Ann (Kearns) Cook (abt. 1823 - 1877)

Born about 1823 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Wife of William Cook — married 18 Oct 1853 in St Lawrence Church, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Descendants

Died 22 Jul 1877 at about age 54 in Kempsey, New South Wales, Australia

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Heather Stevens [send private message]

Biography

Birth: Ann's baptism 18 Oct 1823 is in the St Mary's Roman Catholic registers, Sydney: Ann, parents Joseph Kearns & Elizabeth Ready, Sydney, by J. J. Therry, sponsors Bern'd Fitzpatrick & Anne Byrne.^[1]

1825 muster: Kearns, Joseph, free by servitude, Sugar Cane, 1793, 7 years, constable, Sydney; Kearns, Joseph, 4 ; Kearns, Francis, 8, Kearns, ANN, 3 ; Ready, Elizabeth, free by servitude, Minstrel, 1812, 4 years, wife of Kearns constable Sydney

1828 census: Harrington St, Sydney: Kearns, Joseph, 50, free by servitude, Sugar Cane, 1793, 7 years, labourer, [for] John Ewings, Harington Street; Kearns, Elizabeth, 39, f by s, Minstrel, 1812, 7 years, Kearns, Francis 10 born in the colony, Jos. Jr. 7, ANN 5, Matthew, 3 [all Catholic]

Ann's father Joseph was convicted of theft in 1833, and assault in 1837. In the 1833 prison records his occupation was a boatman, and in 1837 his occupation was a labourer.

Sadly, Ann was involved in her father's crime in July 1837: Joseph and 2 of his sons, and daughter Ann assaulted a group of 4 builders at the new watch house at Millers Point. Joseph threw a stone that inflicted a severe wound in a man's temple. Joseph and son Francis were sentenced to a fine or 6 weeks in gaol. Ann was on bail. The trial was reported in the Australian.^[2] Strangely she was not sentenced until a year later, to 3 weeks labour according to Sydney Gaol Entrance book: Anne Kearns, Born In Colony, servant, Date of Admission: 29 Aug 1838.^[3]

Ann's father Joseph Kearns had been a constable at the Rocks and then a boatman, so he probably knew William Hubbard who similarly had been a constable at the Rocks and then a boatman, and, like Joseph Kearns lived at Harrington Street in 1828.

The following is supposition: The death of Ann's mother has not been found, and Ann was with her drunken father and brothers when they committed the assault in 1837. I suspect that Ann's mother had died by then, and I also suspect that William Hubbard, after her gaol sentence provided a home for her with his daughter Harriett and her husband William Cook at the Castlereagh area. Harriett's baby died in April 1837, and I suspect that Harriett herself was seriously ill and needed help with the children. Presumably William's wife Harriett died soon after, because we know that Ann and William Cook's child Joseph was born about 1840. By that time they had moved to the Macleay River region, 500 kilometres to the north. - Heather

According to Ann's death certificate, she and William had 13 children, and the following have been found:

Joseph b. abt 1840

Elizabeth Ann (Moggy) b.1841

Ann b.1844

Eliza Jane b.1846

William b.1848

Catherine b. 25 Mar 1851, d. 1 Oct 1851

Name unknown girl b. Aug 1852, died 28 Mar 1853

Rachel b.1854

Amelia b.1857

Matthew b.1859

John William b.1861

Martha b.1864

Jane Alice b.1867

Tragically, Ann lost 2 babies to accidental death, the second resulting in a prison sentence for manslaughter.

