Ornithologist, Optometrist, Obstetrician, Oncologist, Orderly, Orchardist, Ostler, Overseer, Outworker, Outlaw, Owler
A tricky letter, but now that I have been thinking, one that actually has quite number of occupations to choose from...just nobody in my tree that fits the bill. When I frst saw Owler in a list I thought BINGO that's the one, possibly something to do with Owls and perhaps the collection of. But no, foiled again. Owlers were sheep smugglers, not admirers of those night time feathered friends.
Some of my Somerset ancestors had orchards of apples, but I don't know enough to be able to say they were Orchardists. They described themselves as Farmers and the apples I suspect became cider and most likely for their own use.
Perhaps Outlaw is the one to follow, not that Mary Brown was truly an outlaw in the sense of Robin Hood or Ned Kelly.
Mary Ann Brown was born in London about 1811.[1] It has been suggested by other researchers of this family that she was baptised at St Giles, Cripplegate; the daughter of Thomas Brown and Emma nee Newman.[2] However, this is unconfirmed. Mary was 5’ 2” tall with brown hair, light hazel eyes and a freckled, pockmarked complexion in the earliest record found describing her physical features.[3]
On 17th December 1828, at about 4pm she visited the house of Edward Scott on Holborn Hill, where he also ran his shoemaking business.[4] She was with Mary Cannon a kitchen maid, who at nineteen was two years older than her.[5] While left briefly unattended in the parlour of Scott’s house they each secreted a parcel containing two pairs of shoes beneath their arms.[6] They would have likely been wearing cloaks which will have aided their cause, as it was noted that weather was wet.[7] One of Mr Scott’s servants noticed something amiss and alerted him.[8]
They were apprehended outside the house next door by Mr Scott and other witnesses who came to his aid.[9] Mary Cannon fought and tried to make her escape, but Mary Brown remained calm and protested her innocence.[10] They were taken to the watch house, and then to Newgate Prison.[11] It is not clear where the watch house was, but Newgate was a relatively short walk from the scene of the crime.[12]
Figure 1. Map of London
1851 – Cross’s London Guide. Source: Map and Plan Collection Online,
London1851. Accessed 27 May 2018. http://london1851.com/cross13b.htm
They were tried at the Old Bailey on 15th January 1829 for simple larceny; stealing four pairs of shoes. Mary Brown’s statement of defence was again that she was innocent, while Mary Cannon begged for the mercy of the court.[13] Neither of the Marys had a previous sentence recorded on their Convict Indent but both were found guilty and sentenced to seven years transportation.[14] They spent three months in Newgate and were transferred to the Sovereign before 27th March 1829.[15] It sailed on 15th April with a cargo of 119 female convicts, 22 children and 10 passengers.[16]
On arrival in Sydney on 3rd August, Mary was assigned to Mrs Milson of North Shore.[17] Her husband James had been in Sydney since 1806 and in the early 1820s was granted a lease of 50 acres at North Shore.[18] In 1826 a bush fire destroyed many buildings and rebuilding was still underway when Mary arrived.[19]
The Milson’s new home Brisbane House, a grand home which looked over Lavender Bay, was not completed until 1831.[20] Their other home, Grantham, a sandstone bungalow stood on the site where Greenway Apartments and the James Milson retirement village now stand.[21] Both houses were demolished in 1925-26 during the construction of the harbour bridge.[22] On her Convict Indent, Mary’s trade was described as “Allwork”, she may have worked in the kitchen, or as a general maid.[23]
On 10th January 1831 Mary appears in the Gaol Entrance Books, admitted for making a false charge about her mistress.[24] She was sentenced to ten days in a cell and returned to service.[25] A few months later, she appears again. This time, 23rd August 1831, for being frequently drunk. Her punishment was 3rd class for 6 weeks and returned to Government due to abuse of her master.[26]
In April 1832 Mary was reassigned to Mary Dell of George Street.[27] This assignment was not published until October 1832 by which time she may or may not have still been in service with Mary Dell. She next appears in a list of absconded convicts in December 1832, described as having absconded from the Factory under a Colonial Sentence.[28]
After this, her trail goes cold for a few years. The lack of surviving records from the Parramatta Female Factory leads to conjecture as to her whereabouts. Again, similar to the speculation regarding her birth and parents, it has been suggested by fellow researchers that she may have been assigned to the man who became her husband from the Factory, or selected by him to marry.[29] However, there is no record of a marriage in the Applications to Marry records, nor at New South Wales Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages.
