Why don't I have any convicts?

[jadewing]

Hi all,

While staying with my sister over Christmas I started helping her with her husband's tree.  She'd got nowhere on her previous attempts but with help of some fantastic RootsChatters  ,and a few GR contacts, he now has 6 generations on some branches.

I'm completely jealous!  I've been plugging away at my tree for a couple of years but have now abandoned hope of finding a convict  and have to make do with the Clayton's Convict http://www.convictcentral.com/  After less than a month she has discovered 2 maybe 3 convicts!  Her kids are thrilled!

Funny how the black sheep are much more interesting than the upright citizens. 

Jane

[trish251]

Hi Jane

Perhaps it is not that they are more interesting - but rather that they are much more documented & easier to find detail about. Our free settlers (especially those who paid their own way) were of little interest to the British govt so were somewhat ignored. I have found that there is much more information about the free settlers offline, often in the smaller history societies in rural areas of Australia where they settled. (not, of course too easy to access).

Until fairly recently, convict ancestors were hidden. I well remember my mother telling me how wonderful it was that OUR ancestors were all free settlers.   

Trish

[tropicalj]

Hi Jane

me too  not a convict  insight   sigh out loud

got relo's going to  tasmania thought ah ha  got to be  convicts  no  free settlers

I haven't  found a  one  but  then  without  all  the free settlers  from  where ever  they  may  have come  Australia  wouldn't be  the country  it  is today!

So  take  your hats  off to  your ancestors anyhow.No  matter how hard I try and  imagine  their  journeys, the  months at sea  and  then  the trudging  all  over  the  country to make a  new live for  themselves and  there offspring, I cannot really  fathom  it all!

regards jenn

[Robert Coble]

Hi Jane,
You can have mine there free lol

[Cazay]

Hi Jane, never mind!!     I will gladly give you a couple of mine

4 on my side and about 10 on my husband's side

As Trish says you never know what you will uncover about our free settlers when you delve a little deeper.

Cazay

[tidybooks]

I think 11 or 12 convicts arrived a few weeks ago, for crimes against cricket !!!!!!

Maybe not have convicts in the cupboard, it could have been worse, could have been English cricketers.

Tom

(somewhat releived Scotsman)

[jadewing]

Good point Tom!  Maybe I should count my blessings!

Jane

[tidybooks]

Jadewing,

What has disappointed me, is that there have been no jumping and dancing in the fountains of Trafalgar Square, no Freeddie Flintoff collapsing with drunk. Why not!!!!

Will Shane Warne still be playing when he is a 100!!!! i hope so.

Tom

[AmandaP]

Hi Jane,

Some of my more interesting ancestors were the free ones, like my Greatx5 Grandfather Eber Bunker for example, he's referred to as the father of Australian Whaling - not that thats such a good thing but interesting nevertheless.  His daughter (pictured in my avatar) married Thomas Laycock who was the only casualty in the Rum Rebellion, while searching Government House he fell through a manhole and landed on his rear end.

The best way I've found is to just google your ancestors names individually (just work through one at a time) and also google the town they settled in, you might be surprised with what you find.  In the town results you might not find a mention of your ancestors name but it might paint a good picture to what life was like back then which is pretty interesting anyway.  From just googling my newly found Gx3 Grandfather Charles Newman I discovered yesterday that there is a street in Newtown named after him.  It can be time consuming but I've found loads of stuff on my free settlers by doing this. 

Amanda