Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Transportation
John Jones 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 240. --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 |
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Convict Notes
IN WA: From his Fremantle jail record: JONES, John; inmate #4726, arrived 1 Jan 1858 per Nile Date of Birth: 1823 [1830 on court and UK jail records] Marital Status: Unmarried Occupation: Labourer Literacy: Literate Sentence Place: Clerkenwell, Middlesex, England Crime: Stealing cakes Sentence Period: 6 years penal servitude Ticket of Leave Date: 29 Jul 1859, at Mt Eliza Conditional Pardon Date: 21 Feb 1861 Comments: To London, 13 Feb 1879 (https://fremantleprison.com.au/). [Note: Not clear how he would have been allowed to return to London when he held a Conditional Pardon, not a Free Pardon.] --00--
10 September, 1857: Sent from Portland to board the Nile for WA. Although he is not on the list of prisoners from Portland sent aboard the ship, his jail record and documents in WA verify that he boarded from Portland (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Portland Prison; Prison Records to 1875). --00--
7 April, 1857: Admitted to Portland prison, in Grove Road, Dorset; inmate #6965; behaviour "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--
31 July, 1856: Admitted to Pentonville prison; inmate 6895. Details as above; 5'6" tall with dark brown hair, hazel eyes, fresh complexion and robust build. He served 9 months 6 days in separate confinement; behaviour "tolerable" (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Pentonville Prison; Register of Prisoners; 1854-1856). --0--
26 June, 1856: Admitted to Millbank gaol in London; inmate #2907. Listed as 26 (when tried), single, labourer, Church of England; next of kin -- father, Mr Christmas, 9 York Street, Bethnal Green. He served 1 month 5 days in separate confinement (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Millbank Prison; Register of Prisoners; to 1885). “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, Pentonville, Wakefield and Mountjoy in Ireland were the “Probation” or “Separate” prisons, as were some local jails. --0--
JAILS: 25 February, 1856: Committed at the Worship Street Police Court to stand trial. Held at Cold Bath Fields prison (Clerkenwell) following his conviction; held in association with other prisoners for 108 days. --0--
TRIAL: 10 March, 1856: Convicted at the Clerkenwell Assizes, Middlesex, and sentenced to six years for stealing 12 cakes to the value of one shilling. His previous conviction in 1851 and sentence of transportation for 7 years were taken into account. --0--