Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Voyage
Transportation
Alexander O'neil was transported on the Runnymede , departing 11th Nov 1839 and arriving 28th Mar 1840 with 201 passengers.
The original 'Runnymede' was built in London 1825, 389 tons. Sailing of this ship to Australia with convict transportees, including boy convicts 1839/1840 to Van Diemen's Land. (It appears this ship made other sailings to Australia, as a barque with immigrant passengers.) This Runnymede was wrecked near the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal in 1844. n.b. There is another 'Runnymede' ship. Built in Sunderland in 1854, the 720 ton ship Runnymede II - embarked 248 male convicts at Plymouth on 15 June 1856, landing all in Western Australia on 7 September, after a passage of 84 days - the sailing also had soldier families for settlement there. A 284 ton barque Runneymede of Hobart was wrecked at Frenchman's Bay, on 24 December 1878.
Runnymede (generic)References
| Primary Source | Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 91, Class and Piece Number HO11/12, Page Number 121 (62) |
| 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
"Alexander is my paternal 2x great grandfather."
Photos
No photos have been added for Alexander O'neil.
Convict Notes
Tasmanian Records. Conduct Record: https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Digital/CON31-1-32/CON31-1-32P209 Alexander O’Neil. Tried Perth Ct of Justy, 23 April 1839, 10 yrs. See record for details. Cert 15. 5. 1849. Description record: https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Digital/CON18-1-1/CON18-1-1P245 No 509. Neil Alex. Labourer, age 12, 4 ft 4 in. Paisley (native place. See record for full details.
PERTH CIRCUIT COURT OF JUSTICIARY. Tuesday, April 24. The Circuit Court of Justiciary was opened here this day, …  Alexander O'Neil, a tiny boy of about twelve years of age, from Dundee, stood charged with the commission of four separate acts of theft means of housebreaking, aggravated being habit and repute. 1st, Stealing a pair of shoes in July last from a house in the Scouringburn. 2d and 3d, Stealing from lockfast places in the house of Elizabeth ownie or Hoggans  various articles of wearing apparel; and 4th, breaking into the house of Alexander Spalding, parish of Monikie,  and abstracting from a lockfast drawer a pocket book containing L.9 in bank notes.  The panel pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to ten years' transportation. Fife Herald, 2 May 1839.
Baptism record: O'Neil, Alexander (Church registers Catholic Registers Births and Baptisms 8111, Paisley, St Mirin's) 1827
Alexander, born in Paisley, Scotland and whose parents had both died prior to his conviction, may have been stealing just to survive. The youngest of 5 children, he probably never saw his siblings again. On leaving England, he was 11 years old, 130cms tall, had blue eyes, light brown hair, red eyebrows and a fair complexion. During his 'stay' at Point Puer at Point Arthur he was often given a few lashes of the whip and occasionally, solitary confinement without bread or water. At the age of 21 he was given his 'Certificate of Freedom' and appeared to have carried on his work as a Sawyer and Labourer. He married Mary Ann McBride on November 29, 1852 but the marriage didn't last, or maybe Mary Ann died. Alexander then met Elizabeth Wood, a nurse and a fellow convict, 8 years his junior. She was from Edinburgh and had also been convicted of stealing, at age 17 and sent to Tasmania for 'Seven years'. These are my maternal great,great grandparents. They had 8 children, the first, Henry, was born to Elizabeth and a James Devine a year before she met Alexander, a relationship which hadn't survived. The spelling of the last 3 children's surname was spelt as O'Neal, possibly by the registrar? They eventually married at the Presbyterian Manse in Hobart on April 19, 1883, with neither stating they had been married before. (Elizabeth had married, at around 21 years of age, a Joseph Tillotson, a cabinetmaker from Leeds, England. He had been convicted of shoplifting and sentenced to '14 years imprisonment'. They had a few further dealings with the law over time and Elizabeth was now a midwife. They lived near Molesworth on 25 acres at 'Arms on Count'. Alexander died in 1907 aged 79, from 'senilis' and Elizabeth in 1923 at age 86. They are buried in the Cornelian Bay cemetery and a plaque has been placed on the grave by family.