James Carley

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Janelle Carley on 8th February 2025

James Carley was born on 18 June 1820 to Stephen and Sophia Carley in Penhurst, Sussex, England. By 1822, his family had moved to Brighton, where his father worked as an upholsterer. His father died in 1827, leaving Sophia a widow with three children. She remarried William Dorney in 1831. As a young man, James became involved in crime. At 18, he was acquitted of larceny in 1838 but continued on a criminal path. In 1843, he was arrested for multiple burglaries in Brighton along with Mary Budd and Martha Brand. At the Lewes Winter Assizes, James and Mary Budd pleaded guilty. James took full responsibility and was sentenced to 21 years of transportation. In March 1844, James was placed aboard the Blundell, which sailed for Norfolk Island, a penal settlement known for its harsh conditions. He arrived in July 1844 and was assigned to hard labor for 2.5 years. His only recorded offense there was misconduct. In 1847, as Norfolk Island’s penal station was being shut down, he was transferred to Hobart, Van Diemen’s Land, and assigned to the Saltwater River Probation Station for a year. Between 1848 and 1853, James worked for multiple employers in Hobart, Green Ponds, and Launceston. However, he frequently absconded, leading to punishments such as solitary confinement and hard labor at Cascades and Saltwater Probation Stations. He was eventually granted a Ticket of Leave in 1854. In 1855, James applied to marry Mary Wyatt, a convict transported for stealing a pig. They married on 28 March 1855 in Hobart and had their first son, James Jr., later that year. James was working as a tailor. Both James and Mary received Conditional Pardons in 1857. After the birth of their daughter Emma in 1858, the family moved to Sydney, Australia, where James continued working as a tailor. They had five more children: Samuel, Stephen, David, and Joseph. In Sydney, James hid his convict past, often listing his marriage as having taken place in Brighton, England, rather than Tasmania. Mary died in 1904, and James lived for another 13 years. He died on 26 December 1917, reportedly from a heart attack following injuries from an accident. His death certificate listed his age as 97. He was buried at Rookwood Cemetery in Sydney. References: 1. Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority Records 2. Tasmanian Archive and Heritage Office (Conduct Records, Indents, and Freedom Records) 3. Brighton Gazette (1843) 4. Lewes Assizes Court Records (1843) 5. Colonial Times (1847, 1855) 6. The Australian (1847) 7. Oxford University and City Herald (1844) 8. Shipping Records of the Blundell (1844) and Governor Phillip (1847) 9. Registers of Employment of Probation Passholders (Tasmanian Archives) 10. Marriage Records, General Register’s Office, United Kingdom 11. Registrar of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, New South Wales 12. Convict Voyages: A Global History of Convicts and Penal Colonies 13. Family Research by Janelle Carley 14. FindMyPast Criminal and Convict Records