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There is currently one researcher who has claimed Zephaniah Stallard
Biographies
Zephaniah Stallard was born in 1809 in Wrington, Somersetshire, the son of Jeremiah and Ann Stallard. He was christened on 2nd April that year.
He was one of a very large family – his parents had 17 children. I have not been able to determine where he ranked in this brood – I’ve been able to find one christening records for two brothers, Moses, 2 years older and Alfred, 5 years younger.
Zephaniah appears to have lead an unremarkable childhood in this large family, though times would have been tough, particularly after his father died, when Zeph was nine years old. Without their father life in rural Wrington would have been difficult and by the late 1820’s the family had moved to Bristol and lived in Bedminster, a squalid area where the poor were crammed into crowded slums.
Unfortunately, in 1829, Zephaniah’s life changed dramatically after he came to the notice of the authorities. It seems that Zephaniah friends were not what his mother would have wished. He went out with them one day and found himself involved in a highway robbery. The friends bailed up one Antony Burgess and took from him the sum of £4 10s. They were caught and locked up in the Bristol Gaol.
At his trial, Zephaniah was convicted of highway robbery and sentenced to death, which the judge commuted to transportation for life. His distraught mother made a desperate plea for clemency – she petitioned the authorities: she wrote that she had been a widow for 11 years, had 17 children none of whom had broken the law and that Zephaniah had been led astray by his three companions. He was a good lad and she pleaded that he felt contrition for the crime. Her application for clemency was supported by 24 signatories, one of whom was the prosecutor! Hearing nothing back, she wrote again asking what had happened regarding her appeal and stating that her son was dangerously ill. Her attempts to free, or at least to keep her son in England, fell on deaf ears.
On 19th August, 4 months after his trial, he began his journey to the far side of the world. Along with 179 others, Zephaniah was off to the penal colony of New South Wales on the sailing ship “Claudine”. Onboard were also John Peters, Richard Smithers and Robert Hastings, who were convicted at the same time for the highway robbery. Other fellow-accused, John Radnidge, James Dunsford. William Merrick were also sent out to Australia but on different ships.
Arriving in Australia on 6th December 1829, Zephania, aged 20, would have soon found himself being assigned to a freeman, to work out his servitude. In December 1840 we find a newspaper report of Zephaniah Stallard, living in the District of Bathurst, being granted a Ticket-of Leave, allowing him to live in the community and seek work on his own account, independent apart from the requirement to attend regular government musters.
It is not known what became of Zephaniah Stallard. There are no marriage or death records registered in NSW. The last reference I have found is the Post Office list of unclaimed letters as at October 1840: “Zephenah Stallard” has not collected his mail….
Submitted by Researcher (3899) on 17 March 2015
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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 11/7, p.167
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