Many Australian family trees boast a convict or two in their lineage. While it was once a secret shame to be covered up at all costs, they are nowadays viewed as 'royalty' and we proudly boast of finding them in our family trees. One only has to watch, 'Who do you thing you are?' to see the excitement upon finding a convict in their family story. And more often than not, once familiarised with the circumstances, afford a distinct endearment of empathy and compassion for their plight.
As their stories unfold it becomes apparent how unique each story is as they are not easily pidgeon holed or painted with the same brush. From a psychological historical context, traits of strength and resilience, and even trauma, can be passed down through the generations, influenced by our family histories and subconsciously impacted by their experiences of injustice and trauma, love and faithfulness, from generation to generation and we then pass down to our children and their children, and their children's children. I'm now a firm believer, more than ever before, that those who came by sea to this great southern land, came with their 'baggage' that we inherit and pass on to those who'll come after us. These are our family traits and each family is a unique compilation of past and present.
Our convict past is a vast, diverse blend of stories told of harsh injustices and wanton desperation of survival. More often than not, convicts were victims of the cruel and unjust legal system, written by the privileged few and their children, to protect their hierarchy on the social scale. There was absolute contempt for the poor, and the law was an institutionalised means of scourging the nation of them, and keeping them at arm's length, and better still, ridding the country of them, to as far away places as possible; enter the penal colonies of the world, and Botany Bay was the beginning of the Australian penal colony history.
At this time, the effects of the Industrial Revolution saw many labour jobs disappear resulting in mass unemployment among the lower class, which led to increases in hunger and crime. England's prisons were overflowing with these wretched poor and destitute souls, victims of progress and an unfair and inhumane legal system that disadvantaged them without mercy, harsh punishments were doled out for the smallest of indiscretions, for eg, death sentences for stealing bread or potatoes, desperate to feed their families, and trying to make ends meet. There were no ends for the poor and needy. A scroll through the online Old Bailey court session journals reveals a litany of such examples.
Whereas the sentence for murder of a pauper was often very mild in comparison, encouraged almost. While stealing a handkerchief, a ring, or a silk scarf, could send you to your death or transportation for life to the colonies. And even still, an orphaned child of 16 years, a dairy maid, sentenced to death for heresay burning down the wheat storage barn as a cry for help, to draw attention to the sexual abuse she was suffering under the hands of the man, who was indentured to care and protect her from harm, was himself perpetrating harm upon her, as alleged in the court case recorded in the Old Bailey files. This orphaned child was my 3x great grandmother. Though her death sentence at 16 was commuted to Transportation for life to New South Wales in 1831 because the fledgling colony needed more women of child bearing years to mend the imbalance of the sexes, and so she was spared. Though this 'act of mercy' by the judge was more for the sake of benefitting the colony more than giving a damn about the child.
This is Hannah's story...
Hannah Simmons, b.1815 was born in Prees Green, in Shrewsbury near Shropshire, the youngest of two daughters, Catherine, b.1813, to Thomas and Anne Simmons. More to this story in Hannah's story book tba).
The Bubonic Plague and Cholera were ravaging England at this time and many families were left destitute. At the age of 10, Hannah and her sister were handed over to the church orphanage, where Hannah was 'Indentured' to a local farmer at Whixall, named Fordham.....
Hannah was schooled in husbandry and by 16 years of age was working as a dairy maid on Fordham's farm, and then we read how Hannah's salvation became her worst nightmare, when she is arrested and charged with Arson for burning down the wheat storage barn at the Fordham farm, and here's what the court case said...
Three months into her 16th birthday, Hannah was charged with Arson for setting fire to the wheat stores at the Fordham farm. She went before the Judge at Shrewsbury Prison. Her court case was a sensational scandal and was reported in four local newspapers, of 'he said, she said', with suggestions that the farmer, John Fordham had been taking liberties with the girl, and her actions were a cry for help. A witness gave testimony that he heard Fordham's wife call him evil for taking liberties with the girl, but it fell on deaf ears and the Judge sentenced Hannah to death, yet showed her mercy, by commuting it to Transportation for Life in the penal colony of New South Wales (because the colony needed more child bearing women.
Hannah married Joseph Stanton of Hereford, UK, also a convict, ten years her senior. By all accounts it was a long and happy marriage producing many children, one of which was my great great grandfather William Charles Stanton, b.1845. William Charles married Mary Barlow, the twin daughter (Mary and Martha) of convict Charles Barlow of Norwich, UK and Amelia Sherringham, daughter of convict Robert Sherringham of Cromer, UK. Charles and Mary has several children also, one of which being Stella Stanton, my great grandmother, b.1887 in Penrith, who married Norwegian sailor Claus Clausen, b.1882 in Bergen, Norway. They too had several children, their first born, Edna Florence, my grandmother, b.1907.
Photo of Stanton family in Penrith, dated c1922. The bearded Patriarch in the photo is one of Hannah's sons, William Charles Stanton, b.1842, my great great grandfather.
Behind William is his daughter Stella Clausen b.1887, my great grandmother, her husband on the right end, Norwegian sailor Claus Clausen, their first born child on the far left standing, my grandmother Edna Clausen and some of her younger siblings seated in front.
I have researched Hannah's life story from her birth in Shrewsbury, Shropshire in 1815, a very extensive research and turning it into a book as its very extensive. Stay tuned for updates.
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