Bridget Brogan (Lee) Kelly (bef. 1833 - 1916)

Born before 29 Jun 1833 in Ogonnelloe, County Clare, Ireland

Wife of John Thomas Kelly — married 3 Aug 1852 in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia

Descendants

Died 24 Sep 1916 after age 83 in Opotiki, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand

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Biography

Bridget Lee was 16 when she was convicted of Sheep Stealing in the court at County Clare, on 21 June 1849. On the same day, seven other women convicted of either sheep stealing or cow stealing at Clare were also sentenced to seven years and transportation to Australia on the Duke of Cornwall. While waiting for the ship to depart the women were held at Grangegorman Depot in Dublin. The Duke of Cornwall sailed on 5 July 1850 and arrived in Van Diemen's land (Tasmania) on the 27 October 1850. She wasn't a model convict but received her Certificate of Freedom on the 29th of January 1958.

She married John Thomas Kelly who also went by the name Molloy in Launceston. The family moved to New Zealand where John died , drowned. Bridget became a midwife. Bridget travelled on the Reliance from Hobart to Auckland, arriving on March 11. The family eventually moved to Tauranga. John was required to pay for the family fare from Tasmania to Auckland, nine pound twelve shillings. Seventy days pay for a private. It is not known when the family moved to Opotiki but the last child was born there in 1867. John drowns in the river and leaves her with nine children. She became a midwife in the community, and lived in Opotiki until her death in 1916.

Sources

• "Australia, Tasmania, Civil Registration, 1803-1933," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q279-3XTZ : 3 October 2018), John Molloy and Bridget Lee, 3 Aug 1852; citing Marriage 3 Aug 1852, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia, line #29122, Archives Office of Tasmania, Hobart; FHL microfilm 7,368,157.
• Ancenstry.com

Bridget Brogan Lee 1833–1916

BIRTH 29 JUN 1833 • Ogonnelloe, County Clare, Ireland DEATH 24 SEP 1916 • Opotiki, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand 3rd great-grandmother of Holly Simpson

https://sites.google.com/site/opotikicemeteries/about-opotiki-cemeteries-urupa-opotiki/a-z-of-surnames/k-surnames/bridget-kelly

https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/lee/bridget/145864

http://findingaids.nationalarchives.ie/index.php

Famine, Land and Children The Story of Bridget and John Kelly, by John Grant.