Tasmania Convict Records: Difference between revisions

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==Online Resources==
==Online Resources==
===Tasmania===
===Tasmania===
*[https://www.linc.tas.gov.au/family-history/Pages/Convict-life.aspx Indexes to Convict Records] at [https://www.linc.tas.gov.au/archive-heritage/Pages/default.aspx State Library of Tasmania] - List of convict databases
*[https://www.linc.tas.gov.au/family-history/Pages/Convict-life.aspx Indexes to Convict Records] at [https://www.linc.tas.gov.au/archive-heritage/Pages/default.aspx State Library of Tasmania] - List of convict databases
*'''1787-1859''' [http://search.findmypast.co.uk/search-world-Records/new-south-wales-and-tasmania-settlers-and-convicts-1787-1859 New South Wales and Tasmania: Settlers and Convicts 1787-1859] at Findmypast, Index ($)
*'''1787-1859''' - [http://search.findmypast.co.uk/search-world-Records/new-south-wales-and-tasmania-settlers-and-convicts-1787-1859 New South Wales and Tasmania: Settlers and Convicts 1787-1859] at FindMyPast, Index ($)
*'''1800-1893''' [http://search.findmypast.co.uk/search-world-Records/tasmania-convict-records-1800-1893 Tasmania Convict Records 1800-1893] at Findmypast,  Index ($)
*'''1800-1893''' - [http://search.findmypast.co.uk/search-world-Records/tasmania-convict-records-1800-1893 Tasmania Convict Records 1800-1893] at FindMyPast,  Index ($)
*'''1800-1899''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=60920 Tasmania, Australia, Convict Court and Selected Records, 1800-1899] at Ancestry,  Index ($)
*'''1800-1899''' - [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=60920 Tasmania, Australia, Convict Court and Selected Records, 1800-1899] at Ancestry,  Index ($)
*'''1803-1893''' [http://www.amw.org.au/register/listings/records-tasmanian-convict-department-1803-1893 Records of the Tasmanian Convict Department 1803-1893] e-book
*'''1803-1893''' - [http://www.amw.org.au/register/listings/records-tasmanian-convict-department-1803-1893 Records of the Tasmanian Convict Department 1803-1893] E. Books
*'''1803-1893''' [https://librariestas.ent.sirsidynix.net.au/client/en_AU/names/search/results?qf=NI_INDEX%09Record+type%09Convicts%09Convicts Convicts (1803-1893)] at Libraries Tasmania. Convicts transported to Tasmania and those convicted locally through the convict system.
*'''1803-1893''' - [https://librariestas.ent.sirsidynix.net.au/client/en_AU/names/search/results?qf=NI_INDEX%09Record+type%09Convicts%09Convicts Convicts (1803-1893)] at Libraries Tasmania. Convicts transported to Tasmania and those convicted locally through the convict system.
*'''1806-1849''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1185 New South Wales and Tasmania, Australia Convict Musters, 1806-1849] at Ancestry,  Index ($)
*'''1806-1849''' - [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1185 New South Wales and Tasmania, Australia Convict Musters, 1806-1849] at Ancestry,  Index ($)
*'''1825-1851''' -  [http://search.findmypast.com/search-world-Records/new-south-wales-registers-of-convicts-applications-to-marry-1825-1851 New South Wales Registers Of Convict Applications To Marry] at Findmypast - index & images ($); ''Also at [https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1504/ Ancestry]'' ($)
*'''1833-1854''' - [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=60750 Tasmania, Australia, Baptisms of Children of Convicted Women, 1833-1854] at Ancestry,  Index ($)
*'''1833-1854''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=60750 Tasmania, Australia, Baptisms of Children of Convicted Women, 1833-1854] at Ancestry,  Index ($)
*'''1834-1859''' - [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1184 New South Wales and Tasmania, Australia, Convict Pardons and Tickets of Leave, 1834-1859] at Amcestry,  Index ($)
*'''1834-1859''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1184 New South Wales and Tasmania, Australia, Convict Pardons and Tickets of Leave, 1834-1859] at Ancestry,  Index ($)


