Summary
Personal Information
Voyage
Transportation
Henry Williams was transported on the Hougoumont, departing 10th Oct 1867 and arriving 9th Jan 1868 with 281 passengers.
875 ton ship was built at Moulmein in 1852. http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/on-this-day-in-history-australias-last-convict-ship-docks.htm ---------------------------- Incorrect Image ....This is a four masted steel hulled Barque in the drawing , im surprised Australian Geo didn't do a bit more research on this .......The Hougoumont was a works ship on the Forth Bridge Project in 1885 ....the one potrayed as a drawing in Aust Geo is the later version of this ship.....the photograph i have attached is the correct and original convict vessel. --00-- 1867 "The hired convict ship Hougoumont, which has been taken up by the Government for the conveyance of a numerous party of convicts to Freemantle, Western Australia, left the Nore on October 1, and proceeded down Channel, after receiving on board 150 convicts from the establishments at Chatham and Millbank. The convicts from the Chatham establishment, at St. Mary's, embarked from the dockyard on board the paddle-wheel steamer Adder, Mr. W. J. Blakely, and were in charge of a numerous party of convict guards and wardens, all heavily armed. Among the convicts shipped were a party of fifteen Fenians, who were engaged in the late conspiracy in Ireland, together with the officers and crew convicted of scuttling the ship Severn, and some others who have achieved notoriety from their crimes. The Fenian convicts, like the remainder of the prisoners, were chained together in gangs, but it was observed that they were kept apart from the other convicts in a portion of the vessel by themselves. The steamer Petrel also took down a number of convicts from the establishment at Millbank for shipment on board the Hougoumont, in charge of a strong escort and convict guard. On Tuesday, October 8th, the Hougoumont arrived in Portland roads. Shortly before midday ninety convicts were marched down to the Government pier at Portland under a strong escort of the 12th Light Infantry. The party included twenty-three Fenian convicts, among whom it was said, was Moriarty. The Government steamer employed in the breakwater service was used for conveying the convicts on board the Hougoumont transport ship. The convicts were chained together on embarking, and on board the steamer a strong guard of marines from her Majesty's ship St. George was formed, and saw the convicts safely placed on board the Hougoumont. The Governor of the penal settlement at Freemantle, Captain Young, is on board the Hougoumont, and returns in that ship to his sphere of duty after paying a visit to his native land." Source: Sydney Morning Herald, Thu 19 Dec 1867, p4, English Shipping, available on Trove at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/28608271?searchTerm=hougoumont.
HougoumontReferences
| Primary Source | Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 93, Class and Piece Number HO11/19, Page Number 253 (129). --0-- https://fremantleprison.com.au/ --0-- England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892; England; Yorkshire - West Riding; 1865 |
| 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 Henry Williams yet.
Photos
No photos have been added for Henry Williams.
Convict Notes
FOOTNOTE: Year of birth was taken from his jail record in the UK.
IN WA: From his Fremantle jail record: WILLIAMS, Henry; inmate #9912, arrived 10 Jan 1868 per Hougoumont Date of Birth: 1843 Date of Death: 29 Apr 1873 Place of Death: Champion Bay, hospital, bronchitis Marital Status: Unmarried Occupation: Clerk Literacy: Literate Sentence Place: Leeds Crime: Felony, stealing jacket Sentence Period: 10 years Previous Convictions: Yes Ticket Leave Date: 29 Jan 1871 Comments: Tutor (https://fremantleprison.com.au/), --00--
5 October, 1867: He was sent from Portsmouth to board the Hougoumont for transportation to WA (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951 for Henry Williams; Portsmouth Prison; Registers of Prisoners; 1866-1868). “The hired convict ship Hougoumont, which has been taken up by the Government for the conveyance of a numerous party of convicts to Freemantle, Western Australia, left the Nore [an anchoring-ground in the estuary of the Thames, 3 miles n-e of Sheerness] on October 1, and proceeded down Channel, after receiving on board 150 convicts from the establishments at Chatham and Millbank… On Tuesday, October 8th, the Hougoumont arrived in Portland roads. Shortly before midday ninety convicts were marched down to the Government pier at Portland under a strong escort of the 12th Light Infantry…. The Government steamer employed in the breakwater service was used for conveying the convicts on board the Hougoumont transport ship. The convicts were chained together on embarking, and on board the steamer a strong guard of marines from her Majesty’s ship St. George was formed, and saw the convicts safely placed on board the Hougoumont.” (Sydney Morning Herald, 19 December, 1867, p4, on Trove at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/28608271). --00--
27 September, 1867: From Woking, he was sent to Portsmouth prison; listed as inmate #1230 (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951 for Henry Williams; Portsmouth Prison; Registers of Prisoners; 1866-1868). --0--
1865/1866: Some time after his conviction he was sent to Portland jail, Grove Road, Dorset (Woking Prison; Register of Prisoners; 1854-1878). --0-- 19 October, 1866: Henry Williams was received at Woking prison, Knaphill, Woking, in Surrey; inmate #2916, a mechanic, and sentenced to 10 years for robbery with violence (Woking Prison; Register of Prisoners; 1854-1878). Opened in April 1859, primarily for invalided male convicts, by March 1860 Woking had taken over entirely from the temporary invalid prison at Lewes. Between 1862 and 1867, it was responsible for the working party sent to labour for the construction of Broadmoor Criminal Asylum (https://www.prisonhistory.org/). --0--
JAILS: 15 May, 1865: Henry Williams was admitted to Wakefield jail (House of Correction, Love Lane in Wakefield) to await trial on 4 August before Mr Justice Mellor. He was listed as 26, a mechanic and literate (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951 for Henry Williams; Wakefield Gaol; Calendar of Trials; 1860-1879). --0--
NEWSPAPER report of his trial: "WEST RIDING ASSIZES... Assault and Robbery at Leeds. Henry Williams, alias Thos. Beecroft, alias John Lee, 26, a mechanic, was charged with assaulting John Jackson, at Leeds, and robbing him of £4. —On the 13th May, the prosecutor, a boy employed at Mr. Taylor's ironworks, went to the keeper of the toll-bar at Crown Point Bridge, and obtained, as he had frequently done before, £4 in copper in exchange for sovereigns. He returned along the high road, and, when passing Armitage's chemical works, he was assaulted by the prisoner, who knocked him down with a large piece of iron, and robbed him of the money. Although rendered almost insensible by the blow, the boy screamed so loudly that he attracted the attention of Green, a cabman, and a labourer named Mellows. They pursued the prisoner, who was making off across the field. Observing himself to be followed, the prisoner threw away the bag of money and endeavoured to escape, but he was caught and given into the custody of a policeman. The jury found a verdict of Guilty; and the prisoner, who had been previously convicted of felony, was sentenced to ten years' penal servitude. —His Lordship awarded £1 to the boy Jackson for the courage he had displayed, and to Mellows and Green a similar sum for their exertions in apprehending the prisoner." (Saturday 12 August 1865; Leeds Times, p3) --00--
TRIAL: 4 August, 1865: At the Leeds Assizes, Henry Williams was convicted and sentenced to 10 years for robbery with violence; a previous conviction for felony was taken into account (England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892 for Henry Williams; England; Yorkshire - West Riding; 1865). --00--