Penal colony 1841 Tasmania, Australia
I am having a hard time trying to find out more about my 3rd great grandfather who was sent to Tasmania for stealing in England. I have found his conduct records and am wondering if he was released in 1849. There is a lot I can't read. If someone is good at reading this writing I would love to know if it says anything about when he was released and if he left Australia. There is writing in the crease of the page but I am unable to read that either. Any ideas about where else to search for him to find out if he returned to his family in England or is buried in Australia. I am including his ID number on FamilySearch. William Shaw 1796 – 17 September 1869 KLXW-3CM. (I have put a death date for William on FamilySearch but I am not sure that it is for my William Shaw. Did they have census records in 1851 or 1861 in Australia that might have recorded where he was living if he had been granted freedom or if he remarried?
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I have had some difficulties as well trying to read what is contained in the document. However, in an attempt to help answer some of your questions and perhaps provide some additional background into where William Shaw might have ended up here’s what I’ve come up with so far.
- From the upper left hand corner of the page it lists an arrival date of April 18, 1841. It also lists William’s age as 42. Assuming this is accurate it would make his year of birth as 1798 or 1799 depending on the time of year.
- It appears from this document that William Shaw served more than 18 months. It also appears that much of the handwriting in the lower portions of the page have to do with various “Offences” that William may have committed and subsequent “Sentences” which apparently added to the amount of time that William served.
- One of the last entries in the lower center of the page has the date of 1850 and the words “S.L. (believe this might be Sick Leave) revoked absent from Muster”. This date plus additional documents found from the link you provided for locating the document you posted made it seem that he may not have been released but possibly transferred to another location. Search - Tasmanian Names Index (sirsidynix.net.au)
- Looking further at this website there were additional entries regarding William Shaw as follows:
- Appears to have been married in England. Wife’s name as Eliza and had six children. https://stors.tas.gov.au/CON31-1-41$init=CON31-1-41P189
- In an 1831 Census on FamilySearch it listed William Shaw Grantham, Lincolnshire, England Census, shows the family in England, 5 individuals in the family, 2 males, 3 females William Shaw Eliza Rilatt 1831 1831 Grantham, — FamilySearch.org
- Additional information provided at the link you provided in your post lists a William Shaw on 11 Nov. 1851 leaving on a steamer for Melbourne. It lists a category of “Ship to the Colony”. For William Shaw it lists “Blenheim”. There are also additional postings of a William Shaw you might want to look into that could provide further information on a final destination.
- Death certificate of Eliza Shaw in 1866 listed her as the widow of William Shaw https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/118556127?p=12088195&returnLabel=Eliza%20Rilatt%20(KD9V-3CN)&returnUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.familysearch.org%2Ftree%2Fperson%2Fmemories%2FKD9V-3CN Assuming this is accurate William Shaw would have died prior to 1866.
- The following link lists a death record for a William Shaw age 63 as 23 Feb. 1862 in Ely Place which would indicate that he eventually made it back to England. London, England, City of London and Tower Hamlets Cemetery Registers, 1841-1966 - Ancestry.com
Hopefully, this information will help in researching further where William Shaw’s final resting place is located.
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Thanks for looking into this for me. I had since had some help reading most of this and have added in in the description notes under the document on FamilySearch. He was sentenced for 14 years to Australia. https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/175555811?p=12088224&returnLabel=William%20Shaw%20(KLXW-3CM)&returnUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.familysearch.org%2Ftree%2Fperson%2Fmemories%2FKLXW-3CM
I also know the ship he went on (Duncan) and have added court records and other info to his profile (KLXW-3CM) on FamilySearch. I have found numerous records for him and need to add more.
I purchased the death cert for his wife. He is not buried with her in the cemetery where she is buried. I don't believe the death for a William Shaw that you had in London is not the same William Shaw. I believe my William Shaw remarried in Australia and died there. I have added a marriage to a Elizabeth Young (97M6-4GW) and a William Shaw (97M6-4LY) on FamilySearch who I do think is a duplicate for my William but am trying to find more proof before I merge them. This William Shaw was a free man when he married Elizabeth (a convict) in Hobart, Australia. The wife Elizabeth dies and then the William Shaw dies as a pauper in Brickfields. (Brickfields functioned as a nursery until 1859 when it was designated an invalid station and used to accommodate some of the thousands of paupers who required institutional care in Tasmania at the end of convictism) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q27M-YB45
I still have not found my William Shaw's parents. The convict records say he was born in London but was brought up in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England. That is where we find him in the parish marriages to Eliza, who was also from London. I have potential parents for both of them but have not been able to been able to find the proof for the multiple options for parents I have found. William Shaw is a pretty common name I have found.
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It seems that you have made great progress since your original posting. I agree, William Shaw is a "pretty common name". Hopefully your progress will continue with locating William's parents. Maybe you'll get some unexpected help along the way.
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