Bridget Scanlon, Bonnet Made by Heather Mutimer, Great Great Granddaughter of Bridget Scanlon and 2nd Bonnet made by Margaret Lonergan, Ruth Murray's Hearts Creations Group.
Bridget Scanlon (Convict 507 / Record Id: 1432299)
Bridget Scanlon was tried and convicted on the same day as two other women, Mary Crowley from Tallow and Bridget Dooling, on 30th March 1849 (Waterford Mail 1849). They were indicted for arson and found guilty. All three women were sentenced to be transported to Van Dieman’s Land for 15 years. They were first held in Grangegorman Women’s Penitentiary in Dublin, and departed together from Dublin Port on the 26th of June 1849 on the convict ship called ‘Australasia’. The ship arrived on the 28th Sept 1849.
Bridget was single, age 20, at the time of her arrest. She is described as ‘not able to read or write’, and that her trade was ‘a country servant’. It was noted that she was 5’1” with “black hair and hazel eyes”. She had one previous conviction of ‘housebreaking’. The surgeon’s report on the ship described her as “garrulous and quarrelsome”, she was sick on the voyage from obstipation and recovered.
When Bridget Scanlon from County Waterford was transported to Van Diemen’s land, neither herself, nor any of the other women enslaved for their petty crimes, knew that they would never return to Ireland after their release. Beaten down by poverty, hunger and fear of eviction many women and girls either stole to feed their families or deliberately set fires so that they could aspire to a better life. Bridget was one of the deliberate arsonists.
Bridget formed a relationship with George Cooper, engine driver and they settled at Seymour on the East Coast of Tasmania (formally known as Van Dieman’s Land) and had at least eight children, although no record of marriage has been located. Despite this, her death notice described her as the widow of George Cooper, (with a note saying marriage not stated) “Bridget Cooper, widow of the late George Cooper, died on the 5th of May 1895 age 65 of diarrhaea, see AOT, RGD 35/64 Glamorgan No.283: Bridget Cooper.
It is also reported that many of her grandchildren served in World War 1. Interestingly, while many details available on female convicts, particularly deliberate arsonists, are available from other researchers, records show five researchers as being direct descendants of hers. This could suggest that, while many convicts concealed their convict heritage, Bridget may have spoken openly about it and her Irishness. She not only had told her family about Waterford but clearly she was also proud of her extraordinary journey to Van Diemen’s Land and her status as a convict ship survivor.
In Jan 2022 the Waterford Women’s Centre received this email from Heather Mutimer, Daylesford, Victoria in Australia:
“I recently discovered on line a Facebook video about 'The Bonnet Project' organised by the Waterford Women's Centre, in Waterford last year. I was thrilled to stumble upon this video because one of the women interviewed had researched and made a bonnet for my great great grandmother Bridget Scanlon who was transported to Van Diemens land for house burning. Two other women were convicted along with Bridget. I have extensively researched the convict history of Bridget and I would love if possible to make contact with the woman interviewed in the video. I am sorry but I do not recall her name”.
This is a very special and important story as Heather is the first woman to make contact based on the work of the bonnet project in the Waterford Women’s Centre. Also it was the beginning of very positive communications between the coordinator Breda Murphy and Heather. Breda retired in 2023 and in June 2023 a new group formed called ‘Roses from the Heart, Waterford Group’. This group agreed to proceed in collaboration with Dr Christian Henri to acknowledge the lives of Waterford convict women. Dr Henri is the overall founder of the ‘Roses from the Heart’ project worldwide. The members agree to oversee the Waterford project and keep Dr Henri informed of all events and decisions. Members agree to support and the facilitators of all groups making bonnets in both city and county Waterford. A commitment was also made to put into order various lists of names and develop master lists.
Heather made a bonnet for Bridget, sewn from an old tablecloth handed down from her grandmother, Heather’s bonnet is now part of the local Waterford bonnet collection.
Heather said “I am very proud of my female Irish convict ancestry and, when some years back I became Mayor of the Shire in which I live, I paid tribute to them at my swearing in ceremony.” She also pays tribute in a poem she wrote in memory of Bridget called ‘A Bonnet for Bridget’.
Her profile is from the book “A Drift of Derwent Ducks” by Trudy Cowley about those transported on the Australasia in 1849. We also collected some information from other sources including transcripts from the Tasmania Libraries website.
Information from Heather Mutimer from Australia a great, great granddaughter to Waterford convict women Bridget Scanlon.
Research by Ann Fitzgerald and Eleanor Murphy Roses from the Heart, 2023.
References:
https://www.ancestry.com/search/categories/auconvicts/#collections
https://convictrecords.com.au/
https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Record/NamesIndex/1377985
FCRC Female Convicts Van Diemen’s Land Database [online], available: https://itsfilemaker4.its.utas.edu.au/fmi/webd/Female_Convicts_in_VDL_database [accessed 21 October 2020].