Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Voyage
Transportation
John Smith was transported on the Sir William Bensley, departing 9th Oct 1816 and arriving 10th Mar 1817 with 201 passengers.
Sir William Bensley (generic)References
| Primary Source | Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 88, Class and Piece Number HO11/2, Page Number 298 |
| 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
The John Smith who was convicted at Middlesex Gaol Delivery (Old Bailey) can be traced using his Ticket of Leave in 1825 and Conditional Pardon in 1838 which both mention that his ship was the "Sir William Bensley" and his trial was at Middlesex Gaol Delivery. John Smith was 19 years old when he was convicted of burglary and theft on 3 April 1816 at the Old Bailey in London. He was sentenced to death which was commuted to Transportation for Life. He was transported to New South Wales on the convict ship the "Sir William Bensley" which arrived in NSW in 1817. According to the convict indent for this ship, he was from Portsmouth, had been employed as a servant, and his description was: 5 ft. 6½ ins, In height, sallow complexion, black hair and black eyes (the indent does not mention his religion or literacy). There is a notation that he received a Ticket of Leave, No.1632. In July 1820, John Smith and Mary "Ennis" also known as Ellis and Tully (convict, Elizabeth, 1818) applied for permission to marry. On 4 September 1820 they were married at St Matthew's Church of England in Windsor by Rev. John Cross. The marriage register recorded that they were both residents of Pitt Town. Witnesses were Eleanor Barry and Joseph Harpur, the Parish Clerk. A Ticket of Leave for the district of Windsor was granted to John Smith on 24th March 1825 (No. 158/1632). In the 1828 census, the Smith family was living at Bathurst the less. This was in the greater Sydney area, located to the west of the present Marsden Park and to the east of South Creek and lies between Richmond and Windsor Roads. John was a labourer, with a Ticket of Leave, and five children were listed: Margaret (9), John (6), Mary (5), Henry (3), James (2), and they owned five head of cattle. They were all Roman Catholic. John Smith signed the enumerator's return by marking with a cross. Some time later, the Smith family moved to the district of Nelson. In the 1837 convict muster, he was listed as age 42, with a Ticket of Leave in the Windsor district. John Smith received a Conditional Pardon on 1 February 1838. Mary and John had 13 children. John Smith died in 1866. His wife Mary died in 1868. John and Mary's graves are in St Matthew's Roman Catholic Cemetery at Windsor.