names of convicts sent to america

We use cookies to bring you the best experience, record visits, serve ads, provide signup forms and deliver other essential functions. The New South Wales census (HO 10/21 HO 10/27) is the most complete. One way many people solved this problem was through indentured service. 1615. Daniel Salmon employed some of the Scots on his company farm., where they kept the community cattle. 62 went to John Giffard, the agent for the Undertakers of The Iron Works of Lynn (Saugus). Through Virtual Jamestown you can access several free databases of records pertaining to indentured servants, including the Registers of Servants Sent to Foreign Plantations, 1654 1686. On September 16Th, the secretary,Gualter Frost, was ordered to confer with the petitioners, to terms under which they would undertake the project. Only the most difficult convicts were sent to the Tasman Peninsula prison known as Port Arthur. Before the Transportation Act of 1718, criminals either escaped with just a whipping or a branding. However, by the time the Scots arrived in Boston, they were in poor health. The National Museum of Australia holds the world's largest collection of convict tokens, with more than 310 in its collection. He was received as an inhabitant of Exester 1678. Middlesex, 1617-1775 -- v. 2. The remainder were sold to local residents. . Many references to this form of servitude can be found in the state, county, or local court and contract records. Many were sent to Berwick Maine after the demise of the Iron Works. Bonded Passengers to America, also by Peter Wilson Coldham, gives a detailed overview of all relevant records and published sources in The National Archives. Involuntary servitude, along with slavery in the United States, was banned as a part of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1865. A small percentage of these ended up in Canada or the other North American colonies. The third entry for Major Samuel Goldsmith shows that he transported himself, his family, and five other people who would have worked for their passage under indentures. Chapter IV: Transportation as a Business. Thomas McCarthy Fennell (1841-1914), Irish Fenian, transported to Western Australia in 1868 for treason. ], they lived in Oyster River. Petitions could be on behalf of persons convicted in courts of any level and for sentences ranging from a few weeks imprisonment to death. He was to be sure that each load was of full measure. Sarah was a real life Moll Flanders who created a remarkable series of different lives for herself on both sides of the Atlantic. Eventually, Swan River (Western Australia) would become a third penal colony when the failing settlement requested an injection of convict labourers (1850-1868). The Iron Works at that time covered over 600 acres, from what is now Saugus Center to Walnut street up towards what is now North Saugus, almost out to where Route one is now and over as far as Lynn Commons. Volume I History of Transportation 1615-1775. Then, the servant and the employer would sign the indenture, making it a legally binding contract. The work was hard, dirty, hot and dangerous. No other reason is necessary to justify an attempt to identify these pioneers, beginning with this comprehensive listing of Middlesex prisoners sentenced to transportation throughout the period in which this odious traffic was conducted. The convicts' sentences varied from seven or 14 years to life in prison. The English Courts between them may safely be reckoned as having been responsible from 1615 to 1775 for the provision of some 50,000 plantation servants who thus formed by far the largest identifiable class of colonial settlers throughout the period of British rule in the Americas. With that authority Hasslrigge sent forty men to work as indentures servants at the salt works at Shields. People who paid to transport others were required to report those transported, so the people transported are listed next to the persons name in the database. Enter your email address below to get the latest news and exclusive content from The History Press delivered straight to your inbox. This example shows search results for Philip Welch, one of the young men mentioned in the court case above. The American Revolution of 1776 meant that transportation to North America was no longer possible. you need to know that Maryland was settled primarily due to a process of headrights in which a person was granted 50 acres of land for every additional person that he transported to Maryland. At these remote stations living conditions were harsher and punishments more severe. The Convict's Memoir. Between 1788 and 1868 more than 162,000 convicts were transported to Australia. Your email address will not be published. Once the indenture was completed my ancestors still had nothing. crew, passengers, military. Convict Colonies. An incomplete list of Scots who were sent to New England in 1650 appeared in the Iron Works papers in 1653. He then moved to York, Maine, to an area where other Scots had settled. Today is nowhere as near as large and a Historical Site. A