Mary Ann Greenwood (1817–1874)

MARY ANN GREENWOOD (II) was a convict who was born in Paris, France, and tried and convicted at the Surrey Quarter Sessions on 26 May 1834 for stealing a large quantity of clothing from her master. Her mother, also named MARY ANN GREENWOOD (I) and also born in Paris, France, was tried and convicted alongside her for receiving the stolen goods. Their sentences were likewise the same: fourteen years transportation per George Hibbert (1834). MARY ANN the elder was a married woman with five sons and two daughters. One of the children, WILLIAM GREENWOOD (II), was a baby in her arms at the time of the trial. All seven children were transported to the colony on board the George Hibbert.

In the colony, MARY ANN GREENWOOD (I) was assigned to a LYDIA SMITH of Prospect and the Kings School (present-day Harrisford House), 182 George St, Parramatta, while MARY ANN GREENWOOD (II) was assigned to a Miss MARY REYNOLDS of Pitt Street, Sydney.

MARY ANN the younger soon found herself in trouble with her mistress MARY REYNOLDS. In May 1835, she was reported in the newspaper as a runaway who had been apprehended and committed to Sydney Gaol, from whence she was sentenced to the Parramatta Female Factory’s third class (prison class) for two months. Despite absconding from REYNOLDS’s service, she returned to her mistress, only to do it again and again. In September 1835, for example, after MARY ANN and her fellow servant JANE MACK, a convict per Buffalo (1833), returned to Miss REYNOLDS’s service following their separate two-month stints in the Parramatta Female Factory, both women absconded again and were sentenced to six weeks in the third class of the Parramatta Female Factory. In 1837, MARY ANN (II) found herself in the papers once more. She had again teamed up with JANE MACK to steal property from their mistress and abscond. Both convict servants were sentenced to twelve months in the Factory’s third class (prison class) in addition to their original sentence of transportation. This extended stay in the Factory seems to have cured MARY ANN at least, as she did not appear in the gaol admission records again after that.

With her ticket of leave in hand, in 1841 MARY ANN GREENWOOD (II) married “Currency Lad” GEORGE CHALKER, born in South Creek, Bringelly, New South Wales in 1821 to convicts WILLIAM CHALKER / WILLIAM CHARKER per Coromandel I (1) (1802) and ELIZABETH SHACKLE / ELIZABETH SHECKEL per Speke I (1) (1808).

