#52Ancestors, Week 52, Resolution

Resolution

/rɛzəˈluːʃ(ə)n/

noun

1.      a firm decision to do or not to do something.

"she kept her resolution not to see Anne any more"

synonyms: intention, resolve, decision, intent, aim, aspiration, design, purpose, object, plan;

2.     the quality of being determined or resolute.

“he handled the last British actions of the war with resolution"

synonyms: determination, purpose, resolve, firmness, decision;

It is that time of year again. Time to reflect, evaluate, re-evaluate and plan.

It has been another year of change as well as achievement. Moving interstate, not giving up hope, completing my Diploma and securing employment.

There have been adventures and discovery; trips to two other states and then a road trip through three states to reach my new home.

Celebrations and time spent with special people; birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas.

Study has kept me busy, and blogging too.

But what of 2019, the coming year ?

I think there might not be another blog challenge – these last two years have certainly kept me busy and made me think about WHO my ancestors were, HOW they lived and WHAT was important to them. But it has taken some of the spontaneity out of blogging at the same time. (Never say never though...)

I hope there will be some more travel and exploration,

I want some stability, in employment and residence,

I want to read more – the books I have read in the last three months have me yearning for more. (The Travelling Cat Chronicles - Hiro Arikawa, The Atomic Weight of Love - Elizabeth J. Church, Wonder - R.J. Palacio, The Orphan Train - Christina Baker Kline, We Can Make a Life - Chessie Henry, Educated - Tara Westover.)

I want to try to organise some of my filing – on paper and digitally – so that there is some form of consistency which will make it easier to retrieve information.

I’d like to knock down a couple of research brick walls. Get back another generation on some of those lines.

Examine DNA results and determine just how some of those matches are related on paper.

I want my own space.

I think I’m going to take a leaf out of a friend’s book and plan 60 new or favourite and fun things to do throughout the year. Because why not ?

Happy New Year followers, friends, family and fellow bloggers.

May 2019 be good to you all !

Late December 2018 was a very special time for me...

It has been quite a year.

There have been some big changes (again) and plenty of fun times.

The best part was seeing and spending time with family in October, then eight weeks later at Christmas. Now looking forward to the next time in ten more weeks.

This was the first Christmas Day with Mum and Dad since we moved from Christchurch in 2015 - and even that wasn't actually Christmas, it was a quick road-trip up and back in 2014 on Boxing Day and the day after in between shifts for Lauren. Before that it must have been another couple of years as Christmases alternated between Wellington and Renwick or Cambridge.

We had a great time catching up and exploring with them. A day in Toowoomba to see a cousin of Dad's, wandering around the shops in the craziness before Christmas, cruising the river on the free City Hopper, checking out the flora and fauna at Mt Coot-tha, Roma Street and in local parks. Walks along the riverwalk at Southbank, dinners, ice-creams to cool down in the hot sticky heat.

All too quickly it was time to say goodbye - but in just a blink of an eye it will be our turn to fly.

#52Ancestors, Week 51, Nice

So the previous post was “Naughty”, and now this one is “Nice” – it fits with the Christmassy theme, but it still isn’t helping.

Nice is a bit of a non-descript word; hard to define as I think it means different things to different people. Nice what or who…or could it be Nice, France ?

When I think about it, everyone in my family could be categorised as nice. They are mostly considerate and amiable, respectful and accepting of others. I don’t even think there is anyone who could be considered Grinch-like or Scrooge-like. Some were reputed to be grumpy, tetchy even cantankerous – but does that mean they weren’t nice ?

All families have characters and idiosyncrasies, some become “in-jokes”. Families are made up of people we don’t choose to be in the circle, and for the most part everyone gets on.

Perhaps that it is all I can write.

I have a nice GREAT family.

We enjoyed a nice wonderful holiday together.

They are the best people.

They mean the world to me.

#52Ancestors, Week 50, Naughty

This was my final assignment for my Diploma of Family History at the University of Tasmania. The purpose of the essay was to argue whether Joseph's experience was typical or atypical. Please excuse my referencing, some of which is fairly cumbersome. I'm not sure that he was particularly naughty, in some ways he was just unlucky and even cocky or impulsive.

