Hulk ship..conjugal rights or hanky panky?

[Leashl]

So my ancestor was sentenced to 10 years transportation on the hulk Stirling Castle in Devonport, 1838. The child born 1839 is feasible, as is the one born 1849....but the one born 1844? In 1851 Mum is with a new spouse, who coincidentally was in the same lodging house in 1841. So is there any chance of a conjugal visit or do I assume the Father was the new spouse? Thanks in advance.

[Billyblue]

It probably depends on
a) where was he deported to?
b) where were the children born?

On the face of it, conjugal visits unlikely.
If the husband was sent to Australia, remember that if they had not been able to return within 7 years, the marriage was considered over and either party was 'free' to marry another.

Dawn M

[Guy Etchells]

If he was on a hulk ship then that was simply an out of commission ship used as a prison, not a transport ship.
Some prisoners spent their who sentence on a hulk others only until they could be transported which could be months or even years later.

Was he actually transported?
If not it is possible his wife might have managed to arrange a conjugal visit by bribing the right people.
If he was transported then the answer is no.

Cheers
Guy

[Jang]

I have a similar case - the main sticking point, however, is that William Crane appears to have married in St Leonard's Shoreditch 12 months after being sent to the "Justitia" in 1826.  There were no children born until Robert baptised 6 months after William was pardoned in July 1830. Unlikely?
Jan

[Elwyn Soutter]

I have a similar case - the main sticking point, however, is that William Crane appears to have married in St Leonard's Shoreditch 12 months after being sent to the "Justitia" in 1826.  There were no children born until Robert baptised 6 months after William was pardoned in July 1830. Unlikely?
Jan

Marriages didn’t always take place in a church, though the subsequent record of the marriage would normally appear in that churches register. 

People got married in prison and sometimes in hospital and for a long time Presbyterians routinely conducted the ceremony in the Manse (the Ministers house) or at their home, rather than in church. A famous example was Joseph Plunkett who was a leader of the 1916 uprising in Dublin. He was married by a Roman Catholic priest in Kilmainham prison in May 1916, just hours before his execution.

I have no idea whether marriages were routinely allowed on prison hulks but if they were, then that could account for the marriage being in that churches records whilst the groom was incarcerated.

[Leashl]

Thanks for your replies and information. I have not been able to find out if he was transported but he was still on Stirling Castle in 1841 which was 3 years later, so I think not. Did the 10 year marriage rule apply to prisoners held on UK hulks? He is William Ensor imprisoned 1838, born 1808.

[Jang]

Elwyn, that's good to know.

[avm228]

William Ensor’s records on the Stirling Castle at Devonport show that he was eventually pardoned on 19 October 1843 (while still on the hulk at Devonport).

[Leashl]

William Ensor’s records on the Stirling Castle at Devonport show that he was eventually pardoned on 19 October 1843 (while still on the hulk at Devonport).

Thank you so much. Case closed.