38-2622 CONVICT INDENT. (original would be held in the Archives at NSW State Archives, Kingswood, and likely available via Ancestry's current partnership with them).
Bernard FITZSIMMONS per the Elphinstone (arrived NSW 29 Dec 1838) received a sentence of 14 years. He was 35, could Read and Write, a Roman Catholic, Single, no children, from County Cavan, a Grocer, tried at Kings County on 19 July 1838, for Forged notes in possession, no previous convictions, and noted on the CONVICT INDENT : ….. son on board, free, Thomas FITZSIMMONS, aged thirteen years.
May I mention that the convict indent clearly has Bernard as ‘Single, no children’ … and to me that indicates only that he was NOT married. We need to remember that in that era that to be a parent you needed to have been MARRIED … On the other hand, reality taught the officials recording the indents that of course a person can have a son or daughter OUTSIDE of marriage, and under the heading ‘Particular Marks or Scars (and) Remarks’ officialdom noted that Bernard’s son was on board the Elphinstone, named the lad, noted he came free and gave his age too. They noted Thomas AFTER giving a full physical description of Bernard, tattoos, scars, moles, etc. Bernard’s Certificate of Freedom is referenced on the Convict Indent record as 52/84.
May I mention that the website for convictrecords.com.au etc accepts SUBMITTED comments and there are some comments for Bernard that indicate there are a number of people actively researching him. It is not good practice to rely on submitted information, but it can be interesting to contact the submitters to share official records.
JM