Joseph Dickinson was tried at the Old Bailey on 14 September 1826 charged with stealing laundry from a wash-house valued at 16 shillings, and was sentenced to seven years, transportation.[1] He served almost five years of this sentence onboard the hulk Justitia moored on the Thames at Woolwich, until being pardoned on 10 February 1831.[2] Almost three years later he was tried and convicted at the Westminster Peace Session on 30 January 1834 for stealing a writing box valued at £1 and again sentenced to seven years transportation.[3] He arrived in Sydney in August 1834, after a four month voyage on the Surry.[4] This essay will examine Joseph’s life within the convict system, comparing it with data gathered for the same time period and related to convicts from the same native place as him. It will consider health, height, literacy and occupation as well as characteristics, behaviour and recidivism to confirm that his experience was both typical and atypical.

Convicts native to London or Middlesex, as Joseph was, had access to a better diet, particularly if they had a craft or trade giving them a steadier income.[5] They were also surprisingly shorter on average than their contemporaries from less urban places.[6] Living in an urban area also increased their levels of literacy.[7] Joseph’s health was described as good while serving his previous sentence on board the Justitia, and as a plasterer he likely had an income allowing him a balanced diet when he was free, which will have stood him in good stead.[8] By the 1830s more was beginning to be understood about the prevention of conditions like scurvy, and John Smith, Superintendent Surgeon on board the Surry reported an uneventful voyage with no serious medical issues, despite his initial concerns about overcrowding onboard.[9]

Recent data gathered by the University of Tasmania indicates that the mean height for convicts arriving in Van Diemen’s Land, who gave their native place as Middlesex, was 5’ 5”.[10] Joseph was 5’ 4” at his arrival in Sydney, the majority of his contemporaries on the Surry were between 5’ 4” and 5’ 6”, and included in that cluster were most of the sixty-one who gave their native places as London, Westminster or Middlesex.[11]

It would be expected that being a Londoner with a trade, Joseph would be literate.[12] Of the sixty-one from Middlesex or London on board the Surry, he was one of the forty-two who could read and write, another eight could read and just eleven were illiterate.[13] In regard to health, height and literacy, Joseph was typical of convicts arriving in the colony with a native place of London or Middlesex.

Joseph was noted as having several tattoos on both arms.[14] Since these were first documented on his arrival in Sydney, it is unclear whether they were obtained in custody or before his arrests. The initials “EC, heart pierced with two darts” on his right arm were likely a reference to Elizabeth Costellow who had been arrested with him in 1826 and subsequently transported.[15] The identity or significance of “E NEWMAN” is a mystery, but other tattoos including stars, anchors, fish, rings on his fingers were common amongst those on the Surry with him; not just those from Middlesex.[16] For the Middlesex group on the Surry it is difficult to determine whether being tattooed was typical or atypical as it was evenly divided.[17]

Londoners were also among the least likely to admit to having prior offending.[18] Joseph admitted a previous offence and that he had served one month, although he had spent close to five years on the Justitia.[19] Since he received a pardon for his first offence in 1826 he may have felt it did not need to be declared, or perhaps his answer was influenced by the way the question was posed. He may have been inferring that he had already served about one month of his current sentence before being transferred from Newgate to the hulk Leviathan prior to boarding the Surry.[20] For whatever reason, declaring that he had a previous conviction makes him atypical based on his native place.

Joseph was not the only plasterer on board the Surry, but he was the only one from London, and the entry was annotated as “good”.[21] Although there were other tradespeople amongst the sixty-one from Middlesex, many had less skilled occupations; farm/errand and pot boys, grooms, farm servants and horsedealers.[22] In regards to having a trade, Joseph appears to be atypical, but this may have worked in his favour as he was the only convict assigned from the Surry to Terence Murray.[23]

Murray, a retired Irish army officer, and his son Terence Aubrey Murray held land grants in Argyle, Goulburn and Lake George.[24] Joseph remained in Goulburn for his entire sentence.[25] He does not appear in newspapers or gazettes for any misdemeanours, although Murray does have several entries relating to some of his assigned shepherds absconding.[26] This would suggest that Joseph’s good behaviour while on the Justitia continued in the colony, similarly, most convicts settled well into their indentured life.[27]

