Alfred Allen

23

tonycocks1 on 16th February 2018

Alfred Allen was born c1831 in the Parish of Holy Trinity, Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, the son of George Allen, and one of 7 children. The 1841 England Census has the family continuing to live at Holy Trinity. Details of his childhood contained in the Parkhurst Governor’s Log 1844, together with a full description of his behaviour and conduct while a prisoner, are reproduced in the following transcript: Name: Alfred Allen Reg. No: 149 Ward: E Age: 13 Occupation: No Occupation Date of Conviction: October 19 1844 Where convicted: Hull Sessions Offence: Stealing a Half Crown Sentence: Seven Years Transportation When received: November 25 1844 Where from: Mill Prison Character: Convicted of Felony twice. Name & residence of father, mother and friends: Father, George Allen, Joiner, Hull Information about prisoner: Father is a Carpenter at Hull. Mother died after hours after Prisoner’s birth. Father married again in 1835. Prisoner has 4 brothers and 4 sisters, one brother older than Prisoner. He attended school several years and learnt to read and write pretty well. Was afterwards employed at home in cleaning knives and shoes for the family and doing household work. He has been 5 times in custody 3 times for theft and twice for sleeping out. Was first in Prison in March 1843 for stealing sixpence from a house to which he had been sent with shoes. Was imprisoned one month for that offence. Nine months afterwards he was apprehended for stealing 1/6 from a shop. Whipped and placed in solitary confinement for 14 days. In July 1844 he was apprehended for stealing 2/6 from the counter of a shop in George Street, Hull, was convicted at the Sessions and sentenced to 7 years Transportation. (The Hull Packet and East Riding Times published on 25/10/1844 carried this report of his trial: An Incorrigible Youth ALFRED ALLEN, of the tender age of thirteen, and a remarkably small boy of his age, with an evident malformation to the front part of his head, pleaded guilty to stealing a half crown, the property of Atkinson Giles. He had been twice previously convicted of felony at the sessions, and had been very frequently before the justices in petty sessions, for committing thefts, and had been by them committed as a reputed thief. The Recorder, on sentencing the prisoner to be transported seven years, said that it was plainly no use to give him another chance of reformation in Hull; but such a representation would be made to the Secretary of State as would, in all probability, be the means of his being sent to a place where he would be taught a trade. There was another indictment against the prisoner, for assaulting, while in prison, Edward Commander, a boy against whom he had formerly given evidence, but no evidence was offered by counsel, and he was therefore pro forma acquitted of the charge. Remarks on prisoner’s conduct: June 16 1845: B & W for dinner for a week – Talking in Ranks & general unsteadiness. Nov 10 1845: Confined 24 hours – Giving a fruit to Prisoner 566 in Lower Prison. Dec 10 1845: Confined 3 days – Insubordinate & swearing when ordered into confinement. Apr 22 1846: Confined 48 hours – Insolent and insolent in school immediately after admonitions. May 18 1846: Solitary confinement 24 hours – Striking a fellow prisoner on head the head with a board. Aug 20 1846: Misconduct class 14 days – Disobedience of orders and insubordination in school. Aug 30 1846: Solitary confinement 3 days & 7 days misconduct class – Scoffingly groaning at Mr Baker and causing disturbance in school. Sept 22 1846: Confined 3 days & 10 misconduct class – Gross insubordination in school. Jan 26 1847: Confined 3 quarter of a day – Disobedience in school. Jan 29 1847: 3 days solitary & 3 days misconduct class – Insubordination in Tailor’s shop. Feb 7 1847: 2 days solitary & 5 days misconduct class – Misconduct at Sunday School in Upper Prison. Mar 3 1847: Whipped with 36 stripes & 2 days solitary – deliberately taking Schoolmaster Braud’s handkerchief from his pocket and tearing it up in pieces before him in the presence of all prisoners in school. July 21 1848: Embarked on board the ship “Ratcliff”(sic) for Van Diemens Land. The “Ratcliffe” sailed from Spithead on 29/07/1848 and eventually reached Hobart, Van Diemen’s Land on 11/11/1848 where Alfred Allen disembarked with a Ticket of Leave classification. The Surgeon during the voyage had no report to make on his behaviour. His continuing behaviour is described in his Conduct Record: 28/03/1849: Hobart: Felony (unspecified). Discharged and removed to Green Ponds. 14/07/1849: Richmond: Larceny under £5: Existing sentence of transportation extended 18 months. . 21/08/1849: Ticket of Leave revoked. 08/02/1850: Cascades: Misconduct in using insolent language:14 days solitary. 20/02/1850: Cascades: Misconduct in damaging the wall of his cell: Existing sentence of imprisonment and hard labour extended 2 months. 05/11/1850: Prisoners’ Barracks Launceston: Disobedience of orders and insolence: 14 days solitary. 09/08/1851: Prisoners’ Barracks Launceston: Disorderly conduct: 10 days solitary. 19/11/1851: Launceston: Insolence: 14 days solitary. 23/06/1852: Launceston: Misconduct in being out after hours: 10 days solitary. 03/01/1853: George Town: Disobedience of orders and insolence: 4 months hard labour. 17/04/1853: Certificate of Freedom No further details of Alfred Allen’s history have been retrieved.