Australia Convict Records: Difference between revisions

Corrected subject vs. keywords lookups for FSC.
(Corrected subject vs. keywords lookups for FSC.)
(20 intermediate revisions by 4 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Australia-sidebar}}{{breadcrumb  
{{Australia-sidebar}}{{breadcrumb  
| link1=[[Australia Genealogy|Australia]]
| link1=[[Australia Genealogy|Australia]]
| link2=
| link2=[[Australia Crime and Punishment|Crime and Punishment]]
| link3=
| link3=
| link4=
| link4=
Line 7: Line 7:
}}
}}


Convicts first arrived in Australia in 1788, when the British government established a penal colony at Port Jackson, Sydney Bay. Records about convicts transported to Australia are numerous and play a major role in Australian family history research.
==Online Resources==
==Online Resources==
*'''1786-1849''' [http://search.findmypast.com/search-world-Records/australia-convict-ships-1786-1849 Australia Convict Ships 1786-1849] at FindMyPast - index & images ($)  
===Convict Records===
*'''1786-1849''' [http://search.findmypast.com/search-world-Records/australia-convict-ships-1786-1849 Australia Convict Ships 1786-1849] at Findmypast - index & images ($)  
*'''1787-1867''' [https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/70852/ Web: Australia, Convict Records Index, 1787-1867] 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 ($)
*'''1788-1842''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1251 Australia List of Convicts with Particulars, 1788-1842] at Ancestry - index & images ($)
*'''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 ($)  
*'''1788-1868''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=5517 Australia, Convict Index, 1788-1868] at Ancestry,  Index ($)
*'''1791-1868''' - [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1180 Australian Convict Transportation Registers – Other Fleets & Ships, 1791-1868] at Ancestry,  Index ($)
*'''1791-1867''' [http://search.findmypast.com/search-world-Records/australia-convict-conditional-and-absolute-pardons-1791-1867 Australia Convict Conditional and Absolute Pardons 1791-1867] at Findmypast, Index ($)
*'''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]($)''
*'''1791-1867''' [http://search.findmypast.com/search-world-Records/australia-convict-conditional-and-absolute-pardons-1791-1867 Australia Convict Conditional and Absolute Pardons 1791-1867] at Findmypast - index & images ($)  
*'''1829-1879''' - [https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8818/ New South Wales, Australia, Sheriff's Papers, 1829-1879] at Ancestry - index & images ($)
*'''1824-1874''' {{RecordSearch|3499251|Australia Convict Tickets Of Leave 1824-1874}}(*) at FamilySearch - [[Australia, Convict Tickets of Leave - FamilySearch Historical Records|How to Use this Collection]]; index & images; ''Also at: [http://search.findmypast.com/search-world-Records/australia-convict-tickets-of-leave-1824-1874 Findmypast]($)''
*'''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
*[https://convictrecords.com.au/ Convict Records of Australia]
 