Joseph received his Ticket of Leave in 1839 and Certificate of Freedom in 1841.[28] He remained in the Goulburn, Lake George, Monaro and Queanbeyan area working as a plasterer and raising a small family.[29] There are no official records of his first marriage or the baptisms of his three children, however the marriage certificate of his daughter Sarah offers some clues to place his marriage to Ann Blackman between 1841-1845.[30] Both he and Ann were in their thirties at this time, which would make the family seem typical by comparison.[31]

Joseph’s only known confinement in the colony came in 1850 when he was sentenced to two months hard labour at Goulburn Gaol, seemingly a result of breaching conditions placed on him after concerns were raised for the welfare and treatment of his wife.[32] Newspapers detail occasional foolish behaviour rather than criminal, and court appearances as a witness or defendant.[33] He continued to work as a plasterer until his death in December 1878.[34] Although Joseph’s prior record may have given him a higher propensity to continue reoffending, evidence does not show convicts from London or urban areas making repeated appearances for colonial offences.[35]

In conclusion, after studying the available data, researching Joseph Dickinson’s interactions and criminal and colonial records and creating a dataset for the voyage of Surry, it is clear that his experience and attributes were both typical and atypical. Some of these outcomes have been unexpected, but many will have assisted him throughout his sentence and helped him assimilate into society post sentence.

---

[1] Old Bailey Online, 'Joseph Dickinson, Elizabeth Costellow.', https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/browse.jsp?id=t18260914-289-defend1572&div=t18260914-289#highlight, Accessed 27 May 2018.

[2] Ancestry, Hulk Justitia Prison Hulk Registers and Letter Books for Joseph Dickinson, 'UK, Prison Hulk Registers and Letter Books, 1802-1849 [database on-line].', Home Office; Convict Prison Hulks: Registers and Letter Books; Class HO9, Piece 8, Original data: Home Office: Convict Prison Hulks: Registers and Letter Books, 1802-1849. Microfilm, HO9, 5 rolls. The National Archives, Kew, England. Accessed 25 August 2018.; Ancestry, Criminal Register Joseph Dickinson Middlesex 1826, England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892 [database on-line], Home Office: Criminal Registers, Middlesex and Home Office: Criminal Registers, England and Wales; Records created or inherited by the Home Office, Ministry of Home Security, and related bodies, Series HO 26 and HO 27; The National Archives of the UK (TNA), Kew, Surrey, England. Accessed 25 August 2018.; Findmypast, Hulk Justitia Quarterly Returns for Joseph Dickinson, 'Home Office: convict hulks, convict prisons and criminal lunatic asylums, quarterly returns of prisoners', HO8 Home Office: convict hulks, convict prisons and criminal lunatic asylums, quarterly returns of prisoners, The National Archives, Kew, England. Accessed 8 September 2018.; Sydney Living Museums, 'Convict Hulks', https://sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/stories/convict-hulks, Accessed 6 September 2018.

[3] London Metropolitan Archives to Claire Becker, email, 9 May 2018, original in author's possession.; Digital Panopticon, 'Joseph Dickinson', https://www.digitalpanopticon.org/search?from=0&e0.type.t.t=root&e0._all.s.s=joseph+dickinson, Accessed 27 May 2018.; Digital Panopticon, 'Joseph Dickenson',https://www.digitalpanopticon.org/search?e0.type.t.t=root&e0._all.s.s=joseph%20dickenson, Accessed 27 May 2018.; Ancestry, Convict Record Joseph Dickinson, New South Wales, Australia, Convict Indents, 1788-1842 [database on-line]. New South Wales Government. Annotated printed indents (i.e., office copies). NRS 12189, microfiche 696–730, 732–744. State Records Authority of New South Wales, Kingswood, New South Wales, Australia. © the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales and is used under licence with the permission of the State Records Authority. Accessed 27 August 2018.

