James Byrne – the man of several names. One of the Amity convicts was recorded as James Byrnes, per Asia 2. He also went by James Burns and John Burns. To further confuse, there were two convicts named John Burns aboard the Asia in 1822. One was tried in Liverpool, the other Surrey. In theContinue reading “The Amity Convicts – Success Stories and Recidivists.”
Tag Archives: The Amity Convicts
The Amity Convicts – Lewis Lazarus and Dominic Marley.
Lewis Lazarus. There were two young men named Lewis Lazarus who were sent to Moreton Bay in its early years. Lewis Lazarus 1 (1803-1843) came per the Amity on 14 September 1824.[i] Lewis Lazarus had a short but action-packed life. On 2 December 1817, aged fourteen, he was found guilty of picking the fob-watch outContinue reading “The Amity Convicts – Lewis Lazarus and Dominic Marley.”
The Amity Convicts – Four Convict Artisans.
A series of posts to commemorate 200 years since the Amity arrived at Redcliffe with convicts in September 1824. Robert Butler, carpenter. Felix Fairley’s Bristol Journal of 16 January 1819 noted approvingly that Liverpool’s streets had been cleared of mendicants and beggars. This was due, it said, to the exertions of the Chief Magistrate inContinue reading “The Amity Convicts – Four Convict Artisans.”
The Amity Convicts: Some Useful Trades for the Settlement.
George Gunningham – stonemason. George Gunningham was a tall, fair-haired stonemason from Taunton, born at the turn of the 19th century. George made two mistakes in his life. Both earned him transportation to a penal colony. At the Somerset Lent Assizes of 1823, George Gunningham was convicted of larceny, and given fourteen years’ transportation toContinue reading “The Amity Convicts: Some Useful Trades for the Settlement.”
The Amity Convicts – “a Radically Bad and Infamous Character.”
William Saunders or Sanders was born in Birmingham around 1795, and was a seaman and smith by trade. At the Surrey Quarter Sessions of March 1817, Saunders was convicted of “robbing Bleachgreen”, and sentenced to be transported for fourteen years. Thief. Saunders arrived in Sydney on the Larkins on 22 November 1817. He was 5Continue reading “The Amity Convicts – “a Radically Bad and Infamous Character.””
The Amity Convicts – the Runaways and Incorrigibles. Part 2.
A repost of an earlier account of a convict absconder, to mark the anniversary of the Amity’s landing. John Welsh Forbidden from Society. John Welsh was born in the historic port and garrison city of Waterford around 1799. Unsurprisingly, he became a sailor. How he got to Nottingham, and committed a robbery, is unclear, butContinue reading “The Amity Convicts – the Runaways and Incorrigibles. Part 2.”
The Amity Convicts – The Runaways and Incorrigibles. Part 1.
A re-issue of a previous post, dealing with the group of convicts who ran from Moreton Bay in 1825. Thomas Mills Robbing the Vicar of Stepney St Dunstan’s Anglican Church, Stepney, known as the “Mother Church of the East End,” had been a place of Christian worship for more than 900 years when Thomas Mills,Continue reading “The Amity Convicts – The Runaways and Incorrigibles. Part 1.”
The Amity Convicts – Regency Crimes
William Grady A Regency crime in Hanover Square. William Grady was a Londoner, born just after the turn of the 19th century. This was the Regency period, and William Grady committed the most Regency crime in the most Regency place in 1821. Two contemporary views of Hanover Square. Pickpockets not pictured. William Grady was chargedContinue reading “The Amity Convicts – Regency Crimes”
The Amity Convicts: James Turner.
Prisoner No. 36. Bristol and Shadwell. James Turner was destined for a life on the water – he was born in the harbour town of Bristol around 1799. At the age of nineteen, he stood nearly five feet six inches, had light brown hair and blue eyes. He had tattoos on his right arm –Continue reading “The Amity Convicts: James Turner.”
The Amity Convicts: Henry Allen.
Prisoner No 501, Moreton Bay. Henry Allen was a carpenter by trade, a native of Warwickshire, and was born around 1798. With the foolishness of youth, he tried his hand at burglary in 1817, which brought him before the Warwick Lenten Assizes in April 1817. He was found guilty (death recorded) and sentenced to 14Continue reading “The Amity Convicts: Henry Allen.”
Moreton Bay and More 