William Morgan
Birth
Death Marriage Spouse Marriage Spouse Father Mother Sibling/s Children |
abt 1764
22 October 1828 25 June 1785 Mary Jones (didn't marry) Eleanor Redchester Ann Morgan Lucy Fraser Morgan William Fraser Morgan Sarah Fraser Morgan Richard Fraser Morgan |
Location
Location Location Location |
Hopesay, Shropshire, England
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Shropshire, England |
William Morgan was born about 1764 in Hopesay, Shropshire, England.
He married Mary Jones on the 25th of June 1785 in Shropshire, England. He was a wheelwright and carpenter while Mary was a dressmaker. Mary was known as Molly Morgan On 8 August 1789 Molly was tried at the Shrewsbury Assizes and sentenced to transportation to Australia for seven years for having stolen hempen yarn from a bleaching factory. Transportation to New South Wales was relatively new with the First Fleet arriving in Sydney on the 26th of January 1788 with 11 ships of crew and convicts. William enlisted as a Private in the NSW Corps in late December 1789. |
He departed England on the 19th of January 1790 and arrived in Sydney as a Private on the 27th of June 1790 aboard the ship 'Neptune'.
Built in the River Thames in 1779, at 809 tons she was the largest ship of the fleet. In company with Surprize and Scarborough she sailed from England with 421 male and 78 female convicts on 19 January 1790. Her Master was Donald Traill, Surgeon was William Gray, Assistant Surgeon was D'Arcy Wentworth, and 1st Mate was William Ellington. They arrived at the Cape of Good Hope on 13 April 1790, and spent sixteen days there, taking on provisions, and twelve male convicts from HMS Guardian which had been wrecked after striking an iceberg. She and Scarborough were parted from Surprize in heavy weather and arrived at Port Jackson on 28 June 160 days out from England. During the voyage 158 convicts died (31%) and 269 (53%) were sick when landed. |
The Second Fleet had the highest mortality rate in the history of Transportation. On the Neptune 178 men and 11 women died on the passage out. The vessel was later referred to as the Hell Ship Neptune.
Upon their return to England, the Master, Donald Traill, and Chief Mate, William Ellerington, were privately prosecuted for the murder of an unnamed convict, along with a seaman named Andrew Anderson and a cook named John Joseph. After a trial lasting three hours before Sir James Marriott in the Admiralty Court, the jury acquitted both men on all charges "without troubling the Judge to sum up the evidence". There were no public prosecutions, as public prosecutions in Britain did not exist until 1880.
Molly also arrived in Sydney aboard the Neptune with the Second Fleet and was sent to Parramatta. There she was joined by William and, after she gained a ticket-of-leave, they opened a small shop. On 9 November 1794, after gaining a ticket-of-leave, she escaped back to England in the store-ship 'Resolution' with thirteen other convicts whose sentences had not expired. While back in England, Molly worked as a dressmaker in Plymouth, where she bigamously married Thomas Mears, a brassfounder. In 1803 Molly was arrested; regarding the reason for her arrest, reports differ, most stating that Mears accused his 'wife' of burning their house down, but a reading of the charge indicates that it was for her inability to honour a promissory note and a debt of £20. Molly was tried at the Croydon Sessions on 10 October 1803, found guilty and once again was sentenced to transportation to Australia for seven years.
Molly would go on to become one of the largest landholders on the Hunter River, much like William's next partner Ellen who became one the first women to own land in Australia.
William met Eleanor Fraser. She was known as Ellen or Nell. Ellen came to Australia as part of the First Fleet with her first husband William Fraser.
William and Ellen would never marry, however they would have 5 children, all of whom took their mother's surname of Fraser as a middle name. The children were born between 1797 and 1806.
William and Ellen seperated a few times in their relationship, finally separating around 1806.
Ellen would go on to have a relationship with a man named Thomas Humphries. In her will, Ellen would leave land to her sons William and Richard.
William died on the 22nd of October 1828 in Concord aged about 64 years.
Upon their return to England, the Master, Donald Traill, and Chief Mate, William Ellerington, were privately prosecuted for the murder of an unnamed convict, along with a seaman named Andrew Anderson and a cook named John Joseph. After a trial lasting three hours before Sir James Marriott in the Admiralty Court, the jury acquitted both men on all charges "without troubling the Judge to sum up the evidence". There were no public prosecutions, as public prosecutions in Britain did not exist until 1880.
Molly also arrived in Sydney aboard the Neptune with the Second Fleet and was sent to Parramatta. There she was joined by William and, after she gained a ticket-of-leave, they opened a small shop. On 9 November 1794, after gaining a ticket-of-leave, she escaped back to England in the store-ship 'Resolution' with thirteen other convicts whose sentences had not expired. While back in England, Molly worked as a dressmaker in Plymouth, where she bigamously married Thomas Mears, a brassfounder. In 1803 Molly was arrested; regarding the reason for her arrest, reports differ, most stating that Mears accused his 'wife' of burning their house down, but a reading of the charge indicates that it was for her inability to honour a promissory note and a debt of £20. Molly was tried at the Croydon Sessions on 10 October 1803, found guilty and once again was sentenced to transportation to Australia for seven years.
Molly would go on to become one of the largest landholders on the Hunter River, much like William's next partner Ellen who became one the first women to own land in Australia.
William met Eleanor Fraser. She was known as Ellen or Nell. Ellen came to Australia as part of the First Fleet with her first husband William Fraser.
William and Ellen would never marry, however they would have 5 children, all of whom took their mother's surname of Fraser as a middle name. The children were born between 1797 and 1806.
William and Ellen seperated a few times in their relationship, finally separating around 1806.
Ellen would go on to have a relationship with a man named Thomas Humphries. In her will, Ellen would leave land to her sons William and Richard.
William died on the 22nd of October 1828 in Concord aged about 64 years.
References
http://australianroyalty.net.au/individual.php?pid=I67762&ged=purnellmccord.ged
http://www.historyaustralia.org.au/twconvic/8900 CHECK FOR MORE INFO
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Fleet_%28Australia%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neptune_%28ship%29
http://members.iinet.net.au/~perthdps/convicts/2ndfleet.html
http://www.jenwilletts.com/convict_ship_neptune_1790.htm
http://www.markbutz.com/genealogy/w_hart_fg.html
http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/morgan-molly-2480
http://www.maitland.nsw.gov.au/Library/Resources/File/LH%20Fact%20sheets/People/pdf%20docs/Molly%20Morgan_Final.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopesay
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=738794.0
http://www.historyaustralia.org.au/twconvic/8900 CHECK FOR MORE INFO
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Fleet_%28Australia%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neptune_%28ship%29
http://members.iinet.net.au/~perthdps/convicts/2ndfleet.html
http://www.jenwilletts.com/convict_ship_neptune_1790.htm
http://www.markbutz.com/genealogy/w_hart_fg.html
http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/morgan-molly-2480
http://www.maitland.nsw.gov.au/Library/Resources/File/LH%20Fact%20sheets/People/pdf%20docs/Molly%20Morgan_Final.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopesay
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=738794.0