Mary must have met Mowbray Bessell in 1834, or early 1835 as their first child was born in October 1835.[30] A second child was born in June 1837 and both were baptised in Sydney on December 25th.[31] Baptism records for their third, fourth and eighth children record them as married but for Caroline and Emma born in 1849, Mary appears as Mary Brown.[32] Perhaps though, the minister recorded her maiden name in this instance.[33]
Mowbray was born in Mitcham, Surrey in 1803. [34] His background was vastly different to Mary’s. His father had been a Captain in the Horse Guard and was the first Secretary of the General Steam Navigation Company.[35] His grandfather had been a translator at the Old Bailey and his brothers were established in business in London and in China.[36] He arrived in Sydney on the Countess of Harcourt in September 1828 with a detachment of the 63rd Regiment.[37] In 1834, when a newly arrived passenger on the British Sovereign advertised in the newspaper enquiring as to his whereabouts, he had left the regiment and found employment as an upholsterer.[38]
They relocated to Wollongong between 1838-1839, where Mowbray found employment as a brickmaker and where they remained for the rest of their lives.[39] It is noted as Mary’s place of residence on her Certificate of Freedom in 1840, so there must have been some formal record that has not survived, which allowed her to reside there.[40] Their third child was born and baptised in Wollongong in 1839 and they can be found on the 1841 census at Garden Hill.[41] On the census Mary is recorded as “Arriving Free in the Colony”.[42] Whether this was an error or an attempt to bury her past is unknown.
Figure 3. Robert Marsh Westmacott, ‘Wollongong from the stockade, April 20th, 1840’. Watercolour on paper, National Library of Australia. Source: University of Wollongong, ‘The Story of the Illawarra Stockade’, Michael Organ, Accessed 28 May 2018. https://www.uow.edu.au/~morgan/stockade.htm.
There had been a stockade in Wollongong since 1829 and the settlement was officially gazetted in 1834.[43] Dairying dominated the economy and mining began in 1849.[44] The family lived in Garden Hill, Church Street and Crown Street and for a time farmed near Dapto.[45]
Married life, companionship and motherhood must have agreed with Mary. She only appeared once more in court, in January 1865, as the plaintiff though rather than the defendant.[46] Together they raised a family of five daughters and one son (two other daughters died in infancy); when she died in 1873 she had seventeen grandchildren.[47] She and Mowbray are buried, with no surviving markers, in the Wollongong Cemetery.[48] Bessell Avenue, North Wollongong is named in honour of her son’s family.[49] His home stood on the corner of Bessell Avenue and Bourke Street, now the site of the Normandie Motel and Function Centre.[50]
[1] Old Bailey Online, 'Mary Cannon, Mary Ann Brown.', https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/browse.jsp?id=t18290115-50-off234&div=t18290115-50#highlight, Accessed 27 May 2018.
[2] Ancestry, Baptism Mary Ann Brown, 'England,
Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 [database on-line].',Original data:
England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975. Salt Lake City, Utah:
FamilySearch, 2013. Accessed 27 May 2018.
[3] Ancestry, Mary Ann Brown, Australia
Convict Record Index 1787-1867, State Library of Queensland; South Brisbane,
Queensland, Australia; Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 89,
Class and Piece Number HO11/7, Page Number 41 (23), Accessed 2 May 2018.
[4] Old Bailey Online, 'Mary Cannon, Mary
Ann Brown.'
[5] Old Bailey Online, 'Mary Cannon, Mary
Ann Brown.'
[6] Old Bailey Online, 'Mary Cannon, Mary
Ann Brown.'
[7] Old Bailey Online, 'Mary Cannon, Mary
Ann Brown.'
[8] Old Bailey Online, 'Mary Cannon, Mary
Ann Brown.'
