Martha Jackson
b. 5 August 1769, d. 22 February 1828
Person Exhibits
Logo Martha Jackson 1769
Birth
Martha Jackson was born on 5 August 1769 at Stanley Rake in Holcombe. Note that Martha's first child (William) was baptised in the same church on 29 December 1787. Also, she and her husband lived at Stanley Rake when her second child (James) was baptised on 4 July 1789. Holcombe is only 4.3 miles from Edgworth.
1,2,3,4 She was baptized on 19 August 1769 at Emmanuel in Holcombe, Lancashire.
3
Parents
Family life
Residence information
Martha Jackson lived in Edgworth, Lancashire, in July 1811, having moved from elsewhere. When giving evidence at Martha's trial in March 1812, Henry Barns said that the Entwistle family had lived there for "about three quarters of a year". Constable Thomas Kaye of Bolton said, in evidence, that he lives about two miles from where Martha Entwistle "used to live" - presumably the former Entwistle residence at Bolton.
8 She emigrated on 2 October 1812. She was one of 49 convicts embarked on the new naval brig Emu, commissioned by Governor Macquarie. She sailed as part of a convoy escorted by HMS Java.
7 Emigrated from on 22 February 1814.
2,9,7 On on 28 July 1814, arrived at aboard. was at age ~30 years old.
2,9 She lived in Sydney, New South Wales, Australian Colonies, in December 1820.
10 She travelled to in Sydney, New South Wales, Australian Colonies, and back in February 1826.
11,7
Involvement in crime
Martha Jackson was successful in using a forged banknote at a drapers' shop on 2 December 1811 in Great Bolton, Lancashire. Martha and Ann Entwistle paid for 6.5 yards of cloth with a forged 5 pound note. Joshua Lever (the draper) obtained change from Mary Andrews whose father had a cooper's shop nearby. When the note was queried, Ann gave her name as "Ann Nuttall" and her abode as Belmount.
8 Harry, then aged at age ~27, was a witness when in Edgworth, Lancashire, on 4 December 1811.
8 She was arrested on 15 February 1812 in Edgworth, Lancashire. Constable Thomas Kaye gave evidence that (acting on information received in response to his frequent inquiries about her in neighbouring towns) he found Martha Entwistle "upon the top of Crawthorn Hill, a very high hill, bordering upon Edgworth". Henry Barns (Martha's neighbour) gave evidence that he had seen her (after her absence) and she had said to him "What, are you taking a tramp, are you?" This implies that it was Barns who sought her out on behalf of the constables and told them where she was. Kaye gave evidence that she was with her brother. He also alleged that she tried to bribe him 20 pounds to turn a blind eye. (Note that Crawthorn Hill lies in between Edgworth and Holcombe, where Martha was born. It is only a few metres from Stanley Rake, her birthplace. It seems likely that she had been staying with her brother in Holcombe.)
8 She was charged for uttering forged banknotes on 21 March 1812 in Lancaster, England, United Kingdom. She was found guilty
12,2,8 She was tried for uttering forged banknotes on 28 March 1812 in Lancaster, England, United Kingdom. Both Martha Entwistle and Margaret Cunningham (tried for a similar offence) were found guilty.
8 She was sentenced to death on 9 April 1812 in Lancaster, England, United Kingdom. The Judge was pleased to reprieve the whole of those condemned before he left town, according to the Liverpool Mercury of 10 April 1812. Note that, at the same session, Margaret Cloyd had been sentenced to death for sacrilege; she had stolen a surplice from a church in Liverpool. TS Shuttleworth (Deputy Clerk of the Crown) was paid 2 pounds and 3 shillings for his services in prosecuting Martha Entwistle.
