William Brown alias Hartley Bowen (c1836 – 1904?) (Reg. No. 9097)
By Irma Walter, 2021. William Brown, aged 28, was convicted at Clerkenwell on 4 January 1864 for receiving stolen goods,…
Category: Convict Histories
John Fisher (1826? – 1884) (Reg. No. 7104)
By Irma Walter, 2021. It seems likely that John Fisher was older than records show. The 1861 census has him…
Michael Corbett (1837 – 1881) (Reg. No. 4781)
By Irma Walter, 2021. Just imagine two small boys, their heads barely visible above the dock at the Central Criminal…
‘The Bolters’ – Robbery Under Arms
By Irma Walter, 2021. On Tuesday 27 January 1859 five convicts absconded from a quarry near Fremantle. Their names were…
Three Convict Escapees to India – George Sparrow, Thomas Greenwood & Alexander Menzies
By Irma Walter, 2021. In September 1865 three ticket-of-leave men George Sparrow, Alexander Menzies and Thomas Greenwood made headlines in…
William Proctor (1830 – ?) (Reg. No. 3509) ‘One of the Swell Mob’
By Irma Walter, 2021. The term ‘Swell Mob’ was commonly used in 19th century Britain and in the capitals of…
William Stewart (c1818 – ?) (Reg. No. 4517)
By Irma Walter, 2021. William Stewart, a seaman, aged 40, was convicted on 15 March 1856 at Exeter of burglary…
Robert Kay (1826 – ?) (Reg. No. 6172)
By Irma Walter, 2021. Robert Kay was born at Alloa in Clackmannanshire, Scotland on 14 August 1826, to parents John…
James Caffrey (aka McCaffrey), (c1830 – 1856) (Reg. No 2463)
By Irma Walter, 2021. James Caffrey arrived in Western Australia in 1853 onboard the ill-fated convict ship Phoebe Dunbar. In…
Thomas Stubbs (c1829 – ?) (Reg. No. 21 & 5372)
By Irma Walter, 2021. Thomas Stubbs was one of those convicts who was transported to Western Australia on two different…