Summary
Personal Information
Transportation
Thomas Ward 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 248. --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. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26783779 |
| 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
No one has claimed Thomas Ward yet.
Photos
No photos have been added for Thomas Ward.
Convict Notes
IN WA: From his Fremantle jail record: WARD, Thomas; #4574, arrived 1 Jan 1858 per Nile Date of Birth: 1834 [1831 according to court and English jail records] Marital Status: Unmarried Occupation: Machine fitter Literacy: Semiliterate Sentence Place: York, Yorkshire, England Crime: Robbery with violence Sentence Period: Life, penal servitude Ticket of Leave Date: 6 Dec 1862 Conditional Pardon Date: 19 Oct 1868 (https://fremantleprison.com.au/) --00--
THE VOYAGE: Thomas Ward’s behaviour during the voyage was “very bad”, according to his WA Convict record. He was flogged, receiving 36 lashes, and was listed as "incorrigible" (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Character Book for Nos 4508-5585 (R8)). What prompted this punishment? Although a requirement, no journal/full report of the voyage from the ship’s Surgeon Superintendent has ever been located, according to Bill Edgar (2018) whose research fills in some blanks. Around two-thirds of the Nile’s 268 convicts could be considered “serious criminals” by virtue of the violence of their crimes, or their recidivism or both. A point that wasn’t lost on the ship’s crew or warders. Edgar (2018) says between the starting point of the Nile’s voyage at the head of the Thames at Sheerness and her arrival at Plymouth a week or so later to take on prisoners from Dartmoor, two warders “having seen the potential for trouble… decided to refuse duties they could clearly perceive as very dangerous”. They left the ship. Between the Nile’s departure from Plymouth, on 23 September, and her arrival just over 4 weeks later at Bahia (in Brazil), a “litany of frightening incidences took place aboard”. Fearing a mutiny, the captain had nine convicts placed in chains “where they were to stay for the remainder of the voyage”. There was no mutiny. Edgar writes, however: “It had been a near run thing. The prospect of a mutiny had been very real.” Despite the Nile’s arrival off WA late on the night of 31 December, 1857, the bulk of the prisoners were not disembarked for five days. Twelve men were unloaded on 2 January – three bound for hospital and nine who went in chains to Fremantle prison. The latter were the “failed mutineers”, listed as men of “bad character” by the ship’s Surgeon Superintendent in a letter to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty (Edgar, pp24-25, 27). They were: Thomas Ward, John Turnbull, James H Jones, John Cirans (Ceirans), George Foxton (alias Thompson), Patrick McBride, Michael Henry, John Ferguson, and George Woodcock (the possessor of at least seven aliases by this time). --00--
10 September, 1857: Listed as #67/6952, Thomas Ward was sent from Portland for transportation aboard the Nile to WA (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers Convicts Transported Per Nile (R32)). --00--
6 April, 1857: Admitted to Portland prison in Grove Road, Dorset. 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) Thomas Ward #6952 was listed as 25 (when convicted), single and a machine fitter. A notation says he had a health condition: "Chronic B..." [illegible]. Next of kin -- his father William Ward of Leyland, Leeds (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Portland Prison; Prison Records to 1875). --0--
8 July, 1856: Transferred to Pentonville #6843 where he spent 8 months 19 days in separate confinement. He was 5'4" tall with black hair, brown eyes and a sallow complexion (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Pentonville Prison; Register of Prisoners; 1854-1856). --0--
JAILS: 28 March, 1856: Transferred and admitted to Millbank prison, Westminster, London. “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, Wakefield, Pentonville and Mountjoy in Ireland were the “Probation” or “Separate” prisons, as were some local jails. In Millbank, Thomas Ward #2470 served just 1 month 10 days in separate confinement and his behaviour was recorded as “good” (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Millbank Prison; Register of Prisoners; to 1885). --0--
8 March, 1856: York Assizes -- convicted and sentenced to transportation for life for robbery with another with violence. Listed as 25, a machine fitter, single, Church of England, able to read and write indifferently. --00--
29 February, 1856: Committal at Leeds -- held at York Castle for 2 months and 5 days in association with other prisoners. Behaviour -- good. --0--
TRIALS: December, 1851: York Assizes -- convicted and sentenced to transportation for seven years for robbery with others and attended with personal violence, after a previous conviction of felony (England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892; Thomas Ward; England; Yorkshire - East Riding; 1851). --00--