Leah Hill

Leah was born to William Hill and Hannah Taylor in 1799. She was christened on 14 May 1799 in High Ham, Somerset, England.

Leah married Thomas Horsey on 19 April 1821 in High Ham. They had 5 children.

She was left to cope alone after her husband Tom was transported to Tasmania for life as the result of sheep stealing. It appears that her 2 sons George (age 23) and William (age 16) were determined to get to Australia to join their father, so, as was the case with a few desperate people who wished to escape the poverty of Britain for a free trip to Australia where they would eventually be able to settle into a new life, they committed the crime of sheep stealing. However, it appears to have backfired somewhat - they were tried at the Bridgewater Sessions on 3 July 1844 and George and William received 12 months imprisonment each, but Leah was sentenced to 10 years transportation for the crime of receiving the stolen meat!

Leah left London, England on the Tory on 23 March 1845 and arrived in Van Diemen’s Land on 4 July 1845.

Her convict records describe her as being aged 46, 4' 11½" tall, with brown to grey hair, brown eyebrows and grey eyes. She had an oval head, oval face, fresh complexion with a low forehead, pointed nose, wide mouth and a long chin. Her trade was given as Staymaker, and her native place as High Ham, Somerset.

Leah died just 3 months after her husband, on 16 July 1877. She died of age and disability in Melville Street, Hobart. She's buried with Thomas in the Pauper Section at Cornelian Bay Cemetery, Hobart.

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