Researchers who have claimed this convict
There is currently one researcher who has claimed William Downes
Biographies
In late 1831, the convict transport ship Elizabeth battled the heavy swells of the Southern Ocean, carrying William Downes permanently away from his ancestral home. Back in Salop (Shropshire, England), William had been born in 1804 to his parents, William and Mary Downes. Growing up in the rural West Midlands, he worked as a highly skilled ploughman, intimately familiar with the rhythm of turning deep soil and managing heavy working draft horse teams. However, following a conviction for stealing crossbows (not his first offence), he was sentenced at the Shrewsbury Quarter Sessions to seven years of transportation to the penal colonies.
Defying the grim, oppressive odds of the British penal system, William navigated his sentence with an unblemished record of exemplary behavior, leaving the colonial misconduct ledgers entirely blank. Upon his arrival in 1832, his deep agricultural expertise as a master ploughman made him an invaluable asset to newly arrived free settlers.
He was immediately assigned to Mr. Joseph Allport, Joseph and his wife, the famous early colonial artist Mary Morton Allport, who was establishing a pioneering farm at Broad Marsh in the Black Brush district
His next placement was Mr John Garrett Briggs in the Richmond / Green Ponds district.
Finally at William Broadribb farm in the Black Brush and Brighton areas.
Submitted by Researcher (19276) on 28 September 2026
|
Disclaimer: The information has not been verified by Claim a Convict. As this information is contributed, it is the responsibility of those who use the data to verify its accuracy. Research notes
There are currently no research notes attached to this convict. Sources
- The National Archives (TNA) : HO 11/8, p.189
|
