Tuesday, 13 April 2021

Kent Archives Office - AJCP


The K selection in the M Series

Many of the County Archives or Record Offices hold collections of prisoners records and here the Kent Archives Office is no exception. 

The Maidstone Gaol records include a Calendar of Prisoners for Trial  at the Maidstone Assizes dated from 1837 - 1853 At the front of each session there is an an alphabetical list of prisoners.


From the records of each session one can view the Name and trade/occupation of prisoner, age, whether they could read and write, who committed the prisoner, the crime of which he/she was accused and the sentence imposed 
https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1739588813/view

From this sample in 1841, James Collins was acquitted of receiving the two gowns, value 11s. His wife Mary had stolen these and she was committed to hard labour in the House of Corrections for 2 calendar months.
Patrick Connor however was transported for seven years for stealing two boots, value 20s., the property of Charles Bradford Baird at Chatham.

So your ancestor may not have been a prisoner but may be mentioned as a victim of crime.
But what did happen to those transported? 

Kent Archives also has a Convict book 1805 - 1833 which is a register of convicts, including many sentenced to transportation, giving names, where convicts were sent, and dates of removal.

These are just the first two of many records in the Kent Archives. 

The bulk of the collection is found in family files which include personal papers, diaries, family letters, business correspondence and many genealogical gems such as this 1847 Birth Certificate for  Thomas Winton of Lyndoch, South Australia.

https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1740898973/view

If your Coxon family lived in Brisbane here's one of 8 photographs courtesy of the Kent Archives via the AJCP.

https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1741192533


Visit the M series to investigate which Counties have archival records available now through the AJCP.


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Monday, 12 April 2021

Journals and Jottings - AJCP


Individual Journals

Within many of the AJCP collections there  are journals written by individuals on the voyages and experiences in the new country. Try the words diary, notebook or journal with a surname to see if one of your ancestors has his/her words recorded for posterity.

Journals written by ships' captains and surgeon superintendents

The Finding Aid to the India Office Library outlines the how and why the East India Company came to supply ships for the transportation of convicts. An excerpt:
After about 1795, a growing number of East Indiamen were charted to bring convicts, free settlers, provisions and other goods to New South Wales (and occasionally Tasmania). After visiting Port Jackson, the ships invariably sailed to China or India where they loaded tea, textiles and other goods before returning to Britain.

The ships' journals, logs and related records available here date from 22 July 1759 - 6 June 1827 and include:

  • Coromandel, 
  • Royal Admiral,
  • Warren Hastings, 
  • Ganges, 
  • Sovereign, 
  • Bellona, 
  • Prince of Wales, 
  • Young William, 
  • Resolution, 
  • Warwick, 
  • Ceres, 
  • Minerva, 
  • Hercules, 
  • Canada, 
  • Nile, 
  • Minorca, 
  • Friendship, 
  • Duff, 
  • Barwell, 
  • Atlas I, 
  • Atlas II, 
  • Marquis of Wellington, 
  • Henry Porcher, 
  • Guilford, 
  • England, 
  • Alexander, 
  • Providence, 
  • William Pitt, 
  • Ocean, 
  • General Graham, 
  • Mary, 
  • Rolla, 
  • Perseus 
  • Indefatigable.

These journals and logs not only record the day to day weather conditions but also detail the personnel aboard. In this case the date of deaths of several crew members are recorded next to their names.

https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2704155623/view 
Resolution: Journal, Captain Thomas Poynting

If you had a maritime ancestor or an emigrant you have been unable to find, perhaps they are listed on one of those ships.

Surgeon Superintendent journals

Veering away from the India Office Library but relevant to journal entries are the Admiralty Transport Department's Surgeon superintendents' journals of convict ships, 1858 - 1867

These deal more with the day to day interactions and infractions aboard. The rules and regulations together with daily routines of prisoners are detailed.

https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1628694269/view
Aboard the Corona in 1866
Written by W. Crawford R.N. (Surgeon Superintendent)

They are likely to include the ports at which the convicts were embarked, names of convicts who  either died or escaped during voyage as well as the numbers on each ship, and the supplies used each day.

