Sarah Woolley

75

iain Frazier on 24th March 2025

Family connections for Sarah (Woolley) are: WOOLLEY Sarah (Woolley) was born on 6 1 1768. She was tried w/1other for theft of printed cotton from linen shop at Old Bailey on 28 10 1789, sentenced to 7years, held probably at London/Middlesex Gaol Delivery & Newgate & arrived in NSW as a convict on 26 6 1790 after voyage of 6months on Fleet ship NEPTUNE; a voyage noted for extreme brutality of prisoners with a high death rate. On 1 8 1790 she was sent to Norfolk Island on SURPRISE, arriving on 7 8 1790. She married firstly John (Ryan) on 15 11 1791 in group ceremony on Norfolk Island & produced a child. On 22 3 1794 she left Norfolk Island with her daughter, following her husband. She was Free by Servitude by 1798.>>> [Some details taken from this Website] John (Ryan/Bryant) was born about 1759/67 & became a silk weaver. He was tried, as John (Bryant), w/1other for stealing, on 10 1 1784, cloth coat etc of Richard (Price) at Old Bailey on 14 1 1784 (quick justice), sentenced to 7years in Americas & held probably at London/Middlesex Gaol Delivery & definitely at Newgate He was sent on 30 3 1784 to American colonies as a convict on MERCURY, from which he returned to UK after mutiny on the ship achieving landfall at Torbay/Torquay? Devonshire, was captured at Helena then held at Exeter Gaol & on hulk DUNKIRK. He was reassigned & arrived in NSW as a convict on 21 1 1788 after a voyage of 8months on First Fleet ship FRIENDSHIP. On 27 2 1788 he was tried w/3others for robbery of butter, pease & pork from Public Stores & sentenced to 300lashes which were not administered by Conditional Pardon meaning he was returned to his convict life. In November 1788 he was accused of theft again, a charge which was dismissed. On 21 7 1789 he was found in a prohibited area & sentenced to 50lashes, a sentence that was superseded on 12 9 1789 by a charge of drunk & riotous behaviour resulting in 150lashes. He worked for Robert (Sedaway convict) in 1789. He was sent to Norfolk Island on 5 3 1790 on HMS SIRIUS, arriving on 17/9 3 1790 when the ship was wrecked at entrance of Sydney Bay at the island-he was very helpful in salvage of the ship, received his Freedom (by Servitude?) & was allowed to become a free settler. On 16 12 1791 he was granted 10acres at Mt Pitt Path (Charlotte Field) Queensborough in the centre of Norfolk Island. In 9 3 1793 he left Norfolk Island on KITTY. In March 1795 he was granted 30/50acres at Hawkesbury River. He was Free by Servitude by 1796. He may have left Port Jackson on 13 9 1796 to UK=Ref:'Forgotten...'. [a John (Ryan convict FRIENDSHIP) was given permission to proceed to Port Macquarie for his health on 8 10 1824.] [Some details taken from this Website; for whom there are 2entries] .. >>>Sarah (Woolley) was recorded as a landholder in 1800 with 3children & as a farmer in 1802 with 4children. She was granted land (100acres) at Mulgrave Place Hawkesbury River on 4 6 1804 near McKenzies Creek/Pitt Town Rd-which may be the land of her now-deceased husband-which became known as 'Woolleys Farm'. She had a second relationship with William (Mason his first relationship) with whom she produced 2children & later married. In 1806 her land was merged with William (Mason)s in his name at Hawkesbury. She was recorded at Hawkesbury in 1806 with her family. She married William (Mason) on 20 4 1807 at St Johns CofE Parramatta. She was living at Green Hills when she died on 12 4 1809 age41 by