Researchers who have claimed this convict
There is currently one researcher who has claimed John Loftus
- Researcher (Nigel Butterfield)
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Biographies
John Loftus (1827-1907) - John Loftus was born in County Mayo, Ireland in 1827, the eldest of five children of 26 year old James Loftus and his wife Winifred also 26 years old from Mayo. Sometime during the 1840s the family had emigrated to Newcastle upon Tyne in Northumberland, probably as a result of the Irish Potato Famine of 1845-1849.(Irish peasants relied exclusively on potato crops for food and income, and in 1845 potato blight decimated these crops. It is estimated that one million people died of starvation in Ireland between 1845 and 1851, as a result of the crop failure. Around one and one half million people emigrated from Ireland, mostly to Canada, England and the United Stat es. John was employed as a waterman on the river Tyne. On 3rd August 1848 however, along with co-conspiritor Septimus Golightly, he was tried and convicted at Newcastle upon Tyne Assizes for ‘assault with intent to rob’- it was stated the offence was an attempt at highway robbery. He had previously been imprisoned twice for drunkenness. The prosecutor was Sir John Markson, and John was sentenced to 12 years transportation to Tasmania.The Newcastle Courant of 11th August 1848 published an account of the trial of John Loftus and Septimus Golightly for felonious assault with intent to rob local borough magistrate George C Atkinson of a watch on the night of 31 May 1848 .( A copy of the full report and other newspaper reports of the trial are reproduced in Media) . John was perhaps not the most accomplished of villains. Not only did he choose a local magistrate as his victim and fail to get away with the loot, but he left his hat behind at the crime scene to provide the crucial evidence against himself at the trial. He is also referred to in the report as 'Jack'. His sentence of 12 years , 2 years more than his partner in crime took account of a previous conviction for assault in 1847. In 1849 John Loftus is recorded as being in Millbank Prison along with Golightly and the 1851 census shows him as a convict imprisoned on board the prison hulk Warrior (Govenor Henry Masterman) moored at Woolwich, pending transportation. see Media . John was transported on 11th March 1852 on the vessel "Fairlie", arriving in Tasmania on 4th July 1852, (The Fairlie, a Barque of 756 tonnes, built at Calcutta in 1812, sailed from PLYMOUTH on 11 MAR 1852 with 294 convicts, and took 114 days to arrive at Hobart on 4 JUL 1852.The master was Ed Pavey and surgeon Ed Nolloth) His partner in crime, Septimus Golightly was sentenced to 10 years Transportation, and departed for Tasmania on 23 March 1850 aboard the ship Blenheim. The records show that within one year of arriving as a convict in Tasmania John married a 22 year old Irish catholic girl, Mary Reilly, newly arrived from Waterford on an Assisted Passage. The Permission to Marry Register (Archives Office of Tasmania) shows that permission was granted on 29th June 1853 for John Loftus (ship ‘Fairlie’) to marry Mary Rielly (Free). They were married on the following 1st August at the Catholic Church of St Joseph, Hobart (see photograph in Media). John Loftus's convict records note five occasions between 1853 and 1855 of fines for being drunk and/or disorderly and one in 1881 for common assault but the records also show that his sentence was cut because of his meritous conduct, and that he worked as a carpenter. His ticket of leave was granted on 30 Jan 1855 and CP on 6th Feb 1855. but received a full pardon in February1856 having served over six of his twelve year sentence. These records also give his Convict Number as 25653 and describe his physical appearance as 5' 5 1/2" tall, sallow complexion, large head, oval face and blue eyes. He had brown hair, black eyebrows and wiskers and a large nose. There was a scar on the cheekbone under his left eye amongst other distinguishing marks which included half moon,7 stars ,cross, man and woman, mermaid, steamboat and other marks left arm. MS, cross, GAL, sailor with pistols .
Submitted by Researcher (Nigel Butterfield) on 8 February 2020
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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 11/17, p.345
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