Jeremiah Leary (c. 1785–1807)
Jeremiah Leary (c.1785-1807) and Thomas Jones were found guilty on 30 March 1784 at Bristol, England, of breaking into a house. Their death sentences were commuted to 14 years transportation on 31 May 1784. Sent to the Dunkirk hulk on 18 August 1785 the men were dispatched to the Friendship in February 1787 and arrived at Sydney in January 1788 as part of the First Fleet.
Leary was sent to Norfolk Island on the Sirius in March 1790. Not long after he was made to run the gauntlet among the convicts for a theft and 'was severely punished'. By July 1791 he was subsisting himself on a Queenborough lot with 66 rods cleared.
Leary was marked dead on the island on 18 December 1807.
* information from Mollie Gillen, The Founders of Australia: A Biographical Dictionary of the First Fleet (1989), p 216
Related Entries in NCB Sites
- Jones, Thomas (criminal associate)
Citation details
'Leary, Jeremiah (c. 1785–1807)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/leary-jeremiah-31390/text38842, accessed 13 September 2024.
Life Summary [details]
Birth
c. 1785
Death
18 December,
1807
(aged ~ 22)
Norfolk Island,
Australia
Cause of Death
Passenger Ship
Occupation
Key Events
Key Places
Social Issues
Convict Record
Crime: theft (house)
Sentence: death
Commuted To: 14 years
Court: Bristol
Trial Date: 30 March 1784
(1784)