Mary Wade

Early years in London

Early researchers in the 1980s believed that Mary was born on 5 October 1777 at Southwark, London to Mary English and George Wade of Westminster, Middlesex and then christened on 21 December 1777 at Saint Olave, Southwark, Surrey, England. A new group of researchers with wider access to records that were not previously available now believe that Mary was born 17 Dec 1775, St Margaret’s, Westminster, Middlesex and was baptised 7 Jan 1776, St Margaret’s, Westminster to Lawrence Wade (died Aug 1794, Perkins Rents, Westminster) and Mary Smith (died Nov 1836, 5 New Court, Westminster). Evidence for her new date of birth and parents include:

1) Proximity of her parents deaths to where she lived at the time of her arrest (Perkins Rents and Pump Court) 2) Her mother states during the trial that she was born in December which contradicts the original birth month of October 3) During the trial, the judge questions her age and asks if she isn't older 4) Poorer families tended to stay in the one parish during this time period and weren't overly mobile. St Olave, Southwark, and St Margaret's, Westminster are two separate parishes and Mary was living in St Margaret's at the time of her arrest. 5) Her death certificate suggests she was born in 1772 which is closer to 1775 than 1777. 6) Her death certificate records she was born in Westminster which contradicts her birth being in Surrey.

If this new line of research is accurate, Mary had at least three siblings - Elizabeth Ann Wade (Born 5 Feb 1778 and Baptised 1 Mar 1778 at St Margaret's Westminster); Henrietta (Born 17 Nov 1780 and Baptised 10 Dec 1780 at St Margaret's Westminster); and Henry (Born 1 Aug 1786 and Baptised 20 Aug 1786), died Apr 1793 and buried 24 Apr 1793 at St Margaret's).

She spent her days sweeping the streets of London as a means of begging. On 5 October 1788, Mary with another child, Jane Whiting, 14 years old, stole the clothes (one cotton frock, one linen tippet, one linen cap) from Mary Phillips, an 8-year-old, who at the time was collecting water in a bottle at a privy. They then sold the frock to a pawnbroker. Mary was reported by another child to an Officer of the Law who later found the tippet in Mary's room whereupon she was arrested and placed in Bridewell Prison. Her trial was held on 14 January 1789 at the Old Bailey, where she was found guilty and was sentenced to death by hanging.

Penal transportation

On 11 March 1789, King George III was proclaimed cured of an unnamed madness; it is assumed that he suffered from porphyria, a degenerative mental disease. Five days later, in the spirit of celebration, all the women on death row, including Mary Wade, had their sentences commuted to penal transportation to Australia. She spent 93 days in the Newgate Prison before being transported on Lady Juliana to Australia, which was the first convict ship to carry only women and children. After an 11-month voyage across the ocean, the ship arrived at Sydney on 3 June 1790 and Wade was sent on to Norfolk Island aboard the HMS Surprize, arriving on 7 August 1790.

Life in Australia

She had two children on Norfolk Island, Sarah to Teague (Edward) Harrigan, an emancipated Irish transportee in 1793 and William in 1795, who is believed to be Jonathan Brooker's son. When they arrived back in Sydney, Mary lived with Teague Harrigan, with whom she had another son, Edward, in their tent on the banks of the Tank Stream in Sydney in 1803. Teague left to go on a whaling expedition in 1806 and never returned.

Lady Juliana

Marriage and family

Mary lived with Jonathan Brooker near the Hawkesbury River from 1809. It was here that Mary raised her family which numbered 21 children, seven of whom lived to have their own children. Jonathan was given his Certificate of Freedom in February 1811 and then given a grant of 60 acres (240,000 m²) at Tarrawanna, New South Wales by Governor Macquarie. Mary finally received her Certificate of Freedom on the first of September 1812. 

In 1816 they settled on the property of Airds (made up of the modern suburbs of Airds, Bradbury, St Helens Park, Rosemeadow, among others) in Campbelltown, New South Wales with their family. Mary married Jonathan Brooker on 10 February 1817 at St Lukes, Liverpool, New South Wales and her husband owned 30 acres (1822) until bushfires destroyed their property (1823) whilst Jon's livelihood as a Chair-maker by trade ended as his tools were all destroyed. The family became destitute and pleaded to the Governor of the time, Governor Thomas Brisbane, for aid. They recovered with Mary and Jon going on to own 62 acres (250,000 m²) in Illawarra (1828). Here Mary lived until Jon's death on 14 March 1833, when he was buried in the graveyard of St. Peter's Church, Campbelltown, NSW. Mary died on 17 December 1859 at the age of 82, in Wollongong, New South Wales and her funeral service was the very first to be held in St Paul's Church of England, Fairy Meadow, New South Wales with her son donating the land on which the church was built.

Descendants

At the time of her death, Mary had over 300 living descendants and is considered as one of the founding mothers of the early settlers to Australia. Today her descendants number in the tens of thousands, including Kevin Rudd (Kevin 07), former Prime Minister of Australia. Mary's story is told in the book "Mary Wade to Us" published as a family tree, noted in the further reading below. This, and the stories of Mr Rudd's other convict ancestors has now been collated into two leather-bound volumes by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is kept in the National Library of Australia in Canberra.