Louisa (Hall) Collins (1847 - 1889)

Born 11 Aug 1847 in Belltrees, near Scone, New South Wales, Australia

Ancestors

Wife of Charles Andrews — married 28 Aug 1865 in Church of the Holy Trinity, Scone, New South Wales, Australia

Wife of Michael Peter Collins — married 9 Apr 1887 in St Silas, Waterloo, New South Wales, Australia

Died 8 Jan 1889 at age 41 in Darlinghurst Gaol, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

This profile was inspired by "Last Woman Hanged" by Caroline Overington. It's the story of Louisa Collins, the last woman hanged in NSW but its also the story of NSW at the time as this was an incident which affected all levels of society. Louisa was a poor woman, with very little power. However her plight was noticed by many women, who became organised on her behalf and although they could not save her, they went on to win the vote for Australian women a few years later.

11 August 1847 Born at Belltrees, Scone, NSW. Louisa was the child of Henry Hall and Catherine Ring. (1)

When she was age 18, Louisa Hall married Charles Andrews a butcher age 32, on 28 August 1865 at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Merriwa, New South Wales.^[1]

They had nine children, only seven of whom survived infancy.

They lived at Merriwa, and by 1871 moved to Muswellbrook. By 1878 the family had moved to Sydney where they lived in Waterloo, then by 1880 they were at Botany, where Andrews worked as a wool washer. Andrews discovered a liaison between his wife and a lodger, Michael Peter Collins. Andrews confronted Collins and threw him out of the house.

Louisa's husband Charles Andrews died on 2 February 1887.

Now widowed, Louisa Andrews married Michael Peter Collins at St Silas Church of England, Waterloo on 9 April 1887.^[2]

They had a son John born on 28 November 1887, who sadly died on 10 April 1888.^[3]

Her husband Michael Peter Collins died on 8 July 1888.

After four trials, she was found guilty of murder. In spite of petitions and letter-writing campaigns, no clemency was extended by the premier Sir Henry Parkes or the Governor, Lord Carrington. Louisa Collins was executed by hanging on 8 January 1889.

An example of a typical newspaper report was in the Evening News.^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ Marriage certificate 1865/001940 cited in Overington, p.4.
2. ↑ Sydney, Australia, Anglican Parish Registers, 1814-2011 for Catharine Hall Waterloo St Silas Marriage 22 September 1883 - 10 July 1889 https://www.ancestry.com.au/imageviewer/collections/61177/images/45578_wat%5Ema18831889-00041?pId=1500339938
3. ↑ Caroline Overington, "Last Woman Hanged", Harper Collins 2014, pp.27-28.
4. ↑ (1889, January 8). Evening News (Sydney, NSW : 1869 - 1931), p. 3. Retrieved December 18, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page11929680

• 1. Caroline Overington, "Last Woman Hanged", published by Harper Collins in 2014.
• 2. Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisa_Collins.
• 3. NSW BDM Births search Mother: Louisa, Father: Andrews 1867-1887

9462/1883 ANDREWS CHARLES CHARLES LOUISA WATERLOO

8395/1881 ANDREWS DAVID CHARLES LOUISA WATERLOO

16403/1877 ANDREWS MAY CHARLES LOUISA MUSWELLBROOK

15591/1875 ANDREWS FREDERICK WILLIAM CHARLES LOUISA MUSWELLBROOK

14890/1873 ANDREWS ARTHUR CHARLES LOUISA MUSWELLBROOK

13888/1871 ANDREWS REUBEN CHARLES LOUISA MUSWELLBROOK

8316/1867 ANDREWS HERBERT CHARLES LOUISA CASSILIS

• 4. NSW BDM Deaths search Mother: Louisa, Father: Charles Andrews

• 5.http://www.smh.com.au/good-weekend/last-woman-hanged-in-nsw-but-was-louisa-collins-innocent-20141016-117300.html

Further research

• Obtain birth certificate from NSW BDM

2606/1847 V18472606 32A HALL LOUISA HENRY CATHERINE