Richard Sadler (alias Cox) was born in 1794 and lived in Awre where he worked as a labourer. On 31 March 1819, at the age of 25, he was sentenced to death which was commuted to transportation for life for stealing three sheep from Thomas Packer of Newland. After a spell on the hulk, Justitia, he was transferred to the Neptune which set sail for New South Wales on 23 March 1820.
He was given a ticket of leave on 28 August 1838 and a conditional pardon on 2 March 1846.
John Wathen was born in 1778 and lived in Westbury-on-Severn. On 11 January 1817, at the age of 39, he was convicted of stealing from John Smith the following items; a rug, 11 plates, 2 salts, 2 vinegar bottles, 2 glasses, 2 saucers, a jug and a sugar basin. He was sentenced to be transported for 7 years. After a spell on the hulk, the Justitia, he was transferred to the Lord Eldon which set sail for New South Wales on 9 April 1817 and arrived on 30 September 1817. He obtained his certificate of freedom on 15 January 1824.
John Cecil was born in 1787 in Tidenham where he worked as a labourer. In April 1816 he was charged with breaking into the property of the Reverend Thomas Thomas of Tidenham and stealing one tin pint and several other articles. However, when he appeared before the Summer Assizes on 17 August 1816, he was found not guilty. On 11 January 1821, at the age of 34, he was convicted of theft and sentenced to be transported for 7 years. His prison records state:
“John Cecil, aged 34, committed November 4, 1820, by Thomas Thomas, Clerk, charged on the oaths of Alexander Trotter, John Morgan, and others, with having, on or about the 6th day of October last, feloniously stolen, taken, and carried away a quantity of elm lath, the property of his Grace the Duke of Beaufort, from a farm-yard in the occupation of the said Alexander Trotter, in the parish of Wollaston: And also, on suspicion of having feloniously stolen, taken, and carried away six oak boards, the property of the said Alexander Trotter, from his farm-yard at Tidenham.”
After a spell on the hulk, the Justitia, he was transferred to the Adamant which set sail for New South Wales on 19 March 1821 and arrived on 8 September 1821. In 1822 he was assigned to Mr. O’Brien of Richmond, New South Wales. In 1828 he received his Certificate of Freedom.
John Boxall was born in Blakeney in 1786. In 1800, at the age of 14, he enlisted with the Royal Marines and at 16, he joined the 90th Foot Soldiers, 2nd Battalion. After spending 6 years with this regiment overseas he was discharged in 1816 due to a “Malformation”. He then returned to Blakeney where he worked as a labourer.
On 15 April 1817, at the age of 31, he was convicted of breaking into a waggon belonging to George Playne while it travelled from Minchinhampton to Bristol and stealing a quantity of woollen cloth while it was in Thornbury. He was sentenced to be transported for 7 years. After a spell on the hulk, the Justitia, he was transferred to the Batavia which set sail for New South Wales on 1 November 1817 and arrived on 5 April 1818.
Boxall obtained his certificate of freedom on 15 April 1824 and died in Sydney on 15 June 1839.
John Baglin was born in 1799 in English Bicknor where he worked as a collier. On 9 April 1827, at the age of 28, he was convicted with Thomas James for the theft of a sheep owned by Richard Bennett and sentenced to death commuted to transportation for life. After a spell on the hulk, the Justitia, he was transferred to the Florentia which set sail for New South Wales on 15 September 1827 and arrived on 3 January 1828. He received a conditional pardon in November 1848.
John Mayo was born in 1799 and lived in Coleford where he worked as a hairdresser. On 2 August 1817, at the age of 17, he was condemned to death for entering a house in St Briavels and stealing an ebony flute valued at 20 shillings the property of James Davies. However, he was reprieved and no other sentence was imposed having spent about six months on remand.
On 31 Aug 1818, he was sentenced to be transported for seven years for breaking into a house in Cheltenham and stealing a silver-plated urn valued at 5 shillings with Daniel Powell, aged 27 from Trelleck, who was also transported for seven years. He was transferred to the hulk, the Justitia and then to the Baring which set sail for New South Wales on 27 January 1819 and arrived on 26 June 1819.
