Bridget (Heslin) Hobbs (abt. 1775 - 1843)

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Biography

Bridget (Heslin) Hobbs was a convict after the Third Fleet transported to New South Wales

Interred 1793 Arrived on the "Sugar Cane" From Cork at 18 Years of Age - Sentenced to 7 Yrs Emigrated 1811 Muster - Living at Windsor With R. Hobbs

• Bridget’s surname is listed at various times as ESLIN, ESTIN, ESLING, HESLIN, HEASLING, HASLIN, HASLING, HASSLING. It is estimated that her birth was about 1775 in Dublin Ireland.

Bridget was tried at Dublin September 1792 and sentenced to transportation for seven years . She was aged 18 and on board "Sugar Cane" when it left Cove, Cork Harbour, Ireland 12 April 1793 and arrived in Australia 17 September 1793, a voyage of 157 days. The "Sugar Cane" was a Thames built vessel of 403 Tons, launched 1786 with the Master Thomas Musgrave and Surgeon David Wake Bell. She carried 110 male and 50 female Irish convicts. On 25 May, 43 days out, there was a :rumour that some of the prisoners had freed themselves of their irons and planned to take over the ship with the support of some of the guards and crew. To quell this attempt at mutiny one man who was found out of irons was executed and several others were flogged. This ended any further talk of mutiny. Except for the man who was executed there were no other deaths on the voyage.

According to family stories, Bridget's name was ESLIN and she was a Hedgerow Teacher in Ireland (it was illegal for the underclass to be educated and classes would be conducted behind the hedges - thus a hedgerow teacher). No records have been found to support this theory, however it was not for this crime that she was sent to Australia. According to the research of Barbara Hall, Bridget and her family and friends were members of a gang who stole bleached linen from the bleach greens in Dublin. There has been well documented data from the Freeman’s Journal, published Dublin to support this theory with articles printed in 1785, 1789, 1791 and 1792.

" Known gang members were Patrick Haslin (father), executed , his wife involved but her name not given, their known children were Patrick (transported to NSW per Boddingtons 1793),Bridget (transported per Sugar Cane 1793), John (involved in the gang also), Joseph Kearns alias Dungan (transported to NSW per Boddingtons),Mary Hughes (transported to NSW per Sugar Cane), Michael Dooley probably executed, Thomas Hughes (fate unknown).

Bridget formed an association with Robert HOBBS and their first child, Robert was born 19 Sept 1796 in Sydney, just three years after her arrival in the Colony. This birth was found in a family bible but doesn't appear in official records.

Bridget's finished her sentence in 1779, however her Ticket of Leave was not granted until 6th February 1811. ^[1] Muster of Females in the Colony 1806 - shows Bridget as a concubine with six children.

Not much information has been found on Patrick Haslin (Eslin), Bridget’s brother who arrived on the Boddingtons in 1793. According to Coralie Hird’s research she has revealed the following: †Indent & Lesley Uebel?s CD: Patrick Hasler alias ESLIN arrived Port Jackson on Boddingtons 7 August 1793. He?d been sentenced September 1791 at Dublin to 7 years. Age 20. Boddingtons sailed from Cork. James McClelland Index No. 1 to Convicts and free persons arriving Port Jackson 1788-1793: Frederick Hasler convict age 20 P/S Boddingtons 1793. Sentenced to Life at Dublin Sept 1791. Musters and Lists NSW & NI 1800-1802:ESLIN, Patrick S AF542 shows him as No.547. (* taken from the Hobbs Newsletter #2 Author: Beverley Woodman nee Hobbs).

Sources

1. ↑ Ticket of Leave (196/695).

Convict Records

Convict Records

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ancestral File (R) Copyright (c) 1987, June 1998, data as of 5 January 1998

Family History Library, 35 N West Temple Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84150 USA

!BIRTH: Proverbs.ftw N

!BIRTH: Coralie Hird in entry to Convict Ships website

!DEATH: Coralie Hird in entry to Convict Ships website

!MARRIAGE:E-mail from Coralie Hird 12/12/99 Proverbs.ftw

BIOGRAPHY: taken from the Hobbs Newsletters #2 March 2002, Author Beverley Woodman nee Hobbs

Source: Howarth Web Site

MyHeritage.com family tree

Family site: Howarth Web Site

Family tree: Morton-Howarth

• David Franks family tree
• My Heritage Family Tree Search

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Jeffrey Lehrer for creating Heslin-24 on 24 Jul 13. Click the Changes tab for the details on contributions by Jeffery and others