I wrote a blog for GSQ in 2023 titled The Gift of Resilience about Ann Simmons, my three times great-grandmother, who was transported to Van Diemen’s Land in early 1823. Researching Ann was a slow process and at times more difficult than I expected because hardly anything had been written about her. Ann is mentioned in Peter Tardiff’s Notorious Strumpets and Dangerous Girls on page 600, but the information was minimal: the date and nature of her conviction, the ship she was transported on and a behaviour record from the voyage. Libraries Tasmania’s Name Index was a good place to start with digitised records of her Conduct Record, Muster Roll for some dates, and marriage in late 1823 to another convict.

Surgeons report on Ann Simmons on the Lord Sidmouth.

I registered with the Female Convicts Research Centre as a guest researcher to access their wonderful database on female convicts and came up blank. What I found on their site was the ship’s surgeon’s report which provides not only a record of Ann but an insight into how the prisoners were managed including their daily routine on the Lord Sidmouth.

Ann was a repeat offender, so there was also quite a bit in Trove from the Gazettes, which provided an interesting narrative to her offences. This was very helpful for context and gradually I was able to form a picture of her life in Hobart.

Navigating the UK National Archives takes a lot of patience. I should have taken more time to read the guides, but like many of us, I dived in, rushing through the links, hoping the primary document I was searching for would leap out. Findmypast was useful for Ann’s many court appearances at the Old Bailey, and between 1806 and 1822, there were several.

Author Christine Leonard at the Hobart book launch in early May 2025.

I was very fortunate to have a distant relative, Barbara T. with whom I’m connected through Ann. Barbara was well ahead of me in researching our shared ancestor, and together, we gathered more pieces like a jigsaw puzzle, that built a storyline of Ann’s life.

As well as a timeline on Ann’s criminal history, her English records sometimes placed her domicile at workhouses, and other little snippets would turn up that piqued my interest, inspiring me to look into Ann’s back story. I was looking for context to understand her journey better. I found a marriage in England, confirming that her Australian marriage was a bigamous one. She also had children before arriving in Hobart. There was a daughter born before her marriage to Joseph Allason, named Eliza, and two children born to Joseph, Henry in 1818 and Emma in 1820. The 1822 death record of little Emma, whilst Ann was in Newgate Prison awaiting transportation, was another catalyst that sent me looking for context. These straightforward facts belied a tragic human story.

Convict Women’s Press in Tasmania publishes books on the lives of convict women transported to Van Diemen’s Land. I noticed on their website that they were looking for abstracts about female convicts with a focus on motherhood. I was so excited because right through Ann’s life, despite her checkered criminal history, she kept her children with her. Poverty was an underlying theme throughout Ann’s life in London, but for the most part, her thieving was of children’s clothing.

Assisted by Barbara T’s information and the background research I had done on Ann’s circumstances in London and Hobart, in September 2023 I submitted a 100-word abstract to Convict Women’s Press. After some months I received an email to say it was successful. I was to submit a full story of no more than 2,000 words for their next book. Aspects to explore, bearing in mind this is non-fiction, were the challenges and problems of motherhood for convict women; how the convict system impacted motherhood and how women experienced childbirth and child rearing.

The book ‘Convict Lives Mothers’ trials and triumphs,’ edited by Alison Alexander and Ros Escott, was launched on 3 and 4 May in Hobart and my hubby and I flew down for the event. It was exciting but what I am most satisfied with is knowing that Ann Simmons will no longer be a faceless record in a dusty book or digitised notation. These women were real people who survived by managing very difficult day-to-day challenges and heartbreak. They were resilient!

A photo of all the authors who contributed to the book ‘Convict Lives: Mothers’ trials and triumphs’ attending the book launch.

Please visit Convict Women’s Press Inc at https://www.convictwomenspress.com.au/index.php/about-us for more information on this new publication.