===Transporting Convicts===
*'''1787-1788''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1177 Australian Convict Transportation Registers – First Fleet, 1787-1788] at Ancestry, Index ($)
*'''1787-1867''' [https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-20146/united-kingdom-convict-transportation-registers?s=275764761 United Kingdom, Convict Transportation Registers] at MyHeritage — index & images ($)
*'''1791''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1179 Australian Convict Transportation Registers – Third Fleet, 1791] at Ancestry, Index ($)
*'''1789-1790''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1178 Australian Convict Transportation Registers – Second Fleet, 1789-1790] at Ancestry,  Index ($)
*'''1791-1868''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1180 Australian Convict Transportation Registers – Other Fleets & Ships, 1791-1868] at Ancestry, Index ($)
*[http://www.bda-online.org.au/mybda/search Biographical Database of Australia]  
*[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]
Line 22: Line 30:
*[http://members.pcug.org.au/~pdownes/dps/3rdflt.txt Australia's Third Fleet]  
*[http://members.pcug.org.au/~pdownes/dps/3rdflt.txt Australia's Third Fleet]  
*[http://findingaids.nationalarchives.ie/index.php?browse=true&category=18&subcategory=147 Ireland-Australia transportation database, National Archives of Ireland]  
*[http://findingaids.nationalarchives.ie/index.php?browse=true&category=18&subcategory=147 Ireland-Australia transportation database, National Archives of Ireland]  
*[https://convictrecords.com.au/ Convict Records of Australia]
*[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.
*[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] contains records related to convicts. Following the American Revolutionary War, the government could not longer ship convicts to the Americas. 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.
==Historical Background==
*Convicts first arrived in Australia in 1788, when the British government established a penal colony at Port Jackson, Sydney Bay. Records about convicts transported to Australia are numerous and play a major role in Australian family history research.
*Penal transportation or transportation was the relocation of convicted criminals, or other persons regarded as undesirable, to a distant place, often a colony, for a specified term; later, specifically established penal colonies became their destination. While the prisoners may have been released once the sentences were served, they generally did not have the resources to return home.
*In 1787, the First Fleet, a group of '''convict ships''' departed from England to establish the '''first colonial settlement in Australia, as a penal colony'''. The First Fleet included boats containing food and animals from London.
*The ships and boats of the fleet would explore the coast of Australia by sailing all around it looking for suitable farming land and resources. The fleet arrived at '''Botany Bay, Sydney''' on 18 January 1788, then moved to Sydney Cove (modern-day Circular Quay) and established the first permanent European settlement in Australia. This marked the beginning of the European colonization of Australia.
*'''Norfolk Island''', east of the Australian mainland, was a convict penal settlement from 1788 to 1794, and again from 1824 to 1847.
*In 1803, '''Van Diemen's Land (modern-day Tasmania)''' was also settled as a penal colony, followed by the '''Moreton Bay Settlement (modern Brisbane, Queensland)''' in 1824.
*The '''Swan River Colony (Western Australia)''' accepted transportation from England and Ireland in 1851, to resolve a long-standing labour shortage.
*Two penal settlements were established near '''modern day Melbourne''' in Victoria but both were abandoned shortly after. Later, a free settlement was established and this settlement later accepted some convict transportation.
*Convicts were generally '''treated harshly''', forced to work against their will, often doing hard physical labour and dangerous jobs. In some cases they were cuffed and chained in work gangs.
*The majority of convicts were men, although a significant portion were women. Some were as young as 10 when convicted and transported to Australia.
*Most were guilty of '''relatively minor crimes''' like theft of food/clothes/small items, but some were convicted of serious crimes like rape or murder. *'''Convict status was not inherited by children''', and convicts were generally freed after serving their sentence, although many died during transportation and during their sentence.
*Convict assignment '''(sending convicts to work for private individuals)''' occurred in all penal colonies aside from Western Australia, and can be compared with the practice of convict leasing in the United States.
*Transportation from Great Britain and Ireland ended at different times in different colonies, with the last being in 1868, although it had become uncommon several years earlier thanks to the loosening of laws in Britain, changing sentiment in Australia, and groups such as the '''Anti-Transportation League.'''
*In 2015, an estimated 20% of the Australian population had '''convict ancestry'''. In 2013, an estimated 30% of the Australian population (about 7 million) had '''Irish ancestry''' - the highest percentage outside of Ireland - thanks partially to historical convict transportation.<ref>"Penal transportation", in Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penal_transportation#Transportation_to_Australia, accessed 20 March 2022.</ref>
 
