Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Transportation
Robert Briggs was transported on the Nile, departing 18th Sep 1857 and arriving 1st Jan 1858 with 271 passengers.
Nile (generic)References
| Primary Source | Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 93, Class and Piece Number HO11/18, Page Number 248. --0-- Edgar, W. (Bill). (2018). “The precarious voyage of her majesty’s convict ship ‘Nile’ to the Swan River colony, late 1857 – and the unexpected aftermath.” The Great Circle, 40(1), 20–43. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26783779 |
| Source Description | This record is one of the entries in the British convict transportation registers 1787-1867 database compiled by State Library of Queensland from British Home Office (HO) records which are available on microfilm as part of the Australian Joint Copying Pro |
| Original Source | Great Britain. Home Office |
| Compiled By | State Library of Queensland |
| Database Source | British convict transportation registers 1787-1867 database |
Claims
"Robert Briggs is my great , great ,great grandfather ."
Photos
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Convict Notes
THE CASE: 7 December, 1872: From The Herald, p3: "SUPREME COURT. CRIMINAL SIDE. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4TH, 1872... Burglary. Robert Briggs, Charles Rawnsley, Alexander Russell, and Abraham France, were charged with the robbery of an iron chest and its contents, the property of Mr. Tom W Oakley, Fremantle. Charles Rawnsley pleaded guilty, and the other prisoners not guilty. Mr. Burt appeared for Briggs, Russell and France. The Attorney General opened the case by stating that if murder is considered one of the fine arts, surely a fine piece of housebreaking deserved to be classed in the same category. The operation which he would describe, was one of the most daring ones that ever came into the Court. On a Sunday evening, while Mr. Oakley was at church, the prisoners broke into his counting house, at his private residence, and took therefrom a large iron chest, which was conveyed into the bush, in a cart, and then transferred into a heavy dray. The prisoners were tracked by the police and caught red-handed with their booty..." Alexander Russell was found not guilty. Charles Rawnsley was sentenced to 10 years' penal servitude. Robert Briggs and Abraham France were sentenced to 8 years' each (https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/114441852).
COLONIAL CONVICTION: Fremantle jail record: BRIGGS, Robert; inmate #10094, Colonial Other No: 4737 [per Nile] Date of Birth: 1827 Marital Status: Married, 3 children Occupation: Wheelwright Sentence Place: Perth, Western Australia, Australia Crime: House breaking Sentence Period: 8 years Previous Convictions: Yes Ticket Leave Date: 23 Jan 1877 Certificate of Freedom Date: 4 Dec 1880 Comments: Labourer, self-employed, 30 Jun 1877-30 Jun 1878. --00--
IN WA: From his Fremantle jail record: BRIGGS, Robert; #4737, arrived 1 Jan 1858 per Nile Date of Birth: 1827 Marital Status: Unmarried Occupation: Stonemason Literacy: Semiliterate Sentence Place: Bradford, Yorkshire, England Crime: Shop breaking Sentence Period: 8 years Ticket of Leave Date: 5 May 1860 Conditional Pardon Date: 14 Apr 1864 Certificate of Freedom Date: 25 Mar 1865 Comments: Blacksmith. Reconvicted in Western Australia (https://fremantleprison.com.au/). --00--
September, 1857: He was sent to board the Nile for transportation to WA, listed as #8/944; behaviour “indifferent” at Chatham (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Convicts Transported Per Nile (R32)). --00--
6 May, 1857: Robert Briggs was admitted to Chatham gaol in Kent; inmate #944. Chatham, Portland, Portsmouth and Spike Island in Ireland were listed public works stations and the second stage in the penal process. After separate confinement, prisoners were “placed on work parties at various locations, most commonly naval stations, where maintenance of facilities was vital for the effective protection of Britain’s far flung commercial and military influences around the world. While there, attitude and behaviour were monitored closely. In theory, only after consistently positive reports was a prisoner moved on to the third stage of his incarceration — transportation.” (Edgar, p40) —0—
