Researchers who have claimed this convict
There is currently one researcher who has claimed James Webb
Biographies
James WEBB was born c.1779 in Wiltshire, England, possibly in Bromham where this surname is very common. He was married to Grace but nothing can be found in Parish records of his birth, his marriage, or the birth of their children in either Wiltshire or the adjoining Parish of Berkshire where the family seemingly also lived. Perhaps they were non-conformists.
The earliest document concerning James that can be found is a court document which states that on the 16th day of July 1817, at the Berkshire Assizes, the jurors found him guilty of stealing one gelding of the price of ten pounds and one bridle of the value of thirty shillings from a Richard Balding of Padworth, Berkshire. James is described as a labourer late of the Parish of Padworth, otherwise known as James Kenton.
A second document dated the first day of March in the fifty ninth year of the reign of King George the third, states that in the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, James, previously found guilty of grand larceny and sentenced to be hanged, had this sentence reprieved and replaced by 'to be transported to parts beyond the seas for seven years'. It is signed by the Deputy Clerk of the Berkshire Assizes. This reprieve, among others, was reported in the Reading Mercury of 6th March 1819.
About this time James must have escaped from the Berkshire prison because the Gaoler of Reading sought reimbursement of £13 19s expenses for his recapture. James was then held on the prison ship Laurel before being transported on the Malabar which left from Spithead on 17th June1819 and arrived in Sydney on 30th October with a total of 170 prisoners.
James was described as a sawyer, 5ft. 0ins. in height, of fair complexion, with light brown hair, nose inclined to the right side, small finger on his left hand crooked, and small lump on his left cheek. By 1828 he was said to be nearly bald.
In the 1822 General Muster, James was a 'Government Sawyer' based in Sydney, and in the 1823, 1824, and 1825 Musters he is also recorded as a 'Government Sawyer' but now employed by a Mr. Winder of Newcastle. Following this he was apparently under the superintendence for some 18 months of Mr. Thos. Trip, a Master Builder, who petitioned the Governor for James to be given his Ticket of Leave. Although Mr. Trip's petition appears to be undated it must have been made in mid 1823 because it mentions the soon to be expected arrival of his wife and family. However, it was not until 26th May 1828 that the Sydney Bench recommended that his Ticket of Leave be issued and this was granted on 18th August of that year (No. 28/325).
James' wife Grace and their children Thomas, Robert and Mary left England on the ship Jupiter, arriving in Sydney on 25th November 1823. Three days later, on 28th November, James was officially 'assigned' to Grace. The family were together again, living in Kent Street, Sydney. The petition of Mr. Trip mentions four children, but only three arrived on the Jupiter. Either Mr. Trip was incorrect in stating there were four children or else one of them must have remained in England.
The 1828 census of N.S.W. tells us that James, aged 49, a sawyer, who had arrived on the Malibar in 1819, now had his Ticket of Leave and was living in Princes Street, Sydney. With him at this address were Grace aged 42, Thomas aged 17, Robert aged 16, and Mary aged 14, all of whom 'came free' on the Jupiter. Their religion is given as Protestant. [ Princes Street and the adjoining houses were demolished about 1927 to make way for the southern approaches of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.]
By this time James had sufficient savings to purchase a residential allotment in Fort Street. [ Fort Street no longer exists, it too having been demolished to construct the harbour bridge approaches. In the early days of Sydney there was a fort on this ridge, the site nowadays being known as Observatory Hill. ] The purchase was made from a Mr. William Humphries on 17th May 1826 and the amount paid was £30. On 6th June 1831 a portion of this allotment was sold to a Mr. Thomas Lincoln, an adjoining owner, for £16:5:8, the m
Submitted by Researcher (Don Hayward) on 7 September 2014
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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 11/3, p.177
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