Names

Married name: MARY ANN CHALKER
Alternate: MARY ANN CHARKER

Timeline

Born: 4 April 1817, Paris, France (birthdate retrieved from her headstone)
Brother WILLIAM GREENWOOD (II) born: 10 May 1832 (c.f. WILLIAM’s 1835 baptism record)
Tried and convicted alongside her mother for stealing clothing from master (mother guilty of receiving): 26 May 1834, Surrey Quarter Sessions, England
Mother and daughter sentenced to fourteen years transportation: 1834, Surrey, England
Trial reported in the Globe: 4 June 1834, London, England
Sentencing reported in the Globe: 6 June 1834, London, England
Sentencing reported in the Morning Post: 6 June 1834, London, England
Sentencing reported in the Dover Telegraph and Cinque Ports General Advertiser: 7 June 1834, Kent, England
Trial reported in the Kentish Mercury: London, England, 7 June 1834
Sentencing reported in The Atlas: 8 June 1834, London, England
Sentencing reported in the Leicester Herald: 11 June 1834, Leicestershire, England
Sailed with fellow convict mother and free siblings to the colony of New South Wales per George Hibbert: 27 July 1834, The Downs, England
The Greenwoods arrived in the colony of New South Wales per George Hibbert: 1 December 1834, Port Jackson, New South Wales, Australia
Disembarked from the George Hibbert: 15 December 1834, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Assigned to Miss MARY REYNOLDS of Pitt Street South, Sydney, New South Wales
Mother MARY ANN REYNOLDS (I) assigned to Kings School, Parramatta, which was then located at what is now known as Harrisford, 182 George St, Parramatta, New South Wales.
Younger sisters, ELLEN and SOPHIA, were admitted to the Female Orphan School: 16 Dec 1834, Rydalmere, New South Wales (present-day Whitlam Institute, University of Western Sydney campus)
Brother WILLIAM GREENWOOD (II) baptised: 20 March 1835, St. John’s Church, Parramatta
Absconded from her mistress MARY REYNOLDS: c. 13 May 1835, Pitt Street South, Sydney, New South Wales
Apprehended and committed to Sydney Gaol: 14 May 1835, Sydney Gaol, Sydney, New South Wales
Sentenced to the third class (prison class) of the Parramatta Female Factory for two months: 14 May 1835, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Transferred to Parramatta Female Factory prison class: 15 May 1835, Parramatta Female Factory, Fleet St, North Parramatta, New South Wales
Fellow convict servant JANE MACK absconded from Miss REYNOLDS and sentenced to two months in the Factory: 9 June 1835
Eleven days after JANE MACK’s release from Factory, both women absconded from her mistress MARY REYNOLDS: 20 September 1835, Pitt Street South, Sydney, New South Wales
Both women apprehended and committed to gaol: 26 September 1835, Sydney Gaol, New South Wales
Both women sentenced to the Parramatta Female Factory third class for six weeks: 26 September 1835, Sydney Police Office
Both women transferred: 28 September 1835, third class, Parramatta Female Factory, Fleet St, North Parramatta, New South Wales
Absconded from her mistress MARY REYNOLDS: 30 March 1836, Pitt Street South, Sydney, New South Wales
Apprehended: 13 April 1836
Absconded with fellow servant JANE MACK from mistress MARY REYNOLDS: 16 January 1837, Pitt Street South, Sydney, New South Wales
Apprehended along with JANE MACK and stolen property found in their possession: 17 January 1837
Tried alongside JANE MACK: 18 January 1837, Sydney Police Office
Both MARY ANN and JANE MACK sentenced to twelve months in the Factory: 18 January 1837, third class (prison class), Parramatta Female Factory, Fleet St, North Parramatta
Trial reported in Sydney Gazette: 21 January 1837
Trial reported in The Australian: 27 January 1837
Mother MARY ANN GREENWOOD (I) sought permission to marry former soldier and Parramatta constable JOHN LAND: 31 Oct 1837, Parramatta, New South Wales
Mother’s marriage application refused on the grounds that she stated she was married on arrival and had seven children. JOHN LAND appears to have married someone else at Parramatta the following year, namely MARY HAYNES.
Sister ELLEN GREENWOOD leaves Female Orphan School, assigned to Mr. H. BOND, Pitt Street, Sydney
Sister SOPHIA GREENWOOD leaves Female Orphan School, following her assignment: 16 December 1839
Received Ticket of Leave: 3 Dec 1840, Penrith, New South Wales
Mother MARY ANN GREENWOOD (I) received ticket of leave: 9 January 1841, Parramatta, New South Wales
Mother’s ticket of leave district altered from Parramatta to Penrith: 22 September 1841
Sought permission to marry GEORGE CHALKER / CHARKER: 5 February 1841
Married GEORGE CHALKER / GEORGE CHARKER: 3 March 1841, Clydesdale, South Creek, New South Wales
Thirteen-year-old sister ELLEN GREENWOOD stole “a quantity of wine,” became intoxicated, was severely reprimanded and absconded “to her parents in Parramatta”: 28 Feb 1844 (c.f. Law Report of ELLEN GREENWOOD 1840)
Sister ELLEN GREENWOOD’s master Mr H. BOND cautions the public in the Sydney Morning Herald about his “indented apprentice” ELLEN: 12 Jun 1844, Pitt Street South, Sydney, New South Wales (c.f. CAUTION 1844)
Mother MARY ANN GREENWOOD (I) died: 29 May 1858, South Creek, Penrith, New South Wales. (Note: death certificate stated she was born and married in Paris, France)
Mother MARY ANN GREENWOOD (I) buried: 31 May 1858, St. Mary Magdalene Anglican Churchyard, St. Mary’s, Penrith, New South Wales
Died: 7 March 1874, St. Mary’s, Penrith, New South Wales
Buried: St. Mary Magdalene Anglican Churchyard, St. Mary’s, Penrith, New South Wales.

Burial Location

Row I, Plot 21, St. Mary Magdalene Anglican Churchyard, St. Mary’s, Penrith, New South Wales

Epitaph

“Dear as thou wert, and justly dear / We will not weep for thee / One thought shall check the starting tear: / It is , that thou art free.”

Relationships

Daughter of WILLIAM GREENWOOD
Daughter of MARY ANN GREENWOOD (I)
Partner in crime: JANE MACK, convict per Buffalo (1833)
Wife of GEORGE CHALKER

Occupation

Kitchenmaid
Maid of all work

Religion

Protestant (note: MARY’s mother was Roman Catholic)

Description

Height: 5 feet 2 inches
Complexion: Ruddy
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Hazel
Education: Could read and write

Convict Number

34-409

Law Reports

“SURREY SESSIONS,” The Globe, Wednesday 4 June 1834, p. 4, accessed online via The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk), 25 October 2018. Transcript: SURREY SESSIONS — TUESDAY. (Before R. HEDGER, Esq., Chairman.) MARY GREENWOOD, a fine-looking young woman, aged 17, and her mother, MARY ANN GREENWOOD, aged 45, with an infant in her arms, were indicted, the former for stealing a large quantity of wearing apparel, and other articles, the property of her employer, Mr. JOHN HEASMAN, oilman, of St. Saviour’s, Southwark, and the latter for receiving the same, well knowing them to be stolen. The case presented another instance of the flagrant offence of robbery by servants, and being clearly proved, the Jury returned a verdict of Guilty. The Court sentenced the younger prisoner to seven years* and the mother to fourteen years’ transportation. An agonizing scene ensued after the convicts were conveyed from the bar. * This is incorrect: the convict records all indicate both mother and daughter were sentenced to fourteen years transportation.
Female Factory Online (www.femalefactoryonline.org, 2018), 21 January 1837, Law Report of JANE MACK and MARY GREENWOOD, (p18370121).
Female Factory Online (www.femalefactoryonline.org, 2018), 27 January 1837, Law Report of JANE MACK and MARY GREENWOOD, (p18370127-2).

