Elizabeth Stephens (c. 1756–?)
Elizabeth Hippesley (c.1756- ), a needle worker, was found guilty on 23 February 1785 at the Old Bailey, London, of stealing a man's silver watch and a pair of worsted garters after they had slept together at her lodgings. Sentenced to 7 years transportation, she arrived at Sydney in January 1788 aboard the Lady Penrhyn as part of the First Fleet.
Hippesley was sent to Norfolk Island on the Supply in February 1788. By July 1791 she was supporting herself on a Sydney Town lot with 70 rods cleared. Earlier that year she had paid £1.6s.8d for two sows both of which littered by September, producing 19 offspring.
Hippesley married Robert Stephens, a marine who had become a settler, in mid-June 1794. The couple left the island for Port Jackson in November 1794; Robert joined the NSW Corps and received a share in a 150 acre grant at Mulgrave Place. Elizabeth lived there with her husband and son in 1806. The family left New South Wales for England on HMS Dromedary in April 1810.
* information from Mollie Gillen, The Founders of Australia: A Biographical Dictionary of the First Fleet (1989), p 176
Additional Resources and Scholarship
- proceedings of trial, Old Bailey, London, 23 February 1785 (pdf)
Related Entries in NCB Sites
- Stephens, Robert (husband)
Citation details
'Stephens, Elizabeth (c. 1756–?)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/stephens-elizabeth-30946/text38313, accessed 24 April 2025.