James Robinson

341

Maureen Withey on 16th March 2026

National Archives. Hulk Records HO-9-7_3 (page 7/47) Hulk Records. Retribution Hulk, Sheerness. Received from Bedford, 25 April 1828. James Robinson, age 16, Hway Robbery, Tried at Bedford, 5 March 1828, Life, To NSW 26 May 1828.

40

Sandie McKoy on 23rd October 2024

James was born around 1811 at Houghton Conquest, Bedfordshire, to parents Samuel and Elizabeth Robinson. He had light brown hair, grey eyes, and a fair complexion. He grew up at Houghton Conquest with little to no education and worked as a farm boy who could plough. By the time he was 16, he was in trouble with the law. In March 1827, he was committed to the Bedford New House of Correct for ‘breach of the game laws’ by Reverend T Barber. The three months of hard labour and walking on the treadmill for each day didn’t temper his conduct and he was described as a ‘very bad boy, strickest attention to keep in order’. After his discharge on 25 May 1827, James continued with his criminal activity and Reverend T Barber committed him to the Bedford County Goal for highway robbery on 11 October 1827. James was tried at the Bedford Lent Assizes on 6 March 1828. The following account of the sentencing was placed in the Northampton Mercury on 15 March 1828: “James Robinson, aged 16, was indicted for assaulting John Cato on the highway, and putting him in fear, and robbing him of 5s. and his hat. John Cato stated that as he was returning from Bedford market, at seven in the evening on the 6th of October, to Ampthill, three people followed him: and after some trifling question the prisoner put his arms round his body, knocked him down, and with the help of the other two, robbed him of his hat and 5s. One of the men said, “D—n your eyes, if you speak, I’ll blow your brains out.” They then went on, and I followed them, when the prisoner swore he would blow my head off, if I did not go back. I have long known the prisoner, and mentioned that he was one of the men as soon as I got home. Can’t swear to the two others. The prisoner was proved by three witnesses to have been on the spot with two other men on the evening in question. He made no defence. The learned Judge said, the questions the Jury would have to decide were – first, was the prosecutor robbed? Of that there could be no doubt. Secondly, was the prisoner one of the men who committed the offence? Robbers in general perpetrated their crimes when no human eye save that of their victim was upon them; but in this case there was strong evidence to corroborate Mr. Cato, given by persons who saw the prisoner about the spot. He was found guilty.--Death Recorded.” Luckily for James, his sentence of death was commuted to transportation for life. He was held in the Bedford County Gaol until 23 April 1828 when he was placed onto one of the following convict hulks at Sheerness to await transportation – Retribution, Dolphin, or Euryalus. The ship left Sheerness on 1 June 1828 and James departed with 191 fellow prisoners who were guarded by the 63rd Regiment. After 155 days of travel, the ship pulled into Port Jackson on 3 November 1828. James was assigned to John Coghill at Kirkham. His farm labouring and plough skills were put to good use on Coghill’s farm. By 1837, he had been assigned to Reverend Joseph Docker at Windsor. He received his first indulgence when he received a Ticket of Leave on 7 November 1839. While he had to remain in Yass and carry his ticket at all times, he was able to work some hours for himself and earn money. I lose track of James after 1839 – as his name was so common, it has been difficult to trace him and he didn’t receive a Certificate of Freedom. It’s possible that he married Elizabeth Carnell in 1852 at Albury, New South Wales, and died at Wodonga, Victoria, in 1866 but this isn’t confirmed. The information on this James’s death certificate roughly matches the information for convict James (birth location, birth year, arrival in the colony). Sources James Robinson, 1827, Bedford Gaol Register, BLARS QGV11/1, 1435, Bedford Archives and Record Service. Lent Assizes, Northampton Mercury, 15 March 1828, Image © The British Library Board, Find My Past. James Robinson, 1827, Bedford Gaol Register, BLARS QGV10/1, 106, Bedford Archives and Record Service. James Robinson, 1828, The National Archives (UK), HO 27/35, in England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment, 1770-1935, Find My Past. Aylesbury, Windsor and Eton Express, 26 April 1828, Image © The British Library Board, Find My Past. Convict Ship Albion (3) – 1828, Free Settler or Felon, Jen Willetts, https://freesettlerorfelon.com/convict_ship_albion_1828.htm James Robinson, Albion (2), 1828, New South Wales State Archives, NRS 12188, p 148, in New South Wales, Australia, Convict Indents, 1788–1842, Ancestry.com. James Robinson, Albion (2), General muster R – Y, 1837, HO35/35, in New South Wales and Tasmania, Australia Convict Musters, 1806-1849, Ancestry.com. James Robinson, Albion (2), Ticket of Leave, 7 November 1839, New South Wales State Archives, NRS 12202, 4/4133, in New South Wales, Australia, Tickets of Leave, 1810-1869, Ancestry.com.