a fall from an overturning cart at MacKellars Creek Pitt Town, mother of 3children-she had been taken on a drive by Henry (Kable) with her daughter Elizabeth. William (Mason) was born about 1767 in Cork co.Ireland. He was tried for burglary of Samuel (McBurney) of Gloughhoge & stealing articles at Armagh in April 1791, sentenced to hang reprieved to 7years & arrived in NSW as a convict on 7 8 1793 after a voyage of 6months on BODDINGTONS. He purchased 25acres in 1802. He was Free by Servitude by 1803. In 1806 he merged his wifes land with his own in his name at Hawkesbury. He was recorded at Hawkesbury in 1806 with his family. He purchased 30acres in 1807. He became agent/rent collector for businessman Henry (Kable). In 1809 he was granted 40acres at Upper Nelson, to be held in trust for the 'orphan children' of Sarah (Woolley) & another 50acres, to be held in trust for his 2sons. He was recorded in 1828 as farmer at Pitt Town with his sons & Catherine (Frazer) housekeeper-with whom he seems to have had a second relationship (her second relationship). It seems he was recorded in 1823 as husband Catherine (Frazier) at Windsor, in 1824 at Richmond & in 1825 at Castlereagh. He cared for his step-granddaughter Catherine (Pearson) age6 after death of her parents at West Rocks Pitt Town from about 1829. In 1831 he was reduced to renting & sought grant of land. He died on 21 12 1839 age about72 father of 2known children at Pitt Town Windsor. [Some details taken from this Website] [Catherine (Frazier/er) was born about 1790. She was tried for burglary of James (Hulme) & stealing wearing apparal at Lancaster Assizes Lancashire on 29 3 1804, sentenced to 7years, held at Lancaster Castle Gaol & arrived in NSW as a convict on 11 4 1806 after a voyage of 9.5months on WILLIAM PITT. She worked for & was a concubine for Isaac (Peyton) in 1806. She was recorded in 1811 & 1814 Free by Servitude off stores w/3children (perhaps those of John (Ryan/Sarah (Woolley), in 1823 as wife W (Mason) at Windsor, in 1824 at Richmond & in 1825 at Castlereagh. She was recorded in 1828 Free by Servitude housekeeper for William (Mason) at Pitt Town.] [Some details taken from this Website] .. Sarah (Woolley) & William (Mason) produced 2children: 1.William (Mason) was born on 14 10 1803 & baptised on 21 10 1804 at St Johns CofE Parramatta. He was recorded at Hawkesbury in 1806 with his parents. In 1809 part of 50acres at Nelson was held in trust for him by his father. He was recorded in 1828 at Pitt Town with his father. He died in 1860 age about56. 2.Samuel (Mason) was born on 10 10 1805. He was recorded at Hawkesbury in 1806 with his parents. In 1809 part of 50acres at Nelson was held in trust for him by his father. He was recorded in 1828 at Pitt Town with his father. He died on 22 11 1880 age about74. Possible relation: [Noted a Joseph (Woolley) was born about 1763. He was tried at probably Old Bailey, sentenced to 7 years, held at Middlesex Gaol Delivery & arrived in NSW as a convict on 26 6 1790 after voyage of 6months on Fleet ship NEPTUNEalso. He enlisted in NSW Corps as a private on 25 11 1794 in Sydney & was sent to Norfolk Island. In 1798 he was detached to (McArthur)s company & was at Parramatta from 1801. In 1805 he was detached to (Savory)s company, In 1809 he was detached to (Brabyn)s company & to 7company. He died as private NSW Corps on 3 5 1809 at Sydney age46 & was buried at St Phillips CofE Sydney. [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'