15 September, 1856: Robert Briggs and William Brook were sent to Millbank gaol in London. There Robert Briggs served 7 months 21 days in separate confinement, having already completed 3 months 15 days in separate confinement at Wakefield. His behaviour was "good". “After a sentence of transportation was handed down, the prisoner entered into a separate stage where he was placed into an individual cell, isolated from others, apart from brief periods of exercise and attendance at chapel. However, no communication of any kind with other prisoners was permitted at any time. The philosophy behind this penal methodology had its provenances in the religious, monastic traditions; i.e., that in the isolation of his cell the malefactor would be able to contemplate the errors of his way, unadulterated by the negative influences of former contemporaries, and be reformed.” (Edgar, 2018, pp39-40) When first put into practice, the mandated period of separate confinement was 18 months. By the late 1840s, authorities had conceded that such conditions of imprisonment were “injurious to many prisoners’ mental health” and the stint was reduced to 12 months. Periods of separate confinement were reduced further “as a prisoner displayed good behaviour tendencies” (Edgar, p40). Millbank, Wakefield, Pentonville and Mountjoy in Ireland were the “Probation” or “Separate” prisons, as were some local jails. --0--
JAILS: 31 May, 1856: Robert Briggs and the other five accused men were admitted to Wakefield gaol. Briggs was listed as inmate #4425, 29 years old, 6'½" tall, Church of England, a mason from Haworth near Bradford; brown hair, grey eyes, fresh complexion (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Wakefield Gaol Registers of Prisoners; Undated). --0-- Following their trials, Charles Harrison died at Wakefield on 18 October 1856, while Joshua Tempest and Samuel Ibbotson served their 12 month sentences at Wakefield and were released on 30 June 1857. --0--
OUTCOMES: Robert Briggs -- pleaded guilty to #1, #2 and #3; acquitted #4; sentenced to 8 years' penal servitude. Henry Carter -- discharged "having given evidence". Joshua Tempest -- not guilty #1 receiving; guilty #5 receiving; 1 year at House of Correction, Wakefield, under hard labour. Charles Harrison -- guilty #1; 4 years' penal servitude. William Brook/Brooke, also known as William Davison Brookes -- guilty #1; 4 years' penal servitude. Samuel Ibbotsen/Ibbetson -- not guilty #1 receiving; guilty receiving; 1 year at House of Correction, Wakefield, under hard labour. --00--
1 July, 1856: INDICTMENTS -- BRADFORD SESSIONS: 1. Robert Briggs, Charles Harrison and William Brook, all late of Wakefield and all labourers, on the 31st March, 1856, "with force and arms at the parish of Bradford... the shop of one James Driver there situate feloniously did break and enter and fifty shawls, twenty yards of velvet, thirty yards of printed cotton, ten yards of cloth, one silver pint, one silver table spoon, one pair of sugar tongs, ten silver tea spoons and seventeen pounds of money of the goods, moneys and chattels of the said James Driver then and there found... did feloniously steal, take and carry away". Samuel Ibbotsen late of Wakefield, labourer, was indicted for receiving two shawls (part of the same goods and chattels in count #1) knowing them to be stolen. Joshua Tempest late of Wakefield, labourer, was indicted for receiving goods and chattels (part of the same goods and chattels in count #1) knowing them to be stolen. -- 2. Robert Briggs was indicted for feloniously breaking, entering and stealing from Henry Dooley at Bradford on 25th March, 1856, two plated pints. -- 3. Robert Briggs was indicted for feloniously breaking, entering and stealing from the dwelling house of George Aldred at Calverley, Co York, on the 22nd May, 1856, one hundred pounds of sugar and ninety pounds of lard. -- 4. Robert Briggs and Charles Harrison were indicted for feloniously breaking, entering and stealing from James Southworth on the 4th April, 1856, at Bradford, 60 yards of coburg cloth, fifty silk handkerchiefs and 100 yards of flannel. 5. Joshua Tempest was indicted for receiving on the 22nd May 40 pounds of sugar and 50 pounds of lard (part of the same goods and chattels in #3) knowing them to be stolen. Note: Henry Carter was not charged with any offences, "having given evidence" for the Prosecution (Yorkshire, England, Quarter Session Records, 1637-1914; Wakefield; Indictment; 1856 - 1857). --00--
ARRESTS: Six members of the so-called "Bradford Burglars" gang were arrested by police after a three-month spree of break and enters, targetting homes and businesses in Bradford and adjacent villages, from early to mid-1856. Newspaper reports named the gang members as: Robert Briggs (aged 29) of Undercliffe; Henry Carter of Swainegreen; Joshua Tempest (32) of Undercliffe; Charles Harrison (43) of New Leeds; William Brook/Brooke, also known as William Davison Brookes (38) of New Leeds; and Samuel Ibbotsen/Ibbetson (30) of Frizinghall. The Leeds Times reported that Robert Briggs "appears to have been the ringleader, if not the tutor, of the gang" (7 June 1856, p3). --0--