Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Transportation
James Cross 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 238. --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 |
Claims
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Convict Notes
IN WA: From his Fremantle jail record: CROSS, James; inmate #4586, arrived 1 Jan 1858 per Nile Alias: DIMNETT William [Not found in any other record.] Date of Birth: 1826 [At odds with English jail records.] Marital Status: Married 3 children Occupation: Porter Literacy: Semi-literate Sentence Place: Liverpool, Lancashire, England Crime: Stealing Sentence Period: 14 years Previous Convictions: Yes Ticket of Leave Date: 30 Dec 1859 Conditional Pardon Date: 14 Apr 1862 Certificate of Freedom Date: 1 Nov 1870 (https://fremantleprison.com.au/). --0--
10 September, 1857: Sent from Portland to board the Nile for transportation to WA; behaviour on voyage "good" (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Character Book for Nos 4508-5585 (R8)). --00--
19 May, 1857: Admitted to Portland prison, Grove Road, Portland (from Wakefield, according to the Portland register!). Portland, Portsmouth, 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) James Cross was listed as inmate #7046; 31 when convicted, married with 4 children, semi-literate, labourer. Next of kin -- his wife, Mary Ann Cross of Bottom Gravel Street, Liverpool (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Portland Prison; Prison Records to 1875). --0--
5 September, 1856: Admitted to West Riding House of Correction, Love Lane, Wakefield (aka Wakefield prison) -- served 8 months 13 days in separate confinement; behaviour "very good". [This date and jail are given on his Portland jail record but are not verified by Wakefield jail records. There is no record of admission to Wakefield gaol for either John or James Cross between 1 August, 1856, and 31 October, 1856; and none for William Prescot/tt who was also listed on his Portsmouth jail record as having served time at Wakefield (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Wakefield Gaol; Registers of Prisoners; Undated [1856]). “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: 16 July, 1856: He was committed for trial on 16 July and tried on 26 July as John Cross (not James Cross) and was held at Liverpool jail (probably Kirkdale County Gaol and House of Correction, North Dingle Lane, Kirkdale, Liverpool) -- served 1 month 21 days; behaviour "good". --0--
Newspaper coverage of the Quarter Sessions: From the Liverpool Mercury, 23 July, 1856, p2: "BOROUGH QUARTER SESSIONS... The general Quarter Sessions for the Borough opened in the Crown Court, yesterday, at ten o'clock, before his Worship the Recorder, Gilbert Henderson, Esq... The RECORDER said: Gentlemen of the Grand Jury — Your duties upon this occasion will not be light. The calendar comprises the names of 128 persons, respecting whom you will have to hear and weigh the evidence, and then decide in what instances it is sufficient to put the parties accused on their trial. The felonies are, in general, of a light character. There is an absence of street robberies accompanied by violence, and of depredations by breaking into warehouses. There are some cases of housebreaking, but they are not of an aggravated nature, and the plunder taken has not been large. Still, even in these cases, the poorer classes, who are the sufferers, arc entitled to every protection and security which the due vindication of the laws can afford. In a commercial point of view, the most important charges are two, in which it is alleged that some casks of palm oil were stolen from the dock quays, and then sent to be disposed of to Douglas in the Isle of Man. [*** NOTE: This is the charge concerning James Cross.] It is satisfactory to find the police in distant parts of the county co-operating for the protection of the public..." --0-- Compilation of reports from the Liverpool Albion and Liverpool Mercury, 28 July, 1856: "THE PALM OIL ROBBERY. John Cross, 31, labourer, was sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment for stealing and William Prescot, 42, soap boiler, six years' penal servitude, for receiving four casks of palm oil belonging to Messrs. Stewart and Douglas. Mr. Simon appeared for the prisoner James Cross and Mr. Tindal Atkinson for the prisoner William Prescott. The circumstances of the case will be fresh in the recollection of our readers. In consequence of information received, Inspector Kehoe crossed to the Isle of Man and went to the prisoner Prescott's yard, in Queen street, Douglas. There he found a number of empty palm oil casks, four of which had been landed from the ship Lydia, belonging to Messrs. Stewart and Douglas, on the 11th June last, and stolen from the Wapping Dock quay. Prescott said he purchased them from a man named Smithson, but it was subsequently ascertained that they had been shipped from Liverpool by the prisoner Cross. Prescott denied knowing Cross, but it was proved that Cross, in company with Prescott, had offered the palm oil to Mr. Kelly, and while Cross was on the island he lived with Prescott. Mr. Tindal Atkinson raised an objection to the jurisdiction of the court, on the grounds that the property was not received in the United Kingdom. The objection was overruled." (https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/)
TRIAL: 21 July, 1856: At Liverpool Quarter Sessions, conviction -- larceny from a quay; 14 years' transportation, taking into account previous convictions for felony; no age recorded (England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892; England; Lancashire; 1856). --0--
IS THIS ALSO "OUR" JAMES CROSS? 6 December, 1852: Acquitted -- manslaughter at the Oyer and Terminer and Gaol Delivery Sessions, Liverpool (England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892; England; Lancashire; 1852). From the Liverpool Mail, 11 December, p6: "WEDNESDAY. Manslaughter at the West Derby Workhouse.— James Cross, 26, was indicted for having, at Liverpool [no date given], feloniously killed and slain William Williams. The prisoner and the deceased were paupers in the West Derby Workhouse. The deceased was an aged man, and the prisoner, a young and athletic man, struck him violently, and knocked him down. Shortly after a sore broke out on Williams’s back, which baffled medical skill, and he died in a few days. Mr. Justice Crompton held there was no evidence to show that the death of Williams resulted from the prisoner’s blow, and under his lordship’s direction the prisoner was acquitted." -- 2 January, 1854: Conviction [no age recorded] -- larceny (6 months' jail) handed down at General Quarter Sessions, Lancaster (England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892; England; Lancashire; 1854). --0--
PREVIOUS FORM: 8 April, 1840: Aged 16, conviction -- larceny (jail 1 month and whipped) handed down at County Sessions, Preston (England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892; England; Lancashire; 1840). -- 28 June, 1843: Aged 18, conviction -- larceny (jail 1 month) handed down at County Sessions, Preston (England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892; England; Lancashire; 1843). -- 30 November, 1852: Conviction [no age recorded] -- larceny from a quay (6 months' jail) handed down at Quarter Sessions, Liverpool (England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892; England; Lancashire; 1852). --