Abraham Lee

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Heather Stevens on 24th January 2022

Abraham Lee was found guilty on 27 February 1788 at the Old Bailey, London, of stealing two live rabbits and four small wooden casks containing brandy, rum, gin bitters and raspberry gin from the "Black Horse" public house in George-yard, Whitechapel. John Myers, an alleged accomplice, was acquitted. The jury found Abraham guilty of the theft only, not of burglary, so he avoided the death penalty and was sentenced to 7 years transportation. He made a separate statement saying that he lodged at Mr Harvey's at Spitalfields, and that he was a wheelwright employed by Mr Marsden of Mile End. Mr Marsden appeared as a character witness at his trial. He was held at Newgate Gaol then sent to the Ceres hulk at Langstone Harbour Portsmouth on 12 August 1788, age given as 22. He was embarked on the Surprize in November 1789, arriving in Sydney in June 1790 as part of the Second Fleet. On 6 May 1798 Abraham Lee married Elizabeth Youngson (First Fleet, the Prince of Wales) at St Philip's Church, Sydney, by banns by Samuel Marsden. Elizabeth "Youngston" and Abraham Lee marked the register with a cross. Witnesses were Thomas Wilson and Ann Wilson Abraham and Elizabeth separated. Abraham Lee had a son, Abraham Baker (born about 1804), with Ann Baker. He sold a house in the Rocks, Sydney to Ann Baker for £14 in November 1804. In the 1806 muster, Lee was recorded (as Charles Lee) as a constable at Sydney. He was still a constable in 1810 but was listed as a labourer in 1814. Ann Baker died on 13 August 1810, leaving a house, garden and furniture at the Rocks, Sydney. Abraham Lee and George Tilley both lodged claims for the right to be the guardian of her son, six year old Abraham. The case was referred to the Sydney Bench of Magistrates, and Tilly, who was the administrator of Ann Baker's estate, gained custody of the boy. Abraham Lee died in December 1819 at Sydney General Hospital of "hydrothorax". He was buried (as Charles Lee) on 8 December 1819 in the Old Sydney Burial Ground (where Sydney Town Hall now stands). The burial register of St Phillips Church recorded his age as 57. Abraham's son, Abraham Baker was a wheelwright like his father. He was listed in the 1822 muster in the Windsor district. He was buried on 20 February 1837 at Liverpool. Sources: Old Bailey trial https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/browse.jsp?div=t17880227-20 ; Michael Flynn, "The Second Fleet: Britain’s Grim Convict Armada of 1790" (1993); Biographical Database of Australia (BDA).