GGF was a BUSHRANGER?!

[judb]

Hi Dawn
The first mention in the Yass Courier is on April 9 1862 and is exactly the same as the report in the SMH 14 April.

Yass Courier, April 12, 1862

Court of Petty Sessions
Thursday April 10
Before Drs Adye and Blake.

PRISON BREAKING - E Doyle alias Robert Wilson, was brought up on remand, from Monday last,  on a charge of having, in 1859, broke out of the lock-up in Bathurst, where he had been confined an a charge of robbing the Bathurst mail.  In the Report of Crime, published  on the 27th June 1859, a descrption is given which corresponds with the appearnace of the prisoner in every particular, except that his height is stated to be some two inches taller than he actually is.
Senior Sargeant Brennan stated that he had no additional evidence at present, but asked for a further remand of eight days in order that the attendance of Sub-Inspector Battye might be procured.
The prisoner said that he had, for the last seven years, been employed in the Goulburn district in the service of Mr Faithfull, Mr Gibson and at Gininderra.  dr Blake remanded that the witness examined on Monday last awore positively  that the prisoner was on the Turon gold-field in 1859.  remanded till Thursday next.

I'll start a new post for the next instalments!

[judb]

Dawn,  I can't see much else in the Yass Courier.  There was no mention of a hearing on the following Thursday which was when he was remanded to.  There was no mention of any Petty Sessions hearings at all for that day, although the Courier (16 April) states that 9 prisoners were sent to Goulburn, because of overcrowding at the temporary gaol at Yass, three of whom are under commital for trial at Yass and would have to be brought back for the Quarter Sessions in May,
It is unquestionably  a gross hardship to the unfortunate men under committal to be shifted about the country from one town to another like a bale of hay. Comment from the Courier!

I looked up as far as the May 28th edition which reported hearings at the Yass Quarter Sessions and there was no mention of his case at all.

I wonder if he was taken back to Bathurst, or Goulburn for trial??

Interesting that he got as far as Canberra (well, Gininderra!)

Judith

[Neil Todd]

Dawn and Judith, Methinks that there probably is no further as they had the WRONG man. If this guy apprehended in Yass could prove his work history by the owners of the properties then they would have let him go.

Neil

[Billyblue]

Well, thanks for all that Judith.  Much obliged.  It was very good of you to take the time to dig those references up.

Interesting to see that they call him "E Doyle alias Robert Wilson" as somewhere (that I can't now find, but it might have been in one of Butler's chapters) he is described as "Robert Wilson alias A. Doyle"
As Neil says, maybe they have the wrong man, if the person who they thought was Wilson could prove his employment record.  But there's nothing to tell us that they did, of course.

Will have to keep digging.  I notice this new year doesn't have any more hours in the days        But I guess anything that's there waiting for me to discover, won't go away.
If he was supposed to have indemnity from turning Queen's evidence, he shouldn't have been sent to gaol even if it was him.  And then there's the child born 1867 with him acknowledged as the father???

Thanks all for your thoughts.

Dawn M

[judb]

Will be at the NLA again next Thursday so will see if there's anything in the Bathurst or Goulburn papers.  I would have thought the Bathurst paper would mention it as he broke out of the Bathurst lock-up.

Judith

[judb]

Rats, the first Bathurst paper I tried to look up stopped at April 9 1862 and didn't resume till 1863 

The only other Bathurst paper in 1862 that I could see is the Bathurst Free Press and Mining Journal which had nothing in 1862 for Wilson and is on TROVE anyway. (I can tell you where to buy a Wilson sewing machine, though  )

I did have a look at this Goulburn paper:

The Goulburn Herald, Saturday April 12, 1862. 

There is a quote from the Yass Courier with the same information as I copied from the Yass Courier.  The Goulburn paper goes on to say:

From what we can learn it would appear that Wilson and Day, after their apprehension and previous to their committal were separated, the former being confined to the lock-up and the latter to the gaol.  The amount stolen was over 15 000 pounds and it is due to the energies and acuteness of Captain Battye that the delinquents were apprehended.  Wilson was separated from his companion with a view to his turning Queen's evidence but it would appear that he was apprehensive that the testimony affecting his confederate was too clear for the extension of any clemency to hismself and therefore he endeavoured and succeeded in making his escape from custody.

There is some more but it is a re-hash of how he was caught so I haven't typed it up.

Once again I see nothing more about him after the above mention.  Yass Quarter Sessions were reported in the Goulburn paper but no mention of Robert Wilson 

Judith

[Billyblue]

Thanks Judith
That sounds like a 'lift' from another article, that Ros found.  (See my post 29 Dec. re this and its errors).
I noted that the original bit I found 'from the Yass Courier' say he is one of three who held up the Mail, whereas there were only the two of them, according to everywhere else.       

I sent all the info I have, to a first cousin (he's her GGF too) and she rang yesterday, highly amused at it all!

Thanks for all your help.
Dawn M

[judb]

Yes, much of the info is lifted from the Yass Courier which seems a bit of an amateurish paper, although there is another unrelated case going through the Yass court at the time which is fully reported over various hearings so it's very clear what happened to that chap.

 I do find it odd that there is nothing after about April 1862 to say what happened after he had been arrested in Yass.  Perhaps, as Neil said, he was able to prove his employment so was not the wanted man and was set free - who knows.

And so frustrating that the other Bathurst paper is not covered over the period in question.

Judith

[Julie_R]

Hi!

Is it too late to add an interesting little side note to this discussion?

My 2 x Great Grandfather was Gregor McGregor, the publican of the establishment were both men were caught after the original hold up of the Bathurst Mail.

It was Gregor's suspicions that led him to secretly lock the door when the men retired for the night and then send his servant for the Police.

Small world huh?   

Cheers,
Julie