Tasmania, Convict Pardons and Tickets of Leave, 1834-1859

[judb]

Contemporary Newspaper articles re the trial of William WALDEN.

The Bath Chronicle (Bath, England), Thursday, April 13, 1837; pg. 4
William WALDEN, 33, was charged with stealing a black gelding, on the 2d of September last, at Chedworth, property of Wm Wiggins.  Transported for life.
No mention in this report of George.

Cheltenham Chronicle and Gloucestershire Advertiser (Cheltenham, England), Thursday, April 06, 1837; pg. 3
William WALDEN, 33, was charged with stealing a black gelding, on the 2d of September last, at Chedworth, property of Wm Wiggins - The prosecutor proved having seen his horse safe in his field in the evening of the 2d September, but on the following morning it was gone; he next saw it at Bicester in Oxfordshire on the 9th September - William Bodley kept a beer-house near Bicester, on the morning of the 3d September the prisoner came to his house with two horses, one was black, and the other was a bay.  Witness saw the black horse about a week afterwards.  Mr Wiggins owned it.  It was the same horse prisoner had when at witness's house on the morning of 3d September.  Edward Tomes had gone in pursuit of the prisoner on another charge; he found him at Redburn which was nearly 50 miles from Bicester; prisoner was riding the black horse which Mr Wiggins afterwards obtained; prisoner's brother was with him.
Mr Watson, who defended the prisoner, cross-examined all the witnesses but could not shake their testimony; he afterwards made an impressive address to the jury, and called the prisoner's brother, whose evidence, if believed, went to prove it was he who stole the horse and lent it to the prisoner; this however neither judge nor jury would credit. He was found guilty and sentenced to transportation for life - it should have been stated that the prisoner's brother was brought from gaol to give his evidence, where he was confined on another charge of horse stealing, but has been admitted King's evidence against two others for a similar offence.

Judith

[ktk8]

These newspaper reports are wonderfully evocative, many thanks for rooting these out, Judith   The history now has such life. I must admit, knowing the brothers to be butchers, I had presumed a rather different outcome for the horse!

Thanks for finding the snippet about the constable, Ros. I'm not sure 25 lashes would teach me not to be insolent, just to be more careful about it   Knowing his background, I am a bit doubtful that William would be a ticket-of-leave constable, but then having started to read the report on the 1835 William Walden, he is similarly described as "bad in all respects!"  I need to take more time to try to wade through the handwriting on some of these reports, I'm impressed that you came up with a mention of constable for the 1835 William, Judith - thank you!

Many thanks too for following up on links for brother George, I've been so busy working out William, I really haven't had a chance to get my teeth stuck into George yet, and will have to take rather longer to do so. It is nice to see him have a happy ending, and settling in Tasmania - and to see on his daughter's birth registration that he is a shepherd - tending sheep, rather than just stealing them!

As the trail of William in Tasmania appears cold, and working on the theory that he somehow made it home, I had a middle-of-the-night moment of realising the obvious last night - that I could check the possible second marriage of William, to Eliza, back in Winstone, Gloucs in 1867, which hopefully would give his father's name - Ambrose, unusual enough to be confirmation if it's the same William. I shall have to order the certificate.  I also need to do some further digging around to see if the possible death registration I have found for his wife Elizabeth could be the right one - if so, just perhaps William could be named as an informant...

Kate

[judb]

It's already been mentioned that there was another William WALDEN from Leicester per ship Norfolk transported in 1835 to VDL for stealing a cloak.

I think he is the constable who received the lash, not your man.

See JM's reply #25 ; she has provided a link to this man's record.

Judith

[majm]

Red Post,  yes, as I understand it, the TL Constable was ex the Norfolk as per his record imaged.  Thanks Judith.    

, I had a middle-of-the-night moment of realising the obvious last night - that I could check the possible second marriage of William, to Eliza, back in Winstone, Gloucs in 1867, which hopefully would give his father's name - Ambrose, unusual enough to be confirmation if it's the same William. I shall have to order the certificate.

If that is the same Eliza, his wife before he was transported, then why is he marrying her again...  the English law did not require a second ceremony .... Any such marriage would be invalid.   if Eliza had remarried because of William's sentence of transportation beyond the seas, then if he had returned to England (which his sentence and his colonial pardon would forbid), her marriage to that someone else would simply become voidable, in other words, negated.     ADD  Assuming of course that Eliza and William had resumed their co-habitation from more than 35 years ago...

There's many threads on RChat re the mis-understandings around marriage laws.  The search option here at RChat is excellent.   I have posted on several of those threads. 

JM

[majm]

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=545238.msg3991685#msg3991685

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=648372.0

These may be helpful

JM

[majm]

1852 Nov 21 death from Influenza in Hobart for a William WALTON aged 47 years (b abt 1805, England)
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q27M-Y6K3 
https://stors.tas.gov.au/RGD35-1-3p185j2k

The handwriting clearly reads "WALTON" but that spelling would surely depend on the word heard by the recorder, who may not have known the accent of a patient ill with influenza.

JM

[judb]

Perhaps you could try a request on the Gloucestershire board re the 1867 marriage.  Someone there may have access to some registers.

The marriage certificate would be interesting - pity that UK death certificates have so little information.

It is a real conundrum.
1.  It is rare for a convict, even one of 'free' status to return to UK.
2. William is always listed as a 'labourer' (except when he is a 'convict imbecile'  ) so how would he have paid for a return.  Possibly signed on as ships' crew.  Possibly used a false name.

However, the points you make give opposite information
1.  1871 and 1881 census entries are definitely for a William WALDEN, b Chedworth 1804
2. Chedworth is a small place and there's no evidence of 2 males born there, or anywhere very close, in the same year.
3. All census entries for Eliza are consistent.

Most perplexing.   

And if it isn't William the horse thief with Eliza and in pokey in 1871 and 1881 who is it??

Judith

[majm]

Yes,  exactly Judith,  if not William then who is it? 

JM

[majm]

1881 census https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q27J-XB3C

JM