In 1804, following the uprising at Castle Hill, a permanent settlement was established at Newcastle to house convicts who re-offended in the Colony. Until it closed in 1822 the Newcastle settlement functioned principally as a place of secondary punishment for convicts sentenced by the courts for offences while serving their original (primary) sentence in the Colony. In November 1820, Mayo was convicted of theft and sent to Newcastle for 14 years.
John Mayo died on 24 June 1860 aged 64.
There is some confusion over which Richard Aston was transported and where he was born. The first piece of research below was done by Jennings and Evelyn Fish and Gill Webb and posted on Ancestry. However, the second piece of research below carried out by Huw Blake and posted on Ancestry highlights some inconsistencies and challenges their conclusions.
Amos Meek was born in 1787 and lived in Ruardean. He then moved to Monmouthshire where he worked as a shoemaker. On 17 Aug 1816, at the age of 29, he was sentenced to death commuted to transportation for life for the theft of a horse, the property of John Getten in the parish of Newland. After a spell on the Justitia at Woolwich, he was transferred to the Lord Eldon which set sail for New South Wales on 9 April 1917 and arrived on 30 September 1817.
Robert Jones was born in 1779 in Longhope in the Forest of Dean near the Herefordshire border where he worked as a butcher. He married Mary Munn (b1784) in Woolhope on 3 August 1807 and had 8 children: Ann (b1809), Thomas (b1811), Mary (b1813), John (b1814), Mary and Elizabeth (baptised 1816), Robert (b1819) and Jane (b1820).
On 3 June 1823, at the age of 44, Jones was sentenced to death which was then commuted to transportation for life for the theft of one steer and two heifers owned by Thomas Nelmes of Yarleton Farm, Longhope. After a spell on the hulk, Justitia, he was transferred to the Countess of Harcourt which set sail for New South Wales on 23 March 1824 arriving on 12 July 1824. The Gloucester penitentiary and onboard surgeon described his behaviour as orderly.
Jones was initially assigned to John Bingle, an explorer, general merchant, shipowner, farmer, magistrate and a member of the colonial elite. Jones was then assigned to work for a wool magnate, Hannibal Hawkins Macarthur, until he died in 1852. Hannibal Macarthur was the nephew of the famous John Macarthur, also a member of the colonial elite and father of Australia’s merino sheep industry.
Jones married Elizabeth Smith on 20 June 1831. Smith was born in 1782/83 in Caithness in Scotland. She was sentenced to be transported for seven years at the Lancashire Quarter Sessions on 2 February 1824. She departed England on the ship Midas in 1825. She obtained her Certificate of Freedom on February 1831.
Jones was given a ticket of leave on 11 March 1833 and a conditional pardon on 1 August 1839. He received a Royal Free Pardon on 16 January 1850. The latter enabled him, if he wished, to return to England. However, he remained in Australia working for Hawkins Macarthur.
The census of 1828 shows him living in the household of Hannibal Macarthur in Parramatta. The census of 1841 shows he is still in the Parramatta district with Elizabeth but no children.
Robert Jones died on 28 Sept 1852 in Parramatta, New South Wales. Elizabeth Smith died in 1861 and is buried in the same cemetery as her husband.
In 1835, Robert Jones’s son Thomas was transported for stealing 8s 6d from James Smith in his home village of Much Marcle in Herefordshire.
Thanks to Trish Pinder from Adelaide who provided much of this information. Trish is a direct descendant of Robert Jones and Mary Munn.
William Harris (1) was born in 1801 and lived in English Bicknor where he worked as a labourer. On 3 August 1826, at the age of 25, he was sentenced to death commuted to transportation for life for the theft of one sheep. After a spell on the hulks, he was transferred to the Andromeda which set sail for Van Diemen’s Land on 14 October 1826 and arrived on 23rd February 1827. He was initially detailed to work on public works and then as an assistant to Mr Mackersey. He was granted a ticket of leave on 21 August 1835, recommended for a conditional pardon on 29 May 1839 and 19 November 1840 and finally granted a free pardon on 4 April 1844.