Edward Carroll

338

Penny-Lyn Beale on 4th April 2025

BURIALS IN THE PARISH LAUNCESTON - 1843 No 822. Name; Edward Carroll. Abode; Launceston Hospital Burial; 23 December 1843 aged 68 years old Ship; Providence, Free Pauper FIND A GRAVE Edward Carroll Birth; 1775. Limerick, County Limerick, Ireland Death; 22 Dec 1843 (aged 67–68) Launceston, Launceston City, Tasmania, Australia Burial; Cypress Street Anglican Cemetery Newstead, Launceston City, Tasmania, Australia Memorial ID; 262956387 ·

341

Maureen Withey on 25th April 2022

https://stors.tas.gov.au/CON13-1-1P29 List of Convicts to VDL per Lady Nelson in 1812. (to NSW per Providence.) Edward Carrol, age 30, Tried County of Limerick, August 1810, Life. Bad. Michael Sheile, age 55, County of Dublin, October 1809, 7 years, Gardener. Joseph Lenaghan, age 27, County Westmeath, August 1809, 7 years. Good. John McCue, age 35, City of Dublin, Sept. 1809. 7 years. Francis McGavern, age 30, County Cavan, March 1809, Life, Good. Eleanor Doyle, age 20, City of Dublin, June 1810, 7 years, Indifferent. Judith Quinlan, age 19, City of Limerick, August 1810, 7 years, Very bad. Ann Byrne, age 30, City of Dublin, March 1809, 7 years. Mr Mills. Indifferent. Note underneath: N.B. Francis McGavern, mentioned in the extract above from the Indents of the Providence, is not embarked as had been intended, he having absconded. 29 June 1812. Signed Thos. Campbell.

71

Robin Sharkey on 25th May 2014

EDWARD CARROLL - CRIME IN NSW approx 13 June 1812 - sentence from Bench of Magistrates in Sydney: two years hard labour wheresoever the Governor shall direct, and a whipping. So, Edward Carroll was removed to Hobart in July 1812 for a reason: his colonial crime was "the heinous offence of having violated a child whom he had enticed from her parents." (i.e. sexual assault/rape). First he was to be whipped publicly at a cart's tail on Monday 15 June 1812 * and then to receive 200 lashes * and when in confinement to be in solitary confinement and fed only bread and water for two years! How did Edward Carroll survive this at all? His Tasmanian gaol behaviour comes as a reaction to the degradations piled on him. Report in Sydney Gazette, dated 13 June 1812, p. 2, column 1: " This day a Bench of Magistrates assembled ; before whom Edward Carroll, a labouring servant of the Crown, was convicted of the heinous offence of having violated a child whom he had enticed from her parents. The sentence passed on the culprit was prefaced with the most pointed animadversions on the atrocity of his offence ; which, for the protection of the rising generation, could not be punished in too exemplary a manner. It was a daring and licentious outrage to morality, which in its Consequences went not only to destroy the happiness of parents, and of families, but to intail shame and misery on the unfortunate victim of a degenerate and vile propensity. By example, therefore, to repress as much as possible a crime in which so many direful consequences were involved, the Bench thought proper to order, that the prisoner should be whipped publicly at a cart's tail on Monday next, -when he should receive two hundred lashes ; and be kept two years to hard labour wheresoever it should be the pleasure of His EXCELLENCY the GOVERNOR to direct; and during the whole of that period be kept in solitary confinement after his hours of labour, with bread and water for his only diet."

71

Robin Sharkey on 22nd January 2014

Freemans Journal Saturday, 13 October, 1810, page 2 "LIMERICK, OCT 10 … (several items, then ….. Monday Last, [i.e. 8 Oct] Edmond Carroll and Thomas Currane were committed from the County Jail to Cork, thence to be transmitted to Botany Bay; and yesterday morning the noted Pat. McAlister and Judith Quinlan were also forwarded from the City Jail for the same destination."

