George Nankerville

Level 116

Tony Beale on 17th January 2021

Old Bailey Online 476. GEORGE NANKEVILLE was indicted for feloniously assaulting William Toden Holt , in the King's highway, on the 13th of May , for putting him in fear, and taking from his person, and against his will, a watch, value 8l. a gold chain, value 3l. three seals, value 3l. and a watch-key, value 10s. his property . WILLIAM TODEN HOLT . I live in Baches-row, Hoxton. On the 13th of May, between three and four o'clock in the afternoon, I was walking very deliberately through Brook-street , returning to Baches-row, within four yards of the turning of the street into the Market-place of Hoxton; I was surprised by a fellow running with the greatest force and violence against me; I saw him th[Text unreadable in original.]n put his hand down towards my fob; he did not knock me down; I immediately put my hand down, and a voice cried out, sir, you have lost your watch; I cried stop thief. Upon his withdrawing his hand, he came to the right about, and ran across the Market-place, with a full cry of stop thief; I mean a number of persons after him. I believe I should have told you, that the man who spoke from the window was the first. I should have fallen from the violence of the push, only persons were behind me; if there were any persons belonging to the prisoner, they were behind me; but I don't know that they belonged to him, of my own knowledge. He was pursued closely by the man who saw him commit the act; that man picked up the case of the watch, which had fallen, and gave it to me, and said, I will pursue him, which he did, crying stop thief. I did not see him taken. I perfectly well observed the man, and I am as positive it was the prisoner, as I am of my own existence. I afterwards saw him in custody; I then declared myself positive that he was the man; I knew him to be the man, and said so among fifty or sixty people; he was close to me when I declared so; when I said so, he did not say any thing, but muttered something, which I could not understand. I have not seen my watch since; I saw the prisoner searched; but he had not got it. When he ran away, I saw nobody else running, but the persons who ran after him to take him. At the time he put his hand down, I cringed inwards, and he gave me a chuck under the chin with his other elbow. The box, or inner part of the watch, was silver-gilt; the outer case was metal; the chain was gold, and there were three valuable gold seals. EDWARD HARDY . On the 13th of May, I was looking out of my window, and saw three young men stop Mr. Holt, two pushed behind, and one before; I saw them take his watch; the one that was in the front took his watch; I saw the persons of the men; the prisoner was behind; he was not the man who took the watch. Directly I saw the watch drawed, the prisoner ran round the prosecutor, he ran round his right arm, and ran in front of him; the other two men ran the other way. I ran down stairs, and I followed the prisoner; the other two ran first, while the prisoner at the bar held Mr. Holt; he was longest there. Before I pursued the prisoner, I saw the case fall close to Mr. Holt's heels, behind him. I ran to the King's Arms public-house, and found the prisoner in the privy. The man who took the watch, put his elbow in Mr. Holt's throat, and knocked his head up; that was not the prisoner. I can't exactly say what the man did with the watch. I pursued the prisoner to the public-house; he went round, and in backwards, and the mob went in forwards; I saw him in the privy; the landlord opened the door, and I said that was the man; his clothes were not unbuttoned then. Mr. Ho't came in, and said, that is the man that robbed me of my watch. Prisoner. I was sitting in the privy at the time he came in. Witness. He was standing up, and not sitting at all, when I saw him. THOMAS THOMPSON . I am a headborough, and was sent for to take this man. I produce the watchcase which was also delivered to me by the prosecutor. ALEXANDER CONNIGAN . I was in the Market-place, Hoxton. I saw three men come up to the prosecutor; one struck him under the chin, and two men behind him; I did not see who robbed him of his watch; I did not positively see whether a watch was taken or not; but I saw the case of a watch drop; a man picked it up; it was on the ground, near to where the prosecutor was standing. The prisoner ran up Charles-square; I saw the other two no more; they ran another way; I ran after this man; he ran round Charles-square, and round the public-house, and hid himself in the privy; when the door was first opened, the prisoner was sitting, his breeches were then unbuttoned. Prisoner's Defence. After I had done my work, I was returning home, when I met two men, and the gentleman; they stopped up the way, and I could not get one way nor yet the other, and they got shoving against me, and when I went by them, I walked on, and I immediately saw two men ran across the Market-place, and heard the words stop thief, and I ran after those two men, and lost sight of them, and not being over and above well in my inside, I was taken short, and went into the public-house, and went into the privy immediately, and that young man came in, and said, I was one of them, and I know no more about it than the child unborn. Alexander Connigan . The prisoner was behind the prosecutor; he went away in front of him, and ran a different way from the other two. GUILTY - DEATH , aged 22. First Middlesex Jury, before Mr. Justice Park.

Level 4

Kaye Griffiths on 21st April 2018

Married Abigail Roche (another convict from Cork, Ireland) 22 Sept 1829 in Sydney.