Margaret (Jones) Plaw (abt. 1818)

Wife of William Plaw — married 14 Aug 1837 in Newcastle, New South Wales

Descendants

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Biography

Margaret (Jones) Plaw was a convict after the Third Fleet transported to New South Wales

Margaret Jones arrived in Australia 6 Sep 1835 on the 'Mary 111 (5)', where her alias is Margaret Mayden. She'd been tried at Worcester in 1835 and sentenced for 7yrs at 19yrs of age.

In her case we have a record of the trial from a newpaper of the time:

Worcester Herald, Saturday January 10th 1835, p. 6 col 2

JONES, Margaret, 17, charged with stealing, on the 5th day of July last, at Bromsgrove, three silver tea spoons, and one silver table spoon, the property of Mr Ellis, of that place. Mr Ellis keeps a public house at Bromsgrove, and the that above-mentioned day the prisoner, in company with a man of the name of Parton, were drinking there; prisoner was observed suddenly to leave the house, and Parton soon followed; she was noticed, on going up the street, to be wrapping some silver spoons up in her shawl, and the circumstance being named to Mr Ellis’s family, the robbery was discovered to have been committed. Pursuit was immediately made, and she was taken into custody by a person named Bellamy, about a mile from Bromsgrove, on the Kidderminster road, in company with Parton, when the spoons in question were found concealed about her person, and she was afterwards given into the custody of Kings, the officer. The spoons were produced in Court, and sworn to by Mr Ellis as being his property. The prisoner said in her defence, that she knew nothing of the robbery, and that she had received the spoons from Parton, but called no witness, and the Court and Jury disbelieving her statement, she was found guilty. Mr Lavender stated that the prisoner had been convicted at a former sessions, and sentenced to three months’ imprisonment, and Kings, the officer, said she was a confirmed thief, having been twice convicted at Gloucester – Seven years’ transportation

This may be her prior conviction:

5'3/4" Dark brown hair grey eyes fresh complexion broad face small scar near left eye large scar under rt arm pit scar on her rt shoulder mole between her shoulders two moles near the navel a mole on rt thigh rather stout made not read or write

Hawker

Details:

1833 Lent Assizes.

When brought in 14 Feb 1833

When tried and event of trial: Lent Assizes :March 28 1833

Six calr months in the gaol

Removed 2nd April 1833

How bahaved: very bad

Number 237 Mary Welch. Age 15

Parish: Carmarthan late Cheltenham

By whom committed: Thos Newell Esqr

Charged on the oaths of Emma Brakewell and others with having on the 12th day of February instant at the parish of Cheltenham feloniously stolen taken and carried away a cotton gown and a piece of cotton the property of Thomas Brakewell.

The description in this conviction can be compared to that of her Australian records (Andrew Lancaster had these from Heather Macdonald)...

Margaret Jones alias Mayden, 19y, roman catholic, single, b. Somerset,

housemaid/nurse girl, stealing silver spoons, tried Worcester Qtr sessions 5

Jan 1835, 7yr sentence, 4mnths prior conviction, 5' 21/2, ruddy & freckled complexion, brown hair, dark hazel eyes, small round scar left cheek bone, 2 moles back of neck. Arrived on the "Mary III (5)" 6 Sep 1835 from London to Port Jackson

On the 1837 General Muster Margaret Jones 21y was working for William Dunn of Paterson NSW.

It appears that the year before 1837, when she married William Plaw, she had requested permission to marry another man, William Benhsam (Bentham), who was 36 years old. He had come on the 'Midas (2)", and like William had a life sentence. Like Margaret he was "on bond" (William was on a ticket of leave). "Margaret Jones alias Maydew" was 20, having arrived in Australia only a year earlier.

Her real surname is unknown. The unusualness of Mayben, which is however perhaps a real Somerset name related to Mabin, Maben, Mabon raises the question of whether it might be meaningful.

Margaret was Catholic - something quite unusual in many parts of England at the time. Llanfabon in Southern Wales, not so far from where Margaret was arrested, had a church dedicated to Saint Mabon. See http://www.churchinwales.org.uk/~l079/St%20Mabon.html. This Saint was believed in by Catholics and also associated with Cornwall: http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=4376

On the one hand, Jones and Walsh/Welsh might just have sounded like good aliases. On the other hand, once she was free it was these two surnames which she used, mainly Jones, even if Mayden and Maydew and other variants in the records might even be the real name.

She is a mysterious case, and no one has so far succeeded in finding her death certificate. She was however there to sign the death certificate when her husband died, 7/9/1866 in Wollombi. It seems hard to avoid concluding that these reports are her, showing that she lived another 10 years at least in the Hunter region. And this is not looking at Jones, Walsh and Welch aliases.

• The "Free Settler or Felon" website lists letters in the Maitland Mercury of 24 December 1851 where William Plaw of Wollombi wrote a letter cautioning “against giving credit to his wife Margaret as she had deserted her home and family without just cause”.
• And then Wednesday 6 April 1853, "Drunkenness.-On Saturday Margaret Plough and Ann Cannon, alias Malowney, were brought before the bench, charged with drunkenness ; they admitted the fact, and were both dischargedwith a caution."
• The Maitland Mercury & Hunter River General Advertiser of Thursday 12 May 1864 under the heading of PROTECTION, says that "At the West Maitland police court yesterday Jane Pritchard, who had been taken up on the previous night for protection, was brought up. Giving a satisfactory acoount of herself, she was discharged. Margaret Plaw was brought up at the same oourt on a similar charge, and was admonished and discharged."
• In the Thursday 2 March 1871 edition we read, under the heading of Singleton, "Drunkenness. - Margaret Plow pleaded guilty to this charge, and was fined 5s. or twenty-four hours imprisonment."
• In the same paper, 21 January 1873, "DRUNKENNESS. -At the temporary court-house, West Maitland, yesterday, Margaret Plaw, for drunkenness, was convicted, and this being her first appearance she was admonished and discharged."
• The Singleton Argus and Upper Hunter General Advocate Saturday 5 October 1878 tells us that on Wednesday 2nd, in Muswellbrook this time, "Margaret Plow was charged with using indecent language. Pleaded guilty, and was admonished and. discharged."

Sources

• http://users.skynet.be/lancaster/Stearns.html