Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Voyage
Transportation
James Henry was transported on the Hougoumont, departing 10th Oct 1867 and arriving 9th Jan 1868 with 281 passengers.
875 ton ship was built at Moulmein in 1852. http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/on-this-day-in-history-australias-last-convict-ship-docks.htm ---------------------------- Incorrect Image ....This is a four masted steel hulled Barque in the drawing , im surprised Australian Geo didn't do a bit more research on this .......The Hougoumont was a works ship on the Forth Bridge Project in 1885 ....the one potrayed as a drawing in Aust Geo is the later version of this ship.....the photograph i have attached is the correct and original convict vessel. --00-- 1867 "The hired convict ship Hougoumont, which has been taken up by the Government for the conveyance of a numerous party of convicts to Freemantle, Western Australia, left the Nore on October 1, and proceeded down Channel, after receiving on board 150 convicts from the establishments at Chatham and Millbank. The convicts from the Chatham establishment, at St. Mary's, embarked from the dockyard on board the paddle-wheel steamer Adder, Mr. W. J. Blakely, and were in charge of a numerous party of convict guards and wardens, all heavily armed. Among the convicts shipped were a party of fifteen Fenians, who were engaged in the late conspiracy in Ireland, together with the officers and crew convicted of scuttling the ship Severn, and some others who have achieved notoriety from their crimes. The Fenian convicts, like the remainder of the prisoners, were chained together in gangs, but it was observed that they were kept apart from the other convicts in a portion of the vessel by themselves. The steamer Petrel also took down a number of convicts from the establishment at Millbank for shipment on board the Hougoumont, in charge of a strong escort and convict guard. On Tuesday, October 8th, the Hougoumont arrived in Portland roads. Shortly before midday ninety convicts were marched down to the Government pier at Portland under a strong escort of the 12th Light Infantry. The party included twenty-three Fenian convicts, among whom it was said, was Moriarty. The Government steamer employed in the breakwater service was used for conveying the convicts on board the Hougoumont transport ship. The convicts were chained together on embarking, and on board the steamer a strong guard of marines from her Majesty's ship St. George was formed, and saw the convicts safely placed on board the Hougoumont. The Governor of the penal settlement at Freemantle, Captain Young, is on board the Hougoumont, and returns in that ship to his sphere of duty after paying a visit to his native land." Source: Sydney Morning Herald, Thu 19 Dec 1867, p4, English Shipping, available on Trove at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/28608271?searchTerm=hougoumont.
HougoumontReferences
| Primary Source | Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 93, Class and Piece Number HO11/19, Page Number 244--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. 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 |
Claims
No one has claimed James Henry yet.
Photos
No photos have been added for James Henry.
Convict Notes
FOOTNOTE: The year of birth is known from UK records, but the day and month are not known. They were entered as 01/01 to make this window "work". Also, paper hanger is not listed as an option so one of his occupations in WA, as a labourer, was selected. --000--
COLONIAL COURT APPEARANCE: 1866, 22 September – from the Inquirer and Commercial News, p2: “Assault. James Henry was charged with having, on Monday last, assaulted one Edward Jones. The accused admitted that he had entered Jones's house at about half-past ten in the morning, and that upon Jones having turned him out after a scuffle he had lounged [sic] at him with a knife. In his defence the prisoner pleaded drunkenness. Sentenced to two months' imprisonment, with hard labour.” (https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/66037819) --000--
From his FREMANTLE JAIL record: HENRY, James; inmate #9764, arrived 10 Jan 1868 per Hougoumont Date of Birth: 1845 Marital Status: Married Occupation: Paper hanger Literacy: Literate Sentence Place: Liverpool Crime: Shop breaking Sentence Period: 10 years Previous Convictions: Yes Ticket of Leave Date: 19 Jul 1871 Certificate of Freedom Date: 21 Aug 1876 Comments: General servant, farm servant, gardener, labourer, cook (https://fremantleprison.com.au/history-heritage/research/convict-database/). --00--