71

Robin Sharkey on 16th January 2014

?When aged 30, Edward Carroll was transported for Life to NSW on the “Providence” in December 1810 for “attending nightly meetings - the kind of agrarian political activity that was rife around Limerick county at that time. Consequently, he spent much of his life as a convict at Port Dalrymple - i.e Launceston- in Tasmania. There, he led a harsh life, with many severe punishments for what were sometimes small indiscretions, for example using disrespectful language to a magistrate got him 30 lashes. He received many floggings and was placed on bread & water in solitary confinement or was put to hard labour. He did not receive a Conditional Pardon until he was 60 years old, in 1840. The Freemans Journal dated 21st August 1810 reported on the Limerick court proceedings, including the sentencing of Edward Carroll: “LIMERICK ASSIZES, August 17th. …. On Friday the Crown business in the Court ended, the following received sentences, viz. Edward Carroll, for nightly meetings, to be transported for life.” * He arrived on the Providence on 2 July 1811. * A year later on 29th June 1812 he was re-transported to Port Dalrymple on the ship “Lady Nelson”. Eight convicts from the “Providence” were sent on 29th June 1812 to Port Dalrymple per the “Lady Nelson”. Someone noted on that ship’s Indent that his character was “bad”. * His Conduct Record in Tasmania (Link here: http://foundersandsurvivors.org//pubsearch-xsl/image/viewer.html?CON31-1-6,358,182 ) shows a prisoner regularly in trouble with his supervisors. As this conduct record only starts in 1818 there is likely to have been a whole other page entry for the period from 1812 to 1818 (not found). It is hard to imagine that Edward Carrol was not even more recalcitrant when he was younger, on first arrival. * Although he had received a Ticket of Leave (TL) by 1822 (using the Conduct Record) he was deprived of it for ten years and put back into government service after he was found guilty in early 1823 of harbouring a bushranger named Dempsey. * This Dempsey had simply been a convict assigned to a settler and Dempsey claimed he had got drunk. Then he had gone robbing the house of one Patrick Mulkeith near Launceston, and threatened the owner and his servant with two pistols before ransacking the house. He managed only to take tea and sugar, a pistol and gun-powder, but because the alarm had been raised with neighbours he escaped into the bush. * Edward Carroll came into the story ‘harbouring’ him. (See Hobart Town Gazette dated 22 Feb 1823, p.2). * Edward’s Ticket of Leave was no restored to him for ten years until early January 1832 (see public notice in ‘Colonial Times, Hobart’ 11 January 1832) * After restoration of his TL it was regularly removed from him for periods of2 and 3 months for drunken or disorderly behaviour. Edward’s increasing pattern of drunkenness from about the age of 50 was hardly surprising after the harsh and loveless life he had led, with little hope of improvement to his lot. TASMANIAN CONDUCT RECORD, 1818 - 1840. Feb 21 1818 30 lashes OFFENCE: disrespectful language [as] respects the Magistrate Oct 2 1818 100 lashes and to labor in iron gang one month OFFENCE: Aiding & abetting a bushranger Aug 31 1819 25 lashes OFFENCE: refuses to work Dec 23 1820 50 lashes OFFENCE: Absent from PM? 1/1 days 9 Nov 1822 (TL) fined 5/- OFFENCE: Drunk & Disorderly 6 Jan 1823 (TL) To forfeit his TL OFFENCE: Harboring Bushranger named Dempsey 1 Mar 1823 50 lashes OFFENCE: Attempt to bribe 2 Jun 1825 Rep’d OFFENCE: Absenting himself from his master’s service [In 1825/26 he was assigned to Lieut Thomson of the 73rd Regiment] 4 Janry 1826 Rep’d OFFENCE: out after hours 9 Janry 1826 Confined 14 days on bread & water OFFENCE: violently assaulted B Brittle 15 Janry 1827 Assaulted Ann Greer but No prosecution appeared & the charges were dismissed 20 March 1827 to work in irons one month OFFENCE: Neglect of duty & Drunkenness 4 Nov 1828 50 lashes OFFENCE: Disobeying the orders of overseer by not working when ordered to do so by him 18 Dec 1830 3 weeks solitary confinement on bread & water OFFENCE: Neglect of duty & refusing to work 21 Janry 1831 Neglect of duty , charge dismissed 15 Nov 1831 7 days solitary confinement on bread & water OFFENCE: Drunk 14 Dec 1831 one month imp’d hard labor OFFENCE: Drunk 13 April 1832 Rep’d neglect of duty OFFENCE: Drunk 18 Dec 1834 TL Fined 5 /-s OFFENCE: Drunk 7 Sept 1835 TL Recommended to be deprived of his TL for the period of 2 months. OFFENCE: Drunk at Muster 29 Jan'ry 1836 Recommended to be deprived of his TL for the period of 3 months AND to be worked in a road party for that period at Westbury. Ticket not to be restored until his conduct shall have been reported vide Lieut Gov’r decision OFFENCE: Being DRUNK 9 Feb 1836 3 months hard labour, St Peter’s Pass Road Party, conduct report and not to reside within town, Ticket of Leave suspended during that period OFFENCE: Drunk 15 Oct 1837 - TL highway robbery, discharged Janry 1838 TL - OFFENCE: Drunkenness 1 Dec 1838 TL - Rep’d and ordered to leave town OFFENCE: Disorderly conduct 7 Feb'ry 1840 Conditional Pardon no 2325 The Annual returns of convicts in Van Diemens Land showed as follows: 1825 - Assigned to Lieut Thompson of the 73rd Regiment 1830 - Public work 1832 - Assigned to J Simpson Esq 1835 - Ticket of Leave During 1836 at least, he was employed by Mr William Weir, a Launceston builder who was made insolvent in December 1836, and Edward, together with 17 other of William Weir’s employees went into print in the local Launceston newspaper in order “ to state our entire approbation of his conduct towards us, and to avow, that his conduct has ever been characterised by candour, disinterestedness, and benevolence. We sincerely regret the embarrassment of his affairs, and his subsequent confinement, and most respect fully request, that the creditors to the estate will act with as much liberality in the matter as possible.” 1840 - Conditional Pardon granted to Edward Caroll 1842, December - fined for being drunk (Launceston Examiner 7 Dec 1842) He did not appear on any of the Tasmanian Censuses of the 1840’s, as he would be unlikely to have been the main householder.