Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Transportation
Henry Guest 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 248. --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
TRIAL: 4 January, 1879: From the Herald (Fremantle), p3: "Supreme Court—Criminal Side. LARCENY Henry Guest, pleaded guilty to finding and appropriating a purse containing a cheque for thirty shillings. His Honor, in sentencing the prisoner, observed that he was not solely responsible for his present act. The jury had at the last sitting of the Court acquitted him of a similar offence. This was a matter for regret, as the prisoner would now have done part of his sentence. Sentence 3 years." (https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110470549) --0--
COLONIAL CONVICTION: GUEST, Henry; Fremantle jail inmate #10258 Colonial Other No: 4712 Date of Birth: 1825 Marital Status: Unmarried Occupation: Painter, glazier Sentence Place: Western Australia, Australia Sentence Period: 3 years Previous Convictions: Yes --0--
IN WA: From his FREMANTLE jail record: GUEST, Henry; inmate #4712, arrived 1 Jan 1858 per Nile Date of Birth: 1825 Marital Status: Unmarried Occupation: Painter, glazier Literacy: Semiliterate Sentence Place: Sheffield, Yorkshire, England Crime: Stealing money Sentence Period: 6 years penal servitude Previous Convictions: Yes Ticket of Leave Date: 5 May 1859 Conditional Pardon Date: 20 Jan 1861 Comments: Self-employed, 1859. Reconvicted in Western Australia ((https://fremantleprison.com.au/). --0--
10 September, 1857: He was sent from Portland to board the NILE for transportation to WA. He is not listed on the Portland manifest of convicts transported but his WA record says he was received from Portland; behaviour on voyage “good” (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Character Book for Nos 4508-5585 (R8)). --0--
Abt 30 July, 1856: Admitted to PORTLAND prison in Dorset-- behaviour "very good". 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--
Abt 21 September, 1855: Admitted to MILLBANK prison in Westminster -- served 10 months 10 days in separate confinement; behaviour "good". “After a sentence of transportation [or penal servitude, it seems] 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, Pentonville, Wakefield and Mountjoy in Ireland were the “Probation” or “Separate” prisons, as were some local jails. --0--
JAILS: 11 August, 1855: Henry WEST was admitted to WAKEFIELD jail -- served 1 month 10 days (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Wakefield Gaol; Calendar of Trials; 1882-1886). --0--
NEWSPAPER REPORT OF TRIAL: 25 August, 1855: From the Sheffield Independent, p11: "HENRY WEST, alias GUEST, 29, painter, picking the pocket of Eliza, the wife of George Gillott, of Grenoside [a suburb of Sheffield], of £l. The robbery was committed in Snig Hill. The prisoner had been previously transported, but after undergoing part of his sentence, was liberated on a ticket of leave. — Sentenced to six years' penal servitude." --0--
TRIAL: 21 August, 1855: Henry GUEST was convicted at the Mid-Summer Intermediate Sessions, Sheffield, and sentenced to 6 years' penal servitude for larceny from the person, a previous conviction for felony being taken into account (England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892; England; Yorkshire - West Riding; 1855). --0--
PREVIOUS CONVICTION & TICKET OF LEAVE: 29 May, 1854: Reference: PCOM 3/10/1021 Licence number 1021: Henry Guest. Convicted of Larceny, after previous conviction [for stealing money from the person], at the Quarter Sessions at Sheffield, Yorkshire, 6 January 1851. Then aged 25 years and by trade a Painter. Sentence: 7 years' transportation. Licence granted: 29 May 1854, for early release from Defence hulk prison. Held by: The National Archives, Kew (https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C10128441). --00--