My elusive convict Frederick HENRY b. 1809

[Lesley_A]

Hi Chatters,

My 2g-grandfather Frederick HENRY, born abt October 1809, was convicted at the Old Bailey 08 July 1830 of stealing a handkerchief, value 3/-. the property of Mr Lawson. He was given Life, and transported to Australia.

For many years, I have been searching for him, to no avail. He was not your average convict - could read and write, and his Convict Indent gives his occupation as Actor, Hatter (3 years) and Clerk.

According to his NSW Death Certificate, his parents were Thomas HENRY (a Clerk), and Elizabeth JONES. But, I cannot find Frederick's birth in London (or indeed, anywhere else), or the marriage of his supposed parents.

(He and his Irish-born wife Cecilia McGOWAN had 11 children, the eldest being Elizabeth, and a middle son being Thomas).

Help, anyone? I noticed just yesterday that a Queensland Chatter's interests included a HENRY convict who was really HARVEY ... so, I am trying again with my difficult Fred.

(HARVEY? HERVEY? Was his name mis-read, somewhere along the line?).

Grateful for any help with this - I have puzzled over it for more than a decade, now.

Cheers,


Lesley
(In sunny Nundle, NSW, Australia)

[Valda]

Hi

If he was convicted at the Old Bailey then before and after the trial (before going to the hulks) he may have been held at Newgate prison. The National Archives holds the prison registers for Newgate (there is nothing online) which usually, along with a description of the prisoner, give a place of birth.

The registers for July 1830 are in PCOM2/200 and 201

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATLN=6&CATID=1722048&SearchInit=4&SearchType=6&CATREF=pcom2%2F201


The National Archives in-depth guide

Criminals in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/research-guides/criminals-18th-20th-centuries.htm

This is a newly revised guide so (like all the new guides) not all the links to documents held at TNA are live.


The National Archives

Looking for a person gives links to court records

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person/default.htm



Regards

Valda

[LizzieW]

I wonder if he was Frederick Henry X and that he just dropped his surname when we was deported.  No-one in Australia would have known any different.  I don't know if it's possible to search the Old Bailey records on Christian names only.

Lizzie

[majm]

Hi there,

Frederick HENRY was transported on the Lady Harewood in 1831 and received Tickets of Leave # 41/1482 and 42/305 at Dungog (NSW)...  then later his Colonial Pardon 30 Jul 1847 # 47/646.  I think in 1850 he got land ...

The above info is from online indexes at NSW State Records Office http://srwww.records.nsw.gov.au/indexsearch/keyname.aspx

I'll see if I can find any more info, as it seems likely that this would be your chap.  The T o L or the CP should have his age and place of birth and any alias names etc.


Cheers,  JM

[gazania]

 Hi,

The several convict records for my ancestor, which covered roughly the same period as yours, gave only the county as native place.  (But I was luckier than you in that  his lunatic asylum records gave his actual birthdate and place.)  The only other place I can think of for your situation is the birth certificate for your man's youngest child assuming the child was born when civil registration took place and Dad's details are recorded. Otherwise the latest marriage or death certificate of the children should have Dad's details. Regards, Gazania

[majm]

Hi there,

Edit to remove reference.  Thanks to Moderator for providing the thread, please accept my apologies
1. Middlesex 1830,  Henry, Frederick    Old Bailey etc
2. Transportation Register, Frederick Henry   Convicted at Middlesex, Gaol Delivery to Lady Harewood with Convicted Date 8 July 1830, Voyage date 15 Oct 1830 to NSW  

So I think he was tried as Frederick HENRY  

Cheers,  JM

Moderator comment

please read the topic on the London and Middlesex board about posting Ancestry lookups

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,406223.0.html

[majm]

Hi there,

Frederick HENRY's 8 July 1830 trial is online at http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/

The charge : stealing 1 handkerchief, value 3 shillings,  the goods of John LAWFORD (not Lawson).  He was aged 20, and was sentenced to transportation for Life ...

I cannot find any "alias" mentioned anywhere Y E T ... 

Cheers,  JM 

[Lesley_A]

Hi Chatters,

Many thanks for all the replies.

I have attached Fred's NSW Death Certificate ... at the end of his life, he ran the Union Hotel in Dungowan Creek, and died of a bad cold. (This, for a man who stole a handkerchief, and pleaded Intoxication as his excuse) 

It *does* say his birthplace was London - my question being, how much of his own evidence (or that of his family) can be relied on? In particular, his convict past was concealed ... with family legend (and a couple of small published bios) claiming that he was a soldier, who decided to stay in Oz when he should have moved to India.

(I spent *years* fighting through thickets of false information - even a copied Marriage Transcript had an extra witness, Thomas COOK JP, tossed in).

Multiple ironies - this same Thomas COOK actually appears on Fred's record of Pardon.

(So, definitely a knowledgeable cooking of the books) 

Cheers,


Lesley

Moderator comment
Certified copies of certificates are copyrighted. It is alright to place a section of the image online to help with deciphering for instance, but not the whole image. Please transcribe the full information found on certificates instead.

[majm]

Hi there,

Following on from gazania's suggestions re NSW civil registrations 

Do you have transcripts of either of these birth registrations?

1858 William HENRY (parents Frederick & Cecilia) registered Murrurundi ref 9706 (possibly born 28 Jan as per an online submitted tree)
1861 Cecilia HENRY (parents Frederick & Cecilia) registered Tamworth ref 13164 (possibly born 29 Dec 1860 as per same online submitted tree)

I realise you are looking for Frederick's origins,  so several more questions :
Could he be born to non-conformist parents (ie not C of E) ... I'm not sure if non-conformist baptisms are easily found online.
He could read and write ... perhaps he had been apprenticed in London .... have you considered looking for apprenticeship papers

Re "relying on" information from 'official records' .... well I think he was aged 20 when tried in July 1830, as the court recorded that ... but it would be info he gave at that time (as well as his surname etc) ...  After the ceasation of transportation to NSW (C 1840)society tried to hide details about convict origins ... to the extent that NSW official records were frequently ordered to be destroyed (hence the scant archival material which is only found through searching at many different locations) ... So it would be unusual if oral history passed down through 187-'s to mid 1960's that actually included ANY reference to convict forebears ... so don't be worried about family legends etc ... 

Have you searched online recently at the pilot site ... it has extracted records  not sure if non-conformist churches are included... here's the link http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#start   

Cheers,  JM