Escaping Injustice: Sarah Chandler's Defiant Jailbreak
In 1814, Sarah Chandler, a struggling mother from Wales was convicted of using counterfeit notes to buy shoes for her children. When an overzealous judge sentenced her to death, her family intervened
Background
Although the details of her early life are sketchy, we know that Sarah Bowen was born sometime between 1777 and 1780 in Beguildy, Radnorshire, Wales. She had two brothers, with Sarah being the middle child. Described in an April 1845 edition of Eddowes’s Journal as a “remarkably fine woman.” Sarah married Thomas Chandler at some point in her youth, and by 1814, the couple had seven children under the age of ten.
A Desperate Act
One day in early 1814, Sarah faced a dilemma. She needed to purchase some essential items for the household, including shoes for their children. Unfortunately, this would require her to ask her husband for money.
Sarah’s husband, Thomas, had a violent temper and was quick to strike Sarah with little provocation. She knew that Thomas would beat her if she asked him for money, even if it was for their children.
Thinking quickly, Sarah devised a way to get some “money” that did not involve asking her husband. Since she was illiterate, she asked a neighbor to write the words “Two” and “Five” on a note. She took these notes to a local printer and asked to have numbers printed on them in the size and style of the local bank.
Sarah pasted the printed sheets over legitimate one-pound notes from Kington and Radnorshire Bank, which she took to the local market. She purchased a variety of items with the counterfeit notes, but her fraud was soon discovered.
She was then indicted by the Grand Jury on charges of forgery and was sent to the basement jail under the Presteigne courthouse in March of 1814 to await trial.
Hanging Offense?
Sarah’s trial was presided over by Judge George Hardinge. Hardinge had a reputation for handing out harsh punishments in the cases he tried, wishing to set a precedent and make an example out of criminals. Forgery of banknotes had become an increasingly common problem, and Sarah’s family feared that Judge Hardinge might dole out a harsh punishment as a warning to others.
At her trial, Sarah claimed she committed fraud only out of necessity. The court knew that she had several young children, and Sarah said that she feared being beaten should she ask her husband for money, even if it were for the children.
Unmoved by her plight, Judge Hardinge sentenced Sarah to death. For the crime of forging a few banknotes, Sarah, a wife and mother of seven, was set to be executed.
Plea for Mercy
Fearing a swift administration of her sentence, Sarah used the only defense at her disposal: she claimed that she was pregnant and pleaded for a stay of execution. Her stay was temporarily granted, against the wishes of Judge Hardinge, giving others time to petition for mercy on her behalf.
Her husband, family, members of the Grand Jury, sheriff, and even the banker she had defrauded, James Davies, pleaded for mercy for Sarah. They begged for Sarah’s sentence to be reduced on the grounds of her being a struggling and illiterate mother and, citing her good behavior while imprisoned, anything they could think of to save Sarah’s life.
Judge Hardinge did not budge. In a June 1814 letter to Home Secretary Lord Sidmouth, Hardinge explained that Sarah Chandler’s capital punishment was “indispensable to public justice and mercy,” in keeping with his plan to make an example of her.
Sidmouth granted Sarah an additional two-week stay of execution, which Hardinge vehemently protested. When it was discovered that Sarah was not actually pregnant, Judge Hardinge saw to it that her execution date was set for August.
Family First
Sarah’s brothers, Francis and William, were not about to leave their sister to her fate. Francis and William Bowen were no saints; they had committed their fair share of petty and non-violent offenses. Still, they were not going to sit by and allow their sister to be executed for nothing more than a minor act of forgery.
They allegedly bribed or blackmailed a few guards, possibly even the warden, to ensure the success of their plan.
One night, her brothers brought a ladder to the courthouse, carefully resting it against the wall. They climbed up and removed the hearthstone from Sarah’s cell, giving her enough space to climb up and out with their help.
Fugitive
Judge Hardinge was less than thrilled by Sarah’s escape. Immediately, local law enforcement set out to find Sarah, posting flyers promising handsome rewards for anyone who contributed to her capture.
Despite many living in poverty, the people of the town refused to hand Sarah back over to be executed, believing her sentence to be wholly unjust. Sarah and all traces of her vanished. The reward grew, reaching fifty guineas by six months after her escape.
Finally, two years after her escape, Sarah was apprehended in Birmingham, where she had been earning a living by working as a milkmaid. It is unclear what circumstances led to Sarah being found and recaptured or how she had managed to evade authorities for two years.
Sarah was brought back to the jail under the Presteigne courthouse, once again locked away to await her execution.
Commuted Sentence
Most fortunately for Sarah, Judge Hardinge had passed away a year before her new trial, which began in April of 1817. Though the new judge could have upheld Sarah’s previous sentence, he decided not to.
Given Sarah’s apparent efforts to make an honest living, the judge decided to commute Sarah’s sentence from execution to “transportation for life,” the phrase used to describe those who would be sent to the penal colony in Australia as their punishment.
In June, Sarah boarded the Friendship bound for Australia. The ship arrived at Port Jackson in January of 1818 after a long journey at sea. Sarah was sent to work at the Female Factory in Parramatta after her arrival.
About a year later, She was sent aboard the HMC Lady Nelson to Newcastle, another settlement for re-offending convicts. She was sentenced here to serve two years, though it is unclear what offense she committed to earn this further punishment.
Final Years and Death
Few details are known about the remainder of Sarah’s life. Records indicate that in 1827, she remarried one Denis Morrow in Parramatta. Her new husband was an Irishman found guilty of stealing a horse, which earned him a life sentence.
Sarah was later found guilty of a felony in 1829 by the Sydney Bench, earning herself a shaved head and three months at the Factory. Her death was recorded to have occurred in September of 1835.
Closing Thoughts
Sarah Chandler’s story is remembered both for her remarkable escape and for the tragedy inherent to her tale. Some believe Sarah, along with her brothers and parents, were habitual petty criminals and a scourge upon their community. Others think she was just a desperate mother trying to do right by her children.
In any case, Sarah’s story is a staunch and haunting reminder of the often harsh nature of “justice” in years gone by.
Sources:
Clifford, Naomi. “Sarah Chandler (1814).” Naomi Clifford, 2020, https://www.naomiclifford.com/sarah-chandler-1814/.
“Convict Sarah Chandler.” Convict Records, https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/chandler/sarah/70564.
“Most Daring Prison Breaks by Women.” History Hit, https://www.historyhit.com/most-daring-prison-breaks-by-women/.
“Profile: Chandler, Sarah.” Fretwelliana, https://fretwelliana.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/profile-chandler-sarah-1.pdf.
A shaved head? They did that to women criminals then?