Marcus Haselden - Transported on the Jupiter, December 1832

[Buffnut453]

I recently discovered that a Great x5 Uncle, Marcus Haselden, was convicted of housebreaking at the Durham Assizes in the summer of 1832, and was transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Jupiter the following December. 

Marcus is listed as "Asst to Mr. Page" which I presumed to mean he was assigned to work for a local private citizen.  The next record is his death in November 1833 at Bridgewater.  It's my understanding that convicts sent to Bridgewater were repeat offenders.  Therefore, is it fair to assume that Marcus probably committed some crime, perhaps while working for Mr. Page, that resulted in his being sent to Bridgewater?

His burial date is 6 November 1833.  Four other convicts were buried that same day:
         Robert Polder (Bridgewater)
         John Ward (New Norfolk)
         John Boyde (New Norfolk)
         Morris Wilcox (New Norfolk)

Is it possible that all 5 of them died in the same event?  Also, would they be buried in St.Matthew's Church, New Norfolk? 

Any pointers or advice would be most welcome.  I'd also be interested if there are any histories of the convict facility in Bridgewater. 

Many thanks,
Mark

[matthewj64]

He was sent to Bridgewater for being absent from muster
Conduct record here  https://stors.tas.gov.au/CON31-1-20$init=CON31-1-20p208

At that time convict chain gangs were being used to construct a causeway, and associated roads, across the Derwent river.

There are reports from around the time of illness and deaths.

"The accounts respecting the Bridgewater chain gang are very unsatisfactory, there are upwards of fifty men discharged to the hospital and several deaths have occurred."
1834 'Domestic Intelligence.', Colonial Times (Hobart, Tas. : 1828 - 1857), 11 November, p. 7. , viewed 09 May 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8647915

M

[Buffnut453]

He was sent to Bridgewater for being absent from muster
Conduct record here  https://stors.tas.gov.au/CON31-1-20$init=CON31-1-20p208

At that time convict chain gangs were being used to construct a causeway, and associated roads, across the Derwent river.

There are reports from around the time of illness and deaths.

"The accounts respecting the Bridgewater chain gang are very unsatisfactory, there are upwards of fifty men discharged to the hospital and several deaths have occurred."
1834 'Domestic Intelligence.', Colonial Times (Hobart, Tas. : 1828 - 1857), 11 November, p. 7. , viewed 09 May 2019, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8647915

M

WOW!!! Thank you, Matthew. 

I'm having a hard time deciphering the writing but this is what I have so far:

"22 February 1834  Page - Absconding, 12 months' imprisonment and hard labour, Construction Hill R Company(?) "

"24 June 1834,  absent from muster, 6 months' imprisonment and hard labour at Bridgewater, another to be sent Construction Hill, R Company."

"Died at Bridgewater, 1st November 1834."

Dunno if the above is close to what was written.  However, I do appreciate you pointing me to these records.

Kind regards,
Mark

[Maiden Stone]

I'm having a hard time deciphering the writing but this is what I have so far:

"22 February 1834  Page - Absconding, 12 months' imprisonment and hard labour, Construction Hill R Company(?) "

"24 June 1834,  absent from muster, 6 months' imprisonment and hard labour at Bridgewater, another to be sent Construction Hill, R Company."

Dunno if the above is close to what was written.  However, I do appreciate you pointing me to these records.

' … 6 months hard labour at Bridgewater and then to be sent to Const. Hill … '. 
I assumed abbreviated word was Constitution.
You put 1833 as his burial year in your first post.

[matthewj64]

It would be Constitution Hill Road Party, working on part of the road between Hobart and Launceston
/F Forth/ would be the sentencing magistrate

M

[Buffnut453]

Context is everything.  Thank you Matthew and Maiden Stone for your help.

Maiden Stone, you're absolutely right.  I mis-typed his death date.  It was, indeed, 1834.   

A few days ago, the only record I had for Marcus was his Christening.  Now I have a fair amount of life history, including a detailed physical description.  It's great to document these details to add to his story.

Many thanks,
Mark

[matthewj64]

An article and photos of existing buildings from the Bridgewater convict station here:
http://ontheconvicttrail.blogspot.com/2013/05/bridgewater-convict-station.html

The name after his death in the record would be Lieutenant Nicholas Wrixen, superintendent at Bridgewater.

I'll look in to where he may have been buried

M

Add: his other convict records here-
https://linctas.ent.sirsidynix.net.au/client/en_AU/names/search/detailnonmodal/ent:$002f$002fNAME_INDEXES$002f0$002fNAME_INDEXES:1400038/one

[Buffnut453]

An article and photos of existing buildings from the Bridgewater convict station here:
http://ontheconvicttrail.blogspot.com/2013/05/bridgewater-convict-station.html

The name after his death in the record would be Lieutenant Nicholas Wrixen, superintendent at Bridgewater.

I'll look in to where he may have been buried

M

Add: his other convict records here-
https://linctas.ent.sirsidynix.net.au/client/en_AU/names/search/detailnonmodal/ent:$002f$002fNAME_INDEXES$002f0$002fNAME_INDEXES:1400038/one

Hi Matthew,

I had found the On The Convict Trail blog.  I thought it was an excellent overview of the history and surviving structures of the Bridgewater site.

Thank you so much for all your help.  I truly appreciate your offer to find his burial location.  It would be wonderful if you discovered anything.

Kind regards,
Mark

[Buffnut453]

I did a little Googling and found a history of St.Matthew's Church, New Norfolk Parish, which confirmed that the minister who oversaw Marcus Haselden's funeral, "W. Garrard" was the vicar at St.Matthew's at the time.  Now, that doesn't mean Marcus was buried in the churchyard.  The burial ground could have been an entirely different location within the Parish.  Even if he was buried at St.Matthew's, I understand most of the grave markers have suffered badly from weathering over the years and are now unreadable. 

I also found a couple of brief UK newspaper articles about Marcus' conviction.  It seems he had teamed up with a James Green to commit the crime.  James Green was transported on the same ship as Marcus but, as yet, I've been unable to find any other records about him (just in case there are inferences about Marcus...for example, it would be fun to know where James Green came from in case it was Lancashire, as was the case with Marcus). 

Finally, I took another look at Marcus' Convict Record.  It was only after looking at the details for a while that I realized his "absent from muster" occurred while he was with the Constitution Hill Road Company which, in turn, had been his punishment for absconding from Mr William Page's property.  Also, I presume his 6-months at Bridgewater were taken from the 12 months he was originally awarded as punishment for absconding?

Kind regards,
Mark