**COMPLETED** Lewes Prison in 1861

[lizdb]

Thank you VERY much for looking.

(We weren't such a goody goody family as your findings suggest - George Edmunds commited suicide whilst in Lewes gaol awaiting trial for larceny (havent got date to hand) but the newspaper report stated he had been a 'regular' there!)

[Chris in 1066Land]

Lizdb

Dont know wether you are reading it the correct way - the records showed only one criminal - Old Harriot; the rest of the Emonds were all victims of crimes, so it looks better than most families of that day

Chris in 1066

[lizdb]

Yep - I read it as such!
Hence it implied we were a bit of a goody goody lot - never in the wrong!!!! (ratio 1 criminal to 7 victims)

[Chris in 1066Land]

lizdb

Yep, I have re-read your answer - sorry, brain and eyes were not working together.

Chris

[kizmiaz]

My, how time flies. Nearly two years have passed since I posted this!

Eliza's life of crime completely slipped my mind, so I never got to visit Lewes to find out what a master criminal she was.

Well, thanks to Ancestry's new Criminal records database, I have finally found that she was sentenced to 4 months for "feloniously forging a request for goods" (no idea what it means, but I'm assuming some sort of Poor Law handout that she tried to fiddle). I can imagine she was trying to get extra food to feed her starving children, rather than as some sort of female Delboy Trotter
 
I now have a date of her conviction (18 March 1861), so a peruse of the local newspapers for that time is definitely a good place to start. More time in front of a microfilm machine is called for, and therefore more headache tablets are on the shopping list!

And just to think, if she had done the crime just a month or so later, it would never have been known by anyone living today. But she was in prison on census night, not at home with her poor little ones.

Glen

[Paula42]

Hi

I too had meant to research the records and never got round to it. So after your post today I thought I would have a quick look for my relative on ancestry and there he was, convicted the same day as yours for 'unlawfully obtaining goods by false pretences'. Sentence 6 weeks. I am glad you posted again because it may have been a while before I got around to looking at that part of the family again.

Paula

[kizmiaz]

Glad to be of service Paula, and spooky that they were convicted on the same day. Going by your surname interests, and the charge and penalty, 9 cases separated them both if I'm not mistaken, so its possible that both our ancestors had a chat outside the court while they waited. Small world, isn't it!

I guess it was more a conveyor-belt justice system in those days, waiting for the judge to make his rounds and all the criminal cases would be heard in quick succession. Not fun to be banged up, but without such little snippets into the daily lives of our ancestors it would be a much less interesting hobby.

Glen

[Jane Masri]

It's good to know that the newly launched Criminal Registers are reaping rewards already.  I was one of the many who helped transcribe them and what an interesting task it was too 
I'm currently engaged on transcribing the Andrews Newspaper cuttings and what a treasure-trove of information that's going to be for family historians!

jane

[Paula42]

Hi Jane

I was just wondering if you could tell me what Andrews Newspapers cuttings is, is it local to Sussex or a national paper? I enjoy transcribing I help with the Somerset registers for Freereg, I wish someone had the same thing going for Sussex, I would certainly help.
Paula