Convicts Guide

How do you know if there was a convict in your family? Find out where to start and how to dig further into the records, including: trial and transportation records, penal settlements, emancipation, and families of convicts.

Where to begin convict research

A range of online convict indexes are available to search.

The first step is to identify the convict:

Marriage and death certificates

A marriage certificate may say 'married with permission of the Governor'. This indicates that one or both parties to the marriage were convicts still serving their sentences. A death certificate may state 'prisoner of the Crown'.

Muster and census records

These records will often note if somebody was a convict at the time, or if they were 'free by servitude'.

Family stories

If there is a possibility that there is a convict in the family check the Index to Convicts indents (listed below) for the ancestor's name:

Trial records

Criminal registers

We hold microfilm copies of criminal registers for England and Wales, which provide basic information about a convict's trial including crime. These are part of the Australian Joint Copying Project (AJCP) and are held on microfilm in the reading room and at the Mitchell Library (the State Library of New South Wales).

Case papers

The records of Quarter Sessions cases in England are held in the County Record Office of the county in which the trial occurred. The National Archives (UK), holds records of trials by Assize Courts in England. Transcripts of trials that were heard at the Old Bailey in London are held on microfilm at the Mitchell Library and will be made progressively available online at the Proceedings of the Old Bailey website.

Irish trial records

There are few records of trials surviving for Ireland. Some records are included in the 'Irish Gift', which is a set of microfilm records given to Australia as a Bicentennial gift. Microfilm copies of these records are available at the State Archives Reading Room, the State Library of NSW and the Society of Australian Genealogists. Indexes to these records are held at the State Library of NSW and on the National Archives of Ireland website.

Convict indents

The starting point for any convict research is the convict indent, which is the list of convicts transported to New South Wales on a particular ship. The early indents only provide name, date and place of trial and sentence. Later indents contain more information such as a physical description, native place, age and crime. The indents may also contain numbers of tickets of leave, pardons or certificates of freedom as well as details of any further crimes committed in the colony. Researchers should always make a note of these annotations.

Indexes to convict indents

In addition, there are 18th and 19th century indexes to convicts arriving, which may also be checked if the convict being researched does not appear in any of the above. These indexes are listed in the Guide to Convicts and Convict Administration.

Surgeons' Journals

The surgeon's journal for a particular convict ship usually contains details of any illnesses or deaths during the voyage. The journal may also contain mention of a convict's behaviour during the voyage and a description of the voyage.

The surgeons' journals of ships carrying convicts to New South Wales are available as part of the Australian Joint Copying Project (AJCP), and are held on microfilm in the reading room and at the Mitchell Library. See the Convict Guide for a listing of surgeon's journals. Surgeons Journals can also be viewed on the Ancestry website - search for UK, Royal Navy Medical Journals, 1817-1856.

See more about the AJCP on the State Library of NSW website and the National Library of Australia website.

Assignment

On arrival, a convict was either retained by the Government for labour on public works or was assigned to an individual. Very few records of assignment have survived. Those that have survived are listed in the Convict Guide.

Useful resources relating to assignment

Tickets of Leave

A ticket of leave allowed convicts to work for themselves on condition that they remained in a specified area, reported regularly to local authorities and if at all possible, attend divine worship every Sunday. Further details of tickets of leave may be found in the Guide to Convicts and Convict Administration.

Tickets of Exemption from Government Labour

A Ticket of Exemption differed from a Ticket of Leave in that the individual was not allowed to employ him or herself or to acquire property.

As stated in a Circular to Magistrates from the Colonial Secretary dated 1st January 1830 the Exemption Ticket allowed:

simply the privilege of residing until the next 31st December with the person therein named, generally a relation, in some specific district and no other.

The convict still had to attend church service and had to renew the Ticket each year. It appears that the Tickets were used as a form of assignment to relatives.

From the extant records, it appears that a large number of those convicts who received a Ticket of Exemption were assigned or received a Ticket of Leave in August/September 1833. Given this, and the fact that we don't hold any records which date after 1832, it is possible that the issuing of Tickets of Exemption was discontinued at that time.

