As the name of this blog implies, our family has convict connections. In fact, some Australasian branches owe their existence to the country’s past as a penal colony. The register below is not intended as a complete list of convict forebears.
updated 4 Apr 2023
James Backhouse
1794 – 1869
Dickerson, George
Age: 23.
Nationality: English.
Status: Married, 2 children
Trade: Labourer, sawyer.
Offence(s): Stealing wheat – 5 bushels (136 kilograms).
Sentence: Seven years transportation.
Sailed: 1828
Arrived: 9 Dec 1828, Bermuda. Ironed at Bermuda.
Freedom: Served four and a half years.
Returned to England.
Age: 38.
Nationality: English.
Status: Married, 6 children.
Trade: Labourer, sawyer.
Offence(s): Larceny.
Sentence: Seven years transportation.
Sailed: 15 Jan 1842 aboard Isabella ex Portsmouth, Eng.
Arrived: 19 May 1842, Van Diemen’s Land.
Freedom: Certificate of Leave 1848.
Married fellow convict Jane Patterson, (VDL 1847). 8 children from marriage. Settled in the Colony of Port Phillip. Died Ararat (Vic.) 1872.
Townsend, Richard
Age: 42.
Nationality: English.
Status: Married.
Trade: Farm labourer.
Offence(s): Offences against property – housebreaking and theft of twenty Guineas.
Sentence: Life.
Sailed: 15 Jul 1842 aboard Marquis of Hastings ex Spithead, Eng.
Arrived: 7 Nov 1842, Van Diemen’s Land.
Died: 8 Apr 1843, Maria Island, Van Diemen’s Land. Killed by a falling tree.
A previous conviction for deserting his family (3 months imprisonment).
turpin, Adam
Age: 25 – 28.
Nationality: English.
Status: Single.
Trade:?
Offence(s): Larceny
Sentence: Seven years transportation.
Sailed: 5 Jan 1825 aboard Asia ex Portsmouth, Eng.
Arrived: 29 Apr 1825, New South Wales.
Freedom: Certificate of Freedom 30 Jan 1834.
Fate: Moved to South Australia. Attendant on Charles Sturt’s expedition into the interior of Australia. Died in South Australia 29 Dec 1847. Age at death is recorded as 50 years.
Wareham, William
Age: 25.
Nationality: English.
Status: Single.
Trade: Ploughman/farm labourer.
Offence(s): Rioting, stealing.
Sentence: Death, commuted to seven years transportation.
Sailed: 12 Apr 1831 aboard Proteus ex Portsmouth, Eng.
Arrived: 3 Aug 1831, Van Diemen’s Land.
Freedom: Pardoned 3 Feb 1836.
Fate: Moved to the Colony of Port Phillip (Victoria) in 1841. Married Melbourne (Vic.) 1844. Died Doncaster (Vic.) 1866.
Wines (aka Randall), Louisa/Lois
Age: 37.
Status: Married, 2 (3?) children.
Trade: Cook, house servant.
Offence(s): Robbery and stealing from the person.
Sentence: Fourteen years transportation.
Sailed: 5 May 1833 aboard Edward ex Woolwich, Eng.
Arrived: 4 Sep 1834, Van Diemen’s Land.
Freedom; Ticket of Leave 4 Nov 1845.
Fate: Married the former convict James Cooper in Launceston (VDL/Tasmania) on 17 Oct 1838.
Wines, Simeon
Age: 20.
Status: Single.
Trade: Labourer.
Offence(s): Stealing – (an unknown) quantity of eggs. Prior conviction for stealing apples. Served fourteen days imprisonment.
Sentence: Fourteen years transportation.
Sailed: 4 Nov 1832 aboard Circassian ex Plymouth, Eng.
Arrived: 16 Feb 1833, Van Diemen’s Land.
Freedom: Unknown.
Fate: Married Fingal (VDL) 1850. Settled in VDL. Died Fingal (VDL/Tasmania) 1879.
sources
Claim A Convict
Convict Records of Australia
Founders & Survivors
FamilySearch.org
Resources on Ancestry
Castles to Convicts 