Thomas Madden

Level 72

Robin Sharkey on 22nd August 2015

Thomas Madden arrived in NSW in July 1811 on “Providence Convict ship from Ireland. He was aged 20 at the time the ship sailed from Ireland (recorded on the Indent for December 1810). CRIME He was convicted at the Limerick County Court in July 1809 for several offences, one being horse stealing, sentenced to death, eventually respited to Life transportation: “Freemans Journal Tues July 25th, 1809, p. 2 LIMERICK July 22nd - Since the commencement of our Assizes, the following persons were tired and convicted - in the County, Thomas Madden for horse stealing and other offences, sentenced to be hanged on 22nd August next” He wasn’t hanged on 22 August, but the death sentence may have been deferred while his case was still being considered by Dublin Castle because he attempted to break out of jail a month after he was to be hanged, and he was described as being under the death sentence. LIMERICK JAIL BREAK OUT ATTEMPT * September 1809 Madden was one of six young men who tried to break out of Limerick Jail but were caught. Five of them would sail on the “Providence” to NSW over a year later. They had attempted to “effect an escape by breaking the walls of their cells, and from thence proceeding to a yard towards the river, intended by means of ropes to get into the street.” They were detected by the “active” gaolers, Hederman and Sperin, but not until they’d succeeded in opening the communication between their apartments and breaking a party wall. [Freemans Journal of Tues 26th September 1809, page 3] His gaol-breaking mates were: * Daniel Danaher (then aged 19) and Richard Clarke (then 20) were also listed as being under sentence of death * Timothy Sheedy, then aged 28, had been sentenced to 7 yrs’ transportation. * James Sargent (then aged 29) and John Carroll had been committed for cow stealing but not yet tried. However, Sargent would get 7 years’ transportation. NSW Madden court spent most of his life as a convict or in jails not getting his Conditional Pardon until 1848 when aged almost 60! Within two years of arriving he got sent to Newcastle for something, record not found because: Sydney Gazette,Saturday January 29th 1814 report Thomas Madden in custody after escaping from Newcastle. Letter Feb 2 1814, Sent back to Newcastle again per “Endeavour” (Col Sec Correspondence letter 2 Feb 1814) * 19 Sept 1823 - Prisoner assigned to Ann H Bushell, Sussex Street. * 16 Nov 1824, Letter, On the Clearing party at the Orphan School, Liverpool . * Sept - Dec 1824 - On return of convicts punished at Liverpool. Two other convicts from the Orphan School Clearing party punished with lashes on the same day * 1825 Muster - GS to Ann Terry at Campbelltown. * 1828 (October),Sydney Gaol entry Book - Thomas Madden, Providence - arrived from General Sessions at Liverpool, for FELONY, sentence: to Penal Settlement for three years. * To Moreton Bay for his three years penal servitude for colonial crime. 1831, 5th October - transported back to Sydney from Moreton Bay penal settlement and entered in to the Hyde Park Barracks 5/10/1831 * 1837 Muster - Assigned to Charles Boydell near Gresford in the Paterson district. Boydell got a land grant at Paterson in 1826, the year he arrived as a free settler in NSW, and selected his land on the Allyn River Paterson in the Hunter Valley. he was a magistrate from 1834 and grew tobacco as one of his crops. Tom Madden may have got along OK at Boydell’s “Camyrallyn” property as his later obituary described Boydell as “Unostentatious in his intercourse with everyone, charitable in his disposition … a friend to the poor …” * 1840 Ticket of Leave. no 40/2429 Allowed to remain in District of Patterson (Ref SRNSW 4/4145; Reel 938). He was no aged 50 years old. * 1848 -Conditional Pardon at Last. He was now aged almost 60 years old.