[9] Old Bailey Online, 'Mary Cannon, Mary
Ann Brown.'
[10] Old Bailey Online, 'Mary Cannon, Mary
Ann Brown.'
[11] Old Bailey Online, 'Mary Cannon, Mary
Ann Brown.'
[12] Old Bailey Online, 'Mary Cannon, Mary
Ann Brown.'
[13] Old Bailey Online, 'Mary Cannon, Mary
Ann Brown.'
[14] Old Bailey Online, 'Mary Cannon, Mary Ann
Brown.'
[15] Ancestry, Royal Navy Medical Journals,
Sovereign, 'UK, Royal Navy Medical Journals, 1817-1857 [database on-line].',
Original data: Admiralty and predecessors: Office of the Director General of
the Medical Department of the Navy and predecessors: Medical Journals (ADM 101,
804 bundles and volumes). Records of Medical and Prisoner of War Departments.
Records of the Admiralty, Naval Forces, Royal Marines, Coastguard, and related
bodies. The National Archives. Kew, Richmond, Surrey. Accessed 27 May 2018.
[16] Ancestry, UK Royal Navy Medical
Journal, Sovereign.
[17] Ancestry, Convict Record for Mary Ann
Brown.
[18] Dictionary of Sydney, 'Milsons Point',
https://dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/milsons_point, Accessed 27 May 2018.
[19] Dictionary of Sydney, 'Milsons Point'.
[20] Dictionary of Sydney, 'Milsons Point'.;
North Sydney Council, 'Walking', https://www.northsydney.nsw.gov.au/Library_Databases/Heritage_Centre/Leaflets_Walks_Publications/Local_walks/A_Place_to_Work_and_Play.pdf,
Accessed 27 May 2018.; At Home in North Sydney, 'Brisbane House',
http://www.athomeinnorthsydney.com.au/brisbane-house.html, Accessed 27 May
2018.
[21] Dictionary of Sydney, 'Milsons Point'.
[22] Dictionary of Sydney, 'Milsons Point'.
[23] Ancestry, Convict Record for Mary Ann
Brown.
[24] Ancestry, Gaol Entrance Description
Book Mary Ann Brown, 'New South Wales, Australia, Gaol Description and Entrance
Books, 1818-1930 [database on-line].', Original data: State Archives NSW; Roll:
855. Accessed 27 May 2018.
[25] Ancestry, Gaol Entrance Description
Book Mary Ann Brown.
[26] Ancestry, Gaol Entrance Description
Book Mary Ann Brown.
[27] 'List of Female Convicts Assigned
Between The 1st And 30th April, 1832', New
South Wales Government Gazette, 17 October 1832, p344.
[28] 'Principal Superintendent of Convict’s
Office’, Sydney Gazette and New South
Wales Advertiser, 27 December 1832, p2.
[29] Terri Bryan to Claire Becker, email, 14
January 2003, original in author's possession.
[30] Birth Certificate of Eliza Bessell,
born 20 October 1835, Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages New South
Wales, 286/1835 V1835286/21.
[31] Birth Certificate of Jane Bessell, born
15 Jun 1837, Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages New South Wales,
287/1837 V1837287/21.; FamilySearch, Baptism Eliza Bessell and Jane Bessell, ‘Australia
Births and Baptisms, 1792-1981’, database, FamilySearch
(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XTCR-4S4 : 11 February 2018), FHL
microfilm 993,952. Accessed 27 May 2018.
[32] Ancestry, Baptisms Mary Anne Bessell
and Charles Bessell, 'Sydney, Australia, Anglican Parish Registers, 1814-2011
[database on-line].', Original data: Sydney Diocesan Archives, Anglican Church
Diocese of Sydney. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Accessed 27 May 2018.; Ancestry,
Baptisms Emma Bessell and Caroline Bessell, 'Australia, Births and Baptisms,
1792-1981 [database on-line].Original data: Australia, Births and Baptisms,
1792-1981. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013. Accessed 27 May 2018.
[33] NSW Registry of Births Deaths and
Marriages, 'Registry Record', http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/Pages/family-history/registry-records.aspx,
Accessed 27 May 2018.
