FamilySearch Wiki

Victoria Convict Records

Revision as of 14:08, 1 June 2022 by Batsondl (talk | contribs) (Text replacement - "FindMyPast" to "Findmypast")
Victoria Wiki Topics
Flag of Victoria.png
Beginning Research
Record Types
Victoria Background
Local Research Resources
Victoria Convict Records

Online Resources

Victoria

Online Resources for New South Wales, Including Victoria Before 1851

Australia Records

New South Wales Archive Resources Kit, Including Records for Victoria Prior to 1851

Index to Convict Indents, 1837-42
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
Ticket of Leave butts, 1827-67
Registers of Conditional Pardons, 1791-1825
Registers of convicts recommended for Conditional Pardons, 1826-56
Registers of Absolute Pardons, 1791-1843 and Registers of recommendations for Absolute Pardons, 1826-46
Convict Deaths, 1828-79

"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." [1]

Historical Background

  • The British Government began transporting convicts overseas to American colonies in the early 18th century. When transportation ended with the start of the American Revolution, an alternative site was needed to relieve further overcrowding of British prisons and hulks.
  • Between 1788 and 1868, about 162,000 convicts were transported from Britain and Ireland to various penal colonies in Australia.
  • Penal transportation to Australia peaked in the 1830s and dropped off significantly in the following decade, as protests against the convict system intensified throughout the colonies.
  • The transportation of convicts to New South Wales (including Victoria) ended in 1840.
  • The majority of convicts were transported for petty crimes. More serious crimes, such as rape and murder, became transportable offences in the 1830s, but since they were also punishable by death, comparatively few convicts were transported for such crimes.
  • Approximately 1 in 7 convicts were women, while political prisoners, another minority group, comprise many of the best-known convicts.
  • Once emancipated, most ex-convicts stayed in Australia and joined the free settlers, with some rising to prominent positions in Australian society.[2][3]

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.

FamilySearch Library

Additional sources are listed in the FamilySearch Catalog:

References

  1. ↑ "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.
  2. ↑ "Convicts in Australia", in Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convicts_in_Australia, accessed 3 March 2022.
  3. ↑ "New South Wales,", in Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_South_Wales, accessed 3 March 2022.
v • d• e
Links to Australia-related articles
Retrieved from "https://integration-ru.familysearch.org/en/wiki/index.php?title=Victoria_Convict_Records&oldid=4766358"