Mary Reibey (12 May 1777 – 30 May 1855) was an Englishwoman who was transported to Australia as a convict but went on to become a successful businesswoman in Sydney.
Mary Reibey, baptised Molly Haydock, was born on 12 May 1777 in Bury, Lancashire, England. Following the death of her parents, she was reared by a grandmother and sent into service. She ran away, and was arrested for horse stealing in August 1791. At the time, she was disguised as a ...
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Mary Reibey (12 May 1777 – 30 May 1855) was an Englishwoman who was transported to Australia as a convict but went on to become a successful businesswoman in Sydney.
Mary Reibey, baptised Molly Haydock, was born on 12 May 1777 in Bury, Lancashire, England. Following the death of her parents, she was reared by a grandmother and sent into service. She ran away, and was arrested for horse stealing in August 1791. At the time, she was disguised as a man and was going under the name of James Burrow. Sentenced to seven years' transportation, she arrived in Sydney, Australia, on the Royal Admiral in October 1792.
On 7 September 1794, 17-year-old Mary married Thomas Reibey, after he had proposed to her several times; she finally agreed to marry the junior officer on the store ship Britannia. Reibey also used the surnames Raiby, Reiby and Reibey interchangeably, but the family adopted the spelling Reibey in later years. Thomas Reibey was granted land on the Hawkesbury River, where he and Mary...
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