Criminal Records at the National Archives, Early 19th Century

August, 2007

Patricia Ward (patricia @t teepee32.freeserve.co.uk) of Potters Bar, Herts, kindly responded to my request for experiences of using criminal records at the National Archives. She writes:

You ask on your website if anyone has used The National Archives (TNA) to research criminal ancestors.  I have more than a few of these which have given me hours of fun and most of which have necessitated a visit to TNA, all from Herts, Bucks and Beds.

• My 3X great grandfather William Merridon transported 1834 to Van Diemens Land (Tasmania)
• William's two brothers Edward and George 'Merrington' also transported to Van Diemens Land 1842.
• A cousin or uncle of William (never been able to prove which), William Champkin transported to New South Wales 1829.
• 3x great grandfather Thomas Clark (father of William's daughter in law) sentenced 1861 to one year in prison along with his son John.
• 4X great grandfather James Eames (father in law of Thomas Clark) sentenced 1808 to transportation but pardoned 1814 after 6 years on prison hulks.
• William Freeman, brother in law of William Merridon, transported 1826 to New South Wales.

The first documents I studied at TNA were HO27, annual criminal registers, arranged by County, which gave me the place and date of trial.  These are huge volumes which necessitate using a trolley, and need to be studied in the Map Reading room where the tables are larger.

For Quarter Sessions trials the records are at County Record Offices, but for Assizes I needed to search ASSI.  There is a key to these on the TNA website.

• In HO9 I found lists of convicts on prison hulks.
• In T38 I found a fascinating list of convicts 'victualled' aboard James Eames' prison hulk 1812-13 which listed all clothing and bedding provided for him each quarter.
• In HO11 are to be found the convict transportation registers arranged by ship.
• In HO10 are lists of settlers in New South Wales and Tasmania. (HO10 and HO11 are now on Ancestry [and through the State Library of Queensland convict database].)
• In ADM101 I found the Surgeons' journals for the convict ships.
• TS18 included the contract for George and Edward's convict ship.
• In HO13 I found a pardon for James Eames in 1814.  I am still searching for his pardon application or petition.

I haven't gone into too much detail as the email would be far too loooooooooong but if you'd like more let me know. I have of course found lots more information from other sources, but the basic information comes from TNA.  To research criminals you must first know the place and date of trial.

I have found TNA documents very confusing at times and to start had help from Ken Griffin  [author of the valuable reference book Transported beyond the Sea] from Herts FHS and took copious notes from an excellent book 'Criminal Ancestors' by David T Hawkings.

Thanks Patricia - I have not tried to use the criminal records at the National Archives but some time ago I used some of the First World War military records and your notes suggest that the joys and the problems are much the same. For certain categories of information the records can be a real gold mine - but it can be hard work, and you need to do your homework by studying suitable guide books before you start.

What is helpful is that an increasing number of records are becoming available online.