Molly Morgan

From the Maitland Mercury article:
Molly, rat catcher's daughter
Only one woman left her mark on the first 30 years of Hunter Valley history: she was Molly Morgan.

 

Born in England in 1762, the daughter of David Jones, a professional rat catcher, Molly became a dressmaker and then married William Morgan, the village blacksmith.

Molly the convict - was rewarded for good conduct with a small leasehold farm at Wallis Plains, as the site of West Maitland was then known. This was the beginning of a new phase in Molly’s life for her leasehold was confirmed by Governor Brisbane in 1823 and she eventually owned 64.5 hectares (159 acres) of some of the most valuable real estate in the colony.

In the last decade of her life, she died in 1835, Molly became one of the town’s most reputable citizens and during the 1820s the land around High Street was often known as Molly Morgan’s.
During this period she owned one of the town’s first hotels, the Angel Inn.

Full article available at Maitland Mercury, Dec. 28, 2012.