Catherine (Brennan) Roberts (abt. 1784 - 1858)

Born about 1784 in Dublin, Ireland [uncertain]

Wife of David Roberts — married 23 Jul 1810 in St Mathew's, Windsor, New South Wales, Australia

Descendants

Died 18 Aug 1858 at about age 74 in Bridge Farm Cattai, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

Catherine Brennan,alias Brenan Irish Rebel , was born about 1784 in Dublin, Ireland. Her parents were James Brennan and Euphemia Unknown.

Catherine Brennan was tried in Dublin in 1801 for being an Irish Rebel .She was sentenced for 7yrs and sent to Australia on the Convict Ship the Anne 1.

Catherine was arrested in 1800 in Dublin but she was only 15 so it ss most likey she was a prostitute , leaving Cork on the 26th June 1800 and arrived in the colony on the 21st Feb 1801.^[1]

Catherine is mentioned in connection with Samuel Hall in 1801,and at the age of 20 Catherine gave birth to a son John at the Women’s Factory in May 1804 the identity of the father is unknown but most likely Samuel Hall the Convict, according to the Roberts Family Tree: ^[2]. Catherine and Samuel had 2 Children

1. Samuel b.1802
2. John b.1804

Catherine’s child, John, died in November 1805 by scalding, aged 18 months.^[3][4][5]On Wednesday the infant son of Catharine Brannan died in extreme anguish at Parramatta owing to severe scald of which we before unfortunately had occasion to take notice.

Catherine appears in the 1806 Muster at the Parramatta Female Factory^[6]

She married David Roberts on July 23, 1810 ^[7]Together they had 3 children:

1. Francis Roberts
2. Richard Roberts
3. David Roberts

She died on August 18, 1858 in Bridge Farm Cattai, New South Wales, Australia ^[8]

Research Notes

Ireland

• Religion - Catholic
• Catherine Brennan was only 15 when she was sent to Australia abroad the convict ship Anne 1, Catherine was sentenced for being a Irish Rebel her real crime most likely was a prostitute, no woman was ever transported for being a prostitute, in England this was not a transportable offence so these women were tried and sent to Australia for other crimes

• Catherine’s family name is spelt in many forms, her mother is stated as Euphemia Brennan, of Dublin,it is also known that Catherine was arrested and taken into custody in the same city during 1800,like so many Irish her crime was not recorded, however as she was only 15 or 16 years old it would not be unreasonable to suggest that she was "a working girl", "Lady of the Night", or in modern day term, "a common street whore". At the time The Monto in Dublin was becoming the largest and most famous European Red- Light district in 19th century Europe the name ‘Monto’ is an abbreviation for Montgomery Street (now called Foley Street.^[9]

• For many poor families in Ireland at this time the only way they could survive was to send the daughters out to work with many of the lower class not considering it disgraceful, or even wrong,the moral views of the middle-class in the 1800s was to brand a whore or prostitute the lowest of the low but the working poor could not afford to have such values.

• The reason that Catherines crime was not recorded is that no woman was actually transported for "whoring", because in England it was not a "transportable offence" however there was an interesting fact in that she was tried in an Irish court where a person charged with vagrancy or prostitution normally had the charge quashed providing assurances were given of good behaviour for the following three months as under the ^[10] the sentences of these women could only be dismissed or the prisoner transported as imprisonment was not an option available to the courts.

Australia

• Catherine appears in the 1806 Muster at the Parramatta Female Factory which was founded for a number of reasons, mainly for the development of useful goods such as clothing. The Factory was also usedas a holding ground for new arrivals prior to either being married or assigned

• Catherine married fellow convict David Roberts who was was convicted 27th July 1803 at Gloucester Assizes for passing 8-2 pound forged banknotes and was sentenced to Life David arrived Sydney in 1806 on the Fortune

