Summary
Personal Information
Transportation
John Heywood 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 246. --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
IN WA: From his Fremantle jail record: HEYWOOD, John; inmate #4545, arrived 1 Jan 1858 per Nile Date of Birth: 1829 Marital Status: Married 2 children Occupation: Miner Literacy: Literate Sentence Place: Warwick, Warwick, England Crime: Wounding with intent Sentence Period: 15 years Ticket of Leave Date: 3 Sep 1859 Conditional Pardon Date: 24 Apr 1862 (https://fremantleprison.com.au/). --0--
10 September, 1857: Sent from Portland to board the NILE for transportation to WA; #38/6872; behaviour on voyage “good” (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Character Book for Nos 4508-5585 (R8)). --00--
18 March, 1857: Admitted to PORTLAND in Dorset -- inmate #6872. 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) John Heywood was listed as 27 when convicted, married with two children to Mary Heywood of Daw End, near Walsall; Protestant, stone miner; health "good" (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951 for John Heywood; Portland Prison; Prison Records to 1875). --0--
26 February, 1856: Admitted to LEICESTER -- served 12 months 21 days in separate confinement; behaviour "very good". “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 such as Leicester. --0--
Abt 6 December, 1855: Admitted to WARWICK where he served 2 months 24 days in association with other prisoners; behaviour "good". --0--
JAILS: 10 October, 1855: Held in jail at SHENSTONE (a large village and civil parish in the Lichfield District, Staffordshire, England, located between Lichfield and Sutton Coldfield). --0--
NEWSPAPER reporting of his trial: Comprising excerpts from the Coventry Standard, 21 December, 1855, p3; and Aris's Birmingham Gazette, 17 December, 1855, p2: "... Poachers at Sutton: Edward Lewis, 26, and John Haywood, 29, miners, were placed in the dock upon an indictment, charging them with having, at Sutton Coldfield, on the 5th of September, feloniously stabbed, cut, and wounded Wm. Burton, with intent to kill and murder him... Police Constable Price deposed that from information he received he went to Lewis's house and informed him that he had warrant for his apprehension on a charge beating Mr. Burton on the night of the 5th of September, to which the prisoner replied that he had not been out poaching for three or four months, as he had neither nets nor spikes for the purpose. After taking him into custody the officer searched the house, and found a net and some spikes used in poaching. He then apprehended Haywood, who denied the charge, and said he had not poached for some time, having no means of doing so. On searching his house, however, the officer found two nets, a number of stakes, and a dog, which the witness Tallis identified as the one he had seen with the six men at the Gap. He produced all the stakes, nets. &c, found in possession of the prisoners and those discovered in the field corresponded with them. Mr. Welchman, surgeon, described the wounds inflicted upon Mr. Burton. Mr. O'Brien for the defence contended there had not been sufficient proof of the identity of the prisoners. Verdict, guilty of intent to do grievous bodily harm. Sentence, fifteen years' transportation [for both men]." (https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/) --0--
13 December, 1855: Convicted at the Special Gaol Delivery Assizes, Warwick, and sentenced to 15 years' transportation for "cutting and wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm";with a previous sentence of 7 years for larceny handed down on 8 April, 1853, at Birmingham in the name of John Haywood (England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892 for John Heywood; England; Warwickshire; 1855). --0--