Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Transportation
John Longden 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 232. --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. |
| 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: LONGTON, John; inmate #4598, arrived 1 Jan 1858 per Nile Alias: LONGDON, LANGDON George Date of Birth: 1832 Marital Status: Married Occupation: Smith Literacy: Semiliterate Sentence Place: Chester, Cheshire, England Crime: Burglary Sentence Period: 15 years Previous Convictions: Yes Ticket of Leave Date: 21 Jan 1860 at Guildford Conditional Pardon Date: 18 Aug 1862 Comments: To South Australia, 15 Dec 1881 (https://fremantleprison.com.au/). --00--
10 September, 1857: Sent from Portland, #7094, to board the Nile for transportation to WA; behaviour on voyage “good” (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Character Book for Nos 4508-5585 (R8)). —00—
20 May, 1857: Admitted to Portland prison in Dorset; inmate #7094. 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--
15 September, 1856: Admitted to Pentonville, Caledonian Road, London -- inmate # 6959; all above details the same; listed as 5'7½" tall; served 8 months 5 days and behaviour in separate confinement "good" (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951 for John Longden; Pentonville Prison; Register of Prisoners; 1854-1856). --0--
19 August, 1856: Admitted to Millbank, at Westminster in London -- inmate #3334, 26 years old, when convicted; able to read and write imperfectly; Wesleyan. Next of Kin -- his wife Caroline Longden, at T Ellison's, Watercoats, Macclesfield. Behaviour in separate confinement "good" (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951 for John Longden; Millbank Prison; Register of Prisoners to 1885). --0--
JAILS: 22 April, 1856: Admitted to Chester Castle -- served 3 months 29 days in separate confinement according to his Millbank record. “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). Wakefield, Millbank, Pentonville and Mountjoy in Ireland were the “Probation” or “Separate” prisons, as were some local jails. --0--
NEWSPAPER coverage of his trial: Assize Intelligence... John Longden, 26, and Charles Greaves, 20, were charged with having broken into the house of Thomas Staley, Macclesfield, on the 14th March, and stolen £8 in money, and other articles. Mr. Macintyre prosecuted, and Mr. Brandt defended the prisoner. The prosecutor said that on the night in question he locked up the door, and all went to bed. At two o'clock the next morning his daughter called to him, and when he went down he found a window open, and from a drawer several pounds in gold silver had been taken away. A few shillings were lying on the flags by the door. Samuel Staley, son of the prosecutor, deposed that he knew the prisoner Greaves. Witness and Greaves went to [spend]... a week at Coventry. Longden lived there with his wife. All three of them went to Birmingham for three days, and from there to Sheffield. March last they went back to Macclesfield, and got there on the 14th, about 10 o'clock at night. About midnight they went into the prosecutor's yard, and Longden undid the back room window. He undid the hasp with a knife. He then pulled the window down, and witness went in and undid the back door. Witness and Longden both went into the house, and Greaves stopped in the yard, to keep the dog quiet. Longden asked which was the drawer, and witness shewed him. He got a pair of scissors, and prized the drawer open. Longden then took the money, and when they heard some one get up they all went away. When they got a mile and a-half off, Longdon gave witness and Greaves 10s. each... They then went to Buxton, close to which place they saw John Trafford. Cross-examined — Longden first tried to open the drawer with a skeleton key which he had brought. He had ten or twelve keys. Witness told where the money was. Witness had robbed his father before. Witness had once taken £32; Greaves helped him to spend the money. Hannah Walmsley was a passenger from Manchester to Prestbury, on the 14th March. At Stockport, the two prisoners and the last witness got into the carriage, witness got out and they got on at Prestbury. Cross-examined — Knew it was the 14th March, as she went to see her father on the 11th. Samuel Thornhill, a policeman at Macclesfield, saw the prisoners near the workhouse in company with the witness Staley. Greaves spoke to witness. It was half-past 11 o'clock. Cross-examined—There were about 15 yards between the parties. They were going towards Macclesfield. Mr. Brandt, for the defence, called on the jury not to believe the witness Staley, who admitted that he had robbed his father, and from his testimony was the prime mover in the present transaction. His Lordship carefully summed up the evidence, remarking that the evidence of the accomplice had been confirmed by the testimony of his father. After more than an hour's consideration the jury found both prisoners guilty and they were sentenced — Longden to 15 years' transportation and Greaves to 4 years' penal servitude. Both prisoners had been previously convicted." And what of Samuel Staley? --0--
TRIAL: John Longden was convicted and sentenced to transportation for 15 years for burglary, with a previous conviction for felony taken into consideration (England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892 for John Longden; England; Cheshire; 1856). --0--