==New South Wales Online Resources, Including Tasmania Prior to 1825==
*'''1787-1834''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1183 New South Wales, Australia, Settler and Convict Lists] at Ancestry; images only ($)
*'''1787-1859''' [http://search.findmypast.com/search-world-Records/new-south-wales-and-tasmania-settlers-and-convicts-1787-1859 New South Wales and Tasmania: Settlers and Convicts] at Findmypast - index & images ($)
*'''1787-1976''' [https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8822/ New South Wales, Australia, Miscellaneous Records] at Ancestry; images only ($)
*'''1788-1842''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=2024 New South Wales, Australia, Convict Indents] at Ancestry - index & images ($); ''Also at [http://search.findmypast.com/search-world-Records/new-south-wales-convict-arrivals Findmypast]'' ($)
*'''1788-1849''' [http://members.pcug.org.au/~ppmay/convicts.htm Irish Convicts to NSW 1788 - 1849], index
*'''1788-1856''' [https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1905/#:~:text=petitions%20by%20convicts%20for%20sentence%20mitigation%2C%20marriage,court%20cases%2C%20and%20lists%20of%20assigned%20servants New South Wales, Australia, Colonial Secretary's Papers] at Ancestry - index & images ($)
*'''1788-1870''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1657 New South Wales, Australia, Convict Registers of Conditional and Absolute Pardons] at Ancestry - index & images ($)
*'''1788-1867''' {{FSC|80478|item|disp=Convict records for New South Wales and Tasmania, 1788-1867}} at FamilySearch, images.
*'''1791-1873''' [https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-20005/australia-new-south-wales-convicts-index-1791-1873?s=218489221 Australia, New South Wales Convicts Index, 1791-1873] at MyHeritage ($), index.
*'''1806-1849''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1185 New South Wales and Tasmania, Australia Convict Musters] at Ancestry - index & images ($)
*'''1806''' {{FSC|80433|item|disp=Muster of all females in the colony, August 1806}}, at FamilySearch, images.
*'''1810-1867''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1689 New South Wales, Australia, Certificates of Freedom] at Ancestry - index & images ($)
*'''1810-1869''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1781 New South Wales, Australia, Tickets of Leave] at Ancestry - index & images ($)
*'''1810-1891''' [https://search.ancestry.com.au/search/db.aspx?dbid=8992 New South Wales, Australia, Convict Records] at Ancestry - index & images ($)
*'''1811-1813''' {{FSC|80649|item|disp=Convict records of Australia, 1811-1813}} at FamilySearch, images.
*'''1821-1825''' [https://www.records.nsw.gov.au/archives/collections-and-research/guides-and-indexes/node/14197186/browse Convict Assignments 1821 to 1825, NSW Archives], index
*'''1822-1825''' {{FSC|80681|item|disp=Certificates of application for tickets of leave, 1822-1825}} - at FamilySearch, images.
*'''1823-1830''' {{FSC|227328|item|disp=Convict records, 1823-1830}} - at FamilySearch, images.
*'''1824-1886''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1245 New South Wales, Australia, Convict Savings Bank Books] at Ancestry - index & images ($)
===Australia Records===
===Australia Records===
*'''1786-1849''' [http://search.findmypast.com/search-world-Records/australia-convict-ships-1786-1849 Australia Convict Ships 1786-1849] at Findmypast - index & images ($)  
*'''1674-1834''' - [http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/ Proceedings of the Old Bailey 1674-1834] The punishment of transportation for a crime tried in London by the Old Bailey Court resulted in exile to Australia. The site can be search by several categories, including by name for the punishment resulting in transportation.
*'''1787-1867''' [https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/70852/ Web: Australia, Convict Records Index, 1787-1867] at Ancestry - index ($)
*'''1786-1849''' - [http://search.findmypast.com/search-world-Records/australia-convict-ships-1786-1849 Australia Convict Ships 1786-1849] at FindMyPast - index & images ($)  
*'''1787-1788''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1177 Australian Convict Transportation Registers – First Fleet, 1787-1788] at Ancestry,  Index ($)
*'''1787-1867''' - [https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/70852/ Web: Australia, Convict Records Index, 1787-1867] at Ancestry - index ($)
*'''1788-1842''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1251 Australia List of Convicts with Particulars, 1788-1842] at Ancestry - index & images ($)
*'''1788-1842''' - [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1251 Australia List of Convicts with Particulars, 1788-1842] at Ancestry - index & images ($)
*'''1788-1868''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=5517 Australia, Convict Index, 1788-1868] at Ancestry,  Index ($)
*'''1791-1867''' - [http://search.findmypast.com/search-world-Records/australia-convict-conditional-and-absolute-pardons-1791-1867 Australia Convict Conditional and Absolute Pardons 1791-1867] at FindMyPast - index & images ($)  
*'''1789-1790''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1178 Australian Convict Transportation Registers – Second Fleet, 1789-1790] at Ancestry,  Index ($)
*'''1791-1868''' - [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1180 Australian Convict Transportation Registers – Other Fleets & Ships, 1791-1868] at Ancestry,  Index ($)
*'''1791-1868''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1180 Australian Convict Transportation Registers – Other Fleets & Ships, 1791-1868] at Ancestry, Index ($)
*'''1824-1874''' - {{RecordSearch|3499251|Australia Convict Tickets Of Leave 1824-1874}}(*) at FamilySearch - [[Australia, Convict Tickets of Leave - FamilySearch Historical Records|How to Use this Collection]]; index & images; ''Also at: [http://search.findmypast.com/search-world-Records/australia-convict-tickets-of-leave-1824-1874 FindMyPast]($)''
*'''1791-1867''' [http://search.findmypast.com/search-world-Records/australia-convict-conditional-and-absolute-pardons-1791-1867 Australia Convict Conditional and Absolute Pardons 1791-1867] at Findmypast, Index ($)
*'''1829-1879''' - [https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8818/ New South Wales, Australia, Sheriff's Papers, 1829-1879] at Ancestry - index & images ($)
*'''1791''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1179 Australian Convict Transportation Registers – Third Fleet, 1791] at Ancestry, Index ($)
*'''1838-1912''' - {{RecordSearch|2613137|Australia, South Australia, Prison Records, 1838-1912}} at FamilySearch - [[Australia, South Australia, Prison Records - FamilySearch Historical Records|How to Use this Collection]]; index & images
*'''1791-1867''' [http://search.findmypast.com/search-world-Records/australia-convict-conditional-and-absolute-pardons-1791-1867 Australia Convict Conditional and Absolute Pardons 1791-1867] at Findmypast - index & images ($)  
*'''1791-1868''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1180 Australian Convict Transportation Registers – Other Fleets & Ships, 1791-1868] at Ancestry,  Index ($)
