Summary
Personal Information
Transportation
William How 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 236. UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Pentonville Prison; Register of Prisoners to 1856. |
| 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 William How yet.
Photos
No photos have been added for William How.
Convict Notes
FOOTNOTE: NEWSPAPER report of his trial: Cambridge Chronicle and Journal, 22 March, 1856, p6: "William How, 25, labourer, imperfect education, was charged with a rape on the person of Mary Ann Hammond, at Warboys and Wistow, on the 30th of March, 1854... This was one of the most brutal cases ever heard in a court of justice. The prosecutrix, a fine young woman, only sixteen years of age, gave her evidence with great propriety. The prisoner, who is a married man, was in company with a man named Bill Richardson, who has escaped to America. They met the girl on the road, about seven in the evening, as she was returning to her master’s, having been sent on a message. They threw her down on the road, and both of them violated her person -- each one holding her down, and stifling her cries, while the other perpetrated the crime. Two women, hearing her screams, came to the spot, and witnessed the offence. The men ran away, and the girl begged the women to go home with her. She was dreadfully abused. They [the women] said there was nothing more to fear -— that they [the two men] would not meddle with her again. She went down the lane towards her master’s, when the same two men overtook her, threw her down, and each one of them repeated his brutal conduct. Her cries were heard by a man named Oniett, who came to her assistance, in time to see the second man on her person. He accompanied her to her master’s, she being more dead than alive. The only question was as to the identity of the prisoner, who, as well as Richardson, absconded immediately afterwards, and was arrested only on the 17th January. The girl swore to him positively. The two women and Oniett would not swear that he was, nor that he was not, the man but it was so evident that the women were not speaking truly, that the Judge ordered them not to leave the Court until the trial was over, and was very near committing them for perjury. It was proved by two persons that the prisoner had made use of expressions admitting his guilt, and said that if he got off with seven years’ transportation he should consider himself lucky. After Mr. Power had addressed the jury on behalf of his client, and the Judge summed up, they immediately returned a verdict of guilty. In very severe terms, the Judge sentenced him to be transported for life. The jury expressed their disapprobation of the way in which the two women, Sarah Smith and Ann White, gave their evidence." (https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/)
IN WA: From his Fremantle jail record: HOW, William; #4638, arrived 1 Jan 1858 per Nile Alias: HOWE Date of Birth: 1831 Marital Status: Married 2 children Occupation: Farm labourer Literacy: Semiliterate Sentence Place: Huntingdon, Huntingdon, England Crime: Rape Sentence Period: Life Ticket of Leave Date: 11 Dec 1860 Conditional Pardon Date: 30 May 1866 (https://fremantleprison.com.au/).
16 June, 1857: He was received at Chatham prison, prisoner #1017, to await transportation to WA per Nile (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department; Registers; Convicts Transported Per Nile (R32)). --00--
23 May, 1856: William How was admitted to Pentonville gaol. Listed as prisoner #6744, he was 25 years old, married with two children, no religion (although Church of England was entered on his Millbank record); he could read and write imperfectly, and was a labourer. Next of kin -- his father William Howe [sic], c/- Father Warboys, Huntingdonshire (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Pentonville Prison; Register of Prisoners to 1856). --0--
OTHER JAILS: April 1856: He was sent to Millbank prison and spent 1 month 12 days in separate confinement. His behaviour was described as "good". By the 1850s, Millbank and Pentonville were places for all male convicts to serve “their probationary term [of 9 months], after which they would be transported or sent to a public works prison” (https://www.prisonhistory.org). --0--
TRIAL: 17 March, 1856: William How was convicted at Huntingdon Assizes and sentenced to transportation for life for rape. For some time prior to his trial and after sentencing he was held at Huntingdon County Gaol and House of Correction (also called Great Stukeley County Gaol and Huntingdon Prison) where he served 25 days in separate confinement. --0--