Summary
Personal Information
Voyage
Transportation
Thomas Nightingale was transported on the Thomas Arbuthnot, departing 6th Jan 1847 and arriving 4th May 1847 with 289 passengers.
Built 1841 at Aberdeen, Scotland. Wood ship of 621 Tons. Thomas Arbuthnot, 1847. “The Thomas Arbuthnot convict ship, Captain Thomson, sailed from Spithead this morning for Port Phillip, with a superior class of delinquents, officially called “exiles.” These are the first “exiles” sent to the above settlement, which the inhabitants of that respectable place are very wroth at, and have memorialised the Government on the subject. The most ingenious trades and professions are carried on, on board this ship; in fact, we believe, all trades in vogue have their representatives on board. The most ingenious affair, however, is a newspaper in manuscript, published every Saturday, having its foreign and domestic correspondence, advertisements, and, indeed, all the necessary accessories to an apparently well-conducted journal. The articles are well written and the arrangements well made. The name of this paper is the Citadel, and the conductors dub the captain of the ship ” the governor.” The Citadel having no opponents enjoys a large circulation. The editor is a man who has been of considerable note in the legitimate literary world; but all names and circumstances in connexion with their present position is strictly preserved secret with regard to these “exiles,” the greatest majority of whom are juvenile offenders from Millbank, Pentonville, and Parkhurst (Isle of Wight) prisons.”—Times, January 12. Published in the Launceston Examiner, 2 June 1847. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/36252218?searchTerm=Thomas Arbuthnot There was a lot of public criticism of the arrival of these “Exiles” in New South Wales, and of their treatment, by being offered training, etc, to the detriment of honest but poor labourers.
Thomas Arbuthnot (generic)References
| Primary Source | Pentonville Prison Register, National Archives UK, HO24 |
| 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
National Archives. Criminal Petitions. HO 18/66/8 Prisoner name: Thomas James George Nightingale, aged 14 years. Court and Date of Trial: Old Bailey, 6 April 1840. Crime: Obtaining money or goods by false pretences. Initial sentence: Seven years transportation. Gaoler's Report: 'Character not known'. Outcome: 'Ordered to Penitentiary on recommendation of Court' [1841]; 'Free pardon 15 February 1842'. Petitions and letters: Petition from George Nightingale and Mary Nightingale (parents) undersigned by a JP for Middlesex, the local parish priest and one other, all known to the petitioners; first report from D Nihill (governor and chaplain of the General Penitentiary) on the prisoner's conduct therein, with a second improved report three months later; grounds for clemency cited as a first offence, good conduct in gaol, he has an opportunity to be apprenticed to a tailor if pardoned.
Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org, version 8.0, 05 February 2023), April 1840, trial of THOMAS GEORGE JOHN NIGHTINGALE (t18400406-1228). THOMAS GEORGE JOHN NIGHTINGALE, Deception > fraud, 6th April 1840. 1228. THOMAS GEORGE JOHN NIGHTINGALE was indicted for obtaining 5 sovereigns from Thomas Chambers under false pretences, to which he pleaded GUILTY . Aged 14.— Transported for Seven Years.—Isle of Wight. --------------------------------------------------- Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org, version 8.0, 05 February 2023), March 1845, trial of THOMAS NIGHTINGALE (t18450303-656). THOMAS NIGHTINGALE, Deception > forgery, 3rd March 1845. 656. THOMAS NIGHTINGALE was indicted for feloniously forging and uttering an order for the payment of 7l. 10s., with intent to defrand George Dixon. THOMAS DIXON . I manage the business of my father, George Dixon, who keeps the Worcester Arms public-house, in George-street, Portmansquare; I know the prisoner—he is a tailor; his mother keeps a lodging-house on the opposite side of the street. On the 24th of Jan. I saw the prisoner at the bar of my father's house—he had a pint of half-and-half, and paid for it with three penny pieces—before he paid for it he produced this check, and asked for change for it—I gave him change, seven movereigns and a half—I presented it next day at Sir Claude Scott's—it was not paid—they wrote on it, "No account." Q. How long had you known the prisoner? A. Not more than two or three months—he lived opposite, with his mother—he was apprenticed away from his mother, to a Mr. Cherry's—I only saw him casually—I did not see him after I had presented the check, till he was in custody. WILLIAM CHERRY . I am a tailor, and live in Upper Seymour-street. The prisoner was in my service as an apprentice, for three years—he left my service on the 19th of Jan., without leave—I found him at a shop in Green-street, on the 30th of Jan., and gave him into custody—during the time he was in my service, I have often seen him write—I have a knowledge of his handwriting, so as to be able to swear positively to it—this check is his handwriting—the whole of it, except the two words, "No account"—I have no doubt about it at all—I know no person named Jerningham. GEORGE ROGERS . I am a clerk in the banking-house of Sir Claude Scott and Co.—no person of the name of C.E. Jerningham keeps cash with Sir Claude Scott—I know no person of that name. GEORGE FULLER (police-constable D 28.) I know the handwriting of Mr. Long, the Magistrate. I believe this to be it—(read)—"The prisoner asked if he wishes to say anything, answers, 'No.' " The check being read, was for 7l. 10s., signed, "C.E. Jerningham," GUILTY . Aged 20.— Transported for Fifteen Years. (There was another indictment against the prisoner, and he had been before convicted, and sentenced to transportation.)
Thomas Nightingale was born in Middlesex to George and Mary Nightingale, who ran a boarding house in Marylebone. In 1840, he was sentenced to seven years transportation after stealing money from his employer and sent to Parkhurst prison. His parents successfully petitioned for his release a couple of years later, after finding a master tailor who was willing to take Thomas as an apprentice. At the end of his apprenticeship, Thomas Nightingale forged a bank note and was again sentenced to transportation and sent to Pentonville prison. He worked for a tailor in Melbourne after landing and for some time as a shepherd for Albert Synott at Geelong. In 1848, he was convicted of forging a payment order to defraud Synott and sentenced to two years hard labour. Nightingale lived in Yass, Penrith, Newcastle and Maitland over the next years and was before the courts on charges of theft and obtaining by deception, and was sentenced to two years in Parramatta prison in 1858. He invented a new identity for himself, changing his name, date of birth and details of his arrival in Australia. However, he was usually easy to spot, as he had two thumbs on his right hand, a fact mentioned in various documents. Thomas Nightingale married Mary Douglass at Yass in 1854. They had one son, Henry (1856-1857) In his later years, Nightingale worked as a tailor at an asylum.
Convict Exiles Index. Thomas Nightingale, age 20, per Thomas Arbuthnot. Date of trial, 3/3/1845, at C.C.C., sentence, 15 years, Charge, Forgery. Exiles.