For most of the records the name of the relation with whom the convict was to reside is given on the Ticket. Other information may include why the ticket of exemption was granted and to the reason why the ticket was cancelled (for example, for having committed a crime or misdemeanour, because the sentence was served and a certificate of freedom issued, because of the granting of a ticket of leave, on account of the convict's death).

Ticket of Leave Passports

These allowed convicts holding tickets of leave to travel between certain points, visit a certain place or to attend the city markets for a specified period of time.

Certificates of Freedom

A Certificate of Freedom was only available to a convict with a finite sentence (for example, 7, 10 or 14 years), as it showed that a sentence had been completed. The Certificate of Freedom number was sometimes annotated on the indent or noted on a Ticket of Leave Butt.

Colonial Certificates of Freedom relate to sentences received for offences committed after arrival in the colony.

Pardons

Convicts with a life sentence could receive a pardon but not a Certificate of Freedom. The two main types of pardons were:

• Conditional pardon - the convict was free as long as they remained in the colony. The vast majority of convicts granted pardons were granted a conditional pardon
• Absolute pardon - the convict's sentence was entirely remitted. That is, they were free both within and outside of the colony and could return to Britain.

The main records for conditional pardons are in the Colonial Secretary's records:

Marriage

Marriage for a convict still serving his or her sentence may have resulted in better working or living conditions. Marriage was clearly seen as an indulgence and it was therefore necessary to apply to the Governor for permission to marry.

In the early years of the Colony, most marriages followed the publication of banns in a church on three successive Sundays. Convicts were married by banns having first sought official permission.

The Registers of convicts' applications to marry, 1825-51 (NRS 12212) record key details about the parties applying for permission to marry including: their names; their ages; the date of permission or refusal; ship of arrival; sentence (for the party who was the convict); whether free or bond and the name of the clergyman. While the registers can add considerably to the convict’s ‘profile’, they can also be a valuable resource for tracing those elusive ancestors who may have ‘arrived free’ but have proved to be difficult to locate in the shipping lists. The details of the party who was ‘free’, including the name of the ship of arrival in some cases, were often recorded. Sometimes this was the only time the information was recorded in official sources.

The registers also include entries where the application to marry was refused. Researchers should also note that even when the parties received permission to marry, the marriage may not have gone ahead. In fact, it appears that some convicts made more than one successful application to marry, often seeking to marry a different person on each occasion.

The first permission to marry recorded in these registers was granted on 6 January 1826, and the first refusal on 9 June 1826.

The main sources to check are:

Death

The Government generally recorded the death of a convict still serving his or her sentence.

The death of a convict is sometimes noted on the convict indents. If a convict died on the voyage out it may have been recorded in the surgeons' journals. Records of deaths were not kept on a regular basis, prompting Macquarie to complain that before his arrival no regular account of the death of convicts and settlers had been kept (HRA Vol. 7, pp. 615-6).

Macquarie issued orders on this subject and during his administration and that of his successors matters improved. The Convict Death Register (NRS 12213) was maintained for the years 1828-79.

This register was used to record the deaths of convicts who died while still serving their sentence. It records name, ship of arrival, age, date of burial, parish and occasionally other details relating to convicts whose deaths were reported to the Principal Superintendent of Convicts (until 1855), and subsequently the Inspector General of Police.

Principal Superintendent of Convicts

Further information may possibly be located in:

Online Index to the Colonial Secretary’s Papers, 1788-1825. Searching under the person's name.

The late Joan Reese compiled the Index to the Colonial Secretary's Letters Received, 1826-1896 and the Index to Letters sent by the Colonial Secretary relating to convicts (1826–55), available on microfiche in the reading room. These indexes include references to the deaths of convicts who were still serving their sentences.

Petitions and Correspondence

A convict may have petitioned the Government about a number of matters or may be mentioned in the correspondence of another individual. Often these petitions, memorials and items of correspondence can provide valuable information about the convict, their family and circumstances.

