Van Diemen's Land convict records

[Merry]

Charlotte Harris was transported for life for the murder of her husband on the Anna Maria convict ship in 1851. Can anyone tell me anything about what happened to her after her arrival?

(Charlotte had met her future husband, widower William Harris, in Bath Market in March 1849 and he had joked with her that he was looking for a new wife (his previous wife having died on 1 Feb that year) and what a pity it was that Charlotte wasn't a widow. Within a couple of weeks she had murdered Henry Marchant, her husband of seven years, and three days after his funeral she married William who was over 40 years her senior.

When the death of Henry Marchant was investigated they exhumed his body and found traces of arsenic in his digestive tract and it was later proved this was administered by Charlotte. They then also exhumed the body of William Harris's previous wife (my 4xg aunt, Louisa Cook) to see if there were any suspicious circumstances surrounding her death, particularly as her husband had declared his need for a replacement wife within an hour of her death and hadn't bothered to attend her funeral or tell any of her relatives she had passed away. However nothing suspicious was found.)

[Mary from Italy]

Goodness!

This is the convict transportation register from Ancestry, which doesn't tell you a lot:

http://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?_phsrc=xpQ179&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&db=ausconvictothers&so=2&pcat=40&gss=angs-c&new=1&rank=1&msT=1&MS_AdvCB=1&gsfn=charlotte&gsfn_x=1&gsln=harris&gsln_x=1&msypn__ftp=Australia&msypn=5027&msypn_PInfo=3-|0|1652397|0|5027|0|0|0|0|0|0|&msypn_x=1&msypn__ftp_x=1&cp=0&catbucket=rstp&MSAV=2&uidh=yc2

These are the Tasmanian archives, which show that she married a John Burns in Hobart:

http://www.linc.tas.gov.au/family-history/Pages/Convict-life.aspx

https://linctas.ent.sirsidynix.net.au/client/en_AU/all/search/results?qu=charlotte&qu=harris

Other names - Charlotte Millard:

http://portal.archives.tas.gov.au/menu.aspx?detail=1&type=P&id=186464

I haven't checked any further in the Tas archives.

[kiterunner]

Ancestry's Australian Death Index has an entry for a Charlotte Burns 18 Jul 1862 age 40, registered Hobart, Tasmania. The death registration image is available on FamilySearch:
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9CH-HS27?i=217&wc=M7HG-729%3A387523701%2C387590301%2C387598101%3Fcc%3D212 5029&cc=2125029

(image no 218 if it doesn't show the right one.)

Died Patrick Street, born England, widow, cause of death consumption, informant John Allan, friend, of Goulburn Street.

So now we need to find John Burns' death! John Allan may have had a lucky escape!

[Mary from Italy]

http://foundersandsurvivors.org/pubsearch/convict/chain/ai30429

[kiterunner]

John Burns died 16 Oct 1860, at HM Genl Hospital, born England, age 56, laborer, cause of death dropsy, informant Charlotte Burns, wife, Patrick Street:
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9CH-H3D2?i=103&wc=M7HG-729%3A387523701%2C387590301%2C387598101%3Fcc%3D212 5029&cc=2125029

(image no 104).

[kiterunner]

Also, in ancestry's Australian Birth Index there is the birth of a John Burns 14 Oct 1854 at Hobart, parents John Burns and Charlotte Millard.

Here is his birth reg on FamilySearch (image no 111):
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9CH-4FYL?i=110&wc=M7HL-BP8%3A387523701%2C387523702%2C387537301%3Fcc%3D212 5029&cc=2125029

[Merry]

Oooh, thank you both so much!

I've gone from being very bored with my Louisa Cook as once she married William Harris she seemed to vanish, to very interested because there was so much happening between their marriage in 1848 and the 1851 census! The newspaper reports also gave me the name and address of Louisa's sister so that's another person tracked down.

Thanks again.

[vita]

Sounds like Charlotte & William deserved each other. I'm always amazed at how like -

minded individuals have a habit of meeting - the Wests, Brady & Hindley - yet most people

are decent & wouldn't dream of getting involved in anything untoward.

[Merry]

If Charlotte had not had a great time at the wake and then re-married just three days later the gossip might never have materialised and she probably would have got away with murder. William just sounds like a bit of an idiot - he apparently asked most women he knew if they would marry him, regardless of their marital status. He asked the two women who were preparing his late wife's body for burial (my relative, Louisa). One said she already had a good husband and the other said "I don't want an old man like you"!! Probably couldn't believe his luck when a 31 year old said Yes!!

[Olde Crone]

My twiglet Mary Holden poisoned her husband with arsenic in his tea, but in a typical hairsplitting Holden way, said I only put the arsenic in the teapot I did not make him drink it.

OC

[Kit]

lol OC

I wonder how long it took William Harris to remarry?

I have to wonder what the original husband was like to make her immediately kill him and marry a much older man.

[Merry]

The husband she murdered had a glowing report in the paper, but obviously he might have been a bad husband to her. it said he was a hard worker who had raised her circumstances financially and she appeared to have a very comfortable existence with him. She had delivered two children one of whom survived and was 'a delightful little girl' (she was a pauper aged 6 in 1851 just before her mother was transported and then vanished).

Mr Harris lost his first wife of 50 years at the end of 1847. He married my relative in July 1848 and she died in Feb 1849. He med Charlotte in March 1849 and married her in April. Before the end of the month they were both arrested along with their bridesmaid and groomsman - a married couple where the wife was under suspicion of poisoning Mr Harris's second wife (my Louisa) until her body was exhumed and there was nothing dodgy found). Mr Harris and the other couple were then released and Charlotte was tried and found guilty in August 1849.

When the sentence was given (death penalty) the defence lawyer informed the judge Charlotte was pregnant and the judge demanded 12 women be selected from the public gallery to determine the truth of this claim. It was reported some of them were very reluctant to take the oath! They went with Charlotte to a private room and returned to state Charlotte had a 'quick child' (one that could be felt moving) The sentence was then reduced to life transportation. There is no sign of the child being registered, so presumably either stillborn or didn't exist.

[Merry]

OC did your Holden relation have descendants who became hotshot lawyers?!!

[Kit]

Very interesting, thanks Merry.