Thinking about who to select for this post I considered many women, among them my own mother, but I chose Rosetta and I hope in telling her story you will agree that she was a tough, strong woman.
Rosetta (Rose) Johnson - Johnston(e) - was born in County Louth, Ireland in about 1773. Rosetta was convicted at the Surrey Assizes - Lent 24 March 1814 [1] and sentenced to "Let them be transported beyond the seas for seven years." Rose had stolen 18 yards of sheeting value seven shillings and a shawl value 30 shillings in the parish of St George the Martyr in Southwark, aged 29 years. There is no mention of a daughter during her indictment. There are no details available of imprisonment in subsequent prisons or hulks. She was transported to the Colony as a convict in 1815, with her young daughter Catherine on the transport Northampton.
What circumstances brought Rosetta and her daughter to London? Was Catherine born in Ireland or in England? Who was her father? There is no record found for Catherine or Rosetta's birth at this time.
