Hi This is my first mailing here, so apologies if I've got it wrong. My great great grandmother's brother John Plowright was transported to Tasmania for what appears to have been considered a run of the mill crime, that of stealing Silk Handkerchiefs. He arrived in Tasmania in 1836 on board the Elphinstone 2 (or does that mean the second voyage of the Elphinstone?). Curiously although sentenced to 7 years transportation I understand there is an entry in the Hobart Gazette of Jul 1847 concerning his absconding. I assume that the local courts or prison authorities could, and did, extend prisoners sentences - I'd be keen to learn more. Would any of the listers know who I could approach to obtain a transcription of the article in the Hobart Gazette? I live in England, actually about 15 minutes walk from where the crime was committed :-) in Stamford in Lincolnshire. John was a native of Easton on the Hill, Northamptonshire. I have seen further a 'convict permission to marry' between John Plowright (FREE) and a Catherine Hedley (Cadet 2) in 1850. Should anyone know any details I would be greatly obliged. Kindest regards Tony

Hi Tony There is a wonderful woman named Sue Wyatt who lives in Tassie and who goes to the Archives fairly regularly. She is willing to do look ups and make copies and email or post results to you. She only charges for copying and post within Aust. Her email address is [email protected] . His convict record will have a list of other offences and sentences, which should tell you more about his absconding and further sentences. It also has a physical description of the convict including identifying marks (very interesting reading). Yes, the '2' after the ship means second voyage. One on my convict ancestors was also tried at Stamford. His name was James Knapsey and he was tried on December 31st 1842 for stealing two silver watches, aged 21 years. He was sentenced to 7 years and transported to Tasmania in 1844. The problem is I can't find any records of this man before his trial. I suspect he was really James Knapp (c.1822 in Bengeo, Hertford). I have a favour to ask: - would you be able to see if you can find any records of this man (either Knapsey or Knapp) in Stamford - court records, census, any references would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Patti Vallance [email protected] -----Original Message----- From: Tony Flynn [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, 26 April 2002 6:22 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [TAS-CONVICTS] John Plowright Hi This is my first mailing here, so apologies if I've got it wrong. My great great grandmother's brother John Plowright was transported to Tasmania for what appears to have been considered a run of the mill crime, that of stealing Silk Handkerchiefs. He arrived in Tasmania in 1836 on board the Elphinstone 2 (or does that mean the second voyage of the Elphinstone?). Curiously although sentenced to 7 years transportation I understand there is an entry in the Hobart Gazette of Jul 1847 concerning his absconding. I assume that the local courts or prison authorities could, and did, extend prisoners sentences - I'd be keen to learn more. Would any of the listers know who I could approach to obtain a transcription of the article in the Hobart Gazette? I live in England, actually about 15 minutes walk from where the crime was committed :-) in Stamford in Lincolnshire. John was a native of Easton on the Hill, Northamptonshire. I have seen further a 'convict permission to marry' between John Plowright (FREE) and a Catherine Hedley (Cadet 2) in 1850. Should anyone know any details I would be greatly obliged. Kindest regards Tony ==== AUS-TAS-CONVICTS Mailing List ==== Please link your webpages to the Australian Families Webring and Tasmanian Convicts - let's unite!!! The navigation bar is located at: Http://hometown.aol.com/romniroser/myhomepage/newsletter.html ============================== To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237