[4] Ancestry, Convict Record for Joseph Dickinson.; Findmypast, Hulk Leviathan Quarterly Returns for Joseph Dickinson, 'Home Office: convict hulks, convict prisons and criminal lunatic asylums, quarterly returns of prisoners', HO8 Home Office: convict hulks, convict prisons and criminal lunatic asylums, quarterly returns of prisoners, The National Archives, Kew, England. Accessed 8 September 2018.; Free Settler or Felon, 'Convict Ship Surry 1834', https://www.jenwilletts.com/convict_ship_surry_1834.htm, Accessed 6 September 2018.

[5] Dr Kristyn Harman 'Convict Diets and Food Production' in Hamish Maxwell-Stewart ed., Module Four, Chapter Three: Convict Diets and Food, HAA Convicts in Context, 2018.; Hamish Maxwell-Stewart 'Real Wages of Southern Building Craftsmen, 1750-1800' in Hamish Maxwell-Stewart ed., Module Three, Chapter Two: Height and Native Place, HAA Convicts in Context, 2018.

[6] Hamish Maxwell-Stewart 'Adult Male Convict Height (Aged 21-50) by Year of Birth’ in Hamish Maxwell-Stewart ed., Module Three, Chapter Two: Height and Native Place, HAA Convicts in Context, 2018.

[7] Hamish Maxwell-Stewart 'Sentencing County by Literacy and Proportion of Convicts Reporting Agricultural Skills’ in Hamish Maxwell-Stewart ed., Module Three, Chapter Two: Age and Occupation, HAA Convicts in Context, 2018.

[8] Harman 'Convict Diets and Food Production'.; Maxwell-Stewart 'Real Wages of Southern Building Craftsmen, 1750-1800'.; Findmypast, Hulk Justitia Quarterly Returns for Joseph Dickinson.

[9] Katherine Foxhall, Health, Medicine, and the Sea: Australian Voyages, c.1815-1860, Chapter 4, Manchester University Press, Manchester, 2012.; Maxwell-Stewart 'Adult Male Convict Height (Aged 21-50) by Year of Birth'.; Hamish Maxwell-Stewart 'Convict Voyages' in Hamish Maxwell-Stewart ed., Module Four, Chapter One: Convict Voyages, HAA Convicts in Context, 2018.; Ancestry, UK Royal Navy Medical Journals, Surry, 'UK, Royal Navy Medical Journals, 1817-1857 [database on-line].', Original data: Admiralty and predecessors: Office of the Director General of the Medical Department of the Navy and predecessors: Medical Journals (ADM 101, 804 bundles and volumes). Records of Medical and Prisoner of War Departments. Records of the Admiralty, Naval Forces, Royal Marines, Coastguard, and related bodies. The National Archives. Kew, Richmond, Surrey. Accessed 27 May 2018.

[10] Hamish Maxwell-Stewart 'Mean Height by County of Birth and Proportion of Convicts Reporting Agricultural Skills’ in Hamish Maxwell-Stewart ed., Module Three, Chapter Two: Height and Native Place, HAA Convicts in Context, 2018.

[11] Ancestry, Convict Record for Joseph Dickinson.; Ancestry, Convict Indent Surry 1834, New South Wales, Australia, Convict Indents, 1788-1842 [database on-line]. New South Wales Government. Annotated printed indents (i.e., office copies). NRS 12189, microfiche 696–730, 732–744. State Records Authority of New South Wales, Kingswood, New South Wales, Australia.© the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales and is used under licence with the permission of the State Records Authority. , Accessed 27 August 2018.

[12] Maxwell-Stewart 'Sentencing County by Literacy and Proportion of Convicts Reporting Agricultural Skills’.

[13] Ancestry, Convict Indent Surry 1834.

[14] Ancestry, Convict Record for Joseph Dickinson

[15] Old Bailey Online, 'Joseph Dickinson, Elizabeth Costellow’.; Ancestry, Convict Record Elizabeth Costellow, Australian Convict Transportation Registers – Other Fleets & Ships, 1791-1868 [database on-line]. Home Office: Convict Transportation Registers, (The National Archives Microfilm Publication HO11), The National Archives of the UK (TNA), Kew, Surrey, England. Accessed 12 September 2018. Ancestry, Convict Record for Joseph Dickinson.

