Bridget Larressy, Free Settler "Carthaginian" 1842

Thomas Larrissey was a convict who arrived in new South Wales in 1835. He had been born in County Galway, Ireland, and came from a poor Catholic village.

He obtained work as a stable boy but, at the age of 21, was arrested for stealing money. As a result he was transported to Australia for seven years.

He served his full term and was given his Certificate of Freedom in 1842. He almost immediately married Bridget Mullally, an Irish girl who had arrived as a free immigrant. She had come from a farming background and had decided to emigrate after her father died in 1841. She obtained employment as a house servant.

Thomas became a miner in the Bathurst area but was not highly successful. With little education and no trade he found employment difficult. Apparently there was no way he could obtain a land grant. The situation was desperate as the family grew and Thomas soon became tempted to join a friend in highway robbery. The attempt failed and he found himself back in prison.

After Thomas was released the family moved to the Glen Innes area where Thomas obtained work as a farm servant. While he had been in prison Bridget had had to support the family and she had done this partly by acting as midwife to the district. This was a role she was to continue.

Thomas died in 1867 at the age of 53. His had not been a highly successful life by some accounts but he had left a fine family as well as a very resourceful wife. By this time some of the children were married and Bridget moved to the Tenterfield area with her three youngest children to be close to two married daughters. By 1885 she had acquired nearly 500 acres of land, eight horses, 20 cattle and 525 sheep.