notice warning punishment by transportation on a bridge in Dorset, Black-eyed Sue and Sweet Poll of Plymouth taking leave of their lovers who are going to Botany Bay (1792), Queen Charlotte, wife of George III of the United Kingdom, whom Sarah Wilson claimed was her sister. Sarah was an impostor and a fraudster. About 80 percent were sent to Maryland and Virginia, while the rest were scattered throughout other New World colonies. Applications are known as petitions, and may have been made by friends, relatives or other associates on behalf of the convict. Convict Runaways in Maryland, 1745-1775 - Volume 23 Issue 2. Alexander Maxwell, was at The Great Works in 1654 when relations between him and the English master turned violent. In 1662, Brown and Orr of Sacco Falls belonging to Winter Harbor, for himself and Henry Brown. You can access these records free of charge through Google Books. Lookups of specific research books to find their offline locations can be found via ArchiveGrid/WorldCat. The database offers both simple and advanced search options, as well as a Soundex. Heres How to Find Out, From Pension Applications to Bounty Warrants: Free Revolutionary War Records Online, Looking for indentured servants that entered into America prior to the revolutionary war name William Humphrey. The list contains: Non-Convict name, title, ship, contact name and e-mail address. But the colonization of North American began before the Pilgrims, with the founding of Jamestown in 1607. However, letting them go could prove to be very dangerous. In addition, the scarcityof distinct record sets for convicts decreases the odds ofAmericans knowing abouttheir British convict ancestors. He had at least 2 sons, John and Robert. In 1776 the US population was estimated at 2.5 million. While some saw transportation as a severe punishment by exiling convicts to seven or fourteen years of slavery, others regarded transportation as offering rehabilitation to the convicts by giving them the opportunity of making a new life in a new country away from the temptations of their old haunts. They planned to sell each man for between 20 and 30 pounds, which would have made them a considerable profit, since they only paid five pounds for each man. Each entry included in this database has different amounts of information, but this example shows how much information can be found. The 1755 Census of Maryland reveals the distribution of transported convicts across the colony. Henry Magoon married Elizabeth Lissen in 1661 and Alexander Gordon then married Mary, the youngest of lessin's daughters, in 1664. Napoleon III established the penal colony in 1854, and some 80,000 French convictscriminals, spies and political prisonerswould be sent there before it officially closed in 1938. They are mainly from England and Wales but there are Scottish and some Irish cases and also courts martial from around the world. Maxwell, eventually became a well-to-do taven Keeper. it was there they ran a sawmill. Philip Welch is my ancestor. The William Brown House, an elegant Georgian brick building built in the 1760s, sits on the banks of the South River in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Search by facility name, state, region, type, and security level. These can be useful in researching transported convicts. The transportation agents performed a useful service. If the aforementioned online resources have not revealed your indentured servant ancestor, there are other places you can look. Your email address will not be published. Alexander, Joseph, Anne and baby Prisoner 332 - along with dozens of others - disappeared into the hot Caribbean haze, with no known trace of what happened to the Jacobites freed by Britain's foe.. Here is a sample of a search from this text, using the surname Spencer. John Becx and Joshua Foote conferred with their partners, the Undertakers of the Iron Works. They married into the Cherokee natives in North Carolina tribe. Go to Cyndis Listand click on the category Servitude: Indentures, Serfs, Apprentices, Etc., and then on Indentured Servants. Discover more convict facts. 1788: January 26; eleven ships of the First Fleet under the command of Captain Arthur Philip in his flagship Sirius arrive with a cargo of 736 British convicts, 548 male and 188 female, who are unloaded at the harbor of Port Jackson, Botany Bay in New South Wales, the location where Magwitch of "Great Expectations," served his time. When convicts were sent to America, it was usually because they were given the option of either going to jail in Britain, or working off their sentence as an indentured servant in America. During the 17 th, 18 th and 19 th centuries, transportation was a common sentence for people convicted of crimes for which the death penalty was deemed too severe a punishment. James mackall, John Mackshane, and Thomas Tower became forge hands under John Vinton, John Turner jr, , Henry Leonard and Quenten Prey. London, 1656-1775. came to the country before the American Revolution. Maxwell's Garrison survived. Servants usually worked as farm laborers or domestic