IN WA: On arrival, James HENRY was listed as 21 [when convicted], a paper hanger, married with no children, literate, Roman Catholic; 5’5” tall, brown hair, dark grey eyes, fresh complexion, and cut near left elbow (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department; Registers (128/40 - 43)). Family – wife Martha Johnson, 21, 57 Dale Street, Liverpool (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; General Register for Nos 9599-10128 cont. (R16)). --00--
EMBARKATION: “The hired convict ship Hougoumont, which has been taken up, by the Government for the conveyance of a numerous party of convicts to Freemantle, Western Australia, left the Nore on October 1, and proceeded down Channel, after receiving on board 150 convicts from the establishments at Chatham and Millbank. The convicts from the Chatham establishment, at St. Mary's, embarked from the dockyard on board the paddle-wheel steamer Adder, Mr. W. J. Blakely, and were in charge of a numerous party of convict guards and wardens, all heavily armed. Among the convicts shipped were a party of fifteen Fenians, who were engaged in the late conspiracy in Ireland, together with the officers and crew convicted of scuttling the ship Severn [only two were on the Hougoumont – Thomas Berwick and Lionel Holdsworth, each sentenced to 20 years for fraud], and some others who have achieved notoriety from their crimes. The Fenian convicts, like the remainder of the prisoners, were chained together in gangs, but it was observed that they were kept apart from the other convicts in a portion of the vessel by themselves. The steamer Petrel also took down a number of convicts from the establishment at Millbank, for shipment on board the Hougoumont, in charge of a strong escort and convict guard. On Tuesday, October 8th, the Hougoumont arrived in Portland roads. Shortly before midday ninety convicts were marched down to the Government pier at Portland under a strong escort of the 12th Light Infantry. The party included twenty-three Fenian convicts, among whom it was said, was Moriarty [not the senior Fenian, Captain Moriarty; rather, this was Bartholomew Moriarty, aged 17]. The Government steamer employed in the breakwater service was used for conveying the convicts on board the Hougoumont transport ship. The convicts were chained together on embarking, and on board the steamer a strong guard of marines from her Majesty's ship St. George was formed, and saw the convicts safely placed on board the Hougoumont. The Governor of the penal settlement at Freemantle, Captain Young, is on board the Hougoumont, and returns in that ship to his sphere of duty after paying a visit to his native land.” (Sydney Morning Herald, 19 Dec 1867, p4, at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/28608271). --00--
1867, 5 October: Sent from Portsmouth to board the Hougoumont for WA. --00--
1867, 28 May: Admitted to Portsmouth prison; inmate #966 (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951 for James Henry; Portsmouth Prison; Registers of Prisoners; 1866-1868). --0--
1866, 19 September: Admitted to Millbank prison, inmate #2396. Listed as 20, single, paperhanger and Roman Catholic. Family – father John Henry, 29 Back Portland Street, Liverpool (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951 for James Henry; Millbank Prison; Register of Prisoners; 1866-1867). --0--
JAILS: 1866: Held at Kirkdale County Gaol and House of Correction, North Dingle Lane, Liverpool. He served 29 days in solitary confinement following his trial and conviction on 21 August. Opened in 1819, Kirkdale’s capacity from 1823 to 1842 was between 300 and just over 600 prisoners. It had one of the highest death rates in the country for a prison. Sixty-seven executions were carried out there, the highest number being four at one time in 1861. Prisoners had to work, and the treadmill used for grinding corn was the largest in the country, needing the efforts of 130 prisoners a day to keep it running. The prison closed in 1893 and was demolished shortly after (https://www.prisonhistory.org/2020/03/kirkdale-house-of-correction/) --0--
NEWSPAPER COVERAGE OF TRIAL: From the Liverpool Mercury, 24 August, p9: “James Henry and Thomas Davies, charged with breaking into the shop of James Pegram – Henry, ten years’ penal servitude; Davies acquitted.” (https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000081/18660824/035/0009) --00—