Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Transportation
John Bryan 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 239 (121). --00--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. |
| 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
No one has claimed John Bryan yet.
Photos
No photos have been added for John Bryan.
Convict Notes
From the Toodyay Convicts database: Bryan, John (1834- ) 4770 1858-01-01 Nile CWA: Unm; mason; illit RC; larceny 10 yrs; Toodyay, Perth (https://www.toodyay.wa.gov.au/). --00--
IN WA: From his Fremantle jail record: BRYAN, John; inmate #4770, arrived 1 Jan 1858 per Nile Date of Birth: 1834 Marital Status: Unmarried Occupation: Mason Literacy: Illiterate Sentence Place: Clerkenwell, Middlesex, England Crime: Larceny Sentence Period: 10 years Ticket of Leave Date: 12 Jul 1858 (https://fremantleprison.com.au/). --0--
1858: On arrival in WA, he was listed as per the above details, but was now listed as a mason by trade. Notations: Five times summarily convicted and "Is a pickpocket" (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Character Book for Nos 4508-5585 (R8)). --00--
15 September, 1857: He was sent from Dartmoor under a "Secretary of State's Order" to board the Nile for transportation to WA. Listed as #18/3779, he was 19 when convicted, single, no occupation, and sentenced to 10 years' transportation. His behaviour on the voyage was "indifferent" (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Convicts Transported Per Nile (R32)). --00--
29 October, 1852: After just three months, he was sent to Dartmoor prison at Princetown, Yelverton, in Devon; listed as inmate #3779. He was received as an invalid. “Originally built in 1809 and first used for prisoners of war until circa 1816, Dartmoor was re-opened as a male convict public works prison in November 1850. Within five years the prison became reserved for less able-bodied convicts.” (https://www.prisonhistory.org/) At Dartmoor, his behaviour was “good and exemplary”. -- At some stage, he was released from Dartmoor on a Ticket-of-leave but on 8 October, 1856, he was before the Bow Street Police Court where his ToL (licence) was revoked and he was returned to Dartmoor. --00--
29 July, 1852: Portsmouth -- inmate #704. Next of kin/family living at 19 or 12 Wyld Court or Wyld Street, Drury Lane (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Portsmouth Prison; Register of Prisoners 1874-1879). Portsmouth, Portland, Chatham 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--
16 August, 1851: Millbank -- served 11 months 11 days separate confinement; behaviour "bad". Total in separate confinement = 15 months 7 days. --0--
JAILS: 22 April, 1856: Cold Bath Fields, Clerkenwell -- served 3 months 26 days in separate confinement; behaviour "bad". “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). Wakefield, Millbank, Pentonville and Mountjoy in Ireland were the “Probation” or “Separate” prisons, as were some local jails. --0--
COMMITTAL: 4 April, 1851: Committed at Bow Street to stand trial.
From the Morning Post, Wednesday 23 April 1851, p7: "MIDDLESEX SESSIONS, April 22 ... John Bryan, 19, pleaded guilty of having stolen a handkerchief the property of John French, from his person. He had been convicted eight times previously. The Court sentenced him to be transported for 10 years." (https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/)