*'''1824-1874''' {{RecordSearch|3499251|Australia Convict Tickets Of Leave 1824-1874}}(*) at FamilySearch - [[Australia, Convict Tickets of Leave - FamilySearch Historical Records|How to Use this Collection]]; index & images; ''Also at: [http://search.findmypast.com/search-world-Records/australia-convict-tickets-of-leave-1824-1874 Findmypast]($)''
*'''1829-1879''' [https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8818/ New South Wales, Australia, Sheriff's Papers, 1829-1879] at Ancestry - index & images ($)
*'''1838-1912''' {{RecordSearch|2613137|Australia, South Australia, Prison Records, 1838-1912}} at FamilySearch - [[Australia, South Australia, Prison Records - FamilySearch Historical Records|How to Use this Collection]]; index & images
*[http://members.pcug.org.au/~pdownes/dps/1stflt.htm Australia's First Fleet]  
*[http://members.pcug.org.au/~pdownes/dps/1stflt.htm Australia's First Fleet]  
*[http://firstfleet.uow.edu.au/index.html First Fleet Online]
*[http://firstfleet.uow.edu.au/index.html First Fleet Online]
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*[https://convictrecords.com.au/ Convict Records of Australia]
*[https://convictrecords.com.au/ Convict Records of Australia]
*[https://crimeandpunishment.library.wales/sf_s.php Library of Wales, Crime and Punishment database]
*[https://crimeandpunishment.library.wales/sf_s.php Library of Wales, Crime and Punishment database]
*[http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/ Proceedings of the Old Bailey 1674-1834] The punishment of transportation for a crime tried in London by the Old Bailey Court resulted in exile to Australia. The site can be search by several categories, including by name for the punishment resulting in transportation.
==New South Wales Archive Resources Kit, Including Tasmania Prior to 1825==
*[https://www.records.nsw.gov.au/archives/collections-and-research/guides-and-indexes/community-access-points-0 '''Community Access Points'''] '''A list of libraries and archives which hold microcopies of the Archive Resource Kit records.'''<br>
*The [https://www.records.nsw.gov.au/archives/collections-and-research/guides-and-indexes/archives-resources-kit-ark '''Archive Resources Kit'''] '''includes the following convict records:'''
::Convict Indents, 1788-1842
::Musters and other papers relating to convict ships, 1790-1849 NRS 1155
::Registers of convicts' applications to marry, 1825-51
::Assignment Registers, 1821-24
::Register of Tickets of Leave, 1824-27
::Registers of Conditional Pardons, 1791-1825
"The ARK is held by 40 community access points across NSW. The majority of access points are libraries. The ARK consists of microfilm copies of our most popular and heavily used colonial records. Included are records relating to '''convict arrivals, assisted immigrants, births, deaths and marriages, publicans' licences, electoral rolls, naturalisation, returns of the colony ('Blue Books'), land grants, and the wide range of functions of the Colonial Secretary (1788-1825)'''. You may find that the ARK (or parts of it) are held at a library near you." <ref>"Archive Resource Kit," New South Wales State Archives and Records, https://www.records.nsw.gov.au/archives/collections-and-research/guides-and-indexes/archives-resources-kit-ark, accessed 3 March 2022.</ref>
==Historical Background==
*From the '''early 1800s to the 1853 abolition of penal transportation''' (known simply as "transportation"), Van Diemen's Land was the primary penal colony in Australia. Following the suspension of transportation to New South Wales, all transported convicts were sent to Van Diemen's Land. In total, some 73,000 convicts were transported to Van Diemen's Land or about 40% of all convicts sent to Australia.
*'''Male convicts''' served their sentences as assigned labour to free settlers or in gangs assigned to public works. Only the most difficult convicts (mostly re-offenders) were sent to the Tasman Peninsula prison known as Port Arthur.
*'''Female convicts''' were assigned as servants in free settler households or sent to a female factory (women's workhouse prison). There were five female factories in Van Diemen's Land.
*Convicts completing their sentences or earning their '''ticket-of-leave''' often promptly left Van Diemen's Land. '''Many settled in the new free colony of Victoria''', to the dismay of the free settlers in towns such as Melbourne.
*Tensions sometimes ran high between the settlers and the "'''Vandemonians"''' as they were termed, particularly during the Victorian gold rush when a flood of settlers from Van Diemen's Land rushed to the Victorian goldfields.
*Complaints from Victorians about recently released convicts from Van Diemen's Land re-offending in Victoria was one of the contributing reasons for the eventual abolition of transportation to Van Diemen's Land in 1853.<ref>"Van Diemen's Land", in Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Diemen%27s_Land#Early_colonisation, accessed 12 April 2022.</ref>
*The West Coast of Tasmania has a significant convict heritage. The use of the west coast as an outpost to house convicts in isolated penal settlements occurred in the eras 1822–33, and 1846–47.
*The main locations were '''Sarah Island''' (known by many in the late twentieth century as '''Settlement Island''') and '''Grummet Island in Macquarie Harbour'''. The entrance to Macquarie Harbour was known as '''Hells Gates'''.
*Convict parties used the land around the harbour as a work area as far as '''Gordon River'''. The prison's existence was for only 15 years, but its hold on the imagination has spawned a significant literature.<ref>"Convicts on the West Coast of Tasmania," in Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convicts_on_the_West_Coast_of_Tasmania, accessed 12 April 2022.</ref>
== Types of Convict Records  ==
=== Tickets of Leave Butts  ===
*'''Tickets of leave''' were issued to convicts having served about half of their sentences with good behavior.
*These tickets '''allowed convicts to seek employment''' as they wished but '''limited their movement to a certain district''' for the remainder of their sentences.
*Prior to 1828, bench magistrates granted tickets of leave and approved applications for convicts to marry.
*The actual ticket of leave was issued to the convict; '''the government retained the ticket of leave butts'''.
*'''Ticket of leave butts listed the convict’s name, ship, and date of arrival, native place, trade or calling, date and place of trial and sentence, a physical description, and the district to which he or she was confined.'''
=== Certificates of Freedom  ===
*A '''certificate of freedom''' was a document stating that a '''convict's sentence had been served''' and was usually given to convicts with a 7, 10 or 14 year sentence or when they received a pardon.
*Convicts with a '''life sentence''' could receive a Pardon, but not a Certificate of Freedom.
*The Certificate of Freedom number was sometimes '''annotated on the indent or noted on a Ticket of Leave Butt.'''
*The government retained certificates of freedom butts, which were similar to ticket of leave butts.


