Researchers who have claimed this convict
There are currently 2 researchers who have claimed Henry Sly
- Researcher (Anne Velu)
- Researcher (Annette McElroy)
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Biographies
HENRY SLY – 1818 TO 1883
“In Loving Memory”, the words carved in stone on Henry Sly’s headstone, were probably the kindest words ever written about him. Whilst the date of Henry’s passing on 7th October, 1883 is a matter of record, his arrival into the world is shrouded in mystery. All this changed on 27 February, 1832. Henry, aged 14 years in the company of Edward Milliner, aged 22 years, was apprehended and brought before the courts. Their Old Bailey trial found Edward and Henry guilty with the recommendation for mercy for Henry due to his age. They were sentenced to be hanged. Henry and Edward Milliner’s sentences were commuted to transportation for life.
Henry was sent from Newgate Prison to the Prison Hulk Euryalsus, anchored at Chatham. After an incarceration of eleven months, Henry was released from the Euryalsus Hulk to be transported on the Waterloo (3) to Port Jackson. Cholera broke out just two days after setting sail with 214 male convicts on the 12th March, 1833. After losing their anchors in a storm off Margate, the ship returned to English waters where it remained in quarantine, sailing again on 8th April and after nearly four months the Waterloo sailed into Port Jackson on the 3 August, 1833.
When fifteen-year-old Henry arrived in the colony the records show he was just four feet ten and a half inches, a stocky build and ruddy complexioned. Henry’s experiences included time on one of the colony’s notorious iron gangs, an assignment from which he absconded, not once but numerous times, leading to a punishment of fifty lashes. A life where he moved north from Port Jackson, to Port Stephens then further north to Dungog, Walcha and ultimately, Armidale.
Henry, together with many other convicts was assigned to the Australian Agricultural Company, either as shepherds or miners. The AA Company, incorporated in England, established towns and developed areas for agriculture and mining from Port Stephens to the Northern Tablelands, and it was the forerunner of BHP Billiton and still operates agricultural interests today under its’ original name.
In 1834, the A.A. Co, had over 400 assigned convict shepherds and station-hands, with thousands of sheep, cattle and horses. Henry like many of his fellow convicts suff eredand was frustrated by hilot in life. The overseers of the AA Company were cruel and are immortalized by the convict poet Frank McNamara, in the poem A Convict's Tour to Hell. Records show that Henry had three Tickets of Leave the last being under a Mr William McNab whose run at Walcha fronted the Apsley River. In 1851 Henry finally received a Full Conditional Pardon which allowed Henry to go where he liked, but not back to England. He had served nineteen years as a convict, he had grown from a fourteen-year-old boy to a man, he had also grown an extra four inches. Henry had been part of the pioneering experience that opened up the Liverpool Plains and the Northern Highlands for settlement. He would, like many convicts, bear scars on his body from the lash, a cruel punishment, also from the leg irons he wore as he laboured in the iron gang to build roads.
A new time had come for Henry, time to marry and start a family which he did. Henry married Elizabeth Melvill, nee Wordley, a young widow, in 1853. They settled in Armidale where they raised a family of nine children.
Henry’s had his own business, his occupation on his death certificate was “Carrier”. Henry’s bad behaviour was still being written about as he aged. A couple of nights in gaol for being drunk in public, a court case over the paternity and support of an illegitimate child. Maybe What did it matter to Henry what was written about him, he never learnt to read or write.
Henry died from epileptic fits, over a three day period, in Niagra Street, Armidale, his death reported by his son-in-law. The words Henry Sly will be remembered for most are those words carved in stone, “In Loving Memory”, for the greatest of all things is love.
Submitted by Researcher (Anne Velu) on 8 July 2017
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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 11/9, p.27
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