|
a.
|
Note: n in Australia. There is no record of his birth in the NSW BDM, however civil registration did not begin until 1856, so it is possible that, if he was born in Australia, his birth was not registered.
Was he a convict?
We know James was in Australia for the birth of his daughter, Mary Ann, in March 1833. Prior to 1833, the November 1828 census records only one James BARKER of about the correct age. This James BARKER was a convict, sentenced to 7 years and transported on the Hercules II, arriving in Australia in May 1825. The convict indents describe this individual as protestant, born in 1801, tried in London, a groom and coachman by trade. He was initially assigned to Captain Piper, however by the 1828 census he was working as a servant to Francis Nicholas ROSSI in Sydney (birth records for Captain Piper’s children suggests that Piper moved to Bathurst after 1826, so perhaps Barker was re-assigned to Rossi?). Rossi was previously Deputy Secretary to the Governor of Mauritius, and came to Australia with his family, also aboard the Hercules II in 1825, to take up the position of Superintendent of Police.
The crime:
According to his certificate of freedom, James Barker was tried at the Middlesex GD (Gaol Deposit) on October 20th 1824. The trial actually took place at Sessions House, in the Old Bailey, on October 28th, 1824. The transcript reads:
James Barker was indicted for stealing, on the 21st September, a writing desk, value 30s, the goods of John Stuart.
Elizabeth Lewis: I am laundress to Mr John Stuart, of Lincoln’s Inn. On the morning of the 21st of September I opened the windows of the chamber, and saw the desk in its usual place. I went to the adjoining room and heard the cry of Stop! Thief! I looked out of the window and saw a crowd of people at No. 6. They came on to our chambers, and asked if I had lost anything. I said no, they said I had better go and see. I went in and missed the desk. The window had been pulled down so low that I could not pull it up again: it pulls down, but will not go up; there are footmarks upon it.
Ann Warman: I am laundress to Mr Lees. I saw the prisoner come out of Mr. Stuart’s window, with a desk under his arm.
Cross-examined by Mr. Law: Q. Had you seen him before? A. Yes, I had seen him that morning walking about the square with two other persons. When he got out of the window his back was towards me but I had seen his face before.
George Wear: I was at the door of the fruit shop in Lincoln’s Inn-passage, and I saw the prisoner with a desk under his arm. I followed him and saw him put it in the passage. I went after him. A man came up and collared him. They scuffled and I believe the prisoner struck him. He then ran away, and was caught by another person.
Cross-examined: Q. This occurrence did not take up more than a moment? A. No, he stopped in an instant to put down the desk, and I lost sight of him while he turned the corner of Serle Street.
Mary Wilkinson: I keep the shop in Lincoln’s Inn passage. I saw the prisoner put the desk down…it was brought to my shop.
(Property produced and sworn to)
GUILTY Aged 22
Transported for 7 years.
There were four different judicial sessions held for the county of Middlesex. These were the Middlesex Sessions of the Peace, Westminster Sessions of the Peace, Sessions of Oyer and Terminer, and Sessions of the Gaol Delivery of Newgate. The more serious cases (like that of James BARKER?) indicted for felony before a grand jury at the Middlesex Sessions of the Peace, and Oyer and Terminer, would usually be transferred to Newgate Gaol, and tried at the Sessions of Gaol Delivery of Newgate at the Old Bailey.
It is possible that John Stuart, the man from whom James stole the writing desk, was a member of the legal profession, since Lincoln’s Inn is one of the four ancient Inns of Court.
Lincoln’s Inn and Serle Street are in the parish of Holborn in London, very close to Chancery Lane. There is an IGI record for a James Barker, baptised on 22 October 1801, at the Lying in Hospital, Endell Street, Holborn, London, son of James and Mary BARKER. Other children possibly born to this couple include Mary b. 1798, Joseph b. 1804, John b. 1806, Mary b. 1807 and Richard b. 1812. Endell Street is just a few blocks from Lincoln’s Inn.
It is not known yet whether James was returned to gaol (Newgate?) or transferred to a hulk to await transportation, however he was fortunate in having a short wait, as well as in the ship to which he was eventually allocated. The Hercules II, an A1 class vessel of 482 tons, had been built only two years previously in 1822 in Whitby, and was embarking on her first convict voyage. She sailed from Portsmouth on the 29th December, 1824, under the command of William Vaughan, with Michael Goodsir as ship’s surgeon. Aboard were 135 male convicts (no females). According to the surgeon’s log, the voyage was a good one, with very few illnesses and only one death. The trip (which included a stop at the Cape of Good Hope, because this is where Mrs. Hughes embarked) lasted 129 days, with the ship arriving in Sydney on 7th May 1825.
James BARKER, the convict, served his seven years, and was granted his Certificate of Freedom on 29 October 1831. The CF states that his native place was London; that he was born in 1801, and was a groom and coachman. On the 20th October 1824 he was tried at the Middlesex GD (Gaol Deposit?) for house robbery, than transported on the Hercules 2. He is described as being 5 feet, 4 inches tall; of fair and ruddy complexion, with dark brown hair and dark hazel eyes. This description is similar to the convict indent, which describes him as 5 feet 3 1/2 inches tall, with pink complexion, dark brown hair and hazel eyes.
Note: James BARKER was probably born between 1801 and 1804. We do not know if he was bor
|
