Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Transportation
William Evans 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 232. --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. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26783779 |
| 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
DEATH: Contrary to the above jail record, his WA Convict Record says he died in hospital on 8 February, 1858 (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Character Book for Nos 4508-5585 (R8)). --00--
IN WA: From his Fremantle jail record: EVANS, William; #4735, arrived 1 Jan 1858 per Nile Alias: JONES Date of Birth: 1811 Date of Death: 10 Feb 1858 Place of Death: Found dead Marital Status: Unmarried Occupation: Farm labourer, mason Literacy: Illiterate Sentence Place: Nether Knutsford, Cheshire, England Crime: Larceny Sentence Period: 10 years penal servitude Previous Convictions: Yes (https://fremantleprison.com.au/). --00--
September, 1857: He was sent to board the Nile for transportation to WA, listed as #6/1158; behaviour “good” at both Millbank and Chatham (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Convicts Transported Per Nile (R32)). —00—
15 July, 1857: He was sent to Chatham gaol in Kent; inmate #1158. 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—
13 September, 1856: He was admitted to Millbank gaol in London from Knutsford prison. “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. In Millbank, he was inmate #3593, 45, single, able to read, and Church of England. Next of kin -- his brother James Evans of Henderson's Street, Liverpool (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Millbank Prison; Register of Prisoners to 1885). —0—
TRIAL: 11 August, 1856: William Evans was convicted for "larceny after a previous conviction for felony", at the Nether Knutsford Sessions, and sentenced to 10 years' penal servitude (England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892; England; Cheshire; 1856). -- 16 August, 1856: From the Cheshire Observer, p2: "CHESHIRE ADJOURNED SESSIONS... William Evans, 45, pleaded guilty to stealing one scythe, the property of William Lloyd; and one strap, the property of Thomas Pritchard..." --0--
PREVIOUS CONVICTION: 16 May, 1853: For the previous felony conviction -- stealing a pair of boots, as William Evans alias William Jones -- he had been sentenced at Nether Knutsford to transportation for 7 years (England & Wales, Criminal Registers, England; Cheshire; 1853). Sent to Portsmouth gaol, he was released part way through his sentence, on 26 May, 1856, on a licence for parole (similar to a Ticket of Leave in Australia). According to his Portsmouth record, he had at least three previous convictions for stealing between 1844 and 1851 (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Portsmouth Prison; Register of Prisoners to 1880). --0--