Summary
Personal Information
Voyage
Transportation
Charles Thompson was transported on the Thomas Arbuthnot, departing 6th Jan 1847 and arriving 4th May 1847 with 289 passengers.
Built 1841 at Aberdeen, Scotland. Wood ship of 621 Tons. Thomas Arbuthnot, 1847. “The Thomas Arbuthnot convict ship, Captain Thomson, sailed from Spithead this morning for Port Phillip, with a superior class of delinquents, officially called “exiles.” These are the first “exiles” sent to the above settlement, which the inhabitants of that respectable place are very wroth at, and have memorialised the Government on the subject. The most ingenious trades and professions are carried on, on board this ship; in fact, we believe, all trades in vogue have their representatives on board. The most ingenious affair, however, is a newspaper in manuscript, published every Saturday, having its foreign and domestic correspondence, advertisements, and, indeed, all the necessary accessories to an apparently well-conducted journal. The articles are well written and the arrangements well made. The name of this paper is the Citadel, and the conductors dub the captain of the ship ” the governor.” The Citadel having no opponents enjoys a large circulation. The editor is a man who has been of considerable note in the legitimate literary world; but all names and circumstances in connexion with their present position is strictly preserved secret with regard to these “exiles,” the greatest majority of whom are juvenile offenders from Millbank, Pentonville, and Parkhurst (Isle of Wight) prisons.”—Times, January 12. Published in the Launceston Examiner, 2 June 1847. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/36252218?searchTerm=Thomas Arbuthnot There was a lot of public criticism of the arrival of these “Exiles” in New South Wales, and of their treatment, by being offered training, etc, to the detriment of honest but poor labourers.
Thomas Arbuthnot (generic)References
| Primary Source | Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 92, Class and Piece Number HO11/15, Page Number 141 (72) |
| 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
"I have researched the life of Thomas Sherry in some depth."
Photos
No photos have been added for Charles Thompson.
Convict Notes
Old Bailey Online CHARLES THOMPSON. Theft; burglary, Theft; theft from a specified place, Theft; simple larceny (from 1827), Theft; simple larceny (from 1827). 3rd February 1845. Text type Trial account Defendants CHARLES THOMPSON Offences Theft > Burglary, Theft > Theft from place, Theft > Simple larceny, Theft > Simple larceny Session Date 3rd February 1845 Reference Number t18450203-419 Verdicts Guilty > Pleaded guilty Punishments Transportation 419. CHARLES THOMPSON alias James Shirley , was indicted for burglariously breaking and entering the dwelling-house of William Rogers, about the hour of nine in the night of the 9th of Jan., with intent to steal, and stealing therein, 1 coat, value 5l., the goods of Charles Henry Howell ; also for stealing, on the 3rd of Jan., 2 coats, value 7l., the goods of Thomas Phelps, in the dwelling-house of Ph�be Lancaster ; also for stealing, on the 7th of Jan., 1 cloak, value 12s., the goods of Allen Davis ; also, on the 10th of Jan., 1 barometer, value 5l., the goods of George Faulkner; to all of which he pleaded. GUILTY . Aged 22.— Transported for Ten Years. (John Atkins, gentleman;—Johnson, shoe-maker, Poppin's-court; Lucy Mitchell, widow, Providence-buildings, Kent-road; and William Shirley, the prisoner's brother, deposed to his good character.)
Thomas Sherry was the son of William Sherry, a painter and glazier, and Charlotte King. The family lived in Poppins Court, off Fleet Street in London. Sherry worked in different jobs including as a printer, porter and waiter. In 1844 he committed a series of burglaries around Mansion House in London, using the name JT Chambers. He would deliver a parcel of books to houses, saying they were for the cook. While the housemaid who answered the door took the books to the cook, he would steal items from inside. He was arrested and convicted as "Charles Thompson alias James Shirley", but from prison petitioned and revealed his correct name as Thomas Sherry, from Poppin's Court. (Evening Mail 24 Jan 1845/ Criminal Petitions Series II. HO18 UK Archives). He was transported as Charles Thompson and is shown with that name in shipping and disposal records. On landing, Thomas Sherry resumed his real name and took up employment in Melbourne as a printer. In 1848, he was appointed first teacher of St. Finbar's parish school in Brighton. He married Eliza McGrath in 1849 and together they ran the school until 1851. Thomas Sherry later worked as a French polisher in Geelong and Collingwood. He and Eliza had two daughters, Catherine (1860) and Eliza (1866 - died as a baby). Thomas Sherry died in the Collingwood Asylum in 1869. St Finbar's Primary School has a playground named in honour of Thomas Sherry. See article "The Talented Mr Sherry", Ancestor Journal, September 2024.