servants completing manual labor. Her knowledge includes researching many different records from the United States, Germany, and Poland. Holding such a large number of prisoners could be costly. Appendix I: The Transportation Act of 1718. The agent would make agreements with employers who were willing to provide work for servants and would pay passage for the servants to travel to America (plus the agents fee, of course). There were 150 Scots who were were sent to New England on The Unity and arrived at Lynn, Ma. Convicts were sent to America until the outbreak of the wars of independence. In about 1676 he administered the estate of John Barry and he lived on that same land in Kittery. and click on the category Servitude: Indentures, Serfs, Apprentices, Etc., and then on Indentured Servants. Most of these convicts landed and were settled along the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers. There were 4000 dead, 10,000 captured, and 4000 more escaped. America refused to accept any more convicts so England had to find somewhere else to send their prisoners. Once the ships arrived at their destination, the convicts were lined up on deck to be inspected by potential buyers. Usually you must click on the initial photo and that takes you to the article. He was evedently well reguarded by its owner and selectman Nichilas Lissen, as he married Lissen's daughter Hannah after being there only two years. In The History of Durham, N.H. several mini profiles of several of the Scot Prisoners have been recorded. In 1651, William Tingle hired four men for a period of three years, for which the company deducted 6 pence from every load of charcoal that Tingle produced. Join Geni to explore your genealogy and family history in the World's Largest Family Tree. and click on Database on the left side of the screen. 1-2. Other records that we hold may help you find this information: consult our guides to criminals and convicts. P G Fidlon and R J Ryan (eds), The first fleeters: a comprehensive listing of convicts, marines, seamen, officers, wives, children and ships (1981) Michael Flynn, The second fleet: Britain's grim. This is just over half of all those exiled - the incomplete coverage is due to . Sometimes converted from slave-trading ships, the 100-plus transport vessels carried up to 300 convicts, in appalling conditions. How, and with what results in terms of human misery and degradation, were matters of small public interest. Then, the servant and the employer would sign the indenture, making it a legally binding contract. We place some essential cookies on your device to make this website work. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. In America she escaped from her master and began a new set of adventures. Transportation was not formally abolished until 1868, but it had been effectively stopped in 1857 and had become unusual well before that date. At that time Ireland had debtors prisons. When he died he devided his property between Peter Grant and John Taylor. Assorted records of criminals, convicts and prisoners can be searched on on Findmypast.co.uk (), though many do not relate to criminal transportation. For example, the book New York City Court Records, 1684-1760 by Kenneth Scott (1982) is still protected by copyright, but the index can be searched by typing in a surname. November 11Th, the Council issued sailing orders to the Unity. Neither married. Daniel was born in 1630 in Scotland, place and parents unknown. For example, a search of the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)using the keywords indentured servants yields 1590 search results, many viewable online. 1659 they removed to Newbury, in Byfield Parish, where they lived for 30 years. His wife's name was Sisey. His widow married another Scotchman, Micuim Mc Intyre. Indentured servants were people who came to America under a work contract, called an indenture. articles about the history of indentured servitude, laws regulating the practice, records of runaway servants, and a few scans of original indentures. He said that the emptying Britains jails into the American settlements was an insult and contempt, the cruellest perhaps that ever one people offered another; and would not be equald even by emptying their jakes on our tables. The first entry, Mary Goldsmith, lists her as Transported by 1665.. They were then released back onto the streets to commit more crimes. He and his wife Rebecca often refused to attend church on the Sabbath. Subscribe now for regular news, updates and priority booking for events.Sign up, All content is available under the Open Government Licence This example includes the different types of entries from this database. He was taken with other prisoners to the American Colonies. details of the over 60,000+ convicts sent to Tasmania (formerly known as Van Diemen's Land) between 1803 and 1853. Finding out more about a person transported to North America or the West Indies is likely to be difficult, though legal records can be useful. [sibling%28s%29 unknown] Also included arearticles about the history of indentured servitude, laws