Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Transportation
Charles Cox 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 247 (125). --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. |
| 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 |
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Convict Notes
IN WA: From his Fremantle jail record: COX, Charles; inmate 4748, arrived 1 Jan 1858 per Nile Date of Birth: 1837 Marital Status: Unmarried Occupation: Labourer Literacy: Semiliterate Sentence Place: Worcester, Worcester, England Crime: Larceny Sentence Period: 6 years penal servitude Previous Convictions: Yes Ticket of Leave Date: 20 Dec 1859 [at York] Conditional Pardon Date: 12 Aug 1861 Certificate of Freedom Date: 13 Jul 1869 Comments: To South Australia, 22 Nov 1880 (https://fremantleprison.com.au/).
September, 1857: Charles Cox alias Lench -- sent from Chatham to board the Nile for transportation to WA, #19/1124; behaviour on voyage "good" (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Character Book for Nos 4508-5585 (R8)). --00--
25 May, 1857: Admitted to Chatham prison in Kent -- inmate #1124 (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Convicts Transported Per Nile (R32)). 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--
JAILS: July, 1856: Admitted to Leicester County Gaol and House of Correction, Welford Road, Leicester -- served 8 months 17 days in separate confinement. “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--
Newspaper report of his trial: From the Worcester Journal, Saturday 19 July 1856, pp9-10: "Charles Cox, alias Lench, 20, to attempting to steal 32lbs. of lead, at Oldswinford, the property of Charles Scott. The prisoner also pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with cutting and wounding Oliver Ball, with intent to resist and prevent his apprehension for the previously named offence. Having been twice transported, he was sentenced to six years' penal servitude. Jacob Morris [Moore], to attempting, in concert with Cox, to steal lead at Oldswinford, two years' hard labour." (https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/). --0--
TRIAL: 12 July, 1856: Convicted at Worcester and sentenced to 6 years' transportation for larceny (England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892 for Charles Cox; England; Worcestershire; 1856). He was 20 when convicted, a labourer, single, Protestant and semi-literate. He had a previous conviction in 1853 for stealing wearing apparel and had been sentenced to 7 years' transportation. He was a Ticket of Leave convict (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers Character Book for Nos 4508-5585 (R8)). --0--