Some Surgeon Superintendents provided extensive details while others limited themselves to the minimum of reporting needed. These journals are in the Ministry of Transport records.

  • Lord Raglan, 6 February 1858 - 8 June 1858 
  • Lincelles, 7 September 1860 - 30 January 1861
  • Norwood, 4 February 1862 - 14 June 1862 
  • Merchantman, 10 October 1862 - 24 February 1863 
  • Clyde, 23 February 1863 - 2 June 1863 
  • Clara, 11 January 1864 - 16 April 1864 
  • Merchantman, 11 June 1864 - 30 September 1864 
  • Racehorse, 26 April 1865 - 23 August 1865 
  • Vimeira, 16 September 1865 - 6 January 1866 
  • Corona, 4 September 1866 - 26 December 1866 
  • Norwood, 11 March 1867 - 29 July 1867

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Saturday, 10 April 2021

Irish Records - AJCP


It is the individuals of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland who interest us as genealogists. Here are just some of the major Irish collections in the AJCP where details of convicts and free settlers alike can be found.

The National Archives of Ireland


Each register is divided into male and female convicts, and each section is subdivided by county. The registers give details of each convict, including age, crime and sentence. While the Ireland-Australia Transportation database can be searched on the National Archives of Ireland site and several Convict indexes are available through NSW State Archives, if one has the year and county the person can be found in these registers.

A second series covers Prisoners' Petitions and Cases, 1788 - 1836, there are also some Fenian photographs from 1866.

Another series has Free Settlers' Papers, 1828 - 1852
Male convicts who served a minimum of four years of their sentence were entitled to request a free passage for a dependent wife and family to join them in the colony. The series include some lists of convicts who requested this privilege, giving details of date of transportation, name of ship, and name and address of wife. There are also some letters written by convicts to their wives.

These comprehensive records about convicts are now fully digitised.

The National Library of Ireland

Browse the huge variety in this collection via the Finding Aid - Guide 
Multiple finds within these collections. 

Rules and regulations for steerage passengers in 1838,
How did they travel? A plan of accommodation aboard the Roxburgh is followed by 

https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1804227612/view



The photos below are included in the Papers of General Sir Thomas Larcom, - Letters, memoranda and pamphlets relating to young Irelanders and Fenianism 1861 -1867. Browse the collection then choose set 301- 320  to view the images.


https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-903490680
Papers of General Sir Thomas Larcom, 1859 - 1871

Names on photos include:
Duffy, Stephens, Lynam, O'Mahony, O'Keefe, Byrne, Scholfeld, Haltigan, McManus, Moore, O'Leary, O'Regan, O'Connor, Curry, Molony, Bracken, McGillivery, Cook or McCook, Weadick, Power, Doherty, Brophy, Mulcahy, Hayes, Casey, O'Connor, Mulcahy and O'Donovan.

The Royal Irish Academy 

Records here contain papers relating to colonial administration in Western Australia 1828-49. One set of interest are those relating to the Roman Catholic mission in Western Australia; the education of Catholic children; and official attitudes towards the Sisters of Mercy.

Public Record Office of Northern Ireland

This collection contains many, many letters of emigrants to their families. Search a family name to determine whether your ancestors wrote home about their voyage or living conditions.
Found amongst this collection
Photograph of Thomas Whitson, Isabella Whitson (nee Grant), their children and parents
Thomas Whitson (1847-1922) married Isabella Grant at Dunedin in 1876. She had emigrated to New Zealand with her parents in 1870.
https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2741995030/view

All Hallows College Dublin

The largest set of records here refer to:
Correspondence dealing with overseas missions, concluding with batches of letters arranged chronologically in groups of twelve with a summary note at the beginning of each group. These summary notes give the name of each correspondent, the date of the letter and its subject. The bulk of the correspondence consists of letters from bishops and priests addressed to the College presidents, and records of the ideas as well as the activities of Irish priests in Australia and New Zealand.
These are just some of the significant Irish collections available through the AJCP. 



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