The Female Convict in Our Family: Hanorah Ahern
Convict Series Part 2
A Young Irish Girl
Hanorah Ahern, my 4x great grandmother, was born in County Cork, Ireland cir 1795/96. Her parents were John Ahern and Joanna Crowly. Hanorah worked as a servant, and could not read or write. In 1813, when she was 18, she appeared in the Cork Assizes, charged with robbery. There are no details of her crime, in the record. Hanorah was found guilty and transported to Australia for seven years. 1
Journey to Australia
Hanorah, at age 17, was one of the youngest of 98 female convicts on board The Catherine, when it left Falmouth, England, bound for Australia. They had arrived in Falmouth from Cork, on 30 October 1813. However due to heavy rain and strong winds, the ship had to stop at Falmouth and was delayed by six weeks.
It was the height of the Napoleonic War, when the Catherine and a second ship, the Three Bees, departed Falmouth.2 They were both being protected by armed frigates. About one month into their voyage, the English frigates were involved in battle with a French Frigate. The Catherine then parted with the frigates and continued on their way to Australia, alone. The voyage took 147 days.
Arrival at Port Jackson
The Catherine arrived at Port Jackson on 04 May 1814, with 97 convicts on board, after one convict had died on the voyage. The ship was in charge of Captain Simmons. Much praise was given to Captain Simmons for his good treatment of the prisoners during the voyage. The women were said to be very grateful for the kindness they received.3
from: The Sydney Gazette and NSW Advertiser (NSW 1803-1842) Saturday 07 May, 1814, Page 2
SHIP NEWS: On Wednesday arrived the Catherine transport, Capt. Simmonds, with 97 female prisoners from Ireland; which she received at Cork, and afterwards went to Falmouth for convoy, whence she sailed for this Colony, the 8th of last December. Passenger JOHN PALMER, Esq.
Two weeks later, 60 females from the Catherine, including Hanorah Ahern, boarded The Kangaroo, and were sent on to Van Dieman’s Land. There had been a request from Governor Arthur for more female convicts to be sent to Hobart.
Arrival at Van Dieman's Land
There is no record of who Hanorah was initially assigned to, but it's possible she worked as a servant in the New Norfolk area. This could explain how she met her future husband, who was living at New Norfolk. There are no records of any further offences, suggesting that Hanorah received her Ticket of Leave in April 1820, seven years after her conviction in Ireland. A duplicate Certificate of Freedom (below), was later issued on 11 October 1823.
Duplicate Ticket of Leave
Coming up next:
Part 3 - Hanorah Ahern: From Convict Rags to Riches
Thanks for sharing Hanorah Ahern's story with us Jennifer, just to survive the trip down under itself was a miracle. I hope things turned out better for her after she arrived