In Prison in 1887

[squiggle]

Hi All!

I have had some amazing help on RC in finding information about my colourful relative William James Jackman Jarvis b.1849.

I have received his divorce papers from 1887 and it appears that they were served on him in Millbank prison early in 1887. It appears that he was there at least from January 1887 until April 1887, and was in America  in 1886 up until March, so I assume he was tried sometime between March 1886 and January 1887.

I would love to know what he went to prison for,...... I have looked at the oldbailey online records and at the National Archives where I found the record of the divorce but nothing fits there,...... can anyone give me an idea as to where else I might look!
Thank you in anticipation!
Becky

[Valda]

Hi

From the beginning of the nineteenth century, government prisons were built run by the prison department of the Home Office. These prisons housed convicts. All prisoners given sentences of transportation (by 1887 this had long since finished) or a period of penal servitude- two years or more hard labour, were called convicts or government prisoners. All other gaoled offenders were prisoners not convicts. In 1853, there were twelve government prisons. Once sentenced a convict was sent first to Wakefield, Leicester, or Millbank and kept in solitary confinement.
Afterwards convicts would be sent on to complete their sentence in a prison such as Portland doing public works (hard labour).

Millbank by 1886 was being run down and had ceased to be used for convicts (in 1886) so if he was convicted after 1886 he was probably just a prisoner serving a relatively short sentence tried at the local quarter sessions. Prison registers overall have poorer survival rates. Millbank prison records are held at The National Archives but only up to 1877. They don't seem to have survived past that point. The prison closed in 1890.

The Old Bailey was one court (assize) in London. Quarter sessions were held in Middlesex (more often than quarterly), the City, Westminster and Surrey (as well as a separate assize court in the county). This system of assize (higher court trying usually the most serious cases) and quarter sessions courts was duplicated in every county.


The National Archives guide Looking for records of a prisoner: 

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person/prisoners.htm?WT.lp=rg-3150



Regards

Valda

[Simon G.]

You could try looking in local newspapers to see if there's any report of the trial etc.

[coombs]

What was he doing in America before he came back and was tried?

[squiggle]

Hi Valda, Simon and Coombs,

Thank you for your interest. Valda- thank you for all the information on the organisation of prisons and the timings of when things changed. It looks like the time that William was in Millbank was beyond the timeframe for which records are available.
Thank you also for the link, I have had another go at finding some evidence of him but no success!

Simon, I have tried various ways of looking for newspaper reports but have had no success

William travelled to America under an assumed name "Lindsay" departing on the 18th December 1885. This information is contained in the divorce papers. I am guessing that he went there to set up a new life for himself, his mistress and their child, it seems that she followed him out there in March of 1886, set her up there and immediately returned to England. (maybe to sort out his divorce)
As I said before, he was in prison between Jan and April 1887. In May 1887 he was back in America where he married his mistress and seems to have lived the rest of his life over there.

I wonder...... whether he travelled under an assumed name in 1885 to avoid his wife finding out what he was up to, or was he avoiding the law? These questions have prompted me to try to find
out why he was in prison in 1887.

Thanks for looking in! Any ideas on how to proceed would be gratefully received,
All the best!
Becky

[coombs]

Could he have been in prison over something to do with the divorce? Ie he tried to do something unlawful.

[Simon G.]

I can't help but wonder if he tried to marry his "mistress" before he divorced his wife.  It would certainly answer a few questions both about why he left under an assumed name, and why he was in prison.  Although the two could, of course, be completely unconnected.

[squiggle]

Hi Coombs.

At first I thought maybe it was something to do with his divorce, but,... Here is my thinking!......

William's wife did not mention in her statement for the divorce, anything that William did after December 1885.
 Which makes me think that whatever it was that he did, was not against her.
Unless, her family decided to have him arrested for something he had done previously.
(He had attacked her several times during their marriage, but back then, I wonder if what went on within a marriage was of any interest to the criminal courts)

What do you think?
Becky

[squiggle]

Hi Simon,

That's an interesting thought !..... William certainly married his mistress before his decree absolute came through. As he married in America I guess he thought he would easily get away with that!
You have set my mind working,.... would you be put in prison for attempting to get married twice, or would you have to do the deed.

Thanks for that, nothing would surprise me with William!

Becky