[16] Ancestry, Convict Indent Surry 1834.; David Kent, ‘Decorative Bodies: The Significance of Convict Tattoos’, Journal of Australian Studies, Volume 21, Issue 53, 2009, pp.78-88. Ancestry, Convict Record for Joseph Dickinson.

[17] Ancestry, Convict Indent Surry 1834.

[18] Hamish Maxwell-Stewart 'Prior Conviction Rates by Density of Population in County of Conviction’ in Hamish Maxwell-Stewart ed., Module Three, Chapter Two: Age and Occupation, HAA Convicts in Context, 2018.

[19] Ancestry, Convict Record for Joseph Dickinson.; Ancestry, Hulk Justitia Prison Hulk Registers and Letter Books for Joseph Dickinson.; Findmypast, Hulk Justitia Quarterly Returns for Joseph Dickinson.

[20] Findmypast, Hulk Leviathan Quarterly Returns for Joseph Dickinson.; Ancestry, Criminal Register Joseph Dickinson Middlesex 1834, England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892 [database on-line], Home Office: Criminal Registers, Middlesex and Home Office: Criminal Registers, England and Wales; Records created or inherited by the Home Office, Ministry of Home Security, and related bodies, Series HO 26 and HO 27; The National Archives of the UK (TNA), Kew, Surrey, England. Accessed 25 August 2018.

[21] Ancestry, Convict Record for Joseph Dickinson.; Ancestry, Convict Indent Surry 1834.

[22] Ancestry, Convict Indent Surry 1834.

[23] Ancestry, New South Wales, Australia, Settler and Convict Lists, 1787-1834 [database on-line], Home Office: Settlers and Convicts, New South Wales and Tasmania, (The National Archives Microfilm Publication HO10, Pieces 1-4, 6-18, 28-30), The National Archives of the UK (TNA), Kew, Surrey, England. Accessed 27 August 2018.; Ancestry, Muster Record for Joseph Dickinson 1837, New South Wales and Tasmania, Australia Convict Musters, 1806-1849 [database on-line], Home Office: Settlers and Convicts, New South Wales and Tasmania; (The National Archives Microfilm Publication HO10, Pieces 5, 19-20, 32-51); The National Archives of the UK (TNA), Kew, Surrey, England, Accessed 2 May 2018.; Ancestry, Convict Indent Surry 1834.

[24] C.D. Coulthard-Clark, ‘Gables, Ghosts and Governors-General - The Historic House at Yarralumla’, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1988, pp. 1-42.; Australian Dictionary of Biography, 'Murray, Sir Terence Aubrey (1810-1873)', http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/murray-sir-terence-aubrey-2498, Accessed 27 August 2018.; 'Winderradeen', Sydney Morning Herald, 6 April 1935, p.16.

[25] Coulthard-Clark, ‘Gables, Ghosts and Governors-General - The Historic House at Yarralumla’.; Ancestry, Muster Record for Joseph Dickinson 1837, New South Wales and Tasmania, Australia Convict Musters, 1806-1849 [database on-line], Home Office: Settlers and Convicts, New South Wales and Tasmania; (The National Archives Microfilm Publication HO10, Pieces 5, 19-20, 32-51); The National Archives of the UK (TNA), Kew, Surrey, England, Accessed 2 May 2018.; Ancestry, New South Wales, Australia, Settler and Convict Lists, 1787-1834.; Australian Dictionary of Biography, 'Murray, Sir Terence Aubrey (1810-1873)'.; Ancestry, Ticket of Leave Joseph Dickinson, 'New South Wales, Australia, Tickets of Leave, 1810-1869 [database on-line].', ©The Crown in right of the State of New South Wales and is used under licence with the permission of the State Records Authority. Accessed 25 August 2018.; Ancestry, Certificate of Freedom Joseph Dickinson, 'New South Wales, Australia, Certificates of Freedom, 1810-1814, 1827-1867 [database on-line].' Original data: New South Wales Government. Butts of Certificates of Freedom. NRS 1165, 1166, 1167, 12208, 12210, reels 601, 602, 604, 982-1027. State Records Authority of New South Wales, Kingswood, New South Wales. Accessed 27 May 2018.

