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James House was born at Chelsea, England, in 1790.[1]
On 21 May, 1817, he and Isaac Radford were tried at Middlesex for robbing Esther Timson's public house in the parish of St. Luke, Chelsea, and stealing a clock, tobacco, and a large amount of food and alcohol on the 6th of May, 1817. They were sentenced to death, both commuted to transportation for life to New South Wales.[2]
James was transported to New South Wales as a convict via the ship Batavia in 1818.[1]
He married Ruth Ashby at Windsor, NSW, in 1820. Ruth had a daughter Elizabeth Merritt from a previous relationship.
In the 1825 convict muster he was recorded as assigned as a G.S. ("government servant" = convict) to Ruth Ashby at Parramatta.[3]
At the 1828 census they were living at Lower Portland Head on a 5 acre property, and James was working as a fisherman.[4]
He was arrested and confined to a cell for 3 days on 29 March, 1831.[5]
On 22nd October, 1832, he was reported on a list of prisoners who had absconded - he had been assigned to the No. 20 Road Gang.[6] He was reported as having run off again on the 5th of November, 1832 - this time from the No. 10 Road Gang.[7][8]
In 1838 he was admitted to the Sydney Gaol. (He appears in the description book.)[9]
On 19 Apr 1835 he was sent to Morton Bay for 4 years.[10]
He absconded from his assignment to Dr. Clayton in Yass on 20th August, 1839.[11] He was apprehended at the beginning of November, 1840.[12]
James was given a ticket of leave at Sydney in 1843.[13]
On 20th September, 1850, he was reported as being absent from Windsor, his Ticket of Leave district, aged 60.[14] His Ticket of Leave was cancelled in November, 1850, as he was missing.[15]
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia, Convict Indents, 1788-1842
James House, tried: Middlesex Gaol Delivery, 21st May 1817, term: Life, native place: Chelsea, trade: Fisherman, age: 21, height: 5/6 1/2, [complexion, hair, eye colour hard to read]... - ↑ Ancestry.com. Australian Convict Transportation Registers – Other Fleets & Ships, 1791-1868
James House, convicted: Middlesex Gaol Delivery, when: 21st May 1817, term: Life.
Isaac Radford, ... [same details] - ↑ New South Wales and Tasmania, Australia Convict Musters, 1806-1849. 1825.
- ↑ Ancestry.com. 1828 New South Wales, Australia Census (Australian Copy)
88. House, James, age: 39, free or bond: G.S. [Government Servant i.e. convict], ship: Batavia 1818, term: life, religion: Pro., employ & residence: Fisherman L. P. Head, district: L. P. Head, total no of acres: 5, acres cleared: 4, acres cultivated: 3.
House, Ruth, age: 41, free or bond: [may be F.S. i.e. free by servitude], ship: Indispensible 1809, term: 7, religion: Pro. - ↑ Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia, Gaol Description and Entrance Books, 1818-1930
441. James House, Batavia 1817, free or bond - on arrival: Bond, on entering gaol: Bond, native place: Chelsea, religion: Protestant, trade: Waterman, admitted: 29th March 1831, whence: Par[ramatta]: Po[C?] Office, purpose: To be confined in a cell 3 days, how: Sent to P. Bar Parramatta, when: 1 April 1831 - ↑ Government Gazette Notices (1832, October 24). New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900), p. 361. Retrieved May 16, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230389215
THE undermentioned Prisoners having absconded from the Individuals and Employments set against their Names respectively, and some of them being at large with stolen Certificates, and Tickets-of-Leave, all Constables and others are hereby re-quired and commanded to use their utmost exertions in apprehending and-lodging-them in safe custody. Any Person harbouring or employing any of the said Absentees, will be prosecuted as the Law directs :— ...House James, Batavia, 52, Fisherman, Chelsea, 5 feet 6½, hazel eyes, black hair, dark ruddy comp. from No. 20 Road Gang. - ↑ Government Gazette Notices (1832, November 7). New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900), p. 396. Retrieved May 16, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230389268
House James, Batavia, 52, Fisherman, Chelsea, 5 feet 6½, black hair, hazel eyes, dark ruddy comp. from No. 10 Road Gang. 2d time of running. - ↑ Government Gazette Notices (1834, November 5). New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900), p. 780. Retrieved May 16, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230687729
- ↑ New South Wales, Australia, Gaol Description and Entrance Books, 1818-1930. Year: 1838.
710. James House, arrival: Batavia, 1816, year of birth: 1790, height: 5 feet 6 inches, make: Stout, complexion: Fresh, colour of hair: Brown, eyes: Hazel. - ↑ Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia, Gaol Description and Entrance Books, 1818-1930. 1835.
- ↑ Government Gazette Notices (1839, September 18). New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900), p. 1039. Retrieved May 16, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230384555
House James, Batavia, 39, Chelsea, fisherman, 5 feet 6½ inches, dark ruddy comp., black hair, hazel eyes, from Dr. Clayton, Yass, since August 20. - ↑ LIST OF RUNAWAYS APPREHENDED DURING THE WEEK (1840, November 4). New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900), p. 1156. Retrieved May 16, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230139119
- ↑ Government Gazette Notices (1843, May 19). New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900), p. 678. Retrieved May 16, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230104792
- ↑ THE undermentioned prisoners of the Crown holding Tickets of Leave being absent from (1850, September 20). New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900), p. 1457. Retrieved May 16, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230044683
Prin. Sup. of Convicts' Office, Sydney, 20th September, 1650. THE undermentioned prisoners of the Crown holding Tickets of Leave being absent from their district, are illegally at large:— ... James House, Batavia, 60, Chelsea, fisherman, 5 feet 6 1/2 inches, dark ruddy comp., brown hair, hazel eyes ; from Ticket of Leave, Windsor. - ↑ THE Tickets of Leave of the undermentioned Prisoners of the Crown, have been cancelled (1850, November 22). New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900), p. 1802. Retrieved May 16, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230045748