How many convict relatives in your tree?

[McGroger]

When I was a little boy, my mum told me, somewhat shamefacedly, that there was a convict in our family - on her mother’s side.

The one Mum knew about - her mum’s paternal grandfather - was transported to New South Wales in 1828. What she didn’t know about was that there were another other six, with the result that her own mum was from 100% convict stock. Mum would have died of shame.

And Dad, from proud Scottish roots... I think Dad knew nothing of his mother’s forebears (perhaps because he was only three when she died, or perhaps because it was probably a secret kept firmly inside his dad’s in-laws’ closet).

Dad’s mum was okay on the paternal side - pure, unadulterated commoners. But Dad’s maternal grandmother was pure convict stock - seven of them.

If we still had the sensibilities of sixty years ago, I’d have a closet full of hidden horror and a permanently bowed head. But we don’t - so now I can skite about ‘em!

Now, if only the non-convicts were as easy to trace...

Cheers, Peter

[Marvin ballantyne70]

Haven't confirmed he was a convict but only cause the police didn't wait, great uncle accidentally shot by s member of Vancouver city police in 1937...I guess he was aiming for his back and got him I. The head kind of accident...

[Keitht]

A most interested thread.

My third great grandfather, George Chatterley, had hung off my tree for several years until I received an e-mail from an Aussie researcher asking whether a convict in Tasmania of the same name and with apparently similar birth date and place might be him. I didn't know but adding what the Aussie already had to what I was able to discover here in Emgland we were able to conform that they were one and the same.

He had been convicted in 1817 of "having in his possession forged banknotes". Unfortunately some idiot at Warwick Assizes had destroyed the court records many years ago but the Bank of England Archive was able to fill in some of the blanks and further research uncovered a forgery ring which ha operated in Birmingham since at least 1806. One or two members were hanged but the majority were transported for 14 years. George died in Tasmania in September 1822. Although we uncovered a burial certificate we have never been able to determine the cause of his death. His wife remarried within two years of his transportation.

Apart from that my family's only apparent claim to criminal fame rests with a distant cousin, a silversmith, sentenced to four years in 1910 for producing his own two bob pieces, apparently on an industrial scale.

Keith

[coombs]

As said, convicts are well documented and you can find a plethora of records on them but I think you have to resort to Australian BMD registers for ones that were given their cert of freedom unless it was a pretty uncommon surname. Sometimes convicts can be harder to trace after they did their sentence.

[ThrelfallYorky]

... Be careful! Sounds like forgery runs in the family, Keitht. Check your own entries .... in case you find you've forged them!

[jacquelineve]

  Just the one transported...but quite a few drunks + brawlers (inc.my g.gran)

Jackie

[Keitht]

... Be careful! Sounds like forgery runs in the family, Keitht. Check your own entries .... in case you find you've forged them!

You wouldn't believe how many times I read through that before posting it. Unforgivable for someone who made his living as a wordsmith. I must be getting old.

As said, convicts are well documented and you can find a plethora of records on them but I think you have to resort to Australian BMD registers for ones that were given their cert of freedom unless it was a pretty uncommon surname. Sometimes convicts can be harder to trace after they did their sentence.

Unfortunately Australiam BMD records don't seem to go that far back.

Keith