Catharine Halfpenny (c. 1758–?)
Catharine Wilmot (c.1758- ), a married woman with four children whose husband was serving in the navy overseas, was found guilty at the March 1787 Chelmsford Assizes, Essex, of stealing a cloth greatcoat and a cloth coat from a stall. Sentenced to 7 years transportation, she arrived at Sydney aboard the Lady Juliana as part of the Second Fleet.
Wilmot was sent to Norfolk Island, arriving on 7 August 1790. She married Thomas Halfpenny in a mass wedding ceremony on the island in November 1791. The couple left the island (without any children) for Port Jackson on the Supply in April 1796, settling on a rented farm at Parramatta. In 1800 they were recorded as having a child.
Thomas Halfpenny died on 5 Sepember 1809 shortly after making his will, leaving 'a very good and substantial dwelling house' at Windsor, as well as other properties, to his wife Catharine for her maintenance and that of their son Joseph.
* information from Michael Flynn, The Second Fleet: Britain’s Grim Convict Armada of 1790 (1993), pp 615-16
Related Entries in NCB Sites
- Halfpenny, Thomas (husband)
Citation details
'Halfpenny, Catharine (c. 1758–?)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/halfpenny-catharine-31223/text38610, accessed 19 April 2024.