of 10children, (yes she had given birth to 10, but the eldest, Charlotte Alley, died shortly after birth so this was a small and easily forgiven exaggeration!), she is finding it difficult to cope with her work, and Ann pleads for a man from the next boat from Europe to be assigned to her. On June 30th 1810, two weeks after William Chapman's death, an advertisement appeared in the Sydney Gazette;- "Taken from alongside of the Edwiin schooner, on the night of the 18th inst., a boat about 20ft long and 7ft. in the beam. Whosever shall give information whereby she may be recovered, will receive twenty shillings for their trouble from Mrs Chapman, Kings Head, High Street, Sydney"
Her youngest child, James had to be placed in the Sydney Orphan School for a while, with the note 'father dead, mother poor'. Ann was finding life tough going without her strong and able partner, William Chapman. Early Sydney records dated 28th February 1812, show a "Bill of Sale from Ann Mash to Mary Redmond, in Consideration of 50 pounds sterling, the said Ann Mash doth bargain sell and deliver to Mary Redmond all the Passage Boat plying to and from Parramatta known by the name of Mash's Boat. The said sum to be paid on the 20th day of March next".
Perhaps this sale fell through, as another entry dated 26th April 1813, records "Deed of Mortgage dated 25th March 1813, from Mrs Ann Mash to Darcy Wentworth Esq. In consideration of 102 pounds sterling all the house and premises situate in Harrington Street, Sydney, also a Mare, Cart and Harness, as also of a Colonial Licensed Passage Boat plying from Sydney to Parramatta, all of which to held by the said Wentworth, his heirs", etc., etc., this land coming before a hearing of the Court of Claims in 1835, some twelve years or so after Ann's death, being a subject of dispute between her eldest son, John Irving and his three younger Chapman half-brothers as to the rightful owners of the property. This matter is related in the John Irving junior article.
Paperwork of any type giving Ann ownership of this land, on the corner of Harrington and Essex Streets, has not been found - very early paperwork to do with leases was sketchy and has not always survived. It would appear that Governor Macquarie gave Ann Permission Occupancy and some kind of title, allowing her to mortgage it, and her heirs to squabble over its owership years later. The land's frontage measured18.1/4 perches, which, when multipied by the length of perch, 5.1/2 yards, gives a length of some 100 yards, or a good 100 metres in today's measurements. Ther earliest Primary Application for this land appears to be the grant given to the three younger Chapman boys in 1835.
A small matter of no connection or consequences to Ann was that the corner of these streets was where a gallows had been erected in the very earliest days of the colony, and on which one Thomas Barret was hung in 1788 for stealing butter, pease and pork from camp previsions. This piece of sad history was probably long forgotten by the time Ann was living there, some 25 years later.
An adventurous and busy life came to an end when Ann died on March 7th 1823, her age given as 54 years. Her final resting place has not been identified, but oral family history says that her eldest son, John Irving, caused her to be buried with his father in the old St. John's graveyard in Parramatta. Her NSW death registration number is #1823/832/V8, St Phillips Church, Sydney.
Recommended further reading:
The Second Fleet - Author Michael Flynn
The definitive book on "Britain's Grim Convict Armada of 1790";
Descent, vol. 16 part 4 Dec 1986, Ann Mash (Marsh) in Sydney 1790 - 1823, by the late Levitt Hunt
John Nicol, Mariner - Life and Adventures 1776 - 1801, edited by Tim Flannery
The Rocks - Life in Early Sydney - By Grace Karsken
Inside the Rocks - By Grace Karsken
Anchored in a Small Cove - By Maz Kelly
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