regulating the practice, records of runaway servants, and a few scans of original indentures. The Transportation Act resulted in more than 52,000 convicts being forcibly transported to America and the West Indies. Chapter V: The 'Seven Year Passengers' Cross the Alantic. Information is included in the "Convict Indents (Ship and Arrival Registers) 1788-1868" on 87,307 convicts transported from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland or a British territory, to one of the Australian colonies. Why were convicts sent to Australia? DAVID HAMILTON=== After 1776, all criminal transportation was to modern-day Australia, specifically New South Wales and Van Diemens Land (modern-day Tasmania). Other Resources for Researching Indentured Servant Ancestors. The captains had more reasons for trying to make sure the slaves survived. As addressed in this article, many indentured servants were forced into service and treated horrendously including those accused of petty crimes and servant women who were impregnated by their employers but they were still considered human and had some rights, however minimal. Price and Associates is a professional genealogy firm in Salt Lake City, Utah. Simply go to Google Playand search the title. Ninety percent of them stayed in Maryland and Virginia. Convicts who survived the horrendous passage were cleaned. They arrived in Boston in December. Although it was in the captains interest to make sure the convicts survived the voyage so they could receive their share of the sale proceeds, the convicts on board ship in many cases were treated worse than slaves. Then, click on the search result titled Virtual Jamestown Indentured Servants. Those who were transported there entered an indenture for an average of 7 years to work off the price of the passage. He willed all his land and marshes to be used as the site for Scotish Church. Lissen then welcomed two other Scots into the family. Ships Passenger list for the John and Sara. The York County Court admonished Cooper , his wife, John taylor and other Scotsmen, " for their use of profane speeches" and referring to ' devill in their common talk". The frigate was bound for the vast territory in what is now the . After the passing of the Act, transportation became the main punishment at the courts disposal. John Frost. More than 160,000 convicts ultimately ended up in Australia as a result of penal transportation. Between 1492 and 1820, approximately 2.6 million Europeans immigrated to the Americas (compared to at least 8.8 million enslaved Africans). The country of origin, colonial distribution . Her story could form the basis of a terrific film. The two young men claimed that they had been forcibly sold into service by George Dill, a ships captain who traded in indentured servants and slaves. 61 of the men did make it to the iron Works. Machum), Mackie Hill ( Mac Kay, Mv Key, Maki ), MackNeile Dan ( Mc Neile, Mc Neale, Mac Neale ), Mack Neile Patricke ( Mc Neale, Mc Neil, Mac Neal), Mack Nell Daniell ( Mc kell, Mac Kell ), Mack Nester Allester ( Mc Nester, Mac Nester ), Mack Neth Semell ( Mc Nith , Mc Kenneth ), Mack Nith Daniell ( Mc Nith, Mc Kenneth), Mack Nith Daniell ( Mc Knith , Mc Kenneth ), MackKnith Patricke ( Mc Knith, Mc Kenneth ), MackTentha Cana ( Mc Tentha. Petty theft By far the most common crime that led to transportation was petty theft or larceny. For those entering indentured service voluntarily (not everyone did) the indenture was usually arranged through an agent. They were given very little to eat. Ninety percent of them stayed in Maryland and Virginia. Cooper's daughter Sarah married George Grey, another Scotsman. These colonies of convicts included men, women, minority groups and also some political prisoners. They were as follows: A few years later, a small group of Scots were brought to Scotland, Maine. The soul-drivers chained the convicts together and herded them inland to the backcountry like oxen or sheep. Samuel Drake Publisher 1847 Vol 1 - 50 ( Oct 1847 pages 378- 379), Coehon John ( Cowen, Cowan, cowin, Cowing), Edminsteisteire John ( Edminstair, Edmonstair), Mack Alinsten Almister ( Mc Alinsten, Mac Allinsten ), MaKandra Wm. You dont have to be a Mayflower descendant to have a fascinating colonial past. Between 1700 and 1775, approximately 52,200 convicts sailed for the colonies, more than 20,000 of them to Virginia. This free, searchable database was compiled from two texts, Supplement to the Early Settlers of Maryland. 3 Representative studies of runaway slaves and indentured servants are Wood, Peter H., Black Majority: Negroes in Colonial South Carolina from 1670 through the Stono Rebellion (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1974), 239 -70Google Scholar; Mullin, Gerald W., Flight and Rebellion: Slave Resistance in Eighteenth-Century Virginia (New . Youll also gain access to the MyHeritage discoveries tool that locates information about your ancestors automatically when you upload or create a tree. Here is an example of a search result, obtained by typing in the surname Dally. Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown] The site is not limited to records about Jamestown, however, it includes a lot of information about Virginia and its neighboring states as well. April 26, 2022 1:20 PM EDT. Women constituted roughly a third of the convicts sent to America, and nearly half of the women tried at the Old Bailey during the years 1718 to 1775 were sentenced to transportation. So there were literally ships consisting entirely of convicts sent to Australia. Railton is an advocate for Americans discovering their similarities to Australians, I also think it is important for people to understand that Australians are not unique in having convict ancestors.. By knowing how these records were written, you can determine which people in the database came to Maryland as indentured servants. Chapter I: The Convicts and Their Background. While there is no single index of the names of people transported to Australia, various lists of names exist, both in published books and among our records. Their history has yet to be written. They learned this trade at Valentine Hill , which is where they had been indentured servants. Most of these were not convicts nor the offspring of convicts. During the American Revolutionary War (1775-83) transportation was put on hold. 09:00 to 17:00. One of the collections that they offer free of charge is the Immigrant Servants Database. Those who were transported for their petty economic crimes were largely illiterate and have left us few records of their sufferings and later achievements; while those who transported them chose to ply their trade well away from the public stage, where few questions were asked of them. History. Although a score of nations in Europe and Latin America transported their criminals to widely scattered penal colonies, such colonies were developed mostly by the English, French, and Russians. In 1615, English courts began to send convicts to the colonies as a way of alleviating England's large . Despite these hardships, many people chose this as a way to immigrate to America. The use of indentured servants was the most common in the Middle Atlantic colonies, ranging from New Jersey down to Virginia. JAMES TAYLOR/TAILOR, was born in Scotland, possibly about 163 Scottish Prisoners of War Society This method meant that small planters and farmers who were unable to travel to the ports where the convict auctions took place were still able to buy convict workers. Appendix IV: Transportation Clause from Pardon of 1655. Across the period, slightly less than half of all migrants were British, 40 percent were Spanish and Portuguese, 6 percent were from Swiss and German states, and 5 percent were French. Amateur genealogist Carol Carman is a descendant of one convict servant who worked in Annapolis and stayed in Maryland. Note: Duncan Stewart was born in the highlands of Scotland about 1623. One way many people solved this problem was through indentured service. In the following years, many Scots who were were taken prisoners at the Battle of Worcester [England] were sent to Virginia, Massachusetts, and Maine aboard the John and Sara. Long afterwards it was called Scotchman's Neck. Alternatively, search our library catalogue to see which are available to consult in the reading rooms. But have you heard about Americas very own convict past? After another indian attack in 1711 he sold the Garrison to the Macintire Family. Sometimes converted from slave-trading ships, the 100-plus transport vessels carried up to 300 convicts, in appalling conditions. John Curmuckhell died not long after. Brown and Orr lived for many years in Wells, Maine. Those who had a kind master, might be given a small piece of land and the tools to work it. Mortality rates were high. Some or all of the recommended publications below may be available to buy from The National Archives Bookshop. John Barber was taxed at Dover 1659. During its 80-year history 158,702 convicts arrived in Australia from England and Ireland, as well as 1,321 from other parts of the Empire. Note: Some of the Scotmans were at Block Island after being freeded. It is reckoned that transported convicts made up a quarter of the British immigrants to colonial America in the 18th century. In 1698 he had a grant of land, 50 acres,in Eastern Massachusetts. This information will help us make improvements to the website. Philip Welchs original indenture, was for 7 years,, amended later to 9 year. Some of these resources can be accessed online, while others reference physical texts. Search the index to Tasmanian convicts (archives council of Tasmania) by name to see some digitised records, including conduct records, indents and descriptions. Some men were shot because they either could not or would not march. From the early 1600s until 1776, most transported convicts were sent to British colonies in North America. Appendix VI: Specimen Eithteenth Century Transportation Bond. What will you discover about your familys past? The . My some of distant ancestors came as indentured from Ireland. The human cargo trade made fortunes for those involved on both sides of the Atlantic.