Benjamin Kingman sentenced to life and sent to New South Wales

[Tom from OZ]

I have a number of records concerning Benjamin Kingman being convicted at the Sussex Assizes to Life in New South Wales.  The date of conviction was 20 Mar 1803, he sailed on the Coromandel on 28 Mar 1803 and arrived in Sydney on 7 May 1804.

The query I have is firstly what was he convicted of ?  Secondly why was he convicted in 1803 arrived in New South Wales in 1804 and then in 1805 pardoned, can anybody find any records to answer any or all of these queries please

[majm]

Hi there,

I think you will find that the Absolute Pardon awarded 20 March 1805 would likely be a reward for some deed/s or action/s undertaken by Benjamin during his time in New South Wales, including if sent to Norfolk Island.

I can confirm that quite a number of Absolute Pardons were awarded during the Governorship of Captain Philip Gidley King.    http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/king-philip-gidley-2309

Do you see anything significant between the co-incidence of dates ... convicted 20 March 1803, awarded Absolute Pardon 20 March 1805?    NSW Archives has the Absolute Pardon indexed : https://www.records.nsw.gov.au/archives/collections-and-research/guides-and-indexes/convicts-index


Some submitted information:
https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/kingman/benjamin/119334

JM

[majm]

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/626201 Sydney Gazette etc 13 May 1804

This newspaper cutting shows his ship of arrival departed England, on 4 December 1803.

JM

[Wiggy]

So he probably sat in a gaol or on a hulk for the first 9 months of his sentence.  Many did.

Will leave the rest to JM who has many more resources and much more knowledge about NSW and convicts than I do .     

Wiggy

[majm]

No, No, No,  Wiggy,  I have nothing further on this chap ... zilch ...  need your touch,

JM

[Wiggy]

 

sorry but I don't have anything either . . . . Just know about convicts sitting in custody waiting for a transport to be readied.

[wivenhoe]

What happened next....after he was pardoned in 1805?

You must know more about him to have any interest in him at all?

Serving such a short time on a life sentence sounds as though it was more important to remove him from Britain than to punish him. He was not to be a martyr to a cause?. Is he a political prisoner?

If you are just generally looking through records, do you see any other prisoner from the Coramandel treated similarly?

[Tom from OZ]

Thanks to everybody for the added information. Hopefully somebody will come up with a record of the trial to find out what he was charged with.


Wivenhoe was your query as to what happened to him after 1805 directed at me?  I can find no further record of Benjamin after this date in NSW

[hanes teulu]

FindMyPast Prison records - "Correspondence and Warrants"

"Benj'n Kingsman, George Mitchell - at the same time and place** of Burglary in the Dwelling house of William Lackman (?) and stealinghis Goods and Money value £5 9s"

** - Horsham, County of Sussex.