Summary
Personal Information
Transportation
James Walker was transported on the Nile, departing 27th Jun 1850 and arriving 3rd Oct 1850 with 309 passengers.
Nile (generic)References
| Primary Source | Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 92, Class and Piece Number HO11/16, Page Number 291 (147). --0-- https://www.theislandwiki.org/index.php/Robbers_transported_to_Tasmania |
| 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
From the JERSEY ARCHIVE REGISTER contd: “Convicts’ records... James Walker James Walker is not an uncommon name among those living in Australia in the mid-19th century and it has not proved possible to identify the Jersey convict in other records. We have also been unable definitely to identify him in Jersey records before his conviction. There is no matching baptism record and he was born before birth registration was introduced. His convict record is brief, indicating that he was not much taller than Boudet, at 5ft 3¾ in. It records that his burglary conviction was discharged in May 1851, only seven months after his arrival in Tasmania. But even with a ticket of leave, he was required to present himself at an annual muster, which was obligatory for all convicts and ex-convicts. He was absent from muster in 1853 and had his ticket of leave revoked on 29 March. The record does not indicate whether he was found after this absence and returned to a convict gang - perhaps not." --0--
From the JERSEY ARCHIVE REGISTER contd: “The men: Details of the men, convicted of burglary and theft and having entered the house armed and put two ladies who occupied the same in bodily fear, appear in the register as follows: Edward Boudet (17) - One previous conviction for theft; Parents respectable but poor; shoemaker, single; reads well, writes imperfectly; of a taciturn disposition but imperfectly acquainted with the principles of religion. Edward Quenault (20) - parents poor, brother and sister bad characters; brickmaker, single; reads and writes well; of a taciturn disposition but imperfectly acquainted with the principles of religion. James Walker (17) - parents respectable but poor; single, barber; reads and writes well; seems to be well acquainted with the principles of religion. Temper rather sullen. John Lancaster (20) - father dead, mother respectable but given to drinking; single, printer; Reads and writes well; seems to be well acquainted with the principles of religion. Temper seems to be good. The Australian Convict Transportation Registers show the names of those arriving in the country as convicts between 1791 and 1868. There are only 66 men and three women convicted in Jersey who appear in these registers, and among them are Boudet and Walker, who were among 300 men sent to Australia on the convict ship Nile on 27 June 1850. UK records show that they were given prisoner numbers 15586 and 15588, respectively, and that soon after their conviction they were transferred on 14 October 1848 to Parkhurst Prison on the Isle of Wight, to await transportation. It seems that they remained there for nearly two years until the Nile sailed.” —0—
From the JERSEY ARCHIVE REGISTER contd: “Jersey Times report: The Jersey Times report described the events of the night as a ‘diabolical deed - one of the most daring and audacious robberies ever committed in the Island ‘, and continued as follows: ‘On Tuesday morning last, at about two o’clock, Mrs Cloak, residing with her mother, Mrs Anthoine, in a cottage near the Tapon in the Parish of St Saviour, fancied she heard a noise in the house, and by way of precaution got up and barricaded the door of their bedroom. Shortly afterwards, the door was tried and Mrs Cloak, opening the window, jumped out into the garden, but had hardly stepped in when she perceived a man approaching her having his face blackened. She instantly drew back and returned into the room, where three fellows, having all their faces blackened, entered after her, and drawing out their pistols, threatened to shoot both mother and daughter if they uttered the least cry. They immediately asked the alarmed inmates for money, plate and other valuables in the house, which was complied with, and Mrs Cloak was allowed to go alone and fetch the plate which was kept in an adjoining room, they knowing that she could not escape, as one of the robbers had been left outside in charge of the other door. Mrs Cloak, taking advantage of this moment of liberty, hid her gold watch and a small quantity of money in the ashes under the grate. On her return, she gave the money and the plate to the villains, but they, being provided with a dark lantern, perceived some rings on her fingers and demanded them. Not being able to remove them fast enough, one of the brigands threatened to cut off her finger if she did not hurry herself, and drawing a razor out of his pocket compelled her to fall on her knees and, unfastening the strings of her cap, told her he would cut her throat if she made the least noise. The lady, nothing daunted, cried out: ‘Kill me, if you wish, but for the love of God, spare the days of my old mother.’ Mrs Cloak, having given up her rings, the three robbers bound the two ladies together with cords and proceeded to ransack the house, from which they abstracted, besides the money, six silver soup spoons and twelve teaspoons. They then left the house, taking with them a bundle supposed to contain linen. On leaving they ordered the ladies not to stir or utter the least cry, for if they made the least noise for the next hour and a half they would return and shoot them like dogs. The individuals spoke in English and seemed to be under the command of a leader. The unfortunate ladies remaining in this situation until nearly five o’clock in the morning, in the greatest dread of the return of their barbarous visitors, when Mr Thomas Filleul, passing by, seeing the door open, and hearing the cries, entered the house and liberated them. Mrs Anthoine was most dreadfully frightened and was so ill in consequence that her friends have been compelled to call in medical aid. The police of St Helier and St Saviour have been in active pursuit ever since, and we understand that very strong suspicious are entertained of certain parties as being the probable authors of this diabolical deed.” — Whether or not those suspicions were well-founded, the four men were apprehended and appeared before the Royal Court in August, being found guilty and sentenced on the 8th of the month. The Court’s Transportation Register, which is now held by Jersey Archive, records the judgment, which was confirmed by Bailiff Sir Thomas Le Breton three weeks later. —0—
From the JERSEY ARCHIVE REGISTER contd: “14 years’ transportation: They were soon captured and found guilty of robbery with violence by a Royal Court jury in August the same year. Each was sentenced to 14 years’ transportation [James Walker's sentence was commuted to 7 years]. Two of them were sent on a convict ship to Australia, one with his sentence reduced to seven years [James Walker], and the other two were sent to a prison hulk in Bermuda, eventually to return home. The robbery was reported in the Jersey Times of 19 May 1848 and was the lead story in the fourth edition of our digest of that newspaper’s content in December 2019. Their conviction and sentence was reported in a very brief item in the eighth edition in January 2020. Since then we have been trying to piece together more details of the lives of the robbers, both before their shocking attack on the mother and daughter, and after. They were 17-year-olds Edward Boudet and James Walker, and 20-year-olds Edward Quenault and James Lancaster. The two teenagers were sent to Australia, the older men endured the much harsher conditions known to have faced convicts sent to Bermuda. The house they broke into was occupied by 65-year-old Elizabeth Anthoine, nee Payne, the daughter of Philippe and Jeanne, nee du Fresne, and her daughter Ann Cloak (43). Elizabeth was the widow of Nicolas Anthoine, who died in 1827.” --0--
From the JERSEY ARCHIVE REGISTER (https://www.theislandwiki.org/index.php/Transportation_Registers): “In the early hours of 16 May 1848 four young men armed with pistols broke into a cottage on St Saviour’s Hill and terrorised the occupants, a mother and her daughter, making threats to kill them if they did not hand over their valuables. After tying their victims up with cords, they ransacked the house and then escaped with money, a silver plate and spoons, and the rings the women were wearing.” —0—
TRIAL: 4 August, 1848: Tried, convicted and sentenced at St Heliers with three others for robbery with violence. He received a term of 7 years’ transportation (http://foundersandsurvivors.org/pubsearch/convict/chain/ai72730). —00—