I was looking at this message after being away for some time and I know there were lots of convicts sent to and died in Norfolk Island. One of mine is there. (Walter BURKE from Tipperary) He was originally sent from England on a charge of suspicion of having a fire-arm, and was executed for Mutiny while a prisoner on the Island. I do have a reference list which I did while having a couple of quiet holidays over there. I have an extensive list of soldiers and convicts. Elaine ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mary Beaumont" <nogobeau@alphalink.com.au> To: <GENIRE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, September 21, 2005 10:42 PM Subject: Re: Penal Colonists >I believe a large amount of Irish 'slaves' were sent off to the West Indies >very early on . Mary > > Ron Martell wrote: > >> QuietMan <quietman@proudirish.com> wrote: >> >> >>>Are there any records of those poor unfortunate Irish sent off to >>>Botany Bay and other English penal colonies? >> >> >> The records of convicts sent to Australia are pretty complete. >> >> However prior to the use of Australia for penal colonies there were a >> considerable number sent to various locations in North America, and >> recors of these have largely been lost, or at least not yet made >> generally available to the public. >> >> I have some information about one shipload in 1788 on my website at >> http://onlinehelp.bc.ca/martellfa/extras/convicts.htm and there are >> some other ships mentioned there as well. >> >> Any additional information about this group would be appreciated. >> >> Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada > > ______________________________