8,13,14 She was granted a ticket of leave in December 1817. She was recorded as a single woman with a ticket of leave
15 She was an ex-convict in December 1821 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australian Colonies. The document indicated that her sentence had "Exp" (expired) in 1820
16
Working life
- On 21 March 1812 Martha Jackson was a servant in Edgworth.2
- In December 1814 Martha Jackson was a nurse at the Lunatic Asylum in Castle Hill. It is unlikely that she had any prior training for her role as a convict nurse for people with a mental illness. There were 16 patients in 1814. She worked with a small team headed by the Superintendent (George Suttor), naval surgeon (Dr William Bland), a cook and a keeper. The interior of the building was regularly whitewashes, which was believed to disinfect the rooms, but the building was consistently described as being in a state of disrepair. Martha's duties within the asylum would have focussed on the activities of daily life, such as keeping patients fed and clean, sewing and mending clothes, assisting the surgeon with medical treatments and possibly supervising inmates working in the garden.17,11
- In December 1816 Martha Jackson was a nurse at the Lunatic Asylum in Castle Hill.18
- In 1819 Martha Jackson was a nurse at the Lunatic Asylum in Castle Hill. Despite her work as a nurse being much appreciated, when Superintendent Suttor's appointment as Superintendent at the Castle Hill asylum came to an end in 1819, it apprears that Martha was also assigned to a different location11
Death
Martha Jackson died on 22 February 1828 at age 58 in Port Macquarie.
19,7 She was buried on 23 February 1828 in Port Macquarie.
7
Citations
- [S1275] Lancaster Assizes, Lancaster Gazette, column 3, 27 Mar 1819, p7.
- [S1505] Ann Entwistle, Convict Indent 1814 NSW Broxbornebury: Entwistle Ann, (Kingswood NSW: NSW State Archives), Arrived 28 Jul 1814, Broxbornebury. Master: Thomas Pitcher junior.
- [S1236] Lancashire OnLine Parish Clerks, Index to Lancashire Baptisms, (Lancashire OnLine Parish Clerks, 20 Jan 2021.)
- [S1513] "Martha Jackon's origins", 2021, James Michael Fleming (Cammeray, NSW); Fleming Family History Archive, Sydney.
- [S1210] Lancashire BMD, Index to Lancashire Marriages, (Lancashire BMD), 4 Jan 1787 at St Peter's Bolton (1784-1792), page 115, entry 464.
- [S611] NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages, Index to NSW Marriages, (Registry of BDM.)
- [S1508] Elizabeth Hook, Journey to a New Life, Pyramid Hill, Victoria: Elizabeth Hook, 2014, 3rd edition.
- [S1512] Lancaster Lent Assizes, Lancaster Gazette, column 1, 21 Mar 1812, page 3.
- [S1510] Ann Entwistle, Certificate of Freedom, (NSW: Colonial Secretary), 30 Dec 1829, No 29/1080. Certificate of Freedom register.
- [S1511] Martha Entwistle, Convict Muster 1820 NSW: Entwistle Martha, (Kingswood NSW: NSW State Archives), 1820
- [S1517] "Life of Martha Entwistle, Australia's first convict mental health nurse", 2018, Toby Raeburn, Carol Liston, Jarrad Hickmott and Michelle Cleary (https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.12356), Originally published in the International Journal of Mental Health Nursing (2018) volume 27, pages 455-463; Wiley Online Library, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/.
- [S1503] Lancaster Lent Assizes, Lancaster Gazette, Lancaster, 31 Jul 1811 and others, page 3.
- [S1514] Martha Entwistle, Criminal Court Register: Lancaster Martha Entwistle 1812, (Kew: The National Archives), Lent Assizes 1812, page 162
- [S1515] William Entwistle, Criminal Quarter Sessions Records: York William Entwistle 7 Jul 1811, (Lancaster, March 1812, QSP 2624/1-48
- [S1520] Martha and Ann Entwistle, Convict Muster NSW, (Kingswood NSW: NSW State Archives), December 1817. HO 10 piece 9.
- [S1523] Martha and Ann Entwistle, Convict Muster NSW, (Kingswood NSW: NSW State Archives), December 1821. HO 10 piece 17.
- [S1516] Martha and Ann Entwistle, Convict Muster NSW, (Kingswood NSW: NSW State Archives), 1814
- [S1519] Martha and Ann Entwistle, Convict Muster NSW, (Kingswood NSW: NSW State Archives), 1816. HO 10 piece 4.
- [S612] NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages, Index to NSW Deaths, (Registry of BDM.)
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Context | Convicts |
Last Edited | 16 February 2021 |