Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Transportation
Richard Shoesmith 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 240. --00-- UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Millbank Prison; Register of Prisoners to 1885. --00--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. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26783779 |
| 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
No one has claimed Richard Shoesmith yet.
Photos
No photos have been added for Richard Shoesmith.
Convict Notes
From the Toodyay Convicts database: Shoesmith, Richard (1834-1872); inmate #4724, arrived 1858-11-21 per Edwin Fox [incorrect date and ship -- it was Robert Shoesmith #5109 who arrived on the Edwin Fox on that date] CWA: Mar; lab; lit Prot; h/breaking 8 yrs; Champion Bay, Perth, Toodyay; labourer (https://www.toodyay.wa.gov.au/). -- NOTE: WABDM also lists the death of Robert Shoesmith, 45, in 1872. Thus, it seems the Toodyay database's year of death for Richard is actually that for Robert Shoesmith per Edwin Fox (https://bdm.justice.wa.gov.au/). --00--
IN WA: From his Fremantle jail record: SHOESMITH, Richard; inmate #4724, arrived 1 Jan 1858 per Nile Date of Birth: 1834 Place of Death: Vasse Marital Status: Married Occupation: Labourer Literacy: Literate Sentence Place: Westminster, Middlesex, England Crime: House breaking Sentence Period: 8 years penal servitude Ticket of Leave Date: 13 Apr 1860 Conditional Pardon Date: 3 Mar 1864 Comments: Labourer (https://fremantleprison.com.au/). --00--
ON THE VOYAGE; His behaviour was listed as "bad" and he was confined to a cell on bread and water, but there is no indication of the duration or reason for this punishment (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Character Book for Nos 4508-5585 (R8)). --00--
10 September, 1857: According to his individual record at Portland, he was sent to board the Nile for transportation to WA on this date. Yet, he does not appear on a inventory of convicts from Portland who were sent to the ship. Also, the minimum sentence of those taken from Portland, according to this same inventory, was 15 years. Strange! (see Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Convicts Transported Per Nile (R32)). --00--
7 April, 1857: Admitted to Portland prison; inmate #6963. Portland, Portsmouth, Chatham and Spike Island in Ireland were 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) --0--
31 July, 1857: Admitted to Pentonville prison; inmate #6890. Served 9 months 6 days in separate confinement; behaviour "good". --0--
26 June, 1856: Admitted to Millbank jail, London, inmate #2913; semi-literate, labourer, 23 years old, Church of England, married no children. Next of kin -- his wife, living at 12 Union Street, Blackfriars Road. He served 1 month 5 days in separate confinement; behaviour "good". “After a sentence of transportation was handed down [it seems there was no distinction between transportation and penal servitude, whatever the theory], 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, Wakefield, Pentonville and Mountjoy in Ireland were the “Probation” or “Separate” prisons, as were some local jails. --0--
JAILS: 1856: Held at Cold Bath Fields (aka Middlesex House of Correction Cold Bath Fields) at Clerkenwell, London. There he served 56 days in association with other prisoners. --0--
Newspaper reporting of the trial: 3 May, 1856: From the "London Evening Standard", p1: MIDDLESEX SESSIONS, May 2 ... James Horrigan, 30, and Richard Shoesmith, 23, were indicted for feloniously breaking and entering the dwelling-house of Thomas Parker, and stealing therein ..." --0--
TRIAL: 1 May, 1856: At the Adjourned General Quarter Sessions, Westminster, Richard Shoesmith was convicted and sentenced to 8 years' penal servitude for housebreaking (with a previous conviction taken into consideration). James Horrigan was sentenced to 6 years' penal servitude (England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892; England; Middlesex; 1856). --0--