Sarah Weatherstone Part 1 From Birth to Departure

Sarah Age 18, based on Convict Indent descriptions

 When I was handed some family history papers on our Lang family, each person's background information took about a page. Sarah Weatherstone's entire life was written in 2 sentences. It seemed little was available on her in 2004, yet 10 years later she is the ancestor in my family tree that I know most about. I don't think I would have liked her, but then again she grew up in tough times and perhaps things would have been different for Sarah if she'd been born in a different place and time.  My research is ongoing and already new information has come to light and had me spending a few nights editing this post and Part 2.  Part 3 is being written, but the research is taking longer, because it's once she reaches Australia that we really do find out a lot about Sarah! Stay tuned ....

Sarah Weatherstone was in the Tower Hamlet of Middlesex on July 1st, 1821. Her baptism took place at St Dunstan’s Church of England, Stepney on the 14th October, 1821.

St Dunstan's (1805)

The daughter of 51 year old Adam and 36 year old Elizabeth (nee Butts), her parents were poor, but her father was employed as a labourer in Ratcliffe. They were better off than many of the other people who lived around them in an area that was described as one of the poorest, most overcrowded and most crime-ridden in London. A parliamentary report of 1838 described it as harbouring "an extremely immoral population; women of the lowest character, receivers of stolen goods, thieves and the most atrocious offenders".

Was it the environment that she grew up in that developed the character of Sarah? Her father had never been in trouble with the law, yet at least 3 of his children ended up being transported for theft to Australia.

On November 24^th, 1834, thirteen year old Sarah and 10 year old Mary Ann Eves appeared before the Old Bailey charged with the theft, a week before, of trousers valued 2s. 6d. Despite a witness naming Sarah as the one who had pawned the trousers, the case against her was dismissed.

She was not so lucky on June 18^th, 1838 when at the age of 17 she was sentenced at the Old Bailey, to be transported to Australia for 7 years (though transportation records show the time to be 10 years). Sarah was indicted for stealing, on the 16th of March, at St. Dunstan's, Stepney, 1 watch, value £2.; 1 seal, value £3; 1 ring, value 15s.; 1 watch chain, value £2., 1 brooch, value 10s.; 1 bread pin, value 3s.; 1 coat, value £3., 1 pair of trousers, value £1.; 1 waistcoat, value 14s.; 12 yards of cotton cloths, value 6s.; 2 yards of damask, value 7s.; 2 handkerchiefs, value 1s. 6d.; 7 sovereigns, and 1 half-sovereign; a total of £19 of goods and monies belonging to Alexander Beaver, her master, in his dwelling house, in Queen Street, Stepney.

It is almost a blessing to find criminal records of your relatives. It is due to these records we can find out what our relatives looked like.  Sarah was a protestant, being 4ft 11 tall and having brown hair and hazel grey eyes. Her complexion was sallow, she was missing a front upper jaw front tooth and she had tattoos. On her upper right arm the tattoos were MNMN and the upper left arm JNM. What these mean, who can be sure. On her right hand she had 2 blue dots (which may indicate how many times she’d been in court) and five on the back of her left (possibly showing she’d been in prison).  

Sarah possibly got her tattoos during the 4 months she sat waiting in a prison hulk, or gaol cell awaiting her transportation to Australia.

It was reported in the London Dispatch on 23rd September 1838 that the female prisoners Sarah Neville, Ann Nash, Ellen Sullivan, Julia Keating, Ann Conley and Caroline Bunnit who had all been tried at the Old Bailey had been sentenced to 10 years transportation. In all twenty seven women were removed in hackney coaches from Newgate prison to the Penitentiary at Millbank on 25th September 1838 where they admitted prior to embarking on the Planter.

On November 10^th, 1838, Sarah, along with 170 other women convicts, boarded the convict ship Planter at Portland. The ship was relatively new, having been built in 1829 at Lynn. It was a wooden barque ship of 367 tons.

Some of the convict women and most of the assisted passengers were bound for Adelaide, but Sarah was bound for Sydney.