore perhaps being taken to Sydney? on DAEDALUS on 6 11 1794.>>> ..BUT this event leaves unclear why Catherine used the name (Johnson) in England - or why Elizabeth went to NI alone on MARY ANNE. ..[Noted a William (Johnston) enlisted in NSW Corps on 9 6 1791 as a drummer. He was granted 25acres at Portland Head in 1795. In 1798 he was detached to (Townson)s company & deserted on 3 12 1798.] .. >>>By 1806 Elizabeth (Johnson) was calling herself Elizabeth (Beckord). She died on 30 10 1874 on Jersey as Elizabeth (Beckford Vickery), suggesting she had married a (Vickery) perhaps Christian (Vickery) as noted below. This may be explained by a note in 1of the entries on this Website for Catherine (Johnson)s spouse Tristram (Moore)-where an Elizabeth (Moore daughter of Tristram (Moore of 'Moore Farm' Lower Wilberforce) wife of Christopher (Vickery gentleman)-marriage not found in Smees records-lived at Vickery Mansion 'Sunny-side' on the Ebenezer-Sackville road Wilberforce & later at a house on Hominy Point road. Christopher (Vickery) transferred Vickery Mansion 'Sunny-side' to Elizabeths half sister Mary (Moore/Dunstan). ++ >>>Catherine (Johnson) associated secondly {2of4) with Thomas (Tyler) whom she later married. She left Norfolk Island to Sydney? with Thomas (Tyler) & her children (only 2children shown in Ref:'People...') on DAEDALUS on 6 11 1794. She married Thomas (Tyler) on 6 2 1796-Ref:'People..'-at St Phillips CofE Sydney-shown in Smees records as 16 2 1796 at St Johns CofE Parramatta-with her ship of arrival as SURPRISE (same Fleet).>>> a Thomas (Tyler/or) enlisted in NSW Corps as a private in UK on 3 12 1789. He arrived in Australia in October 1790-Smees records show him, in the marriage record, arriving in NSW as a soldier on 26 9 1791 after a voyage of 6months on QUEEN. On 7 5 1790 he was promoted to corporal. He arrived on Norfolk Island on 11 11 1791. In 1793 he became private again. He left the island with his wife & some children on 6 11 1794also & was discharged on 26 11 1794-presumably in Sydney. He was then granted 25acres at Concord in 1794. In 1797 he was granted 60acres at Hawkesbury River & in 1803 he was granted 110acres at Mulgrave Place Hawkesbury. [Some details taken from this Website] .. >>>Catherine (Johnson) is recorded in Sydney in 1800. She was Free by Servitude by 1801. She had a third (3of4) relationship with John (Hughes).>>> .. An attempt to identify John (Hughes) reveals: A.John (Hughes) was born in 1761 at Clonfeacle Armagh county Ireland. He was convicted of Felony at Chester city Quarter Sessions, sentenced to 7years & arrived in NSW as a convict on 26 6 1790 after a voyage of 7months on Fleet ship NEPTUNE; a voyage noted for extreme brutality of prisoners with a high death rate: he was 5'7". He married Sarah (Manlove) in 1790 (not shown in Smees records). He enlisted in the NSW Corps on 20 5 1794 as a private at Sydney; in 1796 he was with (Abbott)s detachment until 1809 & was transferred to Royal Veterans Company in 1810. He also became a landholder & died in 1840 age79 at Sydney. .. B.John (Hughes) perhaps became a painter & glazier. He was tried for stealing sheets at probaby Old Bailey, sentenced to 7years, held at Middlesex Gaol Delivery & arrived in NSW on 14 2 1792 after a voyage of 8months on PITT. probably not him .. C.John (Hughes) was born about 1779, died 30 3 1827 age48 & was buried at St Phillips CofE Sydney. .. D.John (Hughes), from ALBERMARLE 1791, does not have an entry on this Website as yet. So a John (Hughes) exconvict was born in Ireland. He enlisted in NSW Corps on 20 5 1794 (could have been from ALBERMARLE-not shown on this ship) as private in Sydney. In 1796 he was detached to (Abbotts) company & remained there until 24 4 1810 when he was transferred to Veterans Company. .. A.-B.-Some details taken from this Website .. Catherine (Johnson) & John (Hughes) produced 1child: 1.John/Thomas Benjamin (Hughes) was born on 19 11 1801 & baptised on 22 12 1804 age3 at St Phillips CofE Sydney. .. [Noted a Joseph/John (Hughes) & Catharine (???) produced 3children: 1.John (Hughes) was born in 1814 & baptised on 30 5 1814 at St Johns CofE Parramatta. 2.Joseph (Hughes) was born on 10 5 1816 & baptised on 10 5 1818 age2! at St Johns CofE Parramatta. 3.Martha (Hughes) was born on 10 1 1820 & baptised on 18 1 1824 age4+ at St Johns CofE Parramatta. >>>Catherine (Johnson) had a fourth relationship with Tristram (Moore) & produced 3children. She became a landholder in August 1806 by auction of 100acres at Ebenezer Wilberforce. She was recorded in 1828 with Tristram (Moore) as housekeeper at Wilberforce. She died on 18 5 1838 age68 mother of 6children (maybe9). Tristram [sometimes recorded as Chrism] (Moore), son of James (Moore) & grandson of Tristram (Moore) was born in 1765, or about 1766 at Carroweagh north of Limavady Derry county Ireland & became an apothecary. He was tried as an Irish Rebel at Newtown Londonderry Co. Ireland in 1801, sentenced to Life & arrived in NSW as a convict on 7 7 (30 10) 1802 after a voyage of 5months on ATLAS; he was 6' in height Protestant. He was recorded as being on Norfolk Island-no details provided. He was issued a Ticket of Leave no.11/13. It appears that he, among others, was to be issued a Kings Birthday Pardon on 4 6 1805 but was denied after the finding of 'pipes'-rolled-up anonymous & libellous manuscripts hidden under logs etc to be discovered by passers-by. In 1807 he attempted an escape with others by stealing & sailing off in 18' boat of E (Wills), but was returned. He was Free by Servitude by 1809 & worked as an apothecary at Sydney hospital at The Rocks. He is recorded in the 1811 muster. He had his Conditional Pardon by 1828 & seems to have been recorded as farmer with Catherine (Johnson) housekeeper at Wilberforce with 100acres. He died on 18 5 1839 age74. [Some details taken from 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' Pamela Statham 'A Colonial Regiment-New Sources Relating to the New South Wales Corps-1789-1810'

