Summary
Personal Information
Crime
Transportation
James Wright was transported on the Clara, departing 19th Mar 1857 and arriving 3rd Jul 1857 with 262 passengers.
Clara (generic)References
| Primary Source | Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 93, Class and Piece Number HO11/18, Page Number 206. --00--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. |
| 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
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Convict Notes
From his Fremantle jail record: WRIGHT, James; inmate #4465, arrived 3 July 1857 per Clara (1) Date of Birth: 1832 Marital Status: Unmarried Occupation: Boot closer Sentence Date: 19 Aug 1850 Sentence Place: London, London, England Sentence Period: 7 years Ticket of Leave Date: 19 Aug 1857 (https://fremantleprison.com.au/). --00--
TRANSPORTATION: IN WA: 7 July, 1857: On arrival, listed as #4465, 18 years old when convicted, shoemaker, reads and writes well, Protestant; last held at Dartmoor; behaviour in separate confinement at Millbank "bad", in public works "indifferent", on the voyage to WA "good" (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Character Book, 1850 - 1857 (R17)). --0--
4 December, 1854: Licence for Parole (Ticket of Leave) granted, #2177, to James Wright for early release from Dartmoor prison. --0-- 25 January, 1856: Licence revoked (https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C10168101). No details of the offence that resulted in this revocation. --00--
After December, 1851: Inmate #873 in Dartmoor prison, at Princetown, Yelverton, in Devon. “Originally built in 1809, Dartmoor was re-opened as a male convict public works prison in November 1850” (https://www.prisonhistory.org/). Based on the expectation that he would have served around 12 months in separate confinement at Millbank, together with his prisoner number in Dartmoor, he was probably admitted in early 1852. 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) --0--
24 December, 1850: Admitted to Millbank prison in Westminster. “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, Pentonville, Wakefield and Mountjoy in Ireland were the “Probation” or “Separate” prisons, as were some local jails. --0--
JAILS: 8 August, 1850: Admitted to Newgate jail to await trial; 18 years old from Shoreditch, boot maker (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Newgate Prison; Registers of Prisoners to 1862). --0--
TRIAL: 19 August, 1850: Old Bailey (Central Criminal Court) "#1428. JAMES WRIGHT, stealing 1 Guernsey-frock, value 4s.; the goods of the Trustees of the poor of St. Leonard, Shoreditch; having been before convicted; to which he pleaded GUILTY. Aged 18.— Transported for Seven Years." (https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/) --0--