[26] Ancestry, New South Wales, Australia, Police Gazettes, 1854-1930 [database on-line], Original data: New South Wales Government. Police Gazettes. Series 10958, Reels 3129-3143, 3594-3606. State Records Authority of New South Wales, Kingswood, New South Wales, Australia. ©the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales and is used under licence with the permission of the State Records Authority. Accessed 1 June 2018.; 'Principal Superintendent of Convicts' Office 11 October 1836, New South Wales Government Gazette, 12 October 1836, p.782.

[27] Findmypast, Hulk Justitia Quarterly Returns for Joseph Dickinson.; Ancestry, Hulk Justitia Prison Hulk Registers and Letter Books for Joseph Dickinson.; Principal Superintendent of Convicts' Office 11 October 1836, New South Wales Government Gazette, 12 October 1836, p.782.; Hamish Maxwell-Stewart 'Career Criminals' in Hamish Maxwell-Stewart ed., Module Five, Chapter Two: Career Criminals, HAA Convicts in Context, 2018.

[28] Ancestry, Ticket of Leave Joseph Dickinson.; Ancestry, Certificate of Freedom Joseph Dickinson.

[29] NSW Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages, 'Births, Deaths and Marriages Search, https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au/lifelink/familyhistory/search?1, Accessed 27 May 2018.; NSW Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages, 'Registry Records', http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/Pages/family-history/registry-records.aspx, Accessed 27 May 2018.; Death Certificate of Ann Dickinson, died 3 May 1870, Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages New South Wales, 5595/1870.; Marriage Certificate of Sarah Ann Dickinson and Alexander McIntyre, married 27 October 1862, Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages New South Wales, 2903/1862.

[30] NSW Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages, 'Births, Deaths and Marriages Search’.; NSW Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages, 'Registry Records'.; Death Certificate of Ann Dickinson, died 3 May 1870.; Marriage Certificate of Sarah Ann Dickinson and Alexander McIntyre, married 27 October 1862.

[31] Death Certificate of Ann Dickinson, died 3 May 1870.; Death Certificate of George Joseph Dickinson, died 4 December 1878, Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages New South Wales, 9197/1878.; Hamish Maxwell-Stewart 'Marriage, Migration and Family Formation' in Hamish Maxwell-Stewart ed., Module Five, Chapter One: Marriage, Migration and Family Formation, HAA Convicts in Context, 2018.

[32] Ancestry, Gaol Entrance Description Book Joseph Dickinson 1850, 'New South Wales, Australia, Gaol Description and Entrance Books, 1818-1930 [database on-line].', Original data: State Archives NSW; Roll: 855. Accessed 27 May 2018. 'Queanbeyan, Police Intelligence', Goulburn Herald and County of Argyle Advertiser, 2 March 1850, p.6.

[33] ‘Queanbeyan, Before Henry Hall and G.F Palmer Esqrs.' Goulburn Herald and County of Argyle Advertiser, 6 April 1850, p.6.; 'Local Intelligence, Police Court, Drunkards', Golden Age, 28 May 1863, p.2.; 'Local Notes And Events', Queanbeyan Age and General Advertiser, 30 Jun 1864, p.2.; 'Local Notes And Events, Court of Petty Sessions, Obscene Language', Queanbeyan Age and General Advertiser, 19 January 1865, p.2.; 'Local and District News, Curious Circumstance', Queanbeyan Age, 28 March 1872, p.2.; 'Bungendore, Court of Petty Sessions', Queanbeyan Age, 17 June 1874, p.2.; 'Queanbeyan Police Court, Forgery and Uttering', Queanbeyan Age, 22 August 1874, p.2.; Queanbeyan Quarter Sessions', Queanbeyan Age, 24 October 1874, p.2.; Ancestry, New South Wales, Australia, Police Gazettes, 1854-1930.

[34] Death Certificate of George Joseph Dickinson, died 4 December 1878.; 'Dreadful Suicide. - Inquest', Queanbeyan Age, 7 December 1878, p.4.

[35] Maxwell-Stewart 'Career Criminals'.