The Convict Women's Press is a group that publishes stories about women convicts, their lives, their crimes, and how they fared in later life. The 'Convict Lives' series currently has books about the Cascades Female Factory and the Ross Female Factory. The books contain a set of short stories for selected convict women, who were in some way connected to one of the female factories.
The current project is the Launceston Female Factory. Grace spent some time in the Launceston Female Factory in early 1843. I am writing up her story to contribute to the book. She may or may not make the final cut :)
What a stunning place to visit!
Four other writers attended the workshop and it was fascinating to hear the stories they were researching, I was the only person writing about a direct ancestor, in the group.
While researching my article I have found out a couple of interesting but sad things about Grace that I hadn't realised before. Grace's mother Martha died in 1826 when Grace was only 18 months old. I can't find any information about how her father Robert managed with 3 young children - but her mother came from a large family, so hopefully they were able to help care for them. Her older brother Robert (jr) died about 12 months after their mother in 1827, when he was only 10 years old.
UK online census information doesn't start until 1841 - the year Grace was transported.
