Ellen was an Irish lass, who was said to be eighteen years of age at the time of her conviction for larceny. She was described as a 'Nurse Maid', whose native place was given as County Westmeath. [1]

Ellen was tried at Longford, Ireland on 28 February 1849, and was sentenced to transportation for seven years. Her convict record indicates that she '[s]tated this offence [to be]stealing 5/6 from Peggy Armstrong at Longford.' Ellen had been 'once convicted before … 3 months for a handkerchief.' Her gaol report described her behaviour as 'good', and the ship report described it as 'Middling'.

Ellen was a single, Roman Catholic girl who could not read or write. She left behind, 'at her native place', her father Henry, mother Piddy and brother William. [2] Her description indicates that she was about 5'3½" tall, of fair complexion with dark brown hair and dark hazel eyes. She had a 'high' forehead and an oval face that was 'pock-pitted'. Presumably, she had survived small-pox or had a bad case of chicken-pox (perhaps cow-pox) to be so marked . Another distinguishing feature was two blue dots between the finger and thumb of the right hand.

Ellen was eventually placed aboard the Australasia for transportation to Van Diemen's Land. The ship left Dublin on 26 June 1849, and arrived at Hobart Town on 28 September 1849. There were 197 convicts who survived the journey out, only three dying en route. The survivors were duly classified and deployed to various 'Stations' in the colony. It appears that Ellen was sent to the hulk, Anson, in the Derwent River for training, for it was not until 18 February 1850 that she was classified as a 3 ^rd Class convict.

The 'Offences & Sentences' section of her convict record contains the notation 'July 9/51 Married to Edward [3] Appleyard'. The date of marriage appears to read as 1851, but the figure could possibly be a poor 'filled-in' zero. However, even this date is completely wrong, as 9 July 1850 was the date approval to marry was given. [4] A later endorsement on the register page gives the date of marriage as 5 August 1850.

Ellen was about nineteen-years-old at the time, and Edward would appear to have been about thirty-three years of age.

Ellen's husband was a former convict, who had been tried and transported from Yorkshire on the Augusta Jessie(2). [5] Originally a cutler by trade, he was employed on various Midland properties as a shepherd or agricultural labourer for most of his life in Tasmania.

Edwin and Ellen spent most of their married life in the Midlands area, apart from a short period in the Swansea district on the east coast of Tasmania. They had a family of eleven children over the next twenty years.

Their first child, Ann, was born on 30 June 1851; the Deputy Registrar of the Oatlands district recorded her father's name as Edward and his profession as shepherd. [6] Annie reached maturity and, at the age of eighteen, married HenryMcGee of Ross. [7]

Ellen was born on 21 February 1853; the Deputy Registrar of Oatlands district recorded her father as Edward (a shepherd), and her mother's maiden name as Gammel. [8] Ellen survived for only a few days, dying on 23 February. [9]

Edward was born on 24 March 1854, the same Oatlands Deputy Registrar recording his father as Edwin (a shepherd), and his mother's maiden name as Gammel. The family residence was recorded as at Blackman River (near Tunbridge). [10] Edward died at the age of fifty-nine on 13 June 1913.

Mary was born on 30 June 1856, the same Oatlands Deputy Registrar recording her father as Edwin (a shepherd), and her mother's maiden name as Gamel. The family residence was recorded as Antill Ponds. [11] Mary died of dysentery on 18 March 1857, the same Deputy Registrar now recording her father as Edward. [12]

William (my great-grandfather) was born on 2 February 1858. [13] The family residence was still recorded as Antill Ponds. William died at the age of sixty-eight, on 30 March 1926.

The next child, Harriett, was born on 12 June 1860; the Deputy Registrar of the Glamorgan district recorded her father as Edwin (a shepherd), and her mother's maiden name as Gammel. The family residence was recorded as Bogs. [14] Harriett survived to maturity and, at the age of twenty-two, married Robert John Bonner of Ross. [15]

On 13 May 1863, a male child was born; the Deputy Registrar of the Campbell Town district recorded his father as Edward (a labourer), and his mother's maiden name as Gamble. [16] The child only lived five days, dying on 18 May 1863. [17]

Henry was born on 19 March 1864 in the Campbell Town district. [18] He died on 30 November 1934 in Launceston.