Her baby Catherine was born 25 March 1851, and died 1 October 1851, described as “accidental death” in an inquest, date 5 November 1851 held at the Macleay (no other details found).^[4][5]

Another baby girl (name not given) was born in August 1852, and died 28 March 1853. Ann "Kerns" alias Cook was convicted of manslaughter on 6 June 1853 at the Central Criminal Court in Sydney, and reported briefly in the Maitland Mercury: "The prisoner had lain drunk on the bank of the river McLeay, with her infant in her arms, and the child rolled out of them and was drowned". The trial was reported with more detail in the Sydney Morning Herald. She was found guilty, but recommended to mercy, and sentenced to one year imprisonment at Sydney Gaol.^[6]

As it happens, her sentence was shorter than one year: Ann Kearns alias Cook was admitted into Darlinghurst Gaol on 6 June 1853 and the admission book tells us that her sentence was remitted on 18 October 1853. Prison records provide us with her description: born 1823, 5ft 4in, slight build, sallow , brown hair, hazel eyes.^[7][8]

Marriage: On the day that her sentence was remitted (18 October 1853), she married her de facto husband William Cook. They were married by William Horatio Walsh of St Lawrence Church of England, Sydney. The register recorded that they were widower and spinster, married by banns, and they both marked the register with a cross. Witnesses were Margaret Cooper of Kent Street, and George R Wood of Redfern.^[9]

Death: Ann Cook died 22 July 1877 at West Kempsey. Her death certificate has the following information: age 52, widow, cause of death Phthisis [tuberculosis], Imaciation (sic) 7 months (Dr Gabriel), 13 children, 11 alive (4 boys 7 girls), informant George Avery, farmer, son in law, West Kempsey. Burial 23 July 1877, West Kempsey Cemetery, Church of England, Reverend James Paterson.^[10]

Although she lost two infants in tragic circumstances, Ann's other 11 children all lived into adulthood.

Sources

1. ↑ Birth registration NSW 421/1823 V125 on SAG reel 0006 FRAME 279
2. ↑ No title (1837, July 25). The Australian (Sydney, NSW : 1824 - 1848), p. 2. Retrieved September 15, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article36854590
3. ↑ New South Wales, Australia, Gaol Description and Entrance Books, 1818-1930 for Anne Kearns, Entrance Book Sydney 1837-1841 https://www.ancestry.com.au/imageviewer/collections/1783/images/32245_223268-00175?pId=86893
4. ↑ Birth certificate NSW 1851 1100 V51
5. ↑ New South Wales, Australia, Registers of Coroners' Inquests, 1821-1937 for Catherine Cook Registers of Coroners´ Inquests and Magisterial Inquiries, 1834-1942 1834-1859 https://www.ancestry.com.au/imageviewer/collections/1785/images/32090_223293-00408?pId=129552
6. ↑ New South Wales, Australia, Criminal Court Records, 1830-1945 for Ann Kears, Calendars of persons tried on criminal charges in Sydney courts (Court Books), 1847 Dec-1856 Jun https://www.ancestry.com.au/imageviewer/collections/5325/images/41725_307629-00080?pId=118795
7. ↑ New South Wales, Australia, Gaol Description and Entrance Books, 1818-1930 for Ann Kearns, Description Book Darlinghurst 1850-1855 https://www.ancestry.com.au/imageviewer/collections/1783/images/32246_223274-00355?pId=152537
8. ↑ New South Wales, Australia, Gaol Description and Entrance Books, 1818-1930 for Ann Kearns, Entrance Book, Darlinghurst 1853-1855 https://www.ancestry.com.au/imageviewer/collections/1783/images/41491_330315-00391?pId=894705
9. ↑ Marriage certificate NSW 1853 #715 Vol 39
10. ↑ Death certificate NSW 1877 #813

• 1837, The Australian (Sydney, NSW : 1824 - 1848), 25 July, p. 2. , http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article36854590
• 1853 'CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.', Empire (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1875), 7 June, p. 2. , viewed 14 Sep 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article61324901
• 1853 'LAW INTELLIGENCE.', The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), 7 June, p. 2. , viewed 14 Sep 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12946470
• 1853 'THE GOLD FIELDS.', The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser (NSW : 1843 - 1893), 11 June, p. 2. , viewed 14 Sep 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article668600
• Muster, census, inquest, gaol records were found in Ancestry.com scans of records of the State Records of NSW
• Ann's birth was found in the NSW BDM index and the actual registration was seen on the reels at the NSW State Library Sydney.
• Ann's marriage and death certificates

Acknowledgements

See the Changes page for the details of edits by Nikki Waterson, Heather Stevens and others.