People Australia

Edward Pugh (c.1765-1837), a carpenter, was found guilty on 5 October 1784 at the Gloucester Quarter Sessions of stealing a great coat. Sentenced to 7 years transportation, he remained in gaol for nearly three years before being sent to Portsmouth with Betty Mason and Elizabeth Parker (and Elizabeth's daughter Ann Parker (Pugh) who he probably fathered). Pugh was received on the Friendship in April 1787 and arrived in Sydney in January 1788 as part of the First Fleet.

Pugh married Hannah Smith on 15 June 1788 at Port Jackson; they had at least five children. He was granted 70 acres of land at Prospect in 1792 and was off stores by 1795.

Pugh joined the New South Wales Corps on 20 January 1800. In 1808 he was described as being 5 feet 6 inches tall, with a dark complexion, hazel eyes and light brown hair. He was discharged from the Corps on 24 April 1810. He was described as a landholder in the Parramatta area in 1814 and as a labourer in 1825. He died a pauper at Windsor hospital and was buried on 30 November 1837.

* information from Mollie Gillen, The Founders of Australia: A Biographical Dictionary of the First Fleet (1989), p 295