People Australia

Ann Stokes (c.1746-1816) and Mary Russell were found guilty on 25 March 1788 at the Warwick Assizes, Warwickshire, of stealing two shawls — probably from a shop. Sentenced to 7 years transportation, the women arrived at Sydney aboard the Lady Juliana in June 1790 as part of the Second Fleet.

Stokes was sent to Norfolk Island on the Surprize, arriving in August 1790. By June 1794 she was living with Humphrey Lynch who was about 17 years her junior; they remained childless. The couple left Norfolk Island for Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) on the Lady Nelson in November 1807, settling on 30 acres at Risdon, Clarence Plains.

Ann Lynch died at Clarence Plains on 26 February 1816. It is believed that Elizabeth Stokes, who was transported on the Glatton in 1803, was her daughter.

information from

• Michael Flynn, The Second Fleet: Britain’s Grim Convict Armada of 1790 (1993), p 554
• Biographical Database of Australia — https://www.bda-online.org.au