Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Transportation
William Henry May 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 244. --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
FOOTNOTE 2: NEWSPAPER REPORT OF THE TRIAL From the 'Weekly Dispatch', March 9, 1856: "THE PORTSEA ROBBERY At the Winchester Assizes, William Henry May, James May and Henry Phillips, were found guilty of breaking into the house of Messrs. Emanuel, jewellers, at Portsea, and stealing a very large quantity of jewellery. The two first-named prisoners were each sentenced to 14 years penal servitude, and Phillips to four years." (http://www.perthdps.com/convicts/w4555.htm)
IN WA: From his Fremantle jail record: MAY, William Henry; #4555, arrived 1 Jan 1858 per Nile Date of Birth: 1834 Marital Status: Unmarried Occupation: Bricklayer Literacy: Semiliterate Sentence Place: Winchester, Hampshire, England Crime: Burglary & theft Sentence Period: 14 years Ticket of Leave Date: 25 Aug 1859 Conditional Pardon Date: 12 Dec 1861 Certificate of Freedom Date: 8 Feb 1871 (https://fremantleprison.com.au/). --00-- FOOTNOTE: Both brothers received their Certificates of Freedom on the same day.
September, 1857: He was sent from Portland to board the Nile for transportation to WA (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Portland Prison; Prison Records to 1875). His brother James May was also aboard the Nile. See his bio at https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/may/james/59237 --00--
6 April, 1857: He was admitted to Portland jail, inmate #6919. Portland, Chatham, 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) --00--
Pentonville -- William Henry May, prisoner #6748 MARITAL STATUS: Single CRIMINAL ADMISSION AGE: 22 RECORD TYPE: Register BIRTH DATE: 1834 OCCUPATION: Laborer CRIMINAL CHARGE: Breaking & Entering SENTENCE: 14 Years CRIMINAL ADMISSION DATE: 23 May 1856 CRIMINAL ADMISSION PLACE: Middlesex, England JAIL: Pentonville Prison MOTHER: Mary May, 2 Marlborough Street, Southsea, Hants. SOURCE DESCRIPTION: Pentonville Prison, Middlesex: Register of Prisoners. “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). Pentonville, Millbank, Wakefield and Mountjoy in Ireland were the “Probation” or “Separate” prisons, as were some local jails. --00--
William Henry May CRIMINAL ADMISSION AGE: 22 RECORD TYPE: Register BIRTH DATE: 1834 CRIMINAL CHARGE: Burglary SENTENCE: 14 years' CRIMINAL ADMISSION DATE: 3 Mar 1856 CRIMINAL ADMISSION PLACE: Hampshire, England JAIL: Winchester Gaol SOURCE DESCRIPTION: Winchester Gaol, Hampshire: Calendar of Trials At Quarter Sessions For the County of Southampton --00--
3 March, 1856: James May, 20, and William Henry May, 22, both labourers, were convicted for burglary at the Southampton Assizes, at the Castle of Winchester. Both were sentenced to transportation for 14 years (England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892; England; Hampshire 1856). The pair broke into Ezekiel Emanuel’s home at Portsea, on 5 December 1855, and stole “3 gold watches, 52 gold brooches, 12 gold waistcoat chains, 2 platina chains, 15 gold guard chains, 180 gold studs, and divers other articles of jewellery” belonging to Ezekiel Emanuel and Emanuel Emanuel. Henry Phillips, 19, labourer, who was charged with receiving “one gold ring and divers other articles of jewellery, well knowing same to be stolen” was found guilty of receiving stolen goods and sentenced to four years’ penal servitude (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Winchester Gaol; Calendar of Trials). -00—
William Henry May CRIMINAL ADMISSION AGE: 22 RECORD TYPE: Register BIRTH DATE: 1834 OCCUPATION: Laborer CRIMINAL CHARGE: Burglariously breaking and entering SENTENCE: 14 years' CRIMINAL ADMISSION DATE: 5 Feb 1856 CRIMINAL ADMISSION PLACE: Hampshire, England JAIL: Winchester Gaol SOURCE DESCRIPTION: Winchester Gaol, Hampshire: Calendar of Trials At Assizes For the County of Southampton --00--