Researchers who have claimed this convict
There is currently one researcher who has claimed John Smith
Biographies
John Slack (aka Smith), my great-great-great grandfather, was born in Onecote, Staffordshire, in 1790. He was the son of William James Slack (1759-1847) and Esther Mould (1762-1845). In 1826, John Smith (alias Slack) and Oliver Turner were charged with stealing two bank notes (£10 each), and on 22 July in the Warwick Assizes court both men were sentenced to transportation for life. John was transported on the convict ship ‘Manlius’, which departed from The Downs (near Deal in eastern Kent) on 17 April 1827, and arrived in Port Jackson, New South Wales on 11 August the same year, a journey of 116 days. A total of 176 convicts embarked on the voyage, two of whom died during the journey.
The convict record shows that John Smith lived in Nottingham, and was aged 32 (probably incorrect). His religion was Protestant, and his occupation was ‘butcher’. His offence is shown as ‘forged notes’ rather than stealing notes. He was 5 feet 6 ½ inches tall, with ruddy complexion, brown hair, hazel eyes, a “very hairy chest”, and a large scar under his right ankle.
On arrival in Sydney, John Smith was assigned to Leslie Duguid, a Scottish free settler who owned a farm of 2000 acres of land south of the Hunter River near Lochinvar, between Branxton and Maitland.
In 1833, John Smith married another convict, Mary McNamara, also known as Mary Mack. In November 1838, he was awarded a conditional pardon, and worked at various times as police constable, pound keeper and publican. After Mary’s death in 1846, John married Mary Cope Martin in 1852. He had two children by his first wife Mary (Mary Ann b 1834, and James b 1836 (my great-great grandfather)), and two more by his second wife Mary (Charlotte Elizabeth Ann b 1853, and Georgianna Deborah b 1857).
John Slack-Smith was the proprietor of the Hexham Hotel from 1848 (following the death of the Hotel’s founder, Thomas Prentice) until 1855 when he was bankrupted.
John Slack Smith died on 23 September 1865 and was buried in the general cemetery at Branxton. It appears that the gravestone is no longer visible or legible, as it is not listed in the online Australian Cemeteries Index.
Submitted by Researcher (13477) on 5 December 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 11/6, p.158
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