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Ann Parsons (c. 1770–1822)

Ann Doyle and Ann Poor/Power were found guilty at the March 1787 Maidstone (Kent) Assizes of a burglary in which a pair of sheets, and clothing and linen were stolen. The women's death sentences were commuted to 7 years transportation. They embarked for New South Wales on the Lady Juliana in April 1789, arriving in the colony in June 1790 as part of the Second Fleet.

In August 1790, eight weeks after landing, the women were sent to Norfolk Island on the Surprize. Ann Doyle bore four children on the island. Philip Devine was named as the father on the baptismal record of her youngest son Thomas and is likely to have been the father of her other three children. The couple separated sometime between the birth of Thomas in 1798, and 1805, when Devine left the island for Sydney taking one of their sons. Ann was living with William Parsons when they, and her three other children, left Norfolk Island for Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) on the City of Edinburgh in September 1808. The couple were married at Hobart on 3 June 1812. Ann died at Hobart on 6 August 1822 and was buried on 9 August at St David's cemetery; her age was given as 50.

* information from Michael Flynn, The Second Fleet: Britain’s Grim Convict Armada of 1790 (1993), p 251

Additional Resources

Citation details

'Parsons, Ann (c. 1770–1822)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/parsons-ann-30498/text37813, accessed 29 March 2024.

© Copyright People Australia, 2012

Life Summary [details]

Alternative Names
  • Doyle, Ann
  • Doyl, Ann
Birth

c. 1770
England

Death

6 August, 1822 (aged ~ 52)
Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

Cause of Death

unknown

Cultural Heritage

Includes subject's nationality; their parents' nationality; the countries in which they spent a significant part of their childhood, and their self-identity.

Passenger Ship
Occupation
Key Events
Convict Record

Crime: theft
Sentence: 7 years