William Plaw (abt. 1804 - 1866)

Born about 1804 in England

Husband of Margaret (Jones) Plaw — married 14 Aug 1837 in Newcastle, New South Wales

Descendants

Died 7 Sep 1866 at about age 62 in Wollombi, New South Wales, Australia

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Andrew Lancaster [send private message]

Biography

William Plaw was a convict after the Third Fleet transported to New South Wales

Note about birth. While his two convictions say he is from Wonersh in one case, or Woking in the other, two places near each other in Surrey, his death certificate says he was born in Sussex, which is to the south of both. One of his convict documents in Australia says he was a ploughman from Guildford. Wonersh is now part of Guildford. From such records we know the general area of his birth.

There was a baptism for a William Plow 15 Mar 1803 in Wonersh. The parents were named John and Elizabeth.

William Plaw arrived in Australia 7 May 1825 on the 'Hercules 11 (1)'. He'd been tried Surrey in 1823 and sentenced to life. He was 19.

Minute Books

Puts himself. Jury say Guilty no goods To be hanged &c

William Plaw 19 Robbery in the Highway on David Estick and taking from him his goods and monies value £11.10.6

William Plaw Puts himself. Judgment on another indictment Stealing goods value 18s. of the Right Honourable Fletcher Lord Grantley

Indictment Files (two different crimes)

The Jurors for our Lord the King upon their present that William Plaw late of the parish of Woking in the County of Surrey Labourer on the sixteenth day of June in the fourth year of the Reign of our sovereign Lord George the Fourth by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland King Defender of the Faith with force and arms at the Parish aforesaid in the County aforesaid in the King’s Highway there in and upon one Daniel Estick in the peace of God and our Lord the King then and there being feloniously did make an assault and the said Daniel Estick in corporal fear and danger of his life in the Kings Highway aforesaid then and there did put and one bag of the value of six pence ten pieces of the Gold coin of this realm called sovereigns of the value of Ten pounds and three pieces of the Gold coin of this Realm called Half Sovereigns of the value of thirty shillings of the goods chattels and monies of the said Daniel Estick from the person and against the will of the said Daniel Estick in the Kings Highway aforesaid then and there violently and feloniously did steal take and carry away against the peace of our said Lord the King his Crown and Dignity

The Jurors for our Lord the King upon their present that William Plaw late of the parish of Wonersh in the County of Surrey Labourer on the thirtieth day of September in the fourth year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord George the Fourth, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland King Defender of the Faith, with force and arms, at the Parish aforesaid, Ten pounds weight of Venison of the value of ten shillings and fifteen pounds weight of Mutton of the value of eight shillings of the goods and chattels of the Right Honourable Fletcher Lord Grantley then and there being found, feloniously did steal, take, and carry away, against the peace of our said Lord the King, his Crown and Dignity

From newspaper reports it is clear William had been working for Daniel Estick for about a week. Estick was elderly, and worked as a hawker and pedlar. Estick was hit from behind and robbed after he left the Bird in Hand in Woking (or Wokeford according to another report) - in Sandy Lane - travelling to his home in Wandsworth. He had earned the money buying and selling geese, and William's job had been herding them. William had been betting for beer in the same inn, and had lost. William was caught the next day, on the 17th of June, for this crime. On that day he appeared at the Three Lions inn in Godalming, where he was known as "almost destitute", in completely new cloths, and with a significant amount of money. Estick was at that time not certain if they had the right person. Estick identified him in Guildford prison based on his voice and a distinguishing feature - a WP tattoo on his right wrist.

During the same period he apparently committed other thefts. Had he been released?? A constable of Surrey who was escorting the prisoner on 28th October, James Hall, reported that the prisoner had reported there was a warrant for him for robbing Lord Grantley and the "Goose Man" (Estick). The penalty was death but the judge converted it to transportation because of his youth. He was very critical that William had ill treated a man who had snatched him from the jaws of want.

The Bird in Hand was probably the inn in Mayfield in Woking, which still exists, as does a Sandy Lane.^[1] The Three Lions was probably the one in Farncombe near Wonersh in Godalming, which also still exists.^[2] The Family seat of Lord Grantley was at Wonersh Park near Guildford.

On the 1828 Census in Australia, William is a Government Servant Labourer for George Sparkes at Wye Harbour NSW.

William married 14 August 1837 in the Church of England parish of Christ Church in Newcastle in Australia. At the time of marriage the wife was called Margaret Jones. This appear to be the most common name used to refer to her, but it was not her only alias. William was 33 and Margaret was 21. They needed permission from the governor because they were both convicts who had not served out their sentences. (William had a ticket of leave.)

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”.^[3]

NSW DEATH REGISTRATION TRANSCRIPTION REF NO 1866/7218

• NAME -WILLIAM PLAW
• DATE OF DEATH -7/9/1866
• PLACE -WOLLOMBI NSW
• OCCUPATION -LABORER
• SEX -MALE
• AGE -62
• CONJUGAL STATUS -
• PLACE OF BIRTH -SUSSEX ENGLAND
• TIME IN AUST COLONIES -41 YEARS IN NSW
• FATHER -WILLIAM PLAW
• OCCUPATION -UNKNOWN
• MOTHER -UNKNOWN
• PLACE OF MARRIAGE -NEWCASTLE NSW
• AGE AT MARRIAGE -33
• NAME OF SPOUSE -MARGARET JONES
• CHILDREN OF MARRIAGE -SARAH 28, JAMES 24, JOHN 22, MARY 19, *THOMAS 16, LIVING; 1 MALE DEAD
• INFORMANT -MARGARET PLAW (HER X MARK), WIFE OF DECEASED, WOLLOMBI
• CAUSE OF DEATH -TAPE WORM
• LENGTH OF ILLNESS -ONE MONTH
• MEDICAL ATTENDANT -JOHN MILNE
• DATE LAST SEEN -6/9/1866
• DATE OF BURIAL -9/9/1866
• PLACE OF BURIAL -CHURCH OF ENGLAND CEMETERY WOLLOMBI
• MINISTER & RELIGION -CHURCH OF ENGLAND SERVICE READ BY HENRY *CHARLES MASTERS
• UNDERTAKER -ROBERT DALY
• WITNESSES -THOMAS MATTHEWS, JOHN ANDREWS
• REGISTERED -20/9/1866 WOLLOMBI

SURNAME IS CLEARLY RECORDED AS "PLAW" IN THIS REGISTER

Children include:

• Sarah Plau/Plaw/Plow, born 16 June 1838, baptised Maitland 29 July. Married John Stearns. Her mother is named as Mary Welsh at the time of her marriage.
• William Plow, born 1 June 1840, baptised Wollombi 14 September 1851.
• James Plow, born 25 June 1842, baptised Wollombi 14 September 1851.
• Mary Plaw, born 24 April 1848, baptised West Maitland 29 June 1849. Married Robert Lewis 9 June 1862 at Wollombi.
• John
• Thomas

Sources

1. ↑ https://pubwiki.co.uk/SurreyPubs/Woking/BirdinHand.shtml
2. ↑ https://pubwiki.co.uk/SurreyPubs/Farncombe/ThreeLions.shtml
3. ↑ https://www.freesettlerorfelon.com/

• Australian death certificate
• English conviction records as referenced
• Australian convict records and 1828 census
• This person is the subject of a detailed webpage by his descendant Andrew Lancaster