General Chat

I am a bit new to all this, but one of my ancestors, a John Reeves, was deported to Australia in 1816 for being part of a poaching gang that killed someone. He served 6 years and was pardoned. What skeletons do others have they are prepared to share?

My husbands grandfather , from Northampton, was in Warwick prison on the 1901 census. No-one in the family has ever mentioned it and am still trying to find out why! Is listed as army private, so was possibly charged for being AWOL.

Nigel The same thing happened to my great, great grandad in 1838. He was given 7 years. How did you find out what happened to him after he was transported? Mine obviously came back to England, or I wouldn't be here. I can't find him on the 1841 census, well I wouldn't if he was in Australia. He got married in Rutland in 1846, and is on the 1851 census. Margaret

Good luck Stephanie - I hope you penetrate the family secrets enough to find out. Margaret - it was all discovered by a cousin of mine, but it was quite a famous case in Gloucester at the time. 11 men were in the gang, and two were hung. Some local person wrote a book about it, so a lot was in there.

nigel i too had a rellie whio was transported to tasmania. she was sentenced at aylesbury gaol for larcency and transported to tas on the 6th january 1831.on the ss america.her name was elizabeth keep whilst in prison in van diemans land she was again sentenced to 6mths for lewd and indecent conduct(the mind boggles) she left behind in buckinghamshire a husband and 2 small children. susie

I also had an ancestor in Aylesbury prison, in 1851. I don't know why he was in there, but 2 years later, his brother (my ggg grandfather went to London to join the Metropolitan Police Force.

I was told my father's uncle, don't know a name or which side of his family, was either electrocuted in the USA or hung in Canada for murdering his wife. Would love to prove that story but unfortunately the folk that could give a name are now dead.

All my ancestors are skeletons (apart from those who are ashes)!

Wow, I am glad I am not alone out there in having felonious (is that a word?) ancestors. Bill - thanks for the detail - it matches mine so is good confirmation. Like the one about all ancestors being skeletons-:)

Joseph, my great grandfather, appeared at Pembroke Petty Sessions during 1847. He was found guilty of assaulting a woman and fined two pounds, nineteen shillings and sixpence. Sounds like a fortune in those days. According to the local paper at that time, the magistrate said "The defendant's defence was of such a disgusting nature that we are compelled to omit it as offensive to common decency." Really must get to the court records some day to see what couldn't be said. Chris

Hi Bill in Fiji After I had stopped laughing at your comments about can't find my g g grandad in your search engine, this is what I have. Apologies for the capital letters, Great great grandfathers name was Charles Newey. From http://www.northants1841.fsnet.co.uk/newspaper.html 1838 NEWEY C. EASTON NORTHAMPTONSHIRE QUARTER SESSIONS C. NEWEY WAS CONVICTED OF STEALING FOWLS, THE PROPERTY OF THE REV. G. BATEMAN, OF EASTON, AND ANOTHER. 7 YEARS' TRANSPORTATION NEWEY CHARLES EASTON COMMITMENTS TO THE COUNTY GAOL CHARLES NEWEY, CHARGED WITH STEALING, AT EASTON, FIVE TAME FOWLS, THE PROPERTY OF GREGORY BATEMAN NEWEY CHARLES TRANSPORTED THE FOLLOWING CONVICTS HAVE BEEN REMOVED TO THE LEVIATHAN HULK, PORTSMOUTH :- JOHN MALSBURY, THE ELDER, FOR LIFE ; WILLIAM ARCHER, FOR 15 YEARS ; JACOB EARL, WILLIAM PERCIVAL, PHILIP REYNOLDS, FOR 10 YEARS ; JOHN KEW, FOR 14 YEARS ; CHARLES NEWEY, JAMES PLOWRIGHT, WILLIAM PLOWRIGHT, THE ELDER, WILLIAM PLOWRIGHT, THE YOUNGER, THOMAS SUTTON, AND HENRY AGER, FOR SEVEN YEARS Margaret

Bill Downunder and Bill in Fiji Thank you both for your help. I only very recently found this out about Charles Newey and I really don't know where to go next. Would all prisoners on the hulk have been transported? or would some of them have been pardoned before? Wish there was a national index for the 1841 census, at least then I would know if he was still in this country. Margaret

Hi Bill, I used to live in Thornbury. One of my female ancestors was arrested for bawdy behaviour in a house of ill repute. A lady I was speaking to on the board the other day had an MP in her family!!!

What an interesting thread. Thanks Bill for those web sites. One of my ancestors, Tom Stringer Deakin, has gone missing between 1870 and 1901 - my sister heard when she was about 6 - 7, that he had returned from Oz, but can't find anything this end to corroborate. Maybe your sites will be able to help. Thanks again [if he turns out to be a felon, I shall return!] Badger Bill Worthing

hi bill down under you change your name like the british weather...lol thanx for the reply.we were told she was sent to port arthur but just recently i have found out that port arthur was a male prison only!! so i dont know where she went.i do know that after her release she went to clarence plains and was assigned as a servant for a mr.t .dixon. i have got the description of her taken from the tas archives but it doesnt mention the prison that she went to.how can i find this out.have you any ideas susie

bill!!! your a darling.fancy you finding my message...lol thankyou so much. huggs susie

thank you for letting me into your life fasinating

Just discovered that my grandmother on my father's side of the family was the local abortionist in one of the areas of Edinburgh. Have been told she was had a very good reputation for being clean and for helping many people. She died in 1961 and was due to appear at the local court some weeks later. Does anyone know what the penalty would have been for this crime in the 1960's?. I always thought the skeletons would be found in my husband's side of the family not mine but I will keep digging.

Bill, What an interesting story, I live in what used to be Lower Morton in Thornbury and we know Littleton very well. My Grandfather's cousin was hung for murdering his sweetheart in 1913 in Bristol, and it was recently featured on a local TV series called Grave Detectives.Thanks to the programme I got the court documentation and Newsclips from the producer. Marion

Debra After the Second World War up until the 1967 Abortion Act, abortion was the main cause of maternal death in Britain. It is estimated that between 20,000 and 100,000 abortions were performed every year. In the early 60's there were 44 women who were jailed for performing illegal abortions in Holloway Prison alone. One such abortionist stated " I knew it was against the law, but I didn't feel it was wrong. Women have to help each other." I found this too!!! In 1938 there was a landmark trial about therapeutic abortions, when a leading gynaecologist was acquitted for performing an abortion on a 14 year old girl. The girl had been a victim of a multiple rape, the rapists were officers of the Royal Horse Guards. The young girl had been attacked so furiously that she had to be hospitalised, she suffered serious physical injuries and was traumatised by the rape. It soon became obvious that the rape had brought about pregnancy. A doctor at the hospital refused to perform a therapeutic abortion as "as she was raped by officers, she might be carrying a future prime minister of England". Dr Aleck Bourne agreed to help the young girl, he observed his patient carefully for a week and when he was satisfied that only an abortion would save her from a total nervous breakdown he performed the abortion stating that he acted in "good faith" for the patient's welfare. Dr Bourne walked free and set a precedent. From 1938 until 1967 it was up to the prosecution to prove that a doctor had not acted in the "good faith of the patients' welfare". Unfortunately this only covered medical practitioners and not the network of abortionists around Britain who were not medical practitioners. Bob