Frederick Osborne

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Dianne Jones on 7th November 2023

1866, December: This quarter’s report is the same as for September (England, Criminal Lunatic Asylum Registers, 1820-1876 for Frederick Osborne; Quarterly Returns of Prisoners in Convict Prisons/Lunatic Asylums; 1866, December). 1867, March: As above (England, Criminal Lunatic Asylum Registers, 1820-1876 for Frederick Osborne; Quarterly Returns of Prisoners in Convict Prisons/Lunatic Asylums; 1867, March). 1867, June: As above (England, Criminal Lunatic Asylum Registers, 1820-1876 for Frederick Osborne; Quarterly Returns of Prisoners in Convict Prisons/Lunatic Asylums; 1867, June). --00--

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Dianne Jones on 7th November 2023

1866, September: The next report from Woking, for the year’s third quarter, gives the same details as above, except for his behaviour which was listed as “Very good” (England, Criminal Lunatic Asylum Registers, 1820-1876 for Frederick Osborne; Quarterly Returns of Prisoners in Convict Prisons/Lunatic Asylums; 1866, September). --00--

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Dianne Jones on 7th November 2023

1866, June: Inmate #2728 Frederick Osborne, 25, convicted for robbery with violence and PC, sentenced to 14 years’ at the Central Criminal Court on 14 August, 1865, was deemed to be in “delicate” health, according to the Prison Surgeon’s Report, and his behaviour in prison for the June quarter was “indifferent” (England, Criminal Lunatic Asylum Registers, 1820-1876 for Frederick Osborne; Quarterly Returns of Prisoners in Convict Prisons/Lunatic Asylums; 1866, June). --00--

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Dianne Jones on 7th November 2023

1866, 15 May: Frederick Osborne was admitted to Woking Prison, Knaphill, Woking (about 25 miles south-west of London); he was sent to Woking Prison “on medical grounds”; inmate #2728 (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951 for Frederick Osborne; Pentonville Prison; Register of Prisoners, 1864-1866). Opened in April 1859, Woking was “primarily for invalided male convicts, and by March 1860 had taken over entirely from the temporary invalid prison at Lewes. Between 1862 and 1867, it was responsible for the working party sent to labour for the construction of Broadmoor Criminal Asylum.” Woking closed in March 1889 “as the decline in the convict population made it unnecessary to maintain a separate prison for invalids” (https://www.prisonhistory.org/prison/woking-male-prison/). --00--

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Dianne Jones on 7th November 2023

1865, 12 September: Sent from Newgate Gaol and admitted to Pentonville Prison, Caledonian Road, north London; inmate #3288, 25, single, semi-literate; convicted 14 August, 1865, for robbery with violence and prev conv for felony, 14 years. He had served 29 days in separate confinement in Newgate. Family – Ann Osborne, 23 Hope Street, Spitalfields. Behaviour – “Good” (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951 for Frederick Osborne; Pentonville Prison; Register of Prisoners, 1864-1866). “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--

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Dianne Jones on 7th November 2023

JAILS: 1865, 25 August: In Newgate Gaol, corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street, London, Frederick Osborne, sentenced to penal servitude for 14 years, was listed to be sent to Pentonville Prison (UK, After-Trial Calendar of Prisoners, 1855-1931 for Frederick Osborne; 1865). --00--

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Dianne Jones on 7th November 2023

