Dear Becki, It means that this time he was convicted for Larceny (theft of personal property) and he had a previous conviction for Felony (this is a term which was used for a more serious crime such as Murder, Rape, Wounding, Arson or Robbery). Unfortunately it doesn't indicate exactly which crime was committed. The courts certainly took previous convictions into account. Naughty Boy!! Regards Vanessa Dorset ----- Original Message ----- From: "Beki Grinter" <beki@cc.gatech.edu> To: <dorset@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, September 05, 2010 9:48 PM Subject: [DOR] Larceny before convicted of felony > Hi, > > One of my ancestors was tried at Dorchester Quarter Sessions and the > description of the offence was larceny before convicted of felony. Can > anyone tell me what that means. He was sentenced to transportation to > Tasmania, and I think he may have had a prior record of offenses (and some > acquittals) and I wonder whether that prior history with the courts might > be a part of what was going on. > > thanks for any help, > > > beki grinter

Hi Vanessa, Personal property, makes it sound as if it had to be something on the person, in fact it meant any property that had an owner, but not intangible things, like rights of way , or wild things. He would have become a Felon after the conviction. The Larceny Act of 1911 was repealed by the Theft Act in 1968, so today we would call it Theft. He may not have been a naughty boy, it could have been as little as an apple. Regards Trevor

Dear Frank, I actually know that! I gave Becki the Oxford English Dictionary terms for Larceny and Felony. Also as he was already a felon because he had already been convicted previously (probably theft / robbery), I was being cheeky about calling him a naughty boy! Vanessa Dorset ----- Original Message ----- From: "Frank Ainsworth-Quartermaine" <frank.ainsworth@virgin.net> To: <dorset@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, September 06, 2010 7:48 AM Subject: Re: [DOR] Larceny before convicted of felony > Hi Vanessa, > Personal property, makes it sound as if it had to be something on the > person, in fact it meant any property that had an owner, but not > intangible things, like rights of way , or wild things. > He would have become a Felon after the conviction. > The Larceny Act of 1911 was repealed by the Theft Act in 1968, so today we > would call it Theft. > He may not have been a naughty boy, it could have been as little as an > apple. > Regards > Trevor