Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Transportation
Hugh Morris 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 |
Claims
No one has claimed Hugh Morris yet.
Photos
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Convict Notes
OTHER: From the Inquirer and Commercial News (Perth), Wed 19 Nov 1862, p2: "PERTH POLICE COURT. [Before H. Wakeford, Esq., Police Magistrate.] Hugh Morris, expiree, obstructing a public crossing by allowing a bullock team to remain on it; fined 1s." (https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/69137490) --0--
IN WA: From his Fremantle jail record: MORRIS, Hugh; inmate #4768, arrived 1 Jan 1858 per Nile Date of Birth: 1832 Marital Status: Unmarried Occupation: Gentleman's servant Literacy: Semiliterate Sentence Place: Caernarvon, Caernarvon, Wales Crime: Larceny Sentence Period: 10 years Ticket of Leave Date: 12 Jul 1858 Conditional Pardon Date: 8 May 1860 (https://fremantleprison.com.au/) --00--
September, 1857: He was one of five men whose licences had been revoked and who were sent from Dartmoor to board the Nile for transportation to WA. Listed as #16/4308 (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Convicts Transported Per Nile (R32)). His behaviour on the voyage was "good" (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Character Book for Nos 4508-5585 (R8)). --00--
12 June, 1856: He was sent from Bow Street, London, and readmitted to Dartmoor, inmate #4308 (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Convicts Transported Per Nile (R32)). --0--
JAIL AGAIN: 27 May, 1857: Licence #6522 was revoked -- no details of the circumstances. --0--
TICKET OF LEAVE: 30 September, 1856: Hugh Morris was granted a Licence for Parole (Ticket of Leave), presumably for good behaviour at Dartmoor; see below: Reference: PCOM 3/61/6522 Description: Licence number 6522: Hugh Morris. Caption order and prison record from when he was convicted of Larceny at the Quarter Sessions at Carnarvon, Carnarvonshire on 21 October 1852. Then aged [not given] years and by trade a [not given]. Sentence: 10 years transportation. Licence granted 30 September 1856, for early release from Dartmoor prison. Comments: Licence revoked 27 May 1857, caption returned 13 June 1857. Revocation order only. Date: 1856 September 30 (https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C10373326). --0--
23 March, 1855: Admitted to Dartmoor prison, Princetown, Yelverton. Dartmoor had been reopened as a male convict public works prison in November 1850. Within five years the prison became reserved for less able-bodied convicts, so it's possible he was transferred to Dartmoor as an invalid (https://www.prisonhistory.org/prison/dartmoor-prison/). --0--
20 March, 1854: Received aboard the Stirling Castle hulk, inmate #913. Listed as 19 years old when convicted, single, farm labourer; able to read and write imperfectly; Church of England. Light brown hair, grey eyes, sallow complexion, 5'5" tall. Family at Bangor (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Misc.; Register of Prisoners; 1774-1789 [label says to 1852]). --0--
JAILS: 1853: He was admitted to West Riding House of Correction at Wakefield, Yorkshire, where he served 12 months in separate confinement; behaviour "rather indifferent". “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 reporting of his trial: "Hugh Morris (18) pleaded guilty to a charge of stealing, on 9th October, an oil-skin cap, the property of Mary Ann Rigg, of Kendal." (Kendal Mercury, 30 October 1852, p6). --0--