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Margaret Cavanough (1766–1834)

Margaret Darnell was found guilty on 18 April 1787 at the Old Bailey, London, of stealing 12 desert knives and forks with a value of 6 shillings. Sentenced to seven years' transportation she arrived in New South Wales aboard the Prince of Wales in January 1788 as part of the First Fleet. She had a child with marine, Charles Green, in December 1788. In March 1790 she and her son were sent to Norfolk Island on the Sirius. She married Owen Cavanough in a mass wedding ceremony on the island in November 1791.

The Cavanoughs left Norfolk Island on the Francis in July 1796 and settled at Ebenezer, New South Wales. Margaret died on 24 September 1834 and was buried at the Sackville Methodist cemetery.

* information from Mollie Gillen, The Founders of Australia: A Biographical Dictionary of the First Fleet (1989), pp 94-95 and HMS Sirius 1786-1790 website https://hmssirius.com.au/owen-cavanough-able-seaman-hms-sirius-1788-and-margaret-darling-convict-prince-of-wales-1788/

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Citation details

'Cavanough, Margaret (1766–1834)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/cavanough-margaret-17291/text32157, accessed 20 September 2024.

© Copyright People Australia, 2012

Life Summary [details]

Alternative Names
  • Darnell, Margaret
  • Cavenaugh, Margaret
  • Dowling, Margaret
  • Darling, Margaret
  • Kavenaugh, Margaret
Birth

22 October, 1766
Dublin, Ireland

Death

24 September, 1834 (aged 67)
New South Wales, 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.

Religious Influence

Includes the religion in which subjects were raised, have chosen themselves, attendance at religious schools and/or religious funeral rites; Atheism and Agnosticism have been included.

Passenger Ship
Occupation
Key Events
Convict Record

Crime: theft
Sentence: 7 years