Susannah (Susan) Garth (c. 1763–1841)
Susannah Gough/Garth/Grates (c.1763-1841) and Elizabeth Dudgeon were found guilty on 10 September 1783 at the Old Bailey, London, of stealing money from a man with whom they had been drinking. Garth was sentenced to seven years transportation to America and embarked on the Mercury in March 1784 but, following a convict rebellion on board the ship, she was recaptured and spent several years on the Dunkirk hulk before embarking in March 1787 on the Friendship for New South Wales. She was transferred to the Charlotte at Rio de Janeiro on 11 August.
Susannah was one of six women selected to go to Norfolk Island in February 1788. By 1791 she was living with Edward Garth; her first daughter Mary Ann was born in 1789; Garth was probably the farther. The couple were married in a mass wedding ceremony on the island in November 1791.
Susannah left Norfolk Island with her husband and six children on the Porpoise in December 1807 for Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania). She died on 24 June 1841 at Hobart; her age was given as 78.
* information from Mollie Gillen, The Founders of Australia: A Biographical Dictionary of the First Fleet (1989), pp 140-41
Related Thematic Essay
Related Entries in NCB Sites
- Garth, Susannah (Susan)
- Garth, Edward (husband)
- Bellett, Susannah (daughter)
- Garth, James (son)
- Garth, Edward (son)
- Garth, Mary (daughter-in-law)
- Garth, Ann (daughter-in-law)
- Bellett, John (son-in-law)
- Clayton, Elizabeth (criminal associate)
Citation details
'Garth, Susannah (Susan) (c. 1763–1841)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/garth-susannah-susan-30264/text37547, accessed 14 May 2024.
Life Summary [details]
Alternative Names
- Gough, Susannah
- Grah, Susannah
- Grates, Susannah
Birth
Death
24 June,
1841
(aged ~ 78)
Hobart,
Tasmania,
Australia
Cause of Death
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
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