According to the Dictionary of Welsh Biography, "several reasons have been suggested for this move, ranging from a need to find work in the city to the urge to escape from the clutches of Griffith, who had a reputation for inappropriate behaviour towards women".
[1][3] According to the DWB, "there is evidence to suggest that Pennant, who had been very prominent in securing the original verdict, felt a particular interest in seeing the back of Frances: the 'precious cargo' among 'the Fflint convicts' whom his acquaintance, judge Daines Barrington mentioned in a letter dated 25 January 1786 was no doubt a reference to her".
[1] On 5 March 1790, the family re-settled on Norfolk Island, with Williams and her daughter arriving aboard the HMS Sirius.
[1][7] Sometime around this period, Williams began romantic relationships with two other men, fellow convicts John Cropper and Noah Mortimer.
[1][4] Her daughter Sarah died the following year,[8] and her remaining children were fostered by Cropper and Mortimer when Ryan left the island permanently in 1804.