John Ahern (abt. 1792 - 1876)

Born about 1792 in County Waterford, Ireland

Died 17 Dec 1876 at about age 84 in Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia

Biography

John Ahern was a convict after the Third Fleet transported to Van Diemen's Land

John Ahern was aged about 60 when he was found guilty of the crime of conspiracy to murder at his trial in Waterford on 2-4 March 1852. The victim was "James [Iron? Bow?], who fell out of the car"^[1]. John had had no prior convictions.

John was sentenced to death but this was later commuted to a sentence of transportation for life. The Irish court records stated that he travelled to Australia on board the Lord Dalhousie^[2]. The Lord Dalhousie arrived in Van Diemen's Land on 14 August 1852 having left Cork in April of that year.

John Ahern could not speak English, nor could he read or write^[3], but his conduct record stated he spoke "Irish well". He profession was labourer, a Roman Catholic, aged about 60, five feet seven inches tall, with sallow complexion, grey hair and whiskers, oval face, grey eyes and a large mouth. He also had a scar on his right cheek^[1].

John's convict indent record stated that he was married and had ten children^[3]. His wife's name was Mary.

On arrival in Van Diemen's Land John was put on probation for six years. He spent time in Hamilton, O'Brien;s Bridge and Long River. John obtained his ticket of leave in October 1858. He was fined in March 1860 for disturbing the peace. John's conditional pardon was approved in November 1860.^[1]

John Ahern died (aged "80") at Port Arthur on 17 December 1876 of natural causes thanks to complications he had suffered as a result of a fall and fracture in his right thigh^[4][1]. The death certificate, however, stated that he died from "Organic Diseases of Lungs" and was a free pauper^[5]. The conduct records indicate that John may have been an invalid from as early as 1862 and made numerous visits to hospital up until his death.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Tasmanian State Archives, online copy of John Ahern's convict conduct record, accessed 3 April 2016
2. ↑ National Archives of Ireland, Irish Transportation Database, PDF compilation database of records contained in the National Archive of Ireland; entry for John Ahern, page 19. Record reference code: TR 12, P 148
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Tasmanian State Archives, online copy of John Ahern's original convict indent record. Accessed 5 April 2016
4. ↑ Tasmanian State Archives, original copy of John Ahern's inquest record. Accessed 5 April 2016
5. ↑ Tasmanian State Archives, online original copy of John Ahern's death record accessed 5 April 2016