Mary Prichard was convicted at Monmouth Summer Assizes 3/8/1801 & sentenced to 7yrs. She & a friend Margaret Harris had stolen from shop owner William Robert's store in Llanstrisant ( near Shepstow) in Wales AM on 11/5/1801. Mary & Margaret transported on "Gatton" on 23/9/1802. Arrived in Sydney 11/3/1803. .
Mary was assigned to French convict FERDINAND MEURANT (then an ex-convict)? on his property at Prospect and formed a common law relationship with him. He was deported in 1800 for robbing a bank in Ireland. Before Mary & John Maskey became partners, Mary had 2 children fathered by MEURANT.
They were EDWARD born 17/12/1804 in Sydney NSW & baptised in the parish of St Phillips, Sydney & ELVA. Newspaper clippings show ELVA was buried 3/8/1810 as per her obituary in "The Sydney Gazette" 10/8/1810 stating she was 6 yrs of age. Her death was from severe burning of her clothes 5 days previous..
Mary was living with john Maskey as his housekeeper in the Hawkwsbury District.
It was many years after they had started a family that they married on 18/8/1826 at Castlereagh.
John & Mary were farmers at the Evan (Nepean) District in 1828. They eventually acquired 40 uncleared acres, 32 cleared, 31 under cultivation, with 1 horse & 17 cattle..
She also had a common law marriage to Samuel Terry in about 1809.