Rose McLoghlin (1790 – 1837), also known as Rosanna and Rosetta, was born in County Donegal, Ireland. In August 1813, aged about 20, she was convicted in Tyrone, Ireland and transported to New South Wales on the Francis and Eliza (1815) for seven years. Her offence was described as ‘Stealing Plate and Table Cloth’. In 1836, Rose Kennedy (née McLoghlin) was convicted of bushranging (cattle stealing) and sentenced to 14 years at the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement. She died on 7 October 1837, just over a year after arriving at Moreton Bay, and was buried at the penal station.
In 1817 Rose married John Kennedy, a convict per the Friendship, at St John’s, Parramatta. He was aged 45, she was 27. Twenty years later, she was convicted of bushranging (cattle stealing) and sentenced to 14 years at the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement.
The details of Rose’s colonial trial in New South Wales on 2 May 1836 are mainly unknown as there were no newspaper reports reporting the circumstances of the offence. However, the Penrith court calendar described her offence as ‘Cattle Stealing’ while the Chronological Register of Convicts at Moreton Bay recorded it as ‘bushranging’.
Following her initial arrest in January 1836, Rose was admitted to the North Parramatta Gaol under her married name of Kennedy. The gaol register recorded that she had been admitted from Penrith for the purpose of being tried in Sydney. Rose was then forwarded to the Sydney Gaol where the register noted that she was sent on to Moreton Bay on the brig Dart on 8 June 1836.
Jennifer Harrison’s research reveals that Rose died at Moreton Bay on 7 October 1837 aged 44. She was known to have had fits and suffered from asthma for some time. A postmortem by Dr Robertson showed that Rose had inflamed pleura and blood in her lungs.
Rose’s husband, John Kennedy, was a political prisoner transported to New South Wales as a convict on the Friendship (1800). Tried in Kildare, Ireland in August 1798, he was sentenced to transportation for life but was pardoned between 31 July 1808 and 8 January 1809 for ‘His good conduct’. Kennedy died prior to 10 December 1823 when ‘Rose, wife of the late John Kennedy’ was named in the memorial of William Burgin regarding a dispute over the purchase of land at Parramatta.
Citation
Jan Richardson, ‘Rose Kennedy (née McLoghlin) (1790 – 1837)’, Harry Gentle Resource Centre, Griffith University, 2022, https://harrygentle.griffith.edu.au/life-stories/rose-mcloghlin/.
Archival Resources
Rosetta Macglocland [sic] per Francis & Eliza and John Kenedy [sic] per Friendship, granted permission to marry, 8 January 1817.
NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages
Marriage of Rosetta McLaughlin [sic] and John Kennedy, St Johns Parramatta, NSW, 17 Jan 1817, Reg. No. 1996/1817 V18171996 3A.
NSWSA, Calendars of Persons Tried on Criminal Charges in Sydney Courts, NRS 1861, Reel 684.
Rose Kennedy [sic] per Francis & Eliza, place offence committed: Penrith, date offence committed: 8 Jan 1836.
NSWSA, Gaol Description and Entrance Books, NRS 2517, Item 4/6299, Roll 856.
Rose Kennedy [sic] per Francis & Eliza (1815), Gaol Annual No. 50, admitted from Penrith, 13 Jan 1836.
NSWSA, Gaol Description and Entrance Books, NRS 2514, Item 4/6434, Roll 852.
Rose Kennedy [sic] per Francis and Eliza (1815), Gaol Annual No. 123, admitted from Penrith, 20 Jan 1836.
Memorial of William Burgin re dispute with Rose, wife of the late John Kennedy per Friendship (1800), concerning purchase of land at Parramatta, memorial dated 10 Dec 1823.
NSWSA, Colonial Secretarys Papers, NRS 937, Reels 6004-6016, p. 139.
Rose McLaughlin [sic] per Francis and Eliza (1815), on list of convicts disembarked from the Francis and Eliza and sent to the Government Factory at Parramatta, list dated 14 Aug 1815.
NSWSA, Indent, NRS 1151, Item 4/4002C, Microfiche 625.
John Kennedy per Friendship (1800), tried Co. Kildare, Aug 1798.
NSWSA, Colonial Secretarys Papers, NRS 833, Reel 6001, p. 134b.
John Kennedy per Friendship (1800), on return of prisoners conditionally pardoned by Lieutenant Governor Foveaux between 31 Jul 1808 and 8 Jan 1809.
Note: Item Representation ID DR23423 is a digital copy of the Alphabetical Listing by Surname of Convicts' Personal Details. Rose Kennedy is not listed in the main Chronological Register of Convicts at Moreton Bay, only in the alphabetical index.
Books
Jennifer Harrison, Shackled: Female Convicts at Moreton Bay 1826-1839
Melbourne: Anchor Books.
Online Resources
Convict Records of Australia, entry for Rose McLoughlin [sic] per Francis and Eliza (1815)
Convict Records of Australia, entry for John Kennedy per Friendship (1800)
Digital Panopticon, entry for Rose Mcloghlin [sic] per Francis and Eliza