• Catherine died 13th August 1858 at "Bridge Farm", Cattai N.S.W and was by all accounts a remarkable woman who was sent to Australia at such a young age Catherine was mother of five children and had 42 Grandchildren.Catherine has thousands of decendants in Australia today, Catherine Brennan is one of those relatives I love to research I can only imagne what her life would of been like but i think in the end she had the life she so wanted as a young prositute living in Ireland,the times were so different back than they did things to survive that maybe in a different time or a different place they would never dream of doing I dont think any of her many decendants today would judge her to harshly, after everything she had gone through Catherine Brennan was a survivor and a truly remarkable Irish Convict.
• Catherine was accompanied by 25 other females. From the beginning the Female Factory Parramatta:[8] was a hot-bed of depravity .It consisting of a single long room with a fireplace at one end of the room where the women would do all the cooking. During the day they spun and carded wool, made clothes and rope they slept in the workroom, on the piles of wool.Many women were sent to the factory, however some were allocated to work as domestic servants for settlers, and other women lived in houses nearby and travelled to the factory on a daily basis. The women were required to perform as prostitutes. This continued until after 1806 when Governor William Bligh ^[11]arrived in the colony.^[12]

Free by servitude

• Catherine would have served her seven year sentence by 1807 or 1808 and was "free by servitude". This is supported by the General Muster 1814 which records Catherine Brennon as being free, off stores and wife to David Roberts - both living with their four children,she was free and all of the family was "off stores" that means "self supporting".

Sources

1. ↑ Irish Convicts to New South Wales [1]
2. ↑ http://robertsaustralia.com/family-tree/ ]
3. ↑ [2]
4. ↑ The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, Sunday November 10. 1805  : A fine boy of 18 months old, son of Catharine Brannan of Parramatta was on Thursday last so dreadfully scalded, that the life of the little unfortunate was utterly despaired of, notwithstanding every aid afforded by the resident Medical Gentleman. The accident was in the consequence of a large culinary vessel of boiling water being left on the floor uncovered into which the ill-fated infant unhappily stumbled.
5. ↑ The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, Sunday November 24. 1805, page 2a
6. ↑ Female Factory Parramatta: [3]
7. ↑ David and Catherines Marriage Certificate  : [4]
8. ↑ Catherine Roberts Headstone:[5]
9. ↑ Monto the red light district  : [6] Wikipedia
10. ↑ Vagrancy Act: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_for_the_Relief_of_the_Poor_1601 ]
11. ↑ Governor of New South Wales William Bligh : [7]
12. ↑ Extract from a Copy of a Letter from Governor Macquarie to the Earl Bathurst dated Government-House, Sydney, New South Wales, 4th of December 1817:......they are either assigned to such married persons asrequire them for servants, or sent to work at the Government-factory at Parramatta. It is very true that there are no suitable buildings for them to lodge and reside in, provided by Government, excepting the factory at Parramatta, which is only sufficient to contain about sixty women, whilst there are sometimes not fewer than two hundred employed there. These are, therefore, in common with the male convicts, obliged to find lodgings for themselves but in order the better to enable them to do so, they are allowed half of the day to work for themselves; it therefore often happens that they are exposed to form bad connections which lead to vicious and profligate conduct. This evil is as old as the original establishment of the colony, and certainly should be obviated or totally removed on every ground of moral or political expediency and, viewing it thus, it has long been my most sincere wish to remedy the evil, as far as practicable, by erecting a large factory and commodious house at Parramatta, within a high inclosure, for the employment and residence of the female convicts, and within a large space of ground for recreation, so as to keep them always within it, and prevent them having any intercourse with the people of the town, until such time as they should either be married, or assigned as domestic servants to married persons.

• Irish Rebels to Australia and links to Irish pages  : [9]
• Australia.gov.au Convicts and the British colonies in Australia : [10]
• Trove Digitised Newspapers : https://trove.nla.gov.au/search/advanced/category/newspapers?date.from=1800-01-01&date.to=1809-12-31 ]
• Convict Musters: Ancestry : [11]

• Australia Census Records: Ancestry: [12] 1828

• Convict Women in Australia : Wikipedia [13]

• NSW Convict Women on Ships arriving from England and Ireland 1788-1828  : [14]
• Richmond - The Early People and Burials 1791 - 1855
• Hawkesbury FHG - The Hawkesbury Pioneer Register: p159Sheedy, Sidney - Manuscript in Mitchell Library MSS 1337
• Robson - Convict Settlers of Australia: Whitaker - Unfinished Revolution - Crossing Press
• Parramatta Pioneer Register
• Rude - Protest & Punishment National Archives of Ireland

See also

• https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-tree/person/tree/73630814/person/38440849928/facts