Criminals

[MaryA]

From the Family History Federation Newsletter. This is the link to the article which also has clickable links to some of the content below, however I am unsure just how long it will remain online, so I include it in full since it has some good links https://mailchi.mp/ffhs/july2019?e=e0e7eb126e
Welcome
This July 2019 Newsletter delves into the fascinating topic of researching criminal ancestors. There are many useful records for uncovering our ancestors criminal pasts, from court records, newspapers and coroners' reports, to solicitor archives and transportation records. Many will discover at least one forebear in their tree who found themselves on the wrong side of the law. Read on to find out more.

As well as this how-to on uncovering dastardly deeds, this newsletter has two great book giveaways and features genealogy news, plus an update on Family Tree Live. I hope you enjoy the issue.

Emma Waltham, Marketing Manager, FHF

Criminal Ancestors

Did any of your forebears fall foul of the law?
Is your family tree full of squeaky-clean ancestors, who were law abiding and lived within the law? If you're nodding, than you could be in for a shock. More of our ancestors fell on the wrong side of the law than we might realise and if you haven't got a criminal in your tree, it might just be that you haven't yet dug deep enough!

In Victorian times, poverty was rife and it was all too easy for the vulnerable and destitute to fall into a life of crime. Whether it was stealing or poaching food to eat, clothes to wear or getting into debt, they could quickly find themselves in trouble. Of course there were more serious crimes committed too, from arson to assault and murder.

Punishments were harsh by modern standards. Prior to the Victorian era, in the 18th century, a staggering array of crimes were punishable by death. In time the use of severe punishments and the ultimate penalty became less and less acceptable, and criminals instead found themselves transported to far-off climes. Initially they were sent to the American colonies, but after America gained independence, convicts were instead sent to Australia. This practice ended in the mid-19th century, when the Australian territories began to resist. While transportation was a tragedy for those sent away, the discovery of a transported family member can lead to a fascinating and fruitful research project, as many records relating to their conviction, journey and arrival in the colonies are well-documented.

If you find your ancestor fell into a life or crime then the accompanying records can be rich in details, giving insights not just into their criminal activities but also their appearance, family relationships, religion or level of schooling. It's not only criminals that are mentioned in relevant records either. Witnesses, the police, legal professionals, jurors and victims are included in these stories from the past, making this an area of research that can shine a light on many long-forgotten family stories.

Court Records

Prior to the mid-1500s criminals would find themselves tried by the lord of the manor or the king's justices, who travelled around the country 'on circuit'. In the mid-16th century the system was changed, when the king created justices of the peace in every county.

These justices presided over quarter sessions and they were tasked with addressing many matters from criminal offences, to settlement rights and paternity. Records from England and Wales survive in some counties in record offices and the British Library. Although quarter sessions began in medieval times, the remaining records date from the 1500s until 1972, when they were replaced by Crown Courts. They can be very rewarding for genealogists. Few have been indexed so consult Quarter Session Minute Books in the first instance (one is shown, above). These give a summary of the business transacted and list the names of those who appeared or were mentioned.

More minor crimes would be tried between quarter sessions in petty session courts. These eventually became magistrate courts. Records that survive are archived in country record offices.

For more serious crimes, such as murder, an assizes court was held. Assize records, where they still exist, can give the name, occupation and residence of the accused. Search the Discovery catalogue on The National Archives website to find those that survive.

The punishment for these more serious crimes would often be death. Eventually, later in the 18th century, death sentences were increasingly commuted to transportation. The Complete Book of Emigrants in Bondage, 1614-1775 (written by PW Coldham in 1988) is available to search on Ancestry. It lists convicts that were tried and transported.

Criminal Registers

Ancestry hosts an online criminal register from England and Wales for the years 1791-1892. The database includes the HO26 and HO27 groups from The National Archives. The database lists individuals charged with crime. The registers provide information such as name, age, birthplace (not often listed after 1802), crime, when and where tried, sentence, where and when received, and date of execution or release.

Information obtained from these registers may be able to lead you to other records. For example, if you have a date and place of trial, you will know when and where to search for court records.

