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Convict Records
Compiled by the Newcastle Region Library and reproduced here with their kind permission.
Note:The Hunter Valley 1841 Directory by Elizabeth Guildford lists some 10,000 people in the Hunter Valley at that time, if you are looking for an ancestor who was a convict, then his/her status and the ship he/she arrived on is probably included in the Directory
Explanation of Abbreviations
These notes give researchers background information on the major convict records, and explain terms and abbreviations used. Please note that when researching a particular convict, it may not be possible to locate information on all the events in his or her career, as there are gaps in the records especially with assignment records, tickets of leave, and certificates of freedom.
Not all records are held at local libraries or societies. Records not held locally are available for consultation at the Archives Office of NSW. Please consult the Archives Office of NSW Guide No 14 Convict Records for a complete list of all available records.
Convict Indents or Arrivals
The Convict Indents are the most important legal records in the Convict System. They are usually arranged by the ships in which they arrived, although there are some alphabetical lists up to 1800. The earliest records only give name, place and date of conviction, and sentence; but by the late 1820's, details such as age, native place, marital status, literacy, crime and physical description were also given. The Indents often include details of later events in a convict's career, such as ticket of leave, certificate of freedom or pardon number; notes on colonial offences, re-transportation to a penal settlement, or death.
The first major 'event' in a convict's career after arrival was assignment, with prisoners usually sent to a private settler or kept to work for the Government. After several years good service, convicts could apply for a ticket of leave (a form of parole), and with continued good behaviour would obtain a certificate of freedom or a pardon. Records of these and other events in a convict's life (permission to marry, colonial trial and punishment) form the core of what has survived from the convict era.
Ticket of Leave
A ticket of leave allowed a convict to work for his/her own benefit, on conditions (chiefly that he/she remains in the district). A convict was eligible after satisfactorily serving from 4-8 years of his/her term (depending on the length of the original sentence).
Certificate of Freedom
This document showed that a convict had finished his sentence. It was usually given to convicts with 7 or 14 year sentences.
Pardon
There were two major types of pardons (usually only given to convicts with long sentences such as life, or ocasionally 14 years): a Conditional Pardon remitted the remainder of a convict's sentence on the condition that the person did not return to Great Britain; and an Absolute Pardon, which unconditionally remitted the remainder of a convict's sentence.
Terms & Abbreviations
The following terms or abbreviations appear occasionally in the Indents, Tickets of Leave or other convict records:
GD - Gaol Delivery
QS - Quarter Sessions
AP - Absolute Pardon
CP - Conditional Pardon
FF - Female Factory
HPB - Hyde Park Barracks
IG - Iron Gang
MB - Moreton Bay
PM - Police Magistrate
PP - Passport (enabling a ticket of leave holder to travel regularly between two different districts)
TL - Ticket of Leave
VDL - Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania)
THE SOURCES
Trial in the UK and removal to a hulkRecords are not held locally. Public Records Office material can be obtained on inter-library loan from the National Library or can be seen at the Mitchell Library. (See AONSW Guide 14, Appendix T)
Old Bailey, London: Session papers, 4 Dec 1776 - 1 Nov 1834.
Copies of published court proceedings of the Commissioners of Dyer & Terminer and Gaol Delivery, for London & Middlesex. From 1834, parts of Essex, Kent and Surrey were included in the jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court. The court sits at the Sessions House, Old Bailey. There is usually an index to the names of prisoners at the end of each issue and a culumated index at the back of each volume. (Microfilm)
Held NNPL
Police Gazette 1797-1810, 1828-1840
Official title "The Hue & Cry & Police Gazette" covering Ireland, Scotland and Britain.
Contains original trial information and details of criminal cases.
Held NNPL (microfilm)
Transportation & arrival in the Colony:
Arrivals New South Wales 1788-1842
Take note of all information as it often includes Ticket of Leave and Pardon numbers, for example 36/1245
NNPL,NCES,NLMPL,NMCL,SFHS,RTHS,LDS (Microfiche, indexed)
Also available on CD-Rom produced by GSV (Held by NNPL)
Musters & Papers regarding convict ships
NNPL (Microfilm)
Paracensus of Australia 1788-1822 (Interim)
Compiled by James Donohue
Held NNPL (Microfiche)
Index to Convicts & others from Colonial Secretary's Correspondence 1826-1831; 1832-1837; 1843-1847
Edited by Joan Reese
NNPL (Microfiche)
Index of Convicts Arrived in NSW 1800-1825 including some biographical information.
Compiled by Kathryn Lucas
NNPL (Microfiche)
Index to Probationary Convicts, Sydney & Morton Bay 1849-1850
NNPL (Microfiche)
Convict Pardons & Tickets of Leave 1810-1875
Index to records held at Archives Office of NSW
NNPL (Microfiche)
Female Factory Parramatta 1826-1848
Includes arrival ship and date if known, any accompanying child, behaviour, discharge and admittance from factory, assignment.
