Summary
Personal Information
Transportation
John Ormerod 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 237 (120). --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
From the "Convicts associated with Toodyay" database: Ormerod, John (1840-1863) 4676 1858-01-01 Nile CWA: Unm; miner; illit Prot; carnal knowledge of girl under 10 yrs; 25 yrs; Champion Bay; killed by cart passing over him. Ancestry: WA Convict records: Receipts and discharges book (1855- 1859): p. 579: 18 (https://www.toodyay.wa.gov.au/) --0--
From his Fremantle jail record: ORMEROD, John; inmate #4676, arrived 1 Jan 1858 per Nile Date of Birth: 1840 Date of Death: 5 Jul 1863 Place of Death: Champion Bay, killed by cart passing over him Marital Status: Unmarried Occupation: Miner Literacy: Illiterate Sentence Place: Liverpool, Lancashire, England Crime: Carnal knowledge of girl under 10 years Sentence Period: 25 years Ticket of Leave Date: 4 Nov 1862 (https://fremantleprison.com.au/). --0--
IN WA: 1 January, 1858: On arrival, he was listed as a miner, aged 1, Protestant and single (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department; Estimates and Convict Lists (128/1 - 32)). --0--
September, 1857: He was sent from Dartmoor to board the Nile for transportation to WA; listed as #3/3805, a stonemason, 16 when convicted, single and unable to read or write (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Convicts Transported Per Nile (R32)). --0--
25 November, 1856: Admitted to Dartmoor prison at Princeton, Yelverton -- inmate #3805. Dartmoor was reopened as a male convict public works prison in November 1850. Within five years the prison became reserved for less able-bodied convicts. Portland, Portsmouth, Chatham and Spike Island in Ireland were also 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) John Ormerod's behaviour in public works was listed as "indifferent". --0--
15 January, 1856: Admitted to Millbank, Westminster, London. “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). Millbank, Pentonville, Wakefield and Mountjoy in Ireland were the “Probation” or “Separate” prisons, as were some local jails. John Ormerod served 10 months 14 days in separate confinement; behaviour "indifferent". --0--
JAILS: 10 December, 1855: Admitted to Kirkdale County Gaol and House of Correction, Kirkdale -- served 1 month 6 days -- behaviour "indifferent". --0--
Newspaper coverage of his committal: "Assault with Intent on a Child at Colne.— Yesterday week, a young rascal named John Ormerod, 14 years of age, was charged at Colne with having violated the person of a child three years of age, named Mary Ann Smith, daughter of William Smith, of Colne Hall, farmer. He was committed to Kirkdale for trial at the present assizes." (Leeds Times, 8 December 1855, p3). --0--
OFFENCE: Not "Unknown"; it is not listed in the options. He was convicted of carnally knowing and abusing a (girl) child under the age of 10 years, and sentenced at the Liverpool Assizes, on 1 December, 1855, to 25 years' transportation (England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892 for John Ormerod; England; Lancashire; 1855). --0--