Transportation
Initially, convicts were transported to North America. Very few detailed records survive from that era. Peter Wilson Coldham’s book: The Complete Book of Emigrants in Bondage 1614-1775 gives a list of names. Following the War of Independence, convicts were sent to the Australian colonies. There are many digitised records available and if someone in your family was transported to New South Wales or Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania), then you may well be able to find out why they were sent and what happened to them.

Ancestry's England and Wales Criminal Registers 1791-1892 is a good place to begin as if your family member is listed in the database, it will tell you if he/she was convicted and transported. Quarter Session records, shipping records and transportation registers are also useful sources. You can also search the British Newspaper online archive where reports of court appearances might be found.

Transportation registers detail who travelled on which ship and what happened to them while they were convicts in Australia. The National Archives Guide on Criminal Transportees gives an overview of what is available and how to access these records, many of which are digitised.

The Convict Transportation Register has been indexed by the State Library of Queensland. It gives detailed information for convicts transported to Australia in the 18th and 19th centuries, including the name of the convict, their place of trial, term of years, name of ship, date of departure and place of arrival. This will tell you which shipped your forebear was transported on.

A fascinating resource is Surgeons at Sea, An Index to the Filmed Surgeons’ Journals on the Convict Ships to Australia, published by Newcastle Family History Society Inc, New South Wales. An impressive undertaking, this CD comprises an index to 670 surviving surgeons' journals kept on the convict ships. They date from 1817 to the end of transportation and list transportees.

Once the convicts arrived in the colonies they were put to work. Searching the archive catalogue in the territory your forebear was taken to could well bring up the convict record. Typically this gives arrival date, a description of their appearance, religion and whether or not he/she was literate. It will tell you where they worked and if they were well-behaved. At the end of their sentence, most transportees would not have been able to afford the journey home, so it is worth searching or marriages or deaths in Australia.

Newspapers
Newspapers date back to the 1700s, but they began to really proliferate in Victorian times and readers began to rely on them to keep up to date with local matters, which included reports from the quarter sessions. Sudden deaths would also be mentioned along with the report of the inquest. As many coroner records no longer survive, the contemporary reports of inquests are an important resource. Criminals were featured in the Police Gazette (which became Hue and Cry).

These sources are an invaluable aid to the family historian. Not only are they name rich, they give us a rare, contemporary insight into the life and times of our family and its community. The British Library has a large collection of British newspapers and a growing number of them are now digitised and available online through the British Newspaper Archive and Findmypast. Local newspapers that have not yet been digitised can sometimes be found at local record offices.

Other Useful Sources
As well as the above key records, there are other name-rich sources to explore, signposted here:

Coroners' Inquests
Records dating from the mid-1700s can sometimes be found at local archives. The National Archives does not hold these documents. Not all coroners' inquests were preserved and records of deaths less than 75 years old may still be with the coroner’s office.

Debtors and Bankrupts
The first place to look for family members who became bankrupt is the newspaper archive.

Old Bailey Proceedings Online
A fully searchable edition of the largest body of texts detailing the lives of non-elite people ever published, containing 197,745 criminal trials held at London's central criminal court.

Police Records
Survival of records kept by polices forces are patchy and where they do exist you are most likely to find them in county record offices. This is because police forces initially formed at the local level from 1829, the first being the Metropolitan Police Force in London. The London Metropolitan Police Force records were deposited at The National Archives. TNA also holds the Royal Irish Constabulary and Transport Police archives.

Registers of Convicts in Prison Hulks
Findmypast has a collection of digitised criminal records dating from 1770-1935 that includes registers of prisoners kept in convict hulks, prisons and lunatic asylums.

Solicitor Records
You may find solicitor archives deposited in the local record office.

The National Archives
TNA publishes a guide to Criminals and Convicts, which includes a webinar.

[AndyJ]

Thanks Mary,

I haven't found any real criminals in my tree so far - my grand father aged 10 appears to have been bound over for 'throwing stones on the highway' - but that article makes it sound like a worthwhile area to look into more carefully!