Illustrated London News17.8.1850
FOLLIES, FEARS & FORTUNES?
Pt. 1.
There is a wealth of information on convicts in general and there seems to be much more available on female convicts over the last few years. As with the men, they were heavily regulated as to what they could or could not do... They came from all walks of life, with all kinds of 'talents' and trained and untrained. Some were multiple offenders, others were just unlucky that they offended at a time when there was seen to be a shortage of women in the Australian colony.
Some women were accompanied by small children, some had actually committed crimes so that they would be sent to the colony in the hope of reuniting with their husbands and families... though not all were successful in doing so once they were here. Most were to become servants to free settlers, or to remain in the female factories where they would hopefully learn a trade if they didn't already have one.
There were rules and regulations for every aspect of their lives...all set out in the Goverment Gazettes of the time...
New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900), Wednesday 24 October 1832 (No.34) National Library of Australia http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230389211
If they were well behaved and had concluded their sentence, they could be granted their Ticket of Leave..
Government Gazettes reported all kinds of information.. they are a researcher's dream, though they can take quite a lot of searching to find what you are looking for.. All can be found regularly in TROVE.
New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900), Wednesday 11 September 1833 nla.news-article230390701.3
The Sydney Monitor published a long dissertation as to the comments of Dr. Lang, who wrote his opinions in The Colonist... a very interesting read.. Please click to enlargeSydney Monitor (NSW : 1828 - 1838), Wednesday 23 March 1836, page 2
National Library of Australia http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32150994
Those with Tickets of Leave had their names published, mostly just a few at a time..
June 1836
This notice made me smile... I wonder why...
There were regular notices of this sort when ships arrived..
NSW Gov. Gaz. 1 May 1839
New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900), Wednesday 8 May 1839 (No.414) National Library of Australia
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230383601
Parramatta Female Factory range of solitary cells
More rules and changes....
New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900), Wednesday 2 December 1840 (No.79) National Library of Australia http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230139400
Please click on first clipping to enlarge
New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900), Friday 10 March 1843 (No.22), National Library of Australia http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230103571
Please click on first clipping to enlarge
out of copyright
FURTHER READING
You can read more about the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement here
Contained on microfilm at the Queensland State Archives, “Moreton Bay Penal Settlement Maps and Architectural Plans,” Series I.D. 3739.
Read why the women's prison was moved to Eagle Farm...
The Courier-Mail
You can listen to a podcast from The World Today...
Female Convicts Contribution Recognised
There is a great article on ABC News by Ainsley Koch
Well worth reading.
In Part 2 of
FOLLIES, FEARS & FORTUNES? FEMALE CONVICTS
FOLLIES, FEARS & FORTUNES? FEMALE CONVICTS
I will examine the lives of a few female convicts and will show you where to find more on them.
Thanks for the blog, very interesting. I'm wondering how to find out who my convict ancestor was assigned to after arriving at the Parramatta Female Factory in August 1833 on the "Caroline". Can you point me in the right direction? Many thanks.
ReplyDeleteHi Lydia, I'm glad you found this interesting...
ReplyDeleteIn answer to your question about placement, many records from Parramatta Female Factory didn't survive, but there are sometimes mentions in TROVE. Have you tried entering your convict's name, then the ship's name and the year..
e.g. ( Lydia's convict) + "Caroline" + 1833
That may just get you some more information. You may also discover where she was by looking for her death, or a marriage...
However if you would like to use the Contact form in the side column and send me your email, I will send you a few links that might be helpful. You might also use Ask A Librarian for the N.L.A.
Personally, I've had more luck tracing mine through TROVE, newspapers and the Government Gazettes.
There was a notice in the Gazette asking for interest in providing a placement forthe women from the Caroline in August 1833. I can send you a copy of that.
Thanks for that. I have marriage records but not death and did see that notice in trove advertising the women arriving on the caroline but not much else. I'll do a search of the govt gazettes and see what comes up. Thanks again.
DeleteYou're welcome..you can always contact me if you need to. Good luck with your search.
DeleteGood read. Interesting information regarding marriage for convicts - thank you
ReplyDeleteThanks, Flissie..convicts never cease to amaze me, there are so many stories yet untold. Quite a few more to come soon..
ReplyDeleteShared on https://www.facebook.com/ClaimaConvict/
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing, Michelle..... much appreciated.
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