Summary
Personal Information
Transportation
William Valentine Stokes 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 236. --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. --0-- Bethell, (2016) at (https://notchesblog.com/2016/09/06/prison-sex-in-the-mid-victorian-english-convict-system/) |
| 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
OTHER: 1851 England Census: William V Stokes, confectioner, aged 30, was living at Dove Place, Hammersmith, with his wife Mary (28) and their children Mary A (8) and George William (4). William V Stokes was born in France, a British subject (1851 England Census; Middlesex; Hammersmith; Brompton 2). --0-- After William Stokes was transported: In 1861, Mary Stokes, aged 38, "a widow" and laundress, and her son George, 13, were living in Waterloo Street, Hammersmith (1861 England Census for Mary Stokes; Middlesex; Hammersmith; St Paul Hammersmith; District 10). In 1871, Mary Stokes, aged 48, "a widow" and laundress was living alone at 25 Waterloo Street, Hammersmith (1871 England Census for Mary Stokes; London; Hammersmith; St Paul Hammersmith; 11). --0--
IN WA: From his Fremantle jail record: STOKES, William Valentine; inmate #4603, arrived 1 Jan 1858 per Nile Date of Birth: 1814 [UK jail and WA Convict records point to 1827 as his year of birth] Marital Status: Married 2 children Occupation: Confectioner Literacy: Literate Sentence Place: Maidstone, Kent, England Crime: Buggery Sentence Period: Life, commuted Ticket of Leave Date: 28 Jan 1861 Conditional Pardon Date: 2 Dec 1872 Comments: Self-employed, 1862 (https://fremantleprison.com.au/). --0--
ABOUT THE CRIME: In "Prison Sex in the Mid-Victorian English Convict System", Ben Bethell (2016) writes that "men sentenced under the sodomy laws were regarded as the very worst kind of criminal. Though the last executions for sodomy took place in 1835, it remained a capital crime until 1861, after which it carried a maximum sentence of penal servitude for life and a ten-year minimum sentence. Attempted sodomy, indecent assault, and assault with intent, which in practice might include any sexual act between men, all carried a maximum sentence of ten years’ penal servitude... Unlike most of those sentenced to penal servitude before 1875, men sentenced under the sodomy laws were dispatched, along with other ‘dangerous men’, to the English penal system’s surviving overseas outposts: to prison hulks on Bermuda, until these were closed in 1861; to the fledgling penal settlement at Fremantle in Western Australia, until colonial authorities succeeded in 1863 in preventing their transportation there; and, until its closure in 1875, to the convict prison at Gibraltar." (https://notchesblog.com/2016/09/06/prison-sex-in-the-mid-victorian-english-convict-system/) —00—
8 September, 1857: Sent from Portsmouth to board the Nile for transportation to WA, convict #1/3387; by this time he had served 2 years 1 month 12 days of his life term. His behaviour during the voyage was "good" (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Convicts Transported Per Nile (R32)). --00--
7 June, 1856: Admitted to Portsmouth prison, Cumberland Street/Gloucester Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire—inmate #3387; behaviour in public works "exemplary". 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) William Valentine Stokes was listed as 28 when convicted; married with two children, a confectioner, Church of England, able to read and write. Next of kin -- his wife, Mary Stokes, of 2 Edmonds Place, South Street, Hammersmith, Middlesex ((UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Portsmouth Prison; Registers of Prisoners; 1855-1858). --0--
22 September, 1855: Admitted to Millbank prison, Westminster, London -- served 8 months 15 days in separate confinement; behaviour "good". “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. --0--
JAILS: 24 July, 1855: Admitted to Maidstone County Gaol and House of Correction, County Road, Maidstone, Kent -- served 1 month 26 days; behaviour "quiet and orderly". --0--
TRIAL: 28 July, 1855: Convicted at Maidstone Assizes, Kent, of buggery [sodomy] and sentenced to death, reprieved to transportation for life (England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892 for William Valentine Stokes; England; Kent; 1855). --0--
COMMITTAL: 14 July, 1855: William Valentine Stokes was committed to stand trial at Canterbury County Gaol and House of Correction (also known as St Augustine's jail), Longport Road, Canterbury. --0--