Ann Thornton (c. 1754–?)
Ann Thornton (c.1754- ) was found guilty on 13 December 1786 at the Old Bailey, London, of stealing a muslin apron, a shirt, a pair of cotton stockings and a linen handkerchief from lodgers in the house where she lived. Sentenced to 7 years transportation, she arrived at Sydney aboard the Lady Penrhyn in January 1788 as part of the First Fleet.
Charlotee Ware (as Charlotte Keane) was sentenced to 30 lashes on 9 February 1789 for beating Ann Thornton, and a further 20 for insolence to her. Thornton was sent to Norfolk Island on the Sirius in March 1790. She was still living there in 1796. No further records have been found for her.
A child named Ann Thornton was born on Norfolk Island on 3 September 1791, and left the island, probably for Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) in 1808 — she may have been Ann Thornton's daughter.
* information from Mollie Gillen, The Founders of Australia: A Biographical Dictionary of the First Fleet (1989), p 357
Additional Resources
- proceedings of trial, Old Bailey, London, 13 December 1786 (pdf)
Related Entries in NCB Sites
- Ware, Charlotte (related entry)
Citation details
'Thornton, Ann (c. 1754–?)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/thornton-ann-30996/text38365, accessed 12 October 2024.