Elizabeth Douglas/Hassan

[TaraJudy]

Hi

I am trying to trace the life and ancestors of my 3 x great grandmother, Elizabeth Douglas born in Haddington circa 1800. She was convicted of stealing clothes at the Glasgow Assizes in 18i26 and was subsequently transported to Australia aboard the ‘Princess Charlotte’, arriving in Sydney on 6th August 1827. She was a widow at the time of her conviction, with her husband being a Mr Hassan. I would dearly love to find out more about Elizabeth and her family if at all possible.
Looking forward to hearing from you.

[Currie]

Hello TaraJudy, and Welcome to TalkingScot,

You may have already seen these.

Documents at the National Archives of Scotland.
http://195.153.34.9/onlinecatalogue/det ... =1826&di=y

The case was reported in the Glasgow Herald, September 29, 1826.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HV ... %2C2966761

All the best,
Alan

[StewL]

Hi TaraJudy
This is the record on the Australian Convict data base site, it links to ancestry but I don't have a sub for that.


Elizabeth Douglas

Elizabeth Douglas, one of 90 convicts transported on the Princess Charlotte, 27 March 1827

Known aliases:
Hassan (Alias)

Convicted at:
Convicted at Glasgow Court of Justiciary for a term of 7 years.

Sentence term:
7 years

Ship name:
Princess Charlotte

Departure date:
27th March, 1827

Place of arrival:
New South Wales

Source:
Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 88, Class and Piece Number HO11/6, Page Number 139 (71)

[Cathy61]

Hi Tara Judy
I do have some information on Elizabeth Douglas.

What happened to Elizabeth Douglas can only be conjecture at this stage, but the ship’s log records her as having one child and the child was not taken aboard the convict ship. The Ship’s Surgeon’s Journal has a daily record over a period of 5 weeks, when she had been kept in the sick bay. It starts on 15 April 1827, 6 weeks out from England, and, what can be read of it, describes the doctor’s observations, her treatment for head injuries, including a brain haemorrhage, and a period when she was comatose. While she was comatose, he wrote of wanting to drill into her skull to relieve pressure, but was afraid to do so for fear of what the other female convicts might do to him. He also recorded in his journal that he could not believe her story of falling and hitting her head repeatedly against the ship’s anchor, but he filed to say what actually may have happened to her. Her record finishes with a notation on 16 May, ’she is still very weak and recovering slowly – tongue very clean’.
Some 3 months later Elizabeth arrived at Sydney Cove, she was kept on board the ship for about two weeks while all the convict processing was done and was then assigned directly to Archibald BELL at Richmond. By 1828 Archibald BELL had 2,695 acres, was running 2,500 sheep and 500 cattle and had approx... 45 outdoor and 6 in-house servants, mainly convicts. Arriving at the BELL property, I imagine, would have been quite a relief after spending five months in the gaol at Paisley, near Glasgow, and then 128 days at sea.
William BRIDGER and Elizabeth DOUGLAS were married at the original St Peter’s Church in Richmond. As they were both convicts, and application to marry had to go through the local Anglican Church to the Governor for his permission! The Rev. John Cross made all the arrangements and then married them. There was some undue delay but on the recommendation of Archibald Bell, given 10 December 1827, permission was granted around the end of December.
William and Elizabeth went on to have 7 children, 5 sons and 2 daughters. The first four children were born at Kurrajong during the period of 1828 – 1833. The latter being the year William was granted his Certificate of Freedom. Mary and James were born further down the Kurrajong hills at north Richmond and Yarramundi, indicating, not only a move in location, but a move from convict status to a free, independent but more unsettled lifestyle.
Elizabeth died having her 7th child.
Hope this helps
Cheers
Cathy

[nelmit]

Wow Cathy, Welcome to Talking Scot.

What an amazing first post. I only hope TaraJudy still has the same email address and sees it.

Regards,
Annette