Assignment (Private or Government)
Only survives for 1821-1825
NNPL,NLMPL,NCES,SFHS,LDS (Microfiche)
Convicts Absconded 1830-1932
Compiled by Nola Mackay, Grafton Family History Centre
NNPL (Microfiche)
Convicts Apprehended 1830-1832
Compiled by Nola Mackay, Grafton Family History Centre
NNPL (Microfiche)
Convict Assignment in NSW 1830-1832
Grafton Family History Centre
NNPL (Microfiche)
Registers of Tickets of Exemption from Government Labour, 1st Jan 1827 - 24 Sep 1832 (AONSW Reel 890)
NNPL (Microfilm)
Butts of Tickets of Exemption from Government Labour, 21 Jun 1827 - 24 Sep 1832 (AONSW Reel 589)
NNPL (Microfilm)
Convicts & Employers Index (NSW) 1830, 1832-33, 1838-44
Produced by Pastkeys
NNPL (Microfiche)
Index to Convicts in Iron Gangs and Various Trades 1788-1825 including 1821 Victualling List.
Compiled by Kathryn Lucas
NNPL (Microfiche)
Trial & Punishment for Colonial Offences
Check in newspapers - The Sydney Gazette 1803-1842 (indexed 1803-1826) and The Australian 1824-1848 (indexed 1824-1842)
NNPL (Microfiche)
See also Bench Books and Quarter Sessions.
See also Australian Joint Copying Project Handbooks particularly those for Colonial Office
See also Australian Joint Copying Project Handbooks particularly those for Colonial Office
Index to Convicts Monthly Returns of Summary Trials 1832-1836
Compiled by Kathryn Lucas
NNPL (Microfiche)
Musters & Census
Musters of convicts only, including Norfolk Island 1800-1802, 1805-1806. Musters 1811, 1814, 1822, 1837. Census of all people in NSW, 1828. General Muster of NSW 1823, 1824, 1825
NNPL,NUHU,MFHC (Books)
Ticket of Leave
1824-1827 (Microfiche), 1827-1867. Index now available on microfiche, also indexed per volume on the microfilm, also partially indexed in the Indents
NNPL,NLMPL,NCES,SFHS,LDS
Butts of Colonial Tickets of Leave 1849-1859
Register of Fees received on Tickets of Leave 1828-1859 (AONSW Reel Nos 891-893)
NNPL (Microfilm)
Index to Tickets of Leave, Convict Pardons 1810-1875
NNPL (Microfiche)
Registers of Tickets of Leave 29 Jul 1824 - 1 Oct 1833 (Incomplete) Papers collected by T.D.Mutch
NNPL (Microfilm)
Pardons
Register of recommendations for Conditonal Pardons 1826-1856
NNPL,NLPML,SFHS,LDS (Microfiche)
Register of Conditional Pardons 1791-1825
NNPL,NLMPL,SFHS,LDS (Microfiche)
Register of Absolute Pardons 1791-1843
NNPL,NLMPL (Microfilm)
Recommendations for Absolute Pardons 1826-1846
NNPL,NLMPL (Microfilm)
Marriage
Convict applications to marry before 1825 contained in the Colonial Secretary's Inletters (which are indexed and available on microfiche and microfilm)
NNPL
Convict Applications to Marry 1825-1851
The best way to find your convict as it links his/her name to that of his/her spouse and fives the ships they arrived on
NNPL,NLMPL,NMCL,NCES,SFHS,LDS (Microfiche)
Convict Marriage Banns 1826-1841
NNPL (Microfiche)
Licences for Marriages Granted to Free Persons 1813-1827
NNPL (Microfiche)
Death
Death Registers 1828-1879. Only if died when still a convict.
NNPL,NLMPL,NCES,SFHS,LDS,MFHC (Microfiche)
Immigration of Spouse and Families
Petitions to Colonial Secretary asking for family to be brought out contained in Colonial Secretary's Papers 1788-1825
NNPL (Microfiche)
Wives and families of convicts on bounty ships 1849-1855
NNPL,NMCL,SFHS,LDS (Microfiche)
Colonial Secretary's Papers
The State Archives has made available the correspondence to the Colonial Secretary for 1788-1825. This includes letters from convicts asking for wives and children to be brought out, grants of land and for mitigation of their sentence.
NNPL (Microfiche and microfilm)
Correspondence files for later dates are available at the State Archives Office in Sydney. An index to references to convicts in the period 1826-1837 has been compiled by Joan Reese.
Reese, Joan - Index to Convicts and others in the Colonial Secretary's correspondence 1826-1837.
NNPL (Microfiche)
Colonial Secretary's Miscellaneous Records regarding convicts, criminals and legals 1824-1825
NNPL (Microfiche)
MUTCH, T.D.
Indexes and Returns of Convicts, List of Pardons, Copies of Convict Indents, King's Muster 1800-1802. (Miscellaneous records originally held at Mitchell Library)
NNPL (Microfilm)
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