Summary
Personal Information
Voyage
Transportation
John Grundell was transported on the Thomas Arbuthnot, departing 6th Jan 1847 and arriving 4th May 1847 with 289 passengers.
Built 1841 at Aberdeen, Scotland. Wood ship of 621 Tons. Thomas Arbuthnot, 1847. “The Thomas Arbuthnot convict ship, Captain Thomson, sailed from Spithead this morning for Port Phillip, with a superior class of delinquents, officially called “exiles.” These are the first “exiles” sent to the above settlement, which the inhabitants of that respectable place are very wroth at, and have memorialised the Government on the subject. The most ingenious trades and professions are carried on, on board this ship; in fact, we believe, all trades in vogue have their representatives on board. The most ingenious affair, however, is a newspaper in manuscript, published every Saturday, having its foreign and domestic correspondence, advertisements, and, indeed, all the necessary accessories to an apparently well-conducted journal. The articles are well written and the arrangements well made. The name of this paper is the Citadel, and the conductors dub the captain of the ship ” the governor.” The Citadel having no opponents enjoys a large circulation. The editor is a man who has been of considerable note in the legitimate literary world; but all names and circumstances in connexion with their present position is strictly preserved secret with regard to these “exiles,” the greatest majority of whom are juvenile offenders from Millbank, Pentonville, and Parkhurst (Isle of Wight) prisons.”—Times, January 12. Published in the Launceston Examiner, 2 June 1847. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/36252218?searchTerm=Thomas Arbuthnot There was a lot of public criticism of the arrival of these “Exiles” in New South Wales, and of their treatment, by being offered training, etc, to the detriment of honest but poor labourers.
Thomas Arbuthnot (generic)References
| Primary Source | Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 92, Class and Piece Number HO11/15, Page Number 145 (74) |
| 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
No one has claimed John Grundell yet.
Photos
No photos have been added for John Grundell.
Convict Notes
John Grundell was born in Walkern, Hertfordshire in 1819, the son of John Grundell and Susannah Swain Caldwell. He married Caroline Hall in 1843. They had two sons, Francis (born 1843) and John Elias (born 1845, after Grundell was convicted). Grundell applied unsuccessfully for his wife and children to be brought out to Port Phillip in 1847. He married Elizabeth Byrne (or Burns) in 1850. They had five children: Susannah (1855-1856), John (1857-1881), James (1860-1863), William (1861-1931) and Elizabeth (1869-1950). He died at Geelong in 1890.
Hertford. John Grundell, who it will be recollected was connected with a man named Copps, convicted at the last Quarter Sessions, of stealing an oak top, the property of Mr. Karr, farmer, of Weston, has been apprehended by the police, after considerable resistance. It appears that Inspector Good obtained information that Grundell was harboured in the house of Thomas Steel, a blacksmith, of Stevenage, and he accordingly proceeded there in company with constable, for the purpose of apprehending him. On entering the house the police found Grundell there, and three other men and two women. Having stated their business, and observing that there was an intention to resist, Inspector Good called upon Steel, and a man named Munt, to assist him, but instead of doing so, they defended the prisoner. A scuffle ensued, and the police received several unpleasant blows from the inmates of the house, and would certainly have failed in their attempt to capture Grundell if a man, named John Lottwood, ostler at the White Lion, had not happened to come by at the time; he was called in and with his assistance, the prisoner was secured. On Monday Grundell was taken before R. Fitzjohn, Esq., and remanded till Monday, when was committed for trial, on the charge of stealing the oak top. Hertford Mercury, 14 Dec 1844. --------------------------------------------------- Convict Exiles Index. John Grundell, age 26, per Thomas Arbuthnot. Date of trial, 30/12/1844, at Hertford, sentence, 7 years, Charge, Larceny. Remarks: Exiles.