Researchers who have claimed this convict
There are currently 2 researchers who have claimed Charles Edwards
- Researcher (Yvonne Spargo)
- Researcher (Lindsay Frost)
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Biographies
Charles Edwards was born in 1806 in StGeorge in the East (a London district adjacent to the Tower of London, though later demolished to make way for St Katherines Dock). He grew up in Spitalfields where he worked as a cow-boy (dairy hand). At age 21 he was tried at the Old Bailey for the theft of milk pails at the Mile End Road turnpike. This was not his first trial, but it was the one for which he was convicted and transported. Earlier that day, he was tried for a Break and Enter in Bethnal Green, where he was found not guilty. Earlier still that day, he was mentioned as a possible accessory to a third crime - a theft of various items, including three pigs, from a coal yard in Bethnal Green. In all three cases, his accomplice William Beaumont was tried, and was convicted along with Charles Edwards for the milk pails theft. They were both transported on the Sarah. As were John Smith and Joseph Brown. Along with Charles, Smith and Brown appear as persons of interest in a crime in Melbourne in 1840. On arrival in NSW, Charles Edwards was assigned to Charles Boydell on the property Camyr Allyn near Gresford in the Hunter Valley. After he was granted his ticket of leave, he relocated to Melbourne where he worked in Stringy Bark Forest (now Templestowe), and married bounty immigrant Bridget McCann at the Church of the Pioneers, Melbourne's first church. They had two children in Melbourne - Edward who died within the year, and Mary Ann (from whom I am descended). They had a third child (William) in South Gundagai, where they spent some time living and working. Charles' brother William, who had become quite successful there. At the time, he was station manager at Jellingro Station. William would later acquire the substantial Willie Ploma Station, also in South Gundagai. William (the elder) "adopted" William (the younger) a year before Charles Edwards died (in 1850). The younger William died first and has an impressive monument in South Gundagai Cemetery. The older William has a considerably more modest headstone, consistent with the result of a series of bank foreclosures on parts of Willie Ploma. I have carried out extensive research on Charles, and on his brother William, who was also tried and transported. If you are interested in my research, please feel free to contact me at lindsay.d.frost@gmail.com.
Submitted by Researcher (Lindsay Frost) on 2 July 2026
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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.184
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