William Joe

71

Robin Sharkey on 4th November 2016

William Joe arrived on "Minorca" in December 1801 with 7 years transportation sentence given in September 1795 for stealing a box of clothes at Bishopsgate in London. By the time he arrived his sentence had been running for six years! He had only a year to go. This may be the reason he does not appear in other NSW records - he probably went back to England. He was aged 23 and married. He rented a room at No. 6, New-court, Ropemakers-alley, Little Moorfields. From the Proceedings of the Old bailey - trial held on 16 September 1795. He was known to Mr Garner, the Collector of the Tolls at Moorgate because of " a recent matter, of one who was robbed by them in a similar manner'". Joe/Jones had a constant male companion, unnamed, who was obviously in cahoots with him in his thieving undertakings, since the Toll Collector said that "I am sure [i.e. that they were in company together]; I see them every day, half a dozen times almost." Mr Garner gave evidence that "On Friday, the 31st of July, between eleven and twelve, as near as I can guess, I see the prisoner and another with him, coming along London Wall, by the back of Bedlam; I was standing at the corner of Fore-street; knowing their characters, I had my eye rather watching them;" They were together and one was carrying a box on his shoulder. Earlier in the day, Joe/Jones had approached a 14 year old boy in Bishopsgate Churchyard who had a box of childrens' linen with him owned by Mr Thomas Thornton, and who was waiting for Mr Thornton to come and meet him and collect the box. Joe/Jones seemed to know the boy was waiting for Mr Thornton, and approached him, observing that he'd been waiting for Mr Thornton for a long time, suggesting he go along with him to his house nearby, and of course relieving hm of the box so that he could go home and telling him Mrs Thornton would pay him for the delivery. The boy, not being street-wise, never thought about who Joe/Jones was or why he would deliver the box instead, and fell for the ploy. Joe/Jones effectively stole the box by getting the boy to hand it over to him. When Joe/jones and his companion were spotted by Mr Garner, ducking along London Wall he watched them and when Joe/Jones saw him , he ducked up another way along Bedlam Wall. Mr Garner then anticipated where they would go - to a Mrs Samuel's in Grub Street. Perhaps she was a well-known fence. In Mr Garner's words: "I takes a different course, and went through Fore-street, and went to Grub-street, and told the constable, Humphries, in Grub-street, that there were two thieves, and to go with me; he immediately took his stick and came down stairs, and I went up Grub-street with him, and I told him the alley they would come through with the property to Samuel's; we were waiting a little while, and we see the companion come empty handed to see that the place was clear, I suppose, and not finding any thing on the man that we stopped, I said to the constable, let us go through the alley and right up to the room where they live. Accordingly we went through the alley and let the other go." He went to the prisoner's lodgings where "We did, and found him, and a woman, his wife, in the room; and there was the property that is here, scattered about the bed, and the box with all the things turned out, and the box standing under the bed." He was found Guilty and transported for seven years.