== Types of Convict Records  ==
== Types of Convict Records  ==
=== Tickets of Leave Butts  ===
=== Tickets of Leave Butts  ===
*'''Tickets of leave''' were issued to convicts having served about half of their sentences with good behavior.  
*'''Tickets of leave''' were issued to convicts having served about half of their sentences with good behavior.  
Line 56: Line 78:
:*[http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=60668 '''Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930'''] at Ancestry, index ($)
:*[http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=60668 '''Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930'''] at Ancestry, index ($)
:*[http://www.jaunay.com/convicts.html '''South Australian transported convicts 1837-1851''']
:*[http://www.jaunay.com/convicts.html '''South Australian transported convicts 1837-1851''']
:*[http://search.findmypast.com/search-world-Records/queensland-convict-register-index-1824-1839 '''Queensland Convict Register Index 1824-1839'''] at FindMyPast, index ($)
:*[http://search.findmypast.com/search-world-Records/queensland-convict-register-index-1824-1839 '''Queensland Convict Register Index 1824-1839'''] at Findmypast, index ($)
:*[https://prov.vic.gov.au/explore-collection/explore-topic/register-convicts-1842-1854 '''Victoria Register of convicts, 1842–1854''']
:*[https://prov.vic.gov.au/explore-collection/explore-topic/register-convicts-1842-1854 '''Victoria Register of convicts, 1842–1854''']


== FamilySearch Library ==
 
==FamilySearch Library Resources==
Additional sources are listed in the '''FamilySearch Catalog:'''
*{{FSC|Australia - Convict records|subject|subject-id=1635357131|disp=Australia - Convict records}}
*{{FSC|Australia - Convict records - Indexes|subject|subject-id=865473474|disp=Australia - Convict records - Indexes}}
*{{FSC|Australia - Correctional institutions|subject|subject-id=2044208991|disp=Australia - Correctional institutions}}
*{{FSC|Australia - Correctional institutions - History|subject|subject-id=1405451264|disp=Australia - Correctional institutions - History}}
*{{FSC|3499251|subject_id|disp=Australia - Correctional institutions - Indexes}}
*{{FSC|Australia - Court records|subject|subject-id=1759574246|disp=Australia - Court records }}


== For Further Reading  ==
== For Further Reading  ==
Line 65: Line 95:
The following books are good sources for further information about convicts and the English penal and transportation systems:  
The following books are good sources for further information about convicts and the English penal and transportation systems:  


*Bateson, Charles. ''The Convict Ships''. 2nd ed. Glasgow, Scotland: Brown, Son &amp; Ferguson, 1969. (FHL book [http://webview/supermainframeset.asp?display=titlehitlist&columns=*,180,0&callno=994+H2b 994 H2b].)
*Bateson, Charles. ''The Convict Ships''. 2nd ed. Glasgow, Scotland: Brown, Son &amp; Ferguson, 1969. {{FSC|204401|item|disp=FS Library Book 994 H2b}}
 
*Cobley, John F. C. C. ''The Crimes of the First Fleet Convicts''. Sydney, Australia: Angus &amp; Robertson, 1970. (FHL book [http://webview/supermainframeset.asp?display=titlehitlist&columns=*,180,0&callno=994+P2c 994 P2c].)


*Hughes, Robert. ''The Fatal Shore''. New York, NY, USA: Alfred A. Knoft, 1987. (FHL book [http://webview/supermainframeset.asp?display=titledetails&titleno=523824&disp=The+fatal+shore&columns=*,180,0 994 H2hr].)
*Cobley, John F. C. C. ''The Crimes of the First Fleet Convicts''. Sydney, Australia: Angus &amp; Robertson, 1970. {{FSC|208586|item|disp=FS Library Book 994 P2c}}


*Hughes, Robert. ''The Fatal Shore''. New York, NY, USA: Alfred A. Knoft, 1987. 523824 {{FSC|523824|item|disp=FS Library Book 994 H2hr}}<br>
==References==
<references/>
[[Category:Australia]]
[[Category:Australia]]
Approver, Batcheditor, Moderator, Patroller, Protector, Reviewer, Bots, Bureaucrats, editor, Interface administrators, pagecreator, pagedeleter, Page Ownership admin, Push subscription managers, Suppressors, Administrators, Upload Wizard campaign editors, Widget editors
321,764

edits