Ruth Baldwin (abt. 1762 - 1788)

Born about 1762 in England

Died Jun 1788 at about age 26 in Sydney Cove, Colony of New South Wales

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Biography

Ruth Baldwin was a convict on the First Fleet.

This profile is part of the Baldwin Name Study.

Ruth Baldwin was born about 1762 in England.

Transported to the Colony of New South Wales, arrived on Prince of Wales, part of the First Fleet.^[1]

RUTH BALDWIN , otherwise BOWYER (so indicted) was convicted at the Middlesex Gaol Delivery (Old Bailey in London) on 25 October 1786 and sentenced to seven years transportation, for feloniously stealing, on the 24th of June, three table spoons, value 20 shillings and two silver desert spoons, value 10 shillings. the property of Joseph White, from the Bush public house at Staines, Middlesex where she had been working as a kitchen maid for seven weeks. After failing to exchange them for a gold ring at an ironmonger's shop in Windsor, Berkshire, a witness who saw her concealing the spoons informed the constable, who arrested her at her aunt's house at nearby Egham, Surrey. Her aunt's name was Bowyer. The Old Bailey trial can be seen here.^[2]

On 30 April 1787, she was sent from Newgate Prison to Portsmouth, her age recorded as 25, and she was embarked on the Prince of Wales on 3 May.^[3]

Ruth died in 1788 in Sydney Cove, Colony of New South Wales. She was buried at Sydney Cove on 5 June 1788.^[4]

Research Notes

Currently unconnected, died aged 26, may not have had any descendants in the colony.

Sources

1. ↑ State Records of NSW, Convict Indents (Digitised) Index 1788-1801, Ruth Baldwin, Arrival date 26 January 1788 https://search.records.nsw.gov.au/permalink/f/1ebnd1l/INDEX1954540 Accessed 09 Aug 2023
2. ↑ Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org, version 8.0, 09 August 2023), October 1786, trial of RUTH BALDWIN , otherwise BOWYER (t17861025-1). https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/browse.jsp?id=t17861025-1-defend44&div=t17861025-1#highlight Accessed 09 Aug 2023
3. ↑ Gillen, Mollie, The Founders of Australia : A Biographical Dictionary of the First Fleet, 1989, p.18.
4. ↑ NSW Government. Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. Ruth Baldwin, Death. Registration number: V1788113 4, District: Sydney, St Phillip's. Accessed 09 Aug 2023.Deaths search page