Hi Venita, Times were tough, prisons were crowded, and the new colony needed strong, healthy workers, so it didn't take much to find yourself on a cruise heading south. I had a quick look at the index, and saw there was a William PEACH who was transported for 14 years for stealing handkerchiefs, is this the person you referrred to? His record shows that he had two previous convictions - for stealing fowls he was jailed for one month, and for disorderly conduct he received two months. It looks like the Court ran out of patience when he reoffended by stealing three handkerchiefs from a hedge (it sounds like someone had left their washing out to dry) The whole index is fascinating though, once I started with a few of my own convicts I just couldn't stop as the stories were so interesting. Cheers Trish Nowra NSW. This is a fascinating list! It’s interesting to see the crime and the sentence pronounced for it. One man was sentenced to 14 years for stealing a handkerchief! There must be more to that story… Venita

Thank you, Trish! I figured it must have been the last straw for the judge to have handed down such a sentence! I haven’t found any relatives on the list, but my gg granduncle, Jesse Pullen, was there to meet them when they arrived in Van Diemens Land. He was a Minister. He and his wife worked with the convicts there. They had gone there from Kent in the 1820s. Venita On Nov 9, 2013, at 1:33 PM, symonds3 <psym8950@bigpond.net.au> wrote: > Hi Venita, > Times were tough, prisons were crowded, and the new colony needed strong, > healthy workers, so it didn't take much to find yourself on a cruise heading > south. > I had a quick look at the index, and saw there was a William PEACH who was > transported for 14 years for stealing handkerchiefs, is this the person you > referrred to? > His record shows that he had two previous convictions - for stealing fowls > he was jailed for one month, and for disorderly conduct he received two > months. > It looks like the Court ran out of patience when he reoffended by stealing > three handkerchiefs from a hedge (it sounds like someone had left their > washing out to dry) > The whole index is fascinating though, once I started with a few of my own > convicts I just couldn't stop as the stories were so interesting. > Cheers > Trish > Nowra NSW. > > > > This is a fascinating list! It’s interesting to see the crime and the > sentence pronounced for it. One man was sentenced to 14 years for stealing > a handkerchief! There must be more to that story… > Venita > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to KENT-ENG-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message