9

Larry Wust on 12th October 2022

Sarah Woolley & Ann White were sentenced to seven years´ transportation on 28 October 1789 at the Old Bailey Sessions for the theft of a four-yard piece of printed cotton valued at 4 shillings & 6 pence from a City of London Linen Draper´s shop. They came into the shop fussing and quibbling over the price of a small piece of cotton asking one another which pattern they liked. The shopman called out “R.F” (a code warning of suspected shoplifters) to his employer in the back room. The draper said in court that he sold them the cotton at cost in order to get rid of them; ``I did not like them´´. As they left, he noticed White with her left hand in her right pocket and a bulge under her clothing near her hip. He sent the assistant out after them and the bolt of cotton was found on the floor under White's petticoats, dirty from the mud on her shoes from the wet street outside. On 11 November both women were sent from Newgate for embarkation on the “Neptune” Transport. They embarked on the Neptune and sailed for the Colony of Port Jackson from Portsmouth Harbour on 19 January 1790 with the Second Fleet. The voyage of the Neptune was horrendous with the death of one hundred & forty-seven male and eleven female convicts. If this was bad, life on the other vessels was even worse; having females on board was a bonus as they were treated better in return for ‘favours”! Sarah Woolley was described as tall with brown eyes and seventeen when she arrived in Sydney Cove. On 1st August 1790, five weeks after landing, Woolley was among one hundred & ninety-four convicts, mostly women, sent to Norfolk Island aboard the “Surprize”. At some stage soon after she met John Ryan. The couple lived on a ten-acre farm at Charlotte Field [Queens borough] where a daughter, Elizabeth was born on 28 Nov 1792. John was not much of a farmer and sailed for Sydney in March 1793 aboard the “Kitty” preparing a home in the Paramatta area where he was followed by Sarah and Elizabeth in March 1794.Three more children were born, Mary (1 Feb 1796), John (15 May 1798) and Sarah (1 Nov 1800). John Ryan was almost certainly the man of this name receiving a fifty-acre land grant on the banks of the Hawkesbury River in March 1795. By 1800 it is unclear as to what happened to John Ryan, he had either died, with no record of his burial surviving, or he had left the colony. He has not been traced in any later records. To complicate matters, by that time there were multiple “John Ryan’s” in the colonies. In the same year Sarah was listed as a landholder in her own right, a status usually accorded to widows. She owned seven hogs, fourteen acres sown in wheat and five in maize. She was self-supporting, with three children maintained by government rations. By 1802 she was fully supporting four children, owned thirty hogs, and had twenty acres sown in wheat with ten bushels of wheat and twenty of maize in store. By the end of 1802 Sarah and the children were befriended by a William Mason and soon were living together. William, from Armagh, Northern Ireland, also a freed convict arrived in the colony on 7 Aug 1793 on the “Boddington”. Sarah bore him two sons William Mason, born 14 October 1803 and Samuel Mason on 10 October 1805.Sarah and William married on the 20 April 1807 and by implication, John Ryan was no longer alive. Prior to their marriage on 4 June 1804 Sarah had been given a land grant of one hundred acres in the District of Mulgrave Place to be known as “Woolley’s Farm”. Sarah and William had become agents (rent collectors) for a Henry Keeble and on 12 April 1809 he was visiting the Mason home on business and Sarah asked him to take her and Elizabeth (now 18) for a ride in his chaise to Richmond as she was feeling “down in spirits”. As they were proceeding along the track the chaise hit a hidden tree stump which caused the horse to bolt. Subsequently all occupants were thrown out with Sarah sustaining fatal injuries. The Sydney Gazette of Sunday 16 April 1809 reported “ the funeral was numerously and respectably attended many persons travelling from ten to twenty miles to pay this last respect to a departed much lamented friend whose kindness of disposition and obliging manners have ever been the admiration of all who were acquainted with her ; as a mother and a wife her conduct was exemplary ; and her loss will be for ever be sincerely regretted by a disconsolate husband and a family of six children”.