[34] Ancestry, Baptism Mowbray Bessell,
'London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812
[database on-line].', Original data: Church of England Parish Registers,
1538-1812. London, England: London Metropolitan Archives; London, England;
Reference Number: DW/T/6871. Accessed 27 May 2018.
[35] Karen
Hill to Claire Becker, letter, 28 May 1990, original in author's possession.; Bryan to Becker, email, 14 January 2003.; Claire Becker to Terri Bryan,
email, 15 January 2003, original in author's possession.; Anne Ingram to Claire
Becker, email, 23 February 2003, original in author's possession.
[36] Hill to Becker, letter, 28 May 1990.; Bryan
to Becker, email, 14 January 2003.; Becker to Bryan, email, 15 January 2003.; Ingram
to Becker, email, 23 February 2003.
[37] 'Shipping Intelligence', Sydney Gazette and New South Wales
Advertiser, 10 September 1828, p.2.
[38] 'Mowbray Bessell', Sydney Herald, 22 September 1834, p.1.
[39] Ancestry, Baptisms Mary Anne Bessell
and Charles Bessell.; Ancestry, Baptisms Emma Bessell and Caroline Bessell.; Ancestry,
Baptism Juliana Bessell, 'Sydney, Australia, Anglican Parish Registers,
1814-2011 [database on-line].', Original data: Sydney Diocesan Archives,
Anglican Church Diocese of Sydney. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Accessed
27 May 2018.; Ancestry, '1841 New South Wales, Australia, Census [database
on-line].', Original data: New South Wales Government. 1841 Census: Abstract of
returns. CGS 1282, Reels 2222-2223. State Records Authority of New South Wales.
Kingswood, New South Wales, Australia. New South Wales Government. 1841 Census:
Householders’ returns and affidavit forms. CGS 1281, Reels 2508-2509. State
Records Authority of New South Wales. Kingswood, May New South Wales, Australia. Accessed 27
May 2018.; Death Certificate of Mowbray Bessell, died 9 May 1865, Registry of
Births, Deaths & Marriages New South Wales, 6453/1865.; Death Certificate
of Mary Bessell, died 30 May 1873, Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages
New South Wales, 7454/1873.
[40] Ancestry, Certificate of Freedom Mary
Ann Brown, 'New South Wales, Australia, Certificates of Freedom, 1810-1814,
1827-1867 [database on-line].' Original data: New South Wales Government. Butts
of Certificates of Freedom. NRS 1165, 1166, 1167, 12208, 12210, reels 601, 602,
604, 982-1027. State Records Authority of New South Wales, Kingswood, New South
Wales. Accessed 27 May 2018.; Principal Superintendent of Convict’s Office’,
Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, 4 November 1840, p1147.
[41] Ancestry, '1841 New South Wales,
Australia, Census [database on-line].'.
[42] Ancestry, '1841 New South Wales,
Australia, Census [database on-line].'.
[43] Aussie Towns, 'Wollongong, NSW',
http://www.aussietowns.com.au/town/wollongong-nsw, Accessed 27 May 2018.
[44] Aussie Towns, 'Wollongong, NSW'.
[45] Ancestry, Baptism Mary Anne Bessell and
Charles Bessell.; Ancestry, '1841 New South Wales, Australia, Census [database
on-line].'.; Ancestry, Baptism Juliana Bessell.; Death Certificate of Juliana
Bessell, died 11 April 1854, Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages New
South Wales, V18541335/41A.; Ingram to Becker, email, 23 February 2003.
[46] 'Local News, Court of Petty Sessions', Illawarra Mercury, 17 January 1865, p.2.
[47] Death Certificate of
Mowbray Bessell, died 9 May 1865.; Death Certificate of Mary Bessell, died 30
May 1873.
[48] Death Certificate of Mowbray Bessell,
died 9 May 1865.; Death Certificate of Mary Bessell, died 30 May 1873.
[49] Mona Montgomery to Claire Becker,
letter, 14 April 1991, original held in author's possession.
[50] Montgomery to Becker, letter, 14 April
1991.
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