Genealogy Chat

Hi there, I am doing some research on a very possible ancestor of mine, Joseph Caudwell (1810 - 1893) who I discovered, after scouring a number of press cuttings from the Times Newspapers online and the Jackson's Oxford Journal, was found guilty of perjury at Oxford Circuit in Abingdon on 16 July 1851 and sentenced to 7 years transportation and one shilling. I am now floundering, as this has taken me into an area of research that I am not familiar and would love to find out more about Joseph. Can anyone please give me any advice as to how I find out to what country he was transported? The other thing I found strange, or maybe this was common practice, but when the case was heard, the defendant was not actually present at the time. What records would I need to refer to for any further information? Any information/advice would be very much appreciated. Many thanks. Nicky

There is no single authorative list of convicts transported but you can start and narrow it down.
Initially convicts may have been sen to the North American colonies but after independance in 1776 this was no longer an option and convicts were then sent to the nations of the empire or more usually Australia. By 1851 transportation was entering its final stage, by 1857 it had in fact effectively stopped prior to its abolition in 1868.

Thanks for that - looks like it could possibly have been Australia then that Joseph would have been transported to.

I've done a search on Australian Convict Transportation Registers – Other Fleets & Ships, 1791-1868 and the only Joseph Caudwell I could see was convicted on 2 Jan 1844
Vessel: London
Voyage Date: 15 Mar 1844
Colony: Van Dieman's Land
Piece: HO 11/14
Place of Conviction: Derby

Yes, I have just seen that one Kirsty on Ancestry, but unfortunately, it was a few years earlier than the time I am looking for. Thanks anyway.

Do you have this from The National Archives?....you can order it. Not sure what info it would contain.

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATID=5930708&CATLN=6&accessmethod=5

Teresa

Thanks very much for that link Teresa, I shall certainly order it, as it is definitely referring to the case of Joseph Caudwell that I am interested in. Thanks again! Nicky

If you get the actual trial date, it will have been covered in the local paper.
The Reading Mercury and Berkshire chronicle were weekly papers which gave full reports.I have a convict from Berkshire Assizes in 1841 and was able to get copies. The papers are on film in Reading library (not records office). On this occasion, I was able to go myself to find them, but on another occasion, I needed an inquest report, so used their look up service. It didn't cost very much and they sent photocopies.
If he did end up in Tasmania, you may find him on the Tasmanian archives site. If so, then you should be able to get his records. the ones I got were incredibly detailed

Thanks for that Linda. I have found the account in the Times Online and the Oxford Jackson Journal which was a local paper released in the Oxford area every saturday. It has a good account of the trial, but does not give any further information about where Joseph was transported to. I have searched the Tasmanian website, but could find no record of a Joseph Caudwell or variants for the period in question - thanks anyway for the advice. I have just ordered online the records from the National Archives as suggested by Teresa. I don't quite know how much detail this will be, but it's about 10 images so hopefully there will be quite a bit. Thanks to all again who have offered help.

There is an entry on Google" Rootsweb" from a J.Williams ref the Joseph Caudwell 1844. He went to Van Diemans land for horse stealing. Take a look .
Eileen

Don't want to throw a spanner in the works but my ancestor was sentenced to 7 years transportation in 1850. However, they had introduced a system where if the sentence was less than 10 years they very often didn't transport the convicts. They were imprisoned in the UK or on prison ships. Not only that, they introduced parole a little later and by 1854 my ancestor was out of Millbank prison and had married.

Have a peep to see if he's on the 1851. Mine can be found in Millbank prison on the census. Try putting his surname first as this is often the way prisoners were listed.

Just to update everyone on this. I received today, digitally, from the National Archives the document relating to this transportation case in 1851. It made for interesting reading when I could finally work it out, as it was handwritten letters and petitions from Joseph Caudwell to the Secretary of State asking for a pardon. Basically, he had been transported, still don't know where, but comments in the letter that he had been an exile in Boulougne, France for the past 30 years and felt that his sentence had been unfairly given (he gives pages of evidence as to why he thought this was so). However, the NA, have said there are a further 50 pages of this document which maybe of interest to me so I will either have to order them or visit the NA as hopefully that will divulge where he was sent to and also whether he received the pardon before he died in Boulougne in 1893. Thanks again to all of you for your advice.

Thanks for the update Nicky, I had followed thread with interest,I hope you come back to this with a final outcome, best of luck.

Regards
Sandra

Thanks for coming back to let us know what the TNA sent to you. Let us know if you get the rest of the info. Sounds like he had an interesting life .....i'll swap you an ag lab!

Teresa

No problem, I will update as soon as I hear back. I have asked for an estimate of purchasing the complete document which could take up to a week - if too expensive, will have to weigh up the cost of going up to London to view it. Hope it doesn't take too long, as I am hoping to write up the information in a family history newsletter that I produce for my family every quarter and September's issue is fast approaching! Thanks for all of your interest - will keep you posted.

Just to update you - have heard back from the National Archives and the cost of copying and posting out the additional papers to me is £36.00! I have emailed them back to ask if they can be a bit more specific as to what further information is in the papers. I want to know if it tells me where Joseph was transported to, are there any photos or is it just further handwritten copies of letters Joseph sent to the Home Office pleading his case. I am wondering whether it would be more cost effective to get the train to London and spend the day at the NA and just take notes from what I can view.

UPDATE

I have now received the extra 50 pages to Joseph Caudwell's case from the National Archives, but it has left me just as much in a quandry as before. Basically, the pages were constant letters to the Home Office begging for Joseph's case to be redressed and to find him not guilty of the offence of perjury for which he had been convicted in 1851. It would appear that he was never transported but was exiled to France (Boulogne Sur Mer). He indicated that he had received a letter in reply to his Memorialist from Lord Palmerston saying that the case did not fall within his jurisdiction and that he should appeal to Her Majesty the Queen Victoria. Joseph, it would appear, spent many years trying to trace the bound book he had sent to the Home Office so he could appeal to the Queen. Eventually he sent a letter in 1886 appealing for a pardon to the Queen, but he died in 1893 and that is where the papers come to an end. I can only assume that the case was forgotten after he died. I do wonder about his family back home in England though and if they had disowned him. I found an article printed in the London Gazetter 1905, 12 years after Joseph's death asking for anyone claiming to be a child of Joseph to come forward to make any claims before May of that year. Do I assume that there had been no further contact with family back home - although I do have a photo of him which appears in a family album in the latter years of his life. This mystery just seems to get more mysterious. When Joseph was tried in 1851 he was newly married for the second time and had a three week old daughter Elizabeth Mary Laura Caudwell (found on the 1851 census) and I am wondering if his wife and daughter went with him to France. I am not at all knowledgeable about the procedures surrounding 'banishment' and 'exile' and even how much freedom they would have been allowed in another country. Perhaps I should look at the French census for around 1861 to see if I can find them there. If anyone can throw up any more suggestions/ideas I would be really grateful to them. Many thanks. Nicky

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