James Bainbridge

71

Robin Sharkey on 1st May 2016

MORE NEWSPAPER REPORTS OF JAMES BAINBRIDGE: Morning Chronicle (London) Friday, 13 November 1812 "POLICE - STREET ROBBERS PUBLIC OFFICE, BOW STREET Wednesday evening, as Nicholl's party of the patrole, consisting of himself, Limerick and Smith, were passing from Chandos Street to Hemmings Row, they met with a gang of robbers, who have for length of time been the terror of the town. The gang were about to attack the Officers but instantly discovering who they were, dispersed in different directions; however the Officers discovered the robbers at the same instant, pursued and secured three of them. Yesterday they were brought before Mr birnie when they were all proved to be odorous characters. James Bainbridge, John Brooks, and James Hambledon, alias Fitzgerald, alias young Snuff. The account Bainbroidge gave of himself was that he was a journeyman printer but had not done any work for two months. On searching him were found a silver watch, three gold seals, a gold key, and a gold seal in his pocket; also a pawnbroker's duplicate for a watch chain and seal. Brooks said he was a journeyman watchcase maker and worked for Mr Bayten of Church Court, St Luke's. Young Snuff said he got his living by parading the streets playing the mouth organ, or Pan's pipes. They were all committed for further examination, and in the meantime the parties known to have been robbed will receive notices to attend to identify them." Morning Chronicle (London) Monday, 23 November 1812 "POLICE ... Saturday night Bainbridge, the man suspected of being one of the street robbers, was admitted to bail, himself in 40l and two sureties in 20l each. He was afterwards taken into custody upon a Bench Warrant for a assault, and was also admitted to bail on that."

71

Robin Sharkey on 28th January 2016

James Bainbridge was one of at least eight youths and young men making up a gang of thieves in inner London around the Hatton Garden police constables beat. He'd been before the Old Bailey twice in 1813 on thieving/pick[pocketing charges, and at least once in 1812 before the magistrates at Hatton Garden. He was sentenced at the Old Bailey on 31 May 1814 to be transported for another crime - unreported in the “Proceedings of the Old Bailey” however sentencing there was referred to in a London newspaper report: Public Ledger and Daily Advertiser - Wednesday 1 June 1814 page 3 "OLD BAILEY - May 31 " … Same day the Recorder passed sentence of death on … [listed names]” . … T. Jones, J Bainbridge, H. Hart, J Williams, A George, and I Saunders to be transported for life;” All these listed men except for Saunders, were transported on “Indefatigable” leaving over four months later in October 1814. Earlier Old bailey trials where found Not Guilty: (1) 13 January 1813 theft from a shop with another youth who got away. Charged with stealing 40 pairs of stockings off the counter top when the shop girl fell for his ruse of asking to see her mother and left the counter area to call for her, when he took offf with the stockings. Bizzarely, apparently against the evidence as it was reported, James was found not guilty. (2) 14th July 1813, highway robbery WITH Henry Chambers on 19th May robbing a drunken servant in passage just below the White Horse inn in Clare Market. The servant fell asleep in the White Horse, supposed to be delivering a letter for his mistress, and was robbed of six one-pound notes. Chambers and Bainbridge were acquitted probably because the victim said he couldn’t tell which one had robbed him. Henry Chambers was tried again on five months later on 13 October and found guilty of another crime, arriving NSW on “Somersetshire” in October 1814, about the time James was departing England. He was part of James' gang. An extensive report of the street robbery activities of his thieving gang during 1812 was made in the ‘Kentish Weekly Post or Canterbury Journal’ on Friday 20 November 1812, page 2. A gang of at least eight was identified, and all the persons recently robbed had been required to attend Hatton Garden and identify the men. The newspaper article went on to detail each street robbery recently committed. From this article, the gang included the “well-known James Bainbridge, and James Hamilton, alias Fitzgerald, alias “Young Snuff” as well as Henry Chambers. Their method was hustling others to rob their pockets and take their watch chains and seals.  They surrounded their victim in an isolated spot, roughed him up and rifled his pockets. They attended events such as a prize fight at Piccadilly and picked pockets of the spectators. Other gang members included George Ross, a man named Nightingale (Josiah) and Williams.  It was noted that Henry Chambers had previously been taken in Old Compton Street on 16 Nov 1812, when operating with the gang, which included a woman. Several gang members were reportedly often taken into custody charged with being “a reputed thief”. It appears just a matter of time before James Bainbridge would be found guilty of one of these crimes. James Bainbridge had reportedly married in 1811 to Jemima Bowers. Jemima was sentenced in July 1814, for stealing ribbon from a haberdashery shop together with Mary Fitzgerald. The theft occurred on 5th June, only a week after James was sentenced to transportation. Did Jemima deliberately steal in order to be transported with James? Mary was transported with her also on "Northumberland". both were possibly gang members. The women arrived on “Northampton” in June 1814, shortly after the “indefatigable”. In fact nine women on Northampton reported to the surgeon on board that they were married to men transported on the “Indefatigable”, so perhaps all had taken a similar approach to join their husbands. Jemima reported that she had married James in London in May 1811; she would have been aged about 17 and he would have been about 20: Letter dated June 1814 from Joseph Arnold (Surgeon) to Governor Macquarie detailing the women on board who were married to other NSW convicts (the questions asked are recorded): “Jemima Bowers: ?What is your age?    21, transported 7 yrs ?Have you your marriage certificate?  lost? Where were you married?  Shoreditch Church? What was the clergyman’s name?  Barnett or Bainton ?What is your maiden name?’  Jemima Bowers? When were you married?  May 28 1811? What is your husband’s name?  James Bainbridge ?What trade is he?    Printer? What age is he?    21 ?What ship was he transported in?  Indefatigable ?Where was he convicted?  Old Bailey ?For how long is he transported?  Life In fact James Bainbridge’s 1814 indent record said he was aged 23 - his occupation was a printer as Jemima said. James was also 5ft 8inches, with brown hair and hazel eyes. He did not spend much time with Jemima in NSW. Within Six months, he had bolted, being advertised as being “absent from his employment: … James Bainbridge from Parramatta” - advertisements ran in the Sydney Gazette from January 1816 right through to September 1816. Bainbridge did not again appear in the convict records, and received no recorded Ticket of Leave or pardon. Jemima must have thought he’d left the Colony also since she remarried in January 1820 to an ex-convict called James Smith, who was charged with a violent assault on a constable in August 1820 after disturbing the peace with Jemima and one John Cooke, Smith getting six months in prison. By 1824 Jemima(who was by then free) had been charged with being a prostitute in a house of prostitution and got two months in the Female Factory.