5

Marilyn Long on 24th June 2020

Correcting date of death for Catherine Johnson, my 5 x great grandmother. The correct date is 18 May 1838 and her partner (they weren't married) Tristram Moore died 18 May 1839. Reference is NSW BMD V18382975 22. 1838 Catherine Johnstone and Headstone at Wilberforce cemetery "May The 18th 1838”. Marilyn Long

105

Denis Pember on 14th November 2015

Sainty & Johnson; 1828 Census of New South Wales: [Ref J0482] Johnson, Catherine, 57, FS, Prince of Wales, 1788, Housekeeper to T Moore at Wilberforce. [Ref M2920] Moore, Chrism, 58, CP, Atlas, 1802, Life, 100 acres, 35 cleared and cultivated, 1 horse and 18 cattle. (That broad Irish accent must be the reason for 'Tristram' becoming 'Chrism').

4

marilyn Long on 5th December 2012

Source of the above summary of Catherine is research by Marilyn Long with some extracts from Mollie Gillen and Doug Bowd

1

Kathy Faithful on 16th June 2012

CATHERINE (JOHNSON) MOORE Catherine Moore (née Johnson) was possibly born in September 1770 in the London Parish of St Sepulchre to Robert and Margaret Johnson. She was sentenced to seven years transportation at the age of 17. Catherine Johnson and Ann Smith were tried by the London Jury before the Court Recorder at the Old Bailey Sessions which commenced on 18 April 1787, that is, less than a month before the First Fleet sailed for Botany Bay. They were indicted &quot;for stealing on 3rd March last, fifteen yards of printed calico, value 3 pounds, the property of Thomas Ashby and Joseph Osborne, privily in their shop.&quot; The shop was at Holborn Bridge. This case is rather unusual in that Catherine Johnson, unlike most First Fleet convicts, was defended by counsel. The owner of the shop and two assistants stated that the defendants were looking at &quot;some muslins and prints&quot; and that &quot;they tumbled the things over the counter more than generally is the case and asked for a number of things from the poles.&quot; After they had gone out an assistant, acting on suspicion, went &quot;to fetch them back.&quot; When they came back to the counter Catherine Johnson was observed to drop the calico from under her petticoats on her left side.” It was claimed that Catherine Johnson pressed the owner to let her go and said &quot;it was the first time she was guilty.&quot; Catherine Johnson in her defence said &quot;when we came home the gentleman said they might be his things but he could not swear to them, and that gentleman that stands up now (presumably Ashby) said hanging was too good for us, and hang us, he said he would, if he could, and he took out a pencil and made a mark.&quot; Catherine called two witnesses &quot;who gave here a good Character.&quot; Regrettably their names were not recorded, nor what they said. Ann Smith said nothing in her own defence. The jury found both women guilty. Although the offence was a capital one, the Recorder merely sentenced them to transportation for seven years. It may be that the jury returned a correct verdict, but on the evidence, and in view of the judge's sentence, it seems that there was an element of doubt. Catherine and Ann were received on board Prince of Wales on 3 May 1787. They had been sent with 35 other women from London to Portsmouth, where the First Fleet vessels were anchored, to make up the complement for the ship. No mention is made of Catherine Johnson in the records of the voyage. She was transferred from Sydney Cove to Norfolk Island on Sirius in March 1789. One of the references to her at Norfolk Island is an entry in Lt King's Journal — &quot;Catherine Johnson, a female convict, was punished with fifty lashes on the 7th (Sept. 1789) for abusing the storekeeper and accusing him of theft wrongfully.&quot; Another is in the List of Marine and Convict Settlers on Norfolk Island for about June 1794 and has Catherine Johnstone Married, with 3 children, and Living By Her Own Means (most women on this list had a supporting man's name beside theirs). On the Victualling List male convicts, female convicts, children, etc are all listed separately and family groups have to be assumed or proved from other records. Listed is Elizabeth Johnston for July 1791, Catherine's first child, and is not clear whether she was born on Norfolk Island then, or arrived on Mary Anne having been born in Sydney before Catherine left. William Johnston, Catherine's second child, was born in January 1792 per the list, lending weight to the claim that Elizabeth was born in Sydney and sent to Norfolk Island on Mary Anne in July 1791. Mollie Gillen mentions Catherine left Norfolk Island with three children but there is no evidence of a third child. Catherine and her two