Sarah Lake

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lancemerritt on 16th January 2025

convict not covict William Walker is not father of child With no male convicts aboard the AEOLUS Susannah Lake’s biological father must have been a sailor, officer or freeman whom Sarah encountered during the voyage. The pregnancy duration would have been only thirty-two weeks for conception to occur in Sydney. The obvious deduction is he was Crewman George Palmer, who Sarah named the father at baptism. Sarah Lake might have named the father who was not the biological father, but a resident of Sydney or Parramatta she met after the voyage. The only person of similar name to the father identified at Sydney coincidental the baptism is discounted as the biological father of Susannah Lake. George Thomas Palmer, Lieutenant in the 61st Regiment and later a member of the Court of Civil jurisdiction, was the well-connected son of John Palmer, Commissary. Sarah Lake baptised her daughter ‘Susannah’ on the 1 October 1809, born 10 September 1809, with named father ‘George Palmer’. There is no reason to doubt Sarah Lake’s assertion of the biological father. Some researchers have offered ‘William Watkins’ and ‘William Walker’ as optional biological father of Susannah Lake. These nominated fathers are sourced from a poor copy of the hand-written New South Wales colonial index for the November 1822 colonial muster; neither are correct. The primary record for ‘Walker’ is constable’s notes taken for the August 1822 muster contained in the Census and Population Books, Parramatta (Baulkham Hill), 1822, Book 3. The latter places Susannah Lake in the household of Richard Walker at Gloucester Street, the Rocks, Sydney. William Watkins and William Walker attributed by others as possible father are inexact transcriptions of the 1822 muster index. ‘Richard Walker’ is accurate description of a person associated with Sarah Lake and her daughter Susannah Lake. The compiler’s transcriptions presented here in varied format, are accurate details extracted from constables’ notes for the 1822 muster : Richard Walker . Free . Ticket of Leave . . Came in ship Gambier . . [no description] Mary Meadows . . Free . Ticket of Leave . . Came in ship Aelos . . . wife Susannah Lake. . Age 12 . . . . . . . . . . Born in Colony . . . . . Child The concurrent index for the muster shows : Lake Susannah . . Age 12 . . Born in Colony . . Child of Wm Walker ‘Child’ in the muster record is a general description under the heading ‘By whom or how employed’ that was reasonably misinterpreted by the colonial index compiler as ‘child of above’. On reflection, the constable census taker may have used a job description for Susannah, and the index compiler should have transcribed ‘Richard’ correctly. There is no connection to persons entered in the same constable’s note book with same names residing in Cambridge Street, close to Richard Walker in Gloucester Street : R.d Walker. . . Conditional Pardon. . Came in ship Somerset. . . . 14 year sentence Mary Walker . . Came Free . . . . . . Came in ship Northampton . . wife Mary Walker . . Age 1 . . . . . . . . Came Free . . . . .. . . . . Child of above Emma Walker . . Age 5 . . . . . . . . Came Free . . . . .. . . . . Child of above Maria Walker. . Age 8 . . . . . . . . Came Free . . . . .. . . . . Child of above At first glance, Susannah Lake, aged 12 years in the 1822 muster and muster index records, might be child of Richard Walker (born 1765) and Mary Meadows (born 1783) of Gloucester Street. Mary Meadows knew Susannah’s mother well; she was convicted in the same sitting of the Exeter court and they voyaged together. Richard Walker is not the father of Susannah Lake. At time of her conception, her mother, Sarah Lake, was aboard the ship AEOLUS, whereas, Walker was aboard the ship ADMIRAL GAMBIER. Most likely, Sarah sent her daughter Susannah to her friend Mary Meadows to work in Walker’s hotel on The Rocks about 1820. This is just small piece from my large work on Sarah Lake/Smith/Weaver Ask if you want the full story lancemerritt@hotmail.com

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Margaret Weston on 18th August 2023

