Summary
Personal Information
Transportation
William 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 246. --0-- 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
6 July, 1886: From the West Australian, p3: INQUESTS AT FREMANTLE. The adjourned inquiry on the death of William Jones, alias Phillimore, was held at Fremantle, yesterday. Frederick Thorpe, a labourer, deposed that the deceased used to complain of shortness of breath. On Friday night he left him sitting on North Fremantle Bridge, where he was found dead. Dr. Barnett deposed that there were no marks of violence on the body. The lungs were diseased and the heart enlarged. The cause of death was effusion in the pericardium. The jury found a verdict in accordance with the medical evidence. --00--
5 July, 1886: From the West Australian, p3: INQUESTS AT FREMANTLE. Two inquests were held at the courthouse, Fremantle, on Saturday. The first one was on the body of William Jones alias Phillimore [sic]. Arthur Allen a pensioner deposed: On returning to my home about 9.30 on Friday night, near a seat on the North Fremantle bridge I observed a man lying on the road. I stopped my cart and examined the body. I sent back the cart with my son and wife for the police, while I remained with the corpse until the arrival of the police. I had not known the deceased personally. He was lying on the right side with his head turned towards North Fremantle. By the foreman (Mr. Fordham):—I could observe no signs of a struggle, I concluded the man had fallen from the seat on the bridge. Edward Back, Sub-Inspector of Police, deposed: On a report being made at the police station by Mr. Allen's son at a quarter to ten on Friday night, I proceeded to North Fremantle Bridge and found the body of William Jones alias Phillimore lying there. There was blood issuing from the mouth and nostrils and the corpse was lying in the same position as stated by the witness Allen. I noticed that it was drawn up in a cramped position and that the deceased had been pushing his heels into the ground. There was a flour sack across the shoulders. The deceased man's face was quite warm and the body was not stiff. Did not know what his state of health had been. Deceased used to frequent the public houses. By the foreman: Deceased was seen by a young man who crossed the bridge about 7 p.m. on Friday. George Foreman, architect, deposed: I knew the deceased under the name of Phillimore. He was working for me at the time of his death. Last saw him on Tuesday morning. He had been suffering, but did not mention what from. He told me he had been ill for five weeks. He never mentioned whether he had taken medical advice. The inquest was then adjourned to Monday morning to allow of a post mortem examination to be made (https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/3760172). --0--
IN WA: From his Fremantle jail record: JONES, William; #4666, arrived 1 Jan 1858 per Nile Alias: FINNEMORE Date of Birth: 1833 [1831 on court records] Date of Death: 2 Jul 1886 Place of Death: Fremantle, found dead Marital Status: Married 1 child Occupation: Brass founder Literacy: Illiterate Sentence Place: Warwick, Warwick, England Crime: Sacrilege Sentence Period: 14 years Ticket of Leave Date: 23 Sep 1859 Conditional Pardon Date: 9 Apr 1861 (https://fremantleprison.com.au/). --00--
September, 1857: William Jones was sent from Chatham to board the Nile for transportation to WA; #33/949 (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Convicts Transported Per Nile (R32)). --00--
6 May, 1857: William JONES was transferred to CHATHAM gaol on St Mary's Island, Chatham, Kent. Listed as inmate #949, 21 [when convicted], illiterate; all others details as per his previous records. Chatham, Portland, Portsmouth 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--
17 June, 1856: Admitted to MILLBANK gaol, Middlesex -- William Jones, #2853; 10 months 19 days in separate confinement. MARITAL STATUS: Married, one child. Wife: Caroline Finnemore, Deritend, Birmingham. CRIMINAL ADMISSION AGE: 21 RECORD TYPE: Register BIRTH DATE: 1835; Church of England OCCUPATION: Brass Founder CRIMINAL CHARGE: Break and enter a chapel and steal therein SENTENCE: Transportation OTHER: Visitors - wife and sister 6/1/57; mother, sister and sister-in-law 14/4/57 CRIMINAL ADMISSION PLACE: Middlesex, England JAIL: Millbank Prison SOURCE DESCRIPTION: Millbank Prison, Middlesex: Register of Prisoners (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951). --0--
“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: 20 March, 1856: Admitted to WARWICK COUNTY Gaol -- served 1 month 1 day in association; 1 month 21 days in separate confinement. Notation: "Character bad after conviction 3 days in separate cell." --0--
TRIAL: 20 March, 1856: William Jones alias Finnemore/Fennemore -- convicted at Warwick Assizes for sacrilege and larceny. Sentenced to transportation for 14 years (England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892; England; Warwickshire; 1856). --0--
CRIME OF SACRILEGE: What did he do? This explanation of sacrilege comes from Wikipedia: “In Post-Reformation England, sacrilege was a criminal offence for centuries, though its statutory definition varied considerably. Most English dictionaries of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries appealed to the primary sense of stealing objects from a church. Criminal law was consolidated by Peel’s Acts from 1828” with provisions relating to sacrilege being repealed and new laws being created around larceny. “In England, Wales, and Ireland, section 10 of each was identical: ‘That if any person shall break and enter any church or chapel, and steal therein any chattel, or having stolen any chattel in any church or chapel, shall break out of the same, every such offender, being convicted thereof, shall suffer death as a felon.’” --00--