Frances Williams (–1801) was a Welsh convict who was an early settler of Australia and

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...

. She is considered to be the first Welsh woman to settle in Australia.

Biography

Frances Williams was born in

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

, Wales around 1760. Little is known of her early life, except that she lived in the village of Whitford and was employed at the

Holywell Holywell may refer to: * Holywell, Flintshire, Wales * Holywell, Swords, Ireland * Holywell, Bedfordshire, England * Holywell, Cambridgeshire, England * Holywell, Cornwall, England * Holywell, Dorset, England * Holywell, Eastbourne, East Susse ...

estate of the artist Moses Griffith. She left Griffith's service by the summer of 1783 and moved to

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

with her brother. According to the ''

Dictionary of Welsh Biography The ''Dictionary of Welsh Biography'' (DWB) (also ''The Dictionary of Welsh Biography Down to 1940'' and ''The Dictionary of Welsh Biography, 1941 to 1970'') is a biographical dictionary of Welsh people who have made a significant contribution to ...

'', "several reasons have been suggested for this move, ranging from a need to find work in the city to the urge to escape from the clutches of Griffith, who had a reputation for inappropriate behaviour towards women". On the night of 1 August 1783, Williams broke into Griffith's estate, burglarizing it and stealing clothing. The following morning, the estate's maid found Williams's hat in a neighboring field and reported it to the local

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

Thomas Pennant Thomas Pennant (14 June Old Style, OS 172616 December 1798) was a Welsh natural history, naturalist, traveller, writer and antiquarian. He was born and lived his whole life at his family estate, Downing Hall near Whitford, Flintshire, in Wales ...

, who also owned the estate property and leased it to Griffith. Pennant's butler apprehended Williams at the port of Parkgate in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

with several items belonging to Griffith. The DWB claims that the items' value totaled two pounds two shillings and one pence, while '' The Leader'' claims that their value was one pound seventeen shillings and five pence. Williams's trial was held on 2 September 1783 at the

court of assize The courts of assize, or assizes (), were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ...

Mold A mold () or mould () is one of the structures certain fungus, fungi can form. The dust-like, colored appearance of molds is due to the formation of Spore#Fungi, spores containing Secondary metabolite#Fungal secondary metabolites, fungal seco ...

. The trial was overseen by Pennant, who convicted Williams and sentenced her to death by hanging. She was imprisoned in the

Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...

old gaol. On 24 August 1784, her death sentence was commuted to seven years of

penal transportation Penal transportation or transportation was the relocation of convicted criminals, or other persons regarded as undesirable, to a distant place, often a colony, for a specified term; later, specifically established penal colonies became their ...

. According to the DWB, "there is evidence to suggest that Pennant, who had been very prominent in securing the original verdict, felt a particular interest in seeing the back of Frances: the 'precious cargo' among 'the Fflint convicts' whom his acquaintance, judge

Daines Barrington Daines Barrington, Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS, Society of Antiquaries of London, FSA (1727/2814 March 1800) was an English lawyer, antiquary and naturalist. He was one of the correspondents to whom Gilbert White wrote extensively on natur ...

mentioned in a letter dated 25 January 1786 was no doubt a reference to her". She was transported from Flint to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

on 26 March 1787, and was loaded on the ''

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

''one of several ships of the

First Fleet The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command ...

that transported the first convicts to Australia – on 12 April. The fleet set sail on 13 May 1787, and arrived at

Port Jackson Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...

in Australia in January 1788. ''The Leader'' considers Williams to be the first Welsh woman to settle in Australia. While on the voyage, Williams began a romantic relationship with Robert Ryan, a

Royal Marine The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

from

County Armagh County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and ha ...

. On 16 July 1789, their daughter Sarah Williams was born in

Sydney Cove Sydney Cove (Eora: ) is a bay on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour, one of several harbours in Port Jackson, on the coast of Sydney, New South Wales. Sydney Cove is a focal point for community celebrations, due to its central Sydney locatio ...

. On 5 March 1790, the family re-settled on

, with Williams and her daughter arriving aboard the . Ryan was discharged from the navy in December 1791 and was granted 60 acres of land on Norfolk Island. Sometime around this period, Williams began romantic relationships with two other men, fellow convicts John Cropper and Noah Mortimer. In November 1794, she and Ryan moved back to Australia aboard the , with Ryan enlisting in the

New South Wales Corps The New South Wales Corps (sometimes called The Rum Corps) was formed in England in 1789 as a permanent regiment of the British Army to relieve the New South Wales Marine Corps, who had accompanied the First Fleet to Australia, in fortifying the ...

. They returned to Norfolk Island aboard the in April 1796. Williams had three more children between 1791 and 1796, a daughter whose father is unclear, a daughter by Cropper, and a son by Ryan. When Ryan again left for Australia in 1799, Williams remained on Norfolk Island, where she died in 1801. Her daughter Sarah died the following year, and her remaining children were fostered by Cropper and Mortimer when Ryan left the island permanently in 1804.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Frances Date of birth unknown Date of death unknown 1760s births 1801 deaths 18th-century Welsh people 18th-century Welsh women Convicts transported to Australia on the First Fleet Welsh prisoners sentenced to death Prisoners sentenced to death by England and Wales Women sentenced to death People paroled from death sentence Women convicts transported to Australia 18th-century Australian people 18th-century Australian women People from Norfolk Island People from Flintshire