On 28 February 1868, twins, Thomas and Charles, were born. [19] The Deputy Registrar of the Campbell Town district recorded their father as Edward (a labourer), and his mother's maiden name as Gammel. Thomas died on 5 March 1868, [20] while Charles died at the age of fifty-five on 7 July 1920. [21]

On 11 March 1871, a male child was born; the Deputy Registrar of Campbell Town district recorded the father as Edwin and the mother's maiden name as Gammel. [22] I am yet to find a name for this child or determine if he survived his childhood.

Edwin Appleyard died on 28 April 1873, at the age of fifty-six, from enlargement of the liver. [23] He was buried in the Anglican cemetery at Ross on 1 May 1873. [24]

From this point onwards, Ellen appeared to completely disappear. I could not find any trace of her in the Tasmanian Pioneers Index , early BDM indexes, parish records, the TAMIOT index, burial indexes, newspaper indexes and passenger departure records.

Ellen would only have been about forty-two, and still responsible for several of the younger children. So I pursued the marriage records under the surnames Appleyard, Gamble or Gammel, without any success.

A search of the most likely death and burial records (and later in desperation, many unlikely areas) also produced no clues as to her whereabouts.

I was equally unsuccessful when looking through passenger departure records from Launceston and Hobart.

So, for a period of about six years, Ellen remained my 'brick wall' that I could not get over. I continued to expand my knowledge of her family, finding a second given name for my great-grandfather (William Stewart) and also discovering that his brother, Henry, spent three years in Hobart's Campbell Street Gaol for larceny (he sometimes used the alias Henry Stewart).

By accident, I returned to Ellen's original convict record, (probably while entering data in my computer program), and noticed a small endorsement that suggested Ellen had received fourteen days hard labour in Launceston on 27 February 1880. It also contained the comment 'sometimes Gammel or Stewart'.

My research then led me to the police court reports in the Launceston Examiner of the period:

Before Bernard Shaw, Esq., J.P.

Larceny.-George Stewart and Ellen Stewart on remand from the 25 ^th inst., charged as then with stealing from the Sydney Hotel a bundle containing a flannel shirt, three pocket handkerchiefs, and a pair of stockings, the property of John Vaux, pleaded not guilty … The bench considered that the charge had not been clearly proved against the male defendant, and discharged him, but sentenced his companion to fourteen days' imprisonment with hard labour.' [25]

The third case dealt with on that day concerned three youthful offenders, 'on remand from Saturday last', who were charged with stealing a quantity of bottles, the property of Mrs Morrison of the Launceston Hotel. Owing to the absence of a material witness, the prisoners were remanded until the following Tuesday:

Before Bernard Shaw, Esq., J.P., James Scott and E. C. Shaw, Esqrs., Js.P.

Larceny-Three youthful offenders named Charles Stewart, aged 11 years, Robert Stewart and Frederick Douglas, each 9 years old, pleaded not guilty to having stolen a number of bottles from the Launceston Hotel. …' [26]

A whole series of coincidences now convince me that my missing Ellen has been found. Charles 'Stewart' is the same age as Charles Appleyard; Robert 'Stewart' is the same age as the last male child of Ellen and Edwin; Henry Appleyard used the alias Stewart; I have since found a reference that my great-grandfather sometimes called himself William Stewart; and there is the reference on Ellen Gamble's convict record.

I am still unable to find a marriage for George and Ellen Stewart; perhaps they did not marry.

George Stewart died on 10 November 1886 in hospital at Launceston from chronic pneumonia and kidney disease. [27]

Ellen Stewart died on 23 May 1894 at Launceston's Invalid Depot from heart disease. [28]

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