children left the island on Daedalus on the 6 November 1794, some time after her term expired. There is no known mention of her until she is shown in the Muster of 1800 as being a resident of Sydney. There is strong circumstantial evidence that the father of Elizabeth and William was Edward Beckford who was Edward Smith of the 1788 Scarborough, sent to Norfolk Island late 1788 and returned to Sydney early 1795. By 1806 Elizabeth was calling herself Elizabeth Beckord and that is unlikely to be due to marriage. And she died in 1874 on Jersey as Elizabeth Beckford Vickery. The next reference is in St Phillip's Register which shows that Margaret Jane Moore was born to Catherine Johnson at Sydney in August 1804. The entry in the Register above the christening for Margaret Jane is for Thomas Benjamin Hughes born 1801 to Catherine Johnston and John Hughes, and it appears Catherine had both her children christened at the same time. (In the 1800 Muster John Hughes of the Albemarle 1791 is a consecutive name to Catherine's and no further identifiable information about him or Thomas Benjamin has been discovered). The father of her child, Margaret Jane, Tristram Moore, had arrived in Atlas in October 1802. He had been transported from Ireland as a rebel with a life sentence. He was an apothecary at Sydney Hospital in The Rocks, and was six feet in height, which was rather unusual in for the time. Moore and Johnson were to spend their lives together, although there is no record of them being married. Could Catherine have married Edward Beckford on Norfolk Island or in Sydney, in an unrecorded marriage, or even John Hughes? Another child, Mary Ann Moore, was born to them in April 1806, whilst a child, Tristram, was buried at St Phillip's in August 1809. He was recorded christened at St Phillips earlier in 1809, and then buried in the cemetery at the site of the current Sydney Town Hall. Meanwhile, Catherine Johnson was to become a landowner. As a free person she was able to buy 100 acres, the property of Charles Cross, which was auctioned &quot;by virtue of execution.&quot; The purchase price was 120 pounds to be paid &quot;in storeable wheat or cash&quot; and the transaction was completed in August 1806. One year later the title to this property, which was situated half a mile upstream from the Ebenezer Church, was transferred to Tristram Moore, who with four or five others tried to escape the Colony by boat in February 1807. Before moving to the Hawkesbury Catherine appears to have had the wealth to trade property and likely mixed in the mercantile life of the Colony between 1795-1814. It is likely from entries in the Old Register and references in the Sydney Gazette that Catherine bought and sold property (including a house to Paul Bushell) in The Rocks between 1802 and 1816 in Cumberland and Gloucester Streets and elsewhere. In 1810 Macquarie regranted her lease on the East side of the Rocks, and later in 1810 she was granted a beer licence at her premises in Bells Row (Bligh Street). The 1810 lease possibly became John Verge's property via Elizabeth Cassidy about 1830. At Wilberforce from about 1814 the apothecary from Ireland and the shoplifter from London settled down to the harsh conditions of Hawkesbury farming. They grew their wheat and maize in the face of the depredations of the aborigines and in spite of frequent inundation from the river. Catherine possibly sought work as a needlewoman to supplement the family income. In 1828 they had 34 acres under cultivation and were running a horse and 18 horned cattle. Catherine was recorded as housekeeper to Moore at Wilberforce under her own name, and aged 57. Their home consisted of a rough slab hut with a bark roof, &quot;a ground floor&quot; and a crude stone fireplace. It was on the banks of the river safely above flood level. It is marked by a grassy mound that grew over the old rough stone chimney when it collapsed. Catherine died on 18 May 1838 aged 67 years and Tristram Moore died on the first anniversary of her death, on 18 May 1839. They left their original purchase, intact, to their younger daughter, Mary Ann. They were both buried at St John’s Wilberforce.

a possibiltity' norfolk island residents list; catherine johnstone.arrived N.I ship prince of wales 2/3/1789.departed 6/11/1794,c,m c== arrived as convict to the colony m=lived as married person on N.I beginning of 1789 on N.I..during this drama a number of thefts took place.king again demonstrated his ability to contain this behaviour and female prisoners got no special privileges.one of their number,catherine johnson,recieved 50 lashes for infringement of orders.ref=N.I and its first settlement.r.nobbs. --chez