TRIAL TRANSCRIPT: #762. FREDERICK OSBORNE (25), Robbery with violence on Samuel North, and stealing from him 20 ounces of gold, the property of James Redmond. MR. F. H. LEWIS conducted the Prosecution, and MR. HARRIS the Defence. SAMUEL NORTH. I reside at 8, Brewer-street, Clerkenwell, and am errand boy to Mr. Redmond, gold-case maker, of Clerkenwell—about two weeks before Christmas I was taking a bag with a quantity of gold in it to the flatting mills—I was coming back with another boy named McMillan, I had the bag in my hand by a string—when we got to Market-street the prisoner came up and said, "What have you got here?"—before I could answer him he cut the string of my bag—it was about 6 in the evening—he was with another man—they ran away together—I and McMillan ran after them, but did not catch them—about the middle of last June I was taken to the old-street Police-station—I was there shown ten men, and I picked the prisoner out from them—I am quite sure he is the man who robbed me. Cross-examined. Q. Was it dark? A. Yes—there was a lamp alight in the street—it was just against the lamp—my companion was on my left—I had the bag in my right hand, the lamp was behind me when this happened—the men came up behind me—the man took the bag quickly, and ran away—that was not the first I saw of him—they stood at the corner of Market-street as we came up—I saw them then—that was some distance from where the bag was taken—I passed close by them—I had never seen them before to my knowledge, and I never saw either of them again until June—I waited in a room by myself at the station for about half an hour, and then went into another room—whilst waiting, I did not see the man whom I afterwards identified come past me, no one came into the room but a policeman. MR. LEWIS. Q., You say you saw him before he came up to you? A. Yes—I am quite certain he is one of the men. WILLIAM MCMILLAN. I was with North—he had a bag in his hand—we were going down Market-place, and saw two men at the corner—when we got to the lamp, one of the men came behind us and asked North what he had in his bag—he cut the bag—I turned round and saw the prisoner with the bag in his hand—he ran up Brunswick-street, where there is no thoroughfare—we ran to get some assistance to stop them, and as we came back we saw them run from Brunswick-street into St. John-street—we ran after them, but did not catch them—in the middle of last June I was taken to the Old-street police-station—I picked the prisoner out from eleven men as the man who ran away with the bag—I am quite certain that he is the man. Cross-examined. Q. Did not the prisoner come through the room in which you were waiting? A. No—some of the other men were something like the prisoner. AMBROSE SUTTON (Policeman, A 422). On 30th January I was with Sergeant Evans—I saw the prisoner at the corner of Wimpole-street, Spitalfields—I caught hold of him and said, "Fred, I want you," he turned round and began struggling—Evans came up and caught hold of him by his right hand—he commenced more struggling, and we got into a public-house, where he drew a knife from his right-hand pocket, and stabbed me on the top of the eye, he also stabbed me on the left-hand side of the ear—he then stabbed at Evans, cut him across the finger and managed to get away from us—from information I received I went on 20th June to Birmingham, and found the prisoner in custody—I said, "Fred, I shall take you to London for garotting a boy, and also for stabbing me and Sergeant Evans," he said, "All right, Sutton, that's twenty years for me." Cross-examined. Q. Was not the person that you say stabbed you, eating some bread and cheese? A. I did not see any—he was not eating anything—I say he took the knife from his pocket, not from his sleeve—I said "pocket" before the Magistrate—I have the scar now where he stabbed me. THOMAS EVANS (Police-sergeant, G 22). I saw the prisoner take the knife from his pocket. Cross-examined. Q. Were you there at first? A. No; I was perhaps half a minute behind Sutton—I am sure the prisoner was not eating anything then, for I followed him up the street twenty yards. BENJAMIN BRYANT (Police-inspector). I was sent for to the Old-street station, when the two boys identified the prisoner—after North had gone into the inspector's room, the prisoner asked me, "Who's boy was that"—I told him that was Mr. Redmond's boy that he had stolen the twenty ounces of gold from in December last—he said, "Oh, I remember having the stuff, but I don't know the boy; I have done something by stabbing the policeman, I expect to get twenty years: I have no doubt you will get it up well for me." Cross-examined. Q. Where was the boy? A. In the inspector's room—the prisoner was in the charge-room—there is a door between the rooms—the boy did not hear our conversation—it was immediately after the boy had pointed him out that he said this—the door might have been open before that—if the door was open the boy could not see the prisoner—I undertake to say that they could not see each other. MR. LEWIS. Q. Was this conversation with the prisoner after the boy had identified him? A. Yes, and after the door was shut. GUILTY. He then PLEADED GUILTY to a former conviction in May, 1862, Sentence Three Years.— Fourteen Years' Penal Servitude. (https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/) --00--

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Dianne Jones on 7th November 2023

TRIAL: 1865, 14 August: FREDERICK OSBORNE, 25, musician, semi-literate, remanded from the last session, was tried and convicted at the Old Bailey [on 16 August, according to the After-Trial Calendar] and sentenced to 14 years’ transportation for robbery with violence and a previous conviction (UK, After-Trial Calendar of Prisoners, 1855-1931 for Frederick Osborne; 1865; and https://www.oldbaileyonline.org). --00--

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Dianne Jones on 7th November 2023

PREVIOUS FORM: 1864, 30 September: Frederick Osborne was given a Licence for Parole, #15180, and was released early from Portland Prison where he had been serving a 3-year term (convicted 12 May, 1862 at the Old Bailey, London) for larceny and a previous conviction (UK Licences for Parole of Convicts 1853-1925 at https://www.digitalpanopticon.org/life?id=obpdef1-554-18620512). --00--