54

Phil Hands on 26th February 2018

Tried and convicted at the Old Bailey on 28th October 1789 for the theft of 4 yards of printed cotton valued at 8 shillings, sentenced to 7 years transportation. Left England on 19th January 1790. Ship:- the 'Neptune' sailed with 424 male and 78 female convicts on board of which 147 males and 11 female convicts died during the voyage, this was by far the worst number of recorded deaths from one single ship during the whole time of transportation. Arrived on 28th June 1790. Sarah Woolley & Ann White were sentenced to seven years transportation at the 28th October 1789 Old Bailey Sessions for the theft of a four yard piece of printed cotton valued at 8 shillings from a City of London Linen Draper's shop. They came into the shop fussing and quibblin g over the price of a small piece of cotton asking one another which pattern they liked. Th e shopman called out R.F (a code warning of suspected shoplifters) to his employer in the bac k room. The draper said in court that he sold them the cotton at cost in order to get rid o f them; I did not like them. As they left he noticed White with her left hand in her right pocket and a bulge under her clothing near her hip. He sent the assistant out after them and the bolt of cotton was found on the floor under White's petticoats, dirty from the mud on her shoes from the wet street outside. On 11th November both women were sent from Newgate for embarkation on the 'Neptune' Transport. On 1st August 1790, five weeks after landing, Woolley was among 194 convicts, mostly women, sen t to Norfolk Island on the Surprize. Woolley and the First Fleet convict John Ryan ('Friendship' 1788) were almost certainly among a large group of couples married by the Reverend Richard Johnson when he visited the island in November 1791. They were probably living together by February 1791 when each was issued with a pig under Major Ross's scheme designed to encourage convicts to become self-sufficient. The couple lived on a 10 acre farm at Charlott e Field [Queensborough] where a daughter, Elizabeth was born in 1792. Ryan sailed for Sydney in March 1793, followed by Sarah and the child in March 1794. two more children were born : Mary (1796) and John (1798). Ryan was almost certainly the man of this name receiving a 50 acre land grant on the banks of the Hawkesbury River in March 1795. By 1800 he had either died , with no record of his burial surviving, or left the colony. he has not been traced in any later record. In that year Sarah was listed as a landholder in her own right, a status usually accorded to widows. She owned 7 hogs and had 14 acres sown in wheat and 5 in Maize. She was self supporting, with three children maintained by government rations. By 1802 she was fully supporting four children, owned 30 hogs, and had 20 acres sown in wheat with 10 bushels of wheat and 20 of Maize in store. The birth of her fourth child Sarah Ryan was recorded on 1 November 1800. From 1800 no record of John Ryan has been found. In October 1803 she bore a child, William fathered by William Mason (b 1767, Boddingtons 1793 , tried Armagh, Ireland) whom she married on 20 April 1807. Another son, Samuel, was born around 1806. Mason's wheat stack was destroyed by fire in the hot, dry January of 1804. In June of that year Sarah was granted 100 acres in the Hawkesbury district which by 1806 was merged with mason's land in a single holding under his name. In 1802 he purchased a 25 acre farm originally granted to William Marsden. In 1807 he purchased from Richard Tuckwell 30 acres originally granted to Giles Mower. Woolley's 100 acres were near the point where Pitt Town Road crossed McKenzies Creek. The couple had achieved a comfortable level of prosperity by 180 6 with 166 acres (just over 26 in wheat, maize and potatoes), 2 horses, 50 goats, 12 hogs, an d 18 bushels of grain in store. They fully supported themselves, six children and two convict workers. On 12th April 1809 Sarah asked the local businessman Henry Kable Senior to take her for a drive from Green Hills (Windsor) to Richmond for the sake of her health. Accompanied by her eldest daughter Elizabeth they set off by the riverside road. The chaise struck a concealed stump near Mackellars Creek throwing Kable to the ground. The women screamed at the jerk, causing the horse to bolt, throwing them as well. Sarah said one of the wheels had passed over her back and declared herself a dying women. She died in her daughter's arms within half an hour, before medical help could arrive. Her funeral the next day was reported by the Sydney Gazette to have been numerously and respectably attended, many persons travelling from ten to twenty miles to pay this last tribute of respect to a departed much lamented friend, whose kindness of disposition and obliging manners have ever been the admiration of all who were acquainted with her; as a mother and a wife her conduct was exemplary. Sarah died on 12th April 1809 when she was thrown from the carriage in which she was travelling from Windsor to Richmond, she was 41 years old.

8

Geraldine Rae on 18th March 2017

Married 1. John Ryan (aka Bryant) on Norfolk Island in Nov 1791. Returned to Sydney in 1794 - four children with John Ryan. Married 2. William Mason in Parramatta in 1807. Two sons with William Mason. Died near Pitt Town in 1809.

7

alysia cawthorn on 1st February 2016

In October 1803 she bore a child, William, fathered by William Mason (b.c1767, "Boddingtons" 1793, tried Armagh, Ireland), whom she married on 20 April 1807. Another son, Samuel, was born around 1806. Masons wheat stack was destroyed by a fire in the hot, dry January of 1804.

94

Dennis Nightingale on 7th May 2015

Sydney Gazette Sun 16 Apr 1809 - On Wednesday last Mrs Mason, wife of Mr William Mason of the Green Hills, was unfortunately thrown for a chaise near MacKellar's Creek, and expired in about half an hour.

9

Larry Wust on 26th September 2014

Arrived in Australia on Second Fleet. Due to food shortage in colony, she volunteered to go to Norfolk Island where she met and married another convict John Ryan. They had one child whilst on N.I.On arrival back in N.S.W.they had 3 more children, after the last being born in 1800, John either died or left the colony. No record of either. Sarah then married William Mason& they had 2 children. Sarah was granted land on the Hawkesbury river around Mulgrave Place.in 1809 she was thrown from a cart and was killed.

Norfolk Island Resident list. sarah woolley.ship=neptune.arrived 7/8/1790-departed 22/3/1794.c,m c=arrived as convict to colony m=lived as married person on N.I. child? elizabeth woolley.born N.I 28/11/92.depart 22/3/1794. ref raymond nobbs.norfolk island and its first settlement. --chez

Sarah married another convict, John Ryan in 1791. They had 4 children. Sarah died on 4th Dec. 1809 at McKenzies Creek, New South Wales.