Convict Tales and Ancestors

Notes on usage of this site. This site makes use of a free web hosting service. It has a data-transfer limit of 4.2 Mb per hour. I currently have in the order of 6 Mb of data stored, so if you try to download everything in the first hour you will hit problems. If this happens, come back a bit later. Sorry for the inconvenience.

My name is Richard Carlaw and this genealogy site is dedicated to my ancestors - primarily my Convict ancestors of Hobart, Tasmania. I hope to bring you the intriguing tales of their lives as well as present to you the paper trail of documentation that marked the key moments of their living.

Convict Hulk moored on the Thames River
(Westminster in the background)

David Poultney. Convict.
Transported to Australia 1829
On the night of 19th December 1828, David Poultney and 27 accomplices set out on a poaching expedition to the Earl of Denbigh's land at Newham Paddox, near Coventry, England. It was the week before Christmas and one imagines that their intention was to acquire some cheer for the Christmas table. The events of the night turned tragic - the men were intercepted and in the ensuing scuffle the chief gamekeeper was shot and wounded. The party made their escape back to Coventry but were apprehended later the following year. They were tried in the April 1829 Warwick Assizes and sentenced to death. Later, after appeals for clemency, their sentences were commuted to transportation to Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania), Australia. 20 year old David received a sentence of 14 years transportation. In July 1829, 160 convicts departed England aboard The Thames, arriving at Hobart four months later in the same year (2 convicts died along the way). After serving 7 of his 14 years, David received a conditional pardon and was allowed to live as a free man in the penal colony. Read the story about David Poultney.

The Merevale Poachers. Convicts
Transported to Australia 1829/30
A poaching incident very similar to that of David Poultney's took place at the Estate of DS Dugdale Esq. at Merevale. The trial was heard at the Warwick Assizes immediately after David Poultney's trial, and in the aftermath there was rioting in the streets and troop deployment. The Merevale poachers were likewise transported to Australia (mostly to Sydney) and David Poultney became friends with two of them who were sent to Tasmania. Read about the Merevale Poachers here.

York c1807
Sketch of The York 1807

Galley aboard Warrior
Illustration of Galley aboard The Warrior

Henry Case. Convict.
Transported to Australia 1823
Whilst David Poultney could be said to be a victim of circumstance, Henry Case appears to have been one of your more regular criminals. Tried in London's Old Bailey Court, he was indicted for stealing nineteen yards of printed cloth valued at 12s. Sentenced to 7 years transportation, his gaol report prior to departure stated that he had "been here before". He was transported to Hobart in 1823 where he served out his seven years and then, despite have a wife and child back in England, he remarried and fathered a further six children. He died in Hobart in 1878, aged 83. Go to Henry's story

Other Convicts
In the course of my research I've collected the names of more than 50 other convicts. Check out my documentation on these other convicts