Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Transportation
Emanuel Elsner 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 236. --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 |
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Convict Notes
IN WA: From his Fremantle jail record: ELSNER, Emanuel; inmate #4522, arrived 1 Jan 1858 per Nile Date of Birth: 1830 Marital Status: Unmarried Occupation: Gentleman's servant [Change of career?] Literacy: Literate Sentence Place: Maidstone, Kent, England Crime: Manslaughter Sentence Period: 14 years Ticket of Leave Date: 7 Sep 1859 Conditional Pardon Date: 29 Jan 1862 (https://fremantleprison.com.au/). --00--
10 September, 1857: Sent from Portland to board the Nile for transportation to WA; behaviour on voyage "very good" (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Character Book for Nos 4508-5585 (R8)). --00--
12 March, 1857: Admitted to Portland prison, Dorset; inmate #6785; listed as 28 year old when convicted of manslaughter, single, Lutheran, a smith and soldier; Swiss-born, able to read and write in Swiss and English; no previous convictions, health "good"' behaviour "very good". Next of kin: his father Johannes Heinrich Elsner and two brothers, Karl and Johannes, of Bazel, Switzerland (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Portland Prison; Prison Records to 1875). 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) --0--
4 April, 1856: Admitted to Millbank prison, Westminster; served 11 months 8 days in separate confinement -- behaviour "good". “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--
10 March, 1856: Following his trial and conviction for manslaughter, he was admitted to Maidstone jail where he served 26 days; behaviour "quiet and orderly". --0--
JAILS: 18 December, 1855: No record of which jail he was held in following the postponement of his trial for murder at the Maidstone Assizes, on 18 December (England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892; England; Kent; 1855). --0--
NEWSPAPER report of his trial: From the Weekly Dispatch, March 16, 1856: "Assize Intelligence. Home Circuit. Maidstone MANSLAUGHTER - Emmanuel Elsner, 28, one of the German Legion, was indicted for the wilful murder of John Book. This case was postponed from the winter assizes. It appeared that the prisoner and the deceased both belonged to the foreign legion, and that in September last they were stationed in the barracks at Canterbury. A portion of the North Leicestershire Militia were also stationed in the barracks, and it appeared that on the night of the 30th of September, just about the time the tattoo was to be beaten, the prisoner and the deceased had been playing with one of the drums, and with each other, apparently in a friendly manner; but at length it appeared that they both became angry, and slapped each other’s faces. At length the deceased walked away, and the prisoner was seen to take something from his pocket, which was no doubt a knife, and he ran after the deceased, and made several rapid stabs at him, inflicting no less than six desperate wounds, from some of which the bowels protruded, and he died almost immediately. The prisoner then ran off, but was taken into custody in another part of the barracks on the same evening. The learned counsel for the prisoner made an earnest appeal to the jury in his behalf, and he endeavoured to show that the witnesses were mistaken in his identity. He also urged that, even supposing they should be satisfied upon this point, the circumstances under which the act was committed, would justify them in acquitting the prisoner of the crime of wilful murder, and finding him guilty of manslaughter only. Mr. Justice Coleridge having summed up, the jury, after some deliberation, found the prisoner Guilty of manslaughter. The learned Judge, on passing sentence, told the prisoner that the jury had taken a very merciful view of his case, for undoubtedly, upon the evidence before them they would have been perfectly justified in finding him guilty of murder. The crime he had committed was one of the most dreadful character, and he felt it his duty to order him to be transported for 14 years." (http://www.perthdps.com/convicts/w4522.htm) --00--
TRIAL: 10 March, 1856: At Maidstone, Kent, convicted of manslaughter of John Book/Bock at St Mary, Northgate, Canterbury. --0--
COMMITTAL: 4 October, 1855: At Canterbury, committed to stand trial for the murder of John Book/Bock (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Portland Prison; Prison Records; to 1875). --0--