=== Pardons  ===
*Both '''conditional and absolute pardons''' were generally '''granted to convicts with life sentences'''.
*'''Conditional pardons''' required that the ex-convict '''never return to the British Isles''' or his or her pardon would be void.
*'''Absolute pardons''' allowed an ex-convict to return to the British Isles if he or she wished.
*'''Pardon records''' contain information similar to tickets of leave: the convict’s name, ship, and date of arrival, native place, trade or calling, date and place of trial and sentence, a physical description, and the district to which he or she was confined.'''


=== Convict indents  ===
*Convict indents were lists that were made when convicts arrived on transport ships.
*Information given in indents is similar to that in tickets of leave but also includes a convict’s marital status and number of children and whether the convict was literate.
==For Further Reading==
===FamilySearch Library===
Additional sources are listed in the '''FamilySearch Catalog:'''
*{{FSC|Australia, Tasmania - Convict records|subject|subject-id=700096469|disp=Australia, Tasmania - Convict records}}
*{{FSC|Australia, Tasmania - Convict records - Indexes|subject|subject-id=586202466|disp=Australia, Tasmania - Convict records - Indexes }}
{{Place|Australia}}
{{Place|Australia}}
[[Category:Tasmania, Australia]]
[[Category:Tasmania, Australia]]

Revision as of 19:20, 8 April 2022

Tasmania Wiki Topics
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Tasmania Convict Records

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