Muster and census records

At various times, the Government of the colony conducted a census or muster of the inhabitants of the colony. These may have been for a specific purpose such as assessing landholdings or as a general 'head count' of the population. These muster and census records can contain valuable information concerning a convict's residence, employment and family circumstances.

Some of the early musters and censuses have been published in book form, for example the 1828 Census (now online). These are available in the reading room as are microform copies of all other surviving musters and censuses for New South Wales. See the Musters/ Census Guide for more information.

Bank accounts

Prior to Commissioner Bigge's Report on Convicts (printed in 1822) taking effect, convicts could retain the money they brought with them for their own use. This money could often 'purchase' a more comfortable life during their period of servitude.

One of Commissioner Bigge's recommendations concerned the care of convicts' property (including their money) on their arrival in the colony:

It is recommended ... that their Clothes and Bedding should be taken care of on their Landing and that the Money belonging to Individuals should be taken and deposited .... and not allowed to be held by the Superintendent or any other person.

Following the implementation of the Bigge Report, the Surgeon-Superintendents of the ships on which the convicts were transported were entrusted with convict monies during the voyage out (some lists may be found in NRS 1155 Musters and other papers) and these funds were then deposited in the Savings Bank on arrival.

In addition to these arrangements, friends or relations could deposit money to be held in trust for a convict or a convict could earn money for extra work or duties performed. The convict could not access the money until proof of reformation could be shown such as having received a ticket of leave, pardon or on completion of sentence. Extenuating circumstances such as the money being required to pay for defence in a court trial were also taken into consideration. Application could be made to access the sums held to their credit and if approved a warrant was issued which authorised the money to be withdrawn.

Families of Convicts

Wives and families of convicts sometimes accompanied their convict relations or came out later. Children were placed on board the convict transports with their parent(s) often with no official record of their transportation or arrival being recorded. The children were supported and fed at government expense and orphan homes were established to accommodate those deserted or separated from their parents. Young children were permitted to stay with their mothers in the Female Factory until they reached the age of four when they were sent to the Orphan Schools and returned to their mother when she left the Factory.

Convicts could apply to have their families brought out at the expense of the Crown. Applications had to show that a convict would be able to support his family upon their arrival and not incur any further expense to the Government. In general, families were not permitted to reunite in Australia unless the convict applying had a Ticket of Leave. This indulgence allowed a convict to work for himself, thereby providing a means for supporting his family.

After a convict had applied to have his family brought out to the Colony, the application was assessed by the Government. On arrival the spouse often applied to have the convict assigned to them. This allowed the convict to serve out his sentence while living with his family.

Applications and Responses

Passage to New South Wales

Post-arrival

Children of convicts

Clergy and School Lands Corporation and Protestant Orphan School

Related: Child care and protection index

The Female Factory, Parramatta: Index to inmates, 1826-41, and the Index to the Colonial Secretary's Correspondence may also be of interest when researching the children of convicts.

Tasmanian Convicts

Available at the Archives Office of Tasmania website is the index of all convicts transported to Tasmania and those who were convicted (through the convict system) in the colony, from the beginning of transportation in 1804 until 1853 when transportation ceased. The latest entry in the database for the locally convicted convicts is 1893. About 76,000 people are indexed.

Further reading

There are a number of publications on the convict system or particular groups of convicts such as the First Fleet. The following are held in the reading room:

• Charles Bateson. The convict ships, 1787-1868. Sydney, Reed, 1974.
• Michael Flynn. The Second Fleet: Britain's grim convict armada of 1790. Sydney, Library of Australian History, 1993.
• Mollie Gillen. The founders of Australia: a biographical dictionary of the First Fleet. Sydney, Library of Australian History, 1989.
• Babette Smith. A cargo of women: Susannah Watson and the convicts of the Princess Royal. Kensington, NSW, New South Wales University Press, 1988.
• Carol Baxter. Convicts to NSW 1788-1812 - complete listings from transportation records. Sydney, Society of Australian Genealogists, 2002. (CD ROM)