Sources

Find a Grave (www.findagrave.com, 2013), Mary Ann Charker (1817–1874), accessed 25 October 2018.
Home Office, Convict Transportation Registers, Class: HO 11, Piece: 9, (The National Archives of the UK (TNA), Kew, Surrey, England).
Home Office, Criminal Registers, Middlesex and Home Office: Criminal Registers, England and Wales, Class: HO 27, Piece: 48, Page: 254, (The National Archives of the UK (TNA), Kew, Surrey, England).
Home Office, Settlers and Convicts, New South Wales and Tasmania, Class: HO 10, Piece 33, (The National Archives of the UK (TNA), Kew, Surrey, England).
“SURREY SESSIONS,” Leicester Herald, Wednesday 11 June 1834, p. 6, accessed online via The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk), 25 October 2018.
New South Wales Government, Annotated printed indents (i.e., office copies), NRS 12189, Item: [X636], Microfiche: 711, (State Records Authority of New South Wales, Kingswood, New South Wales, Australia).
New South Wales Government, Bound manuscript indents, 1788–1842, NRS 12188, Item: [4/4019], Microfiche: 693, (State Records Authority of New South Wales, Kingswood, New South Wales, Australia).
New South Wales Government, Entrance books [Sydney Gaol], Series 2514, Reel 852, (State Records Authority of New South Wales, Kingswood, New South Wales, Australia).
New South Wales Government, Musters and other papers relating to convict ships, Series CGS 1155, Reels 2417-2428, (State Records Authority of New South Wales. Kingswood, New South Wales, Australia).
New South Wales Government, Registers of convicts’ applications to marry, Series 12212, Item: 4/4510, (Kingswood, New South Wales, Australia: State Records Authority of New South Wales).
New South Wales Government, Tickets of Leave, 1810–1875, Series: NRS 12202; Item: [4/4146], (State Records Authority of New South Wales, Kingswood, New South Wales).
“Government Gazette Notices: List of Runaways Apprehended during the Past Week,” New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 – 1900), Wednesday 13 May 1835 [Issue No.167], p. 300.
“Government Gazette Notices. Principal Superintendent of Convicts’ Office, 22 September 1835,” New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 – 1900), Wednesday 23 September 1835 [Issue No.186], pp. 683–84.
“Government Gazette Notices. LIST OF RUNAWAYS APPREHENDED DURING THE LAST WEEK,” New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 – 1900), Wednesday 30 September 1835 [Issue No.187], p. 699
“Government Gazette Notices. Principal Superintendent of Convicts’ Office, April 5, 1836,” New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 – 1900), Wednesday 6 April 1836 [Issue No.216], pp. 309–10.
“Government Gazette Notices. LIST OF RUNAWAYS APPREHENDED DURING THE LAST WEEK,” New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 – 1900), Wednesday 13 April 1836 [Issue No.217], p. 321.
“Government Gazette Notices. Principal Superintendent of Convicts’ Office, January 17, 1837,” New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 – 1900), Wednesday 18 January 1837 [Issue No.258], p. 55.
Parish Baptism Registers, Textual Records, St. John’s Anglican Church Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia.
Sydney Diocesan Archives, Anglican Church Diocese of Sydney. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
“POLICE,” The Australian (Sydney, NSW : 1824 – 1848), Friday 27 January 1837, p. 2.
“TO THE EDITOR OF THE COLONIST, John Saunders, Bathurst Street West, Jan. 13, 1835,” The Colonist (Sydney, NSW : 1835 – 1840), Thursday 15 January 1835, p. 2.
“SURREY SESSIONS,” The Globe, Wednesday 4 June 1834, p. 4, accessed online via The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk), 25 October 2018.
“SURREY SESSIONS,” The Globe, Friday 6 June 1834, p. 4, accessed online via The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk), 25 October 2018.
“THE GLEANER. “A gatherer of other men’s stuff,” The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 – 1842), Thursday 15 January 1835, p. 2.
“POLICE INCIDENTS,” The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 – 1842), Saturday 21 January 1837, p. 3.
“SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE. ARRIVALS,” The Sydney Herald (NSW : 1831 – 1842), Thursday 4 December 1834, p. 2
“DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE,” The Sydney Herald (NSW : 1831 – 1842), Monday 15 December 1834, p. 2.
“DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE,” The Sydney Herald (NSW : 1831 – 1842), Thursday 18 December 1834, p. 2.
“Advertising,” The Sydney Herald (NSW : 1831 – 1842), Wednesday 16 December 1840, p. 4.
“Shipping Intelligence. SYDNEY. ARRIVALS,” The Sydney Monitor (NSW : 1828 – 1838), Wednesday 3 December 1834, p. 2.

Lists

# Convict

# French

# Trial Place: Surrey Quarter Sessions

# Punishment: Fourteen Years Transportation

# Ship: George Hibbert (1834)

# Parramatta Female Factory

# Repeat Offender