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- OTHER KNOWN INFORMATION OR COMMENTS:- Lydia was caught stealing shawls from a shop in the North Midlands of England in May 1790. Whilst in jail she had a child. She arrived in Australia on 14th February 1792 aboard the "Pitt" after leaving England on 17th July 1791. Lydia was assigned to Sgt. Robert Higgins of the New South Wales Corp. She accompanied him to Norfolk Is in 1793 and they returned to Sydney together in 1794. By 1812 Lydia, Robert and family were living at a property granted to them by Governor Macquarie on the Nepean River.
Additional information was provided to me about Lydia by Marion Starr who has written a book titled :- "Murder, Mayhem & Misdemeanours - Early Settlers at the Cowpastures River NSW 1810 - 1830" Lydia is mentioned on pages 8, 137, 162, 163, 182, 183, 185, 186, 188, 191, 192 & 259. Information about the vessel "Pitt" which she came to Australia on can be found on pages 8, 142, 162, 180, 188. The book also mentions over 120 people living in that area at the time giving details about them and the ship they arrived here on, stories of life back in that era, shows maps of land grants and references to where all the information was obtained from.
Marion Starr is quite happy for others to contact her regarding the Higgin's line as she has carried out extensive research as well as having written the above mentioned book which also contains biographies for members of the Higgins family and other related families. Marion can be contacted by selecting :- e-mail Marion
Lydia Farrell was tried at Stafford on 5 May 1790 for the theft of some shawls at a shop in Wolverhampton. Sentenced to seven years transportation after being reprieved of a death sentence, Lydia arrived at PJ on 14 February 1792 aboard the Pitt with over 400 other convicts. While in gaol at Stafford she had born a daughter who may have died soon after.
Of the 58 female convicts listed on the Pitt indent, nine probably died during the voyage as a result of the smallpox and other diseases recorded. Their names were not recorded. One woman, Eleanor Collins, managed to escape at the Cape of Good Hope with the ship's quarter master.
Lydia survived and was selected upon arrival by Sergeant Robert Higgins (Queen 1791) of the NSW Corps as his companion. A year later she accompanied Higgins to Norfolk Island aboard the Kitty where they arrived on 11 February 1793. Lydia and Robert returned to PJ on the Daedalus in November 1794 with his detachment. Travelling on the same ship were Henrietta Langley (born colony 1788) and her convict mother Jane Langley (Lady Penrhyn 1788). Henrietta and Lydia would later be neighbours at Upper Minto.
Lydia's first child, Mary, was born at PJ in 1795, followed by Elizabeth in 1797, John in 1799 and Sarah in 1801. In the early 1800's the family probably lived at Parramatta where Robert Higgins was stationed but by 1808 were living at 21 Spring Row in Sydney, adjacent to the Barracks at The Rocks. That year Robert sold the house to Lydia for five shillings. On 9 July 1810, Lydia and Robert were married at St Phillips Church, and by then Robert had transferred to Macquarie's 73rd Regiment Veteran Corps.
Upon his retirement Robert was granted 50 acres at Upper Minto in August 1812, and the Higgins' family moved to their farm on the banks of the Cowpasture River (Nepean). They were also assigned a convict, Thomas Seymour (Admiral Gambier 1811). Lydia Farrell died at Camden on 30 August 1823 and was buried at St Luke's Church at Liverpool.
Associated families -
Seymour, Boyd, Reid, Roffe, Hoare, Love, Ryan, Campbell, Ray, Jenkins, Jackson, Rudd, Pegram, Sheather.
(See my book 'Murder, Mayhem & Misdemeanours - Early Settlers at the Cowpasture River 1810 - 1830' for details of many of these families and their other convict links.)
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1758 - 1823 (65 years)
