Moll King (criminal)
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Transportation to America
Moll King | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1670s |
| Other names | Mary Gilstone, Moll Bird, Mary Godson |
| Criminal charge | Pickpocketing |
| Penalty | Death (commuted) Transportation to America |
Moll King was a 17th-century London criminal.
Little is known of King's early life. She was probably a native Londoner and born in the 1670s.[1] In October 1693 she had one of her hands branded after robbing a house in St Giles, Cripplegate.[2] It is thought she married a city officer in 1718.[1]
King went into business with infamous London criminal Jonathan Wild, from whom she learned pick-pocketing.[3] In October 1718, King, now using the name Mary Gilstone, was arrested for stealing a gold watch from a woman near St Anne's Church, Soho.[4] She was sentenced to death in December 1718. This was commuted to fourteen years' transportation to America when it was confirmed by a 'Panel of Matrons' that she was pregnant.[5]
After her baby was weaned, King was transported on the convict ship Susannah and Sarah,[6] to Annapolis, Maryland, arriving on 23 April 1720, but within a short time had returned to England.[7] It is assumed that King's connection with Jonathan Wild facilitated her release.[3] In Annapolis, King had teamed up with fellow felon Richard Bird, originally from Whitechapel, and the pair travelled back to England together, King using the name Bird.[8][7]
In June 1721, King was arrested robbing a house in Little Russell Street, Covent Garden and incarcerated in Newgate Prison.[7] The legal documents from this case refer to King, alias Moll Bird, alias Mary Godson.[3] Jonathan Wild was able to use his influence with "tame" magistrates for the charges to be dropped.[9] A second indictment for returning from transportation was added.[10] In January 1722, King was again transported to America, this time on the ship Gilbert.[11]
By June 1722, she was back in London. In September 1722, she was arrested and returned to Newgate.[11] In June 1723, she was again transported to America.[11]
In 1723, a man named John Stanley was hanged for murdering his mistress.[12] According to a pamphlet which was published after Stanley's death, he had allegedly been intimate with Moll King as well.[12][13]
In 1734, King was allegedly sentenced to transportation to America a final time.[3]