Ancestry Launches Largest Online Collection of Records Documenting Australia’s Convicted “Founding Fathers”

Ancestry logo1.bmp80 Years of 18th- and 19th-Century Australian Convict Records Reveal the Not-So-Criminal Crimes of Those Banished to the Land Down Under; British Transportation Practice Has Roots in America

PROVO, UTAH – July 25, 2007 – Stealing sheep or wool or cloth in 18th- and 19th-century England could land you a minimum seven-year sentence at an Australian penal colony, according to Ancestry’s newest online collection of Australian convicts records. For those interested in uncovering the criminal ancestors lurking in their past, the world’s largest online resource for family history today released the largest collection of Australian convict records, indexed and searchable online for the first time. Records detail the some 165,000 convicts transported to Australia from 1788 to 1868.

An estimated 22 percent of Australians are descended from these British exiles. Their sentences served, many convicts remained Down Under, becoming Australia’s first western settlers.

The British government deemed transportation, as the practice was known, just punishment for a mixed bag of crimes from marrying secretly to burning clothes. Although “felony,” “larceny” and “burglary” described the overwhelming majority of crimes, a few records include juicy details, such as, “obtaining money by false pretences,” “stealing heifers” and “privately stealing in a shop.” The convict records typically contain convict’s name, date and place of sentencing, length of sentence – usually 7 years, 14 years or life – and, sometimes, the crime committed.

“By today’s standards, many of these crimes are minor misdemeanors or are no longer illegal, and the severity of punishments seem ludicrous,” said Megan Smolenyak, Chief Family Historian for Ancestry.com. “No wonder Australians consider a convict in their family tree a badge of honor and seek to uncover the amusing, quirky and outrageous details in their family’s ‘criminal’ past.”

But as notorious as the Australian convicts might be, England first disposed of its felons in the American colonies. High crime rates and over-crowded jails led the English government to transport small-time criminals to British colonies. By 1775, England had shipped some 50,000 convicts to America. They worked as indentured servants, typically on tobacco plantations in Virginia and Maryland.

Tired of England deporting unwanted citizens to America, Benjamin Franklin suggested sending rattlesnakes to England in return – a sentiment shared by many Colonial leaders. The American Revolution ended convict banishment to the United States, and the British began shipping their criminals some 15,000 miles to newly discovered Australia.

Unique Attributes of Australian-Bound Convicts:

  • A vast majority of Australia-bound convicts were English, Irish and Scottish men between the ages of 20 and 24.
  • Women accounted for some 15 percent of Australian convicts but were outnumbered by men, six to one.
  • 39 percent of male and 35 percent of female convicts had no prior convictions.
  • The oldest convict transported was approximately 60, and the youngest nine.
  • 1,321 convicts were from other parts of the British Empire.
  • The majority of convicts were illiterate and convicted for crimes of poverty (theft).
  • In the first years of transportation, convict ships were unsanitary and disease ridden; conditions improved in the later years.
  • Convicts typically served their sentence building roads, bridges and buildings or for free settlers.
  • When transportation ended, convicts made up 40 percent of Australia’s English-speaking population.

Click here to search Ancestry’s new collection of Australian Convict Registers.

About Ancestry.com
With 24,000 searchable databases and titles, Ancestry.com is the No. 1 online source for family history information. Since its launch in 1997, Ancestry.com has been the premier resource for family history, simplifying genealogical research for millions of people by providing them with many easy-to-use tools and resources to build their own unique family trees. The site is home to the only complete online U.S. Federal Census collection, 1790-1930, as well as the world’s largest online collection of U.S. ship passenger list records featuring more than 100 million names, 1820-1960. Ancestry.com is part of The Generations Network, Inc., a leading network of family-focused interactive properties, including MyFamily.com, Rootsweb.com, Genealogy.com and Family Tree Maker. In total, The Generations Network properties receive 10.4 million unique visitors worldwide and over 450 million page views a month (© comScore Media Metrix, March 2007).

Media Contacts
Julia Burgon
Coltrin & Associates for Ancestry.com
212-221-1616 ext. 124
[email protected]

Tola St. Matthew-Daniel
Coltrin & Associates for Ancestry.com
212-221-1616 ext. 101
[email protected]

 

2 thoughts on “Ancestry Launches Largest Online Collection of Records Documenting Australia’s Convicted “Founding Fathers”

  1. On the same subject perhaps some will find the court cases that sent their ancestors to the land down under at the following website:

    http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/

    You can read the proceedings and see the heavy handed punishments of the era.

  2. Pingback: Ancestry News – More Databases « Jessica’s Genejournal

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *