Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Transportation
Joseph Keighley 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 248. --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
From the Toodyay Convicts database: Keighley, Joseph (1803- ) #4736 1858-01-01 Nile CWA: Unm; soldier lab; illit Prot; larceny 8 yrs; York, Toodyay, Perth. Note: One of his WA convict records also lists him as a “soldier 47th Regiment” (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department; Estimates and Convict Lists (128/1 - 32)). If this is correct, presumably it is the 47th (Lancashire) Foot, now the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment. However, the same document also lists him as single with no children (as do the Fremantle and Toodyay records), which is at odds with his UK jail and other WA convict records such as the Character Book, so the military “connection” would require verification. --00--
IN WA: From his Fremantle jail record: KEIGHLEY, Joseph; #4736, arrived 1 Jan 1858 per Nile Alias: BADDON, THOMPSON, O'KEEFE Date of Birth: 1803 Marital Status: Unmarried Occupation: Soldier, labourer Literacy: Illiterate Sentence Place: Bradford, Yorkshire, England Crime: Larceny Sentence Period: 8 years Ticket of Leave Date: 22 Sep 1860 Conditional Pardon Date: 11 Jul 1863 (https://fremantleprison.com.au/). --00--
September, 1857: He was sent to board the Nile for transportation to WA, listed as #7/1077; behaviour “very good” at Chatham (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Convicts Transported Per Nile (R32)). —00—
8 May, 1857: Admitted to Chatham in Kent; inmate #1077. 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--
15 September, 1856: Admitted to Pentonville gaol; inmate #7020. As above all personal details except for his religion which was now listed as "none". In Pentonville, her served 7 months 23 days in separate confinement and his behaviour was "good" (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Pentonville Prison; Register of Prisoners; 1856-1859). --0--
JAIL: 1 August, 1856: Sent from Wakefield where he had served 3 months 8 days -- 2 months 10 days of which were in separate confinement -- to Millbank gaol in London. “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. In Millbank, he was inmate #3103, 53, married with 1 child, a labourer, illiterate, and Church of England. Next of kin—his brother Thomas Butterfield, Bank, Leeds. He served 1 month 14 days in separate confinement (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Millbank Prison; Register of Prisoners to 1885). --0--
TRIAL: 22 May, 1856: Tried and convicted at Bradford for stealing a shirt, chemise and two night caps belonging to Thomas Pearson, at Knaresborough on 16 April. He had pleaded guilty. Sentenced to 8 years' penal servitude (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Wakefield Gaol; Registers of Prisoners; Undated). --00--
JAIL: 24 April, 1856: Admitted to Wakefield gaol, inmate #4150, to await trial for larceny. --0--
PREVIOUS CONVICTION: 1851: Tried at Sheffield for larceny -- stealing sheets -- convicted and sentenced to 7 years' transportation. Ticket of Leave holder at time of arrest for larceny in 1856. Aliases -- JOSHUA, BALDON, THOMPSON, O'KEEFE (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Wakefield Gaol; Registers of Prisoners; Undated). --00--