Sarah Lake was born at Exeter, Devon on 11 April 1791 and baptised one month later in the Presbyterian Bow Meeting House. It was later known as the Mint or Georges Meeting House and still stood in 2009, transformed from a dissenting church meeting place to a Pub. In her teens Sarah worked for an umbrella and parasol manufacturer at 119 Fore Street, Exeter in the old West Quarter. The umbrella and parasol business opened about 1795 and the manufactured goods were sold from the shop front of the premises. In a crime of opportunity, she stole eleven umbrellas from her master Mr John Kelland and passed them on to her accomplices, Rebecca Searle and May Endacott, both about the same age as Sarah. All were apprehended and committed for trial at the Exeter Quarter Sessions of the Peace. At the age of seventeen years, on 25 April 1808, at the Exeter Guildhall, Sarah Lake was found guilty of stealing and sentenced to seven years transportation. The case was reported in Trewman’s Exeter Flying Post on Thursday 28 April 1808. Sarah Lake’s first and illegitimate child, Susannah, was born at Sydney, New South Wales on 10 September 1809, the father’s identity being problematic: Two possible fathers are named on different colonial records; William Watkins, and George Palmer. The time of birth suggests that Sarah Lake, aged eighteen years, became pregnant about the first week of December 1808, before the Æolus reached Australia and some seven weeks before her arrival at Sydney on 26 January 1809. Firstly Sarah's lineage and siblings: Samuel LAKE Born At circa 1755 Married in Saint Mary Arches, Exeter, Devon, England On 22.04.1778 to Mary WOLLOCOTT Born circa 1758 Children: Elizabeth LAKE Bapt at Exeter Devon, England On 10.02.1779 Mary LAKE Bapt at Exeter Devon, England On 25.03.1781 Samuel LAKE Bapt at Exeter Devon, England On 04.03.1784 Daniel LAKE Bapt at Exeter Devon, England On 12.03.1786 John LAKE Bapt at Exeter Devon, England On 23.03.1788 Died at Exeter Devon, England Before 1793 James LAKE Born at Exeter Devon, England On 28.10.1789 Bapt 15.11.1789 Died at Exeter Devon, England On 01.03.1791 Sarah LAKE Born at Exeter Devon, England On 11.04.1791 Bapt 09.05.1791 Died at Brilliant Street Bathurst, NSW on 21.07.1876 John LAKE (2) Born at Exeter Devon, England On 30.12.1792 Bapt 05.02.1793 All children baptised at the Presbyterian Bow Meeting House, later Mint or Georges Meeting House, Exeter, Devon, England. First relationship of Sarah Lake to bear issue Unmarried Sarah Lake became pregnant during her voyage to New South Wales aboard the all female convict transport ship Æolus There are two alternate names given of the father, either: (1) William WATKINS or (2) George PALMER Issue: Susannah LAKE Born at Parramatta NSW On 10.09.1809 Bapt in St Johns Church At Parramatta NSW On 01.10.1809 Died Aged 28 years At Sydney NSW On 1837 Buried at Scots Church Sydney NSW Second relationship of Sarah Lake to bear issue: William SMITH Born at Warwickshire England on 1762-64 Died on 26.08.1829 At Prospect, NSW Buried St John Church On 29.08.1829 Married in St Johns Church Parramatta, NSW On 06.09.1811 Issue: Unmarried: John SMITH (Baptized John Lake) Born at Parramatta NSW On 27.01.1811 Married: Charlotte SMITH Born at Parramatta NSW On 11.12.1812 Died at St James, Sydney NSW On 06.04.1841 Mary Ann SMITH Born at Parramatta NSW On 24.03.1815 Elizabeth SMITH Born at Parramatta NSW On 06.05.1817 (male child) SMITH Born at Parramatta NSW 1820 William Thomas SMITH Born at Prospect/Parramatta NSW On 16.10.1823 James SMITH Born at Prospect/Parramatta NSW On 26.02.1827 Died at Mt Panorama NSW On 06.01.1898 William Smith was 68-69 years old when James was born. Family history has it that in his final years, William was very feeble and suffered from dementia; so it is highly likely - though only a DNA test of descendants would prove it - Jame's natural father is Thomas Weaver(s) who was indenture to Sarah at that stage. This is given further credence by: Third relationship of Sarah Lake to bear issue: Thomas WEAVERS Born At Presteigne Wales UK On 1788 Died at Bathurst NSW On 06.07.1864 Married in St Phillips Church At Sydney, NSW On 19.09.1833 Issue: Thomas George WEAVERS Born at Sydney NSW On 28.10.1833 Bapt in St James Church On 12.01.1834 Died at Trangie NSW On 28.05.1903 I am happy to be of further assistance if any further detail or clarification is sought.

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Robert Hays on 31st August 2018

Married fellow convict William Smith 6 Sep 1811 St. Johns Parramatta. 7 children.

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lancemerritt on 10th October 2015

Transported Aeolus pregnant on voyage by crew Married (1) convict William Smith per Perseus at Parramatta 06/09/1811 Married (2) covict Thomas Weavers per Shipley(2) at Sydney 19/09/1833 no SHOP GIRL occupation she stole Parasols from employer