There were four men who I believe had an influence on the life of Isabella Watkins.

The first is her father of whom I know nothing other than his daughter Isabella decided she needed to steal clothing to survive in Victorian London. This thieving led to the next man of influence.

This is the judge at her trial, Baron Parke, who decided transportation for seven years was a suitable punishment for a persistent shoplifter or thief.

James Parke was a well respected judge especially working in the Court of Exchequer and was mentioned in a Harvard Law Review in 1897:

“one of the greatest of English judges; had he comprehended the principles of equity as fully as he did the principles of the common law, he might fairly be called the greatest. His mental power, his ability to grasp difficult points, to disentangle complicated facts, and to state the law clearly, have seldom been surpassed. No judgments delivered during this period are of greater service to the student of law than his”.[1]

He was so influential in the legal world, a rule of law was named after him.[2]

Would the sentence and punishment he gave Isabella be a positive influence in her life and cause a change in her behaviour?

Now the third man of influence, her master Mr Legge from Cullenswood near Fingal in Van Diemen’s Land, enters her life. Robert Vincent Legge arrived in Van Diemen’s Land in 1827 with his brother and five sisters.[3] He was granted 1200 acres near St Mary’s. He called the property Cullenswood after a property in Ireland. He returns to Ireland and marries in 1839. Bringing his wife back to Van Diemen’s Land, he now needs servants to help run the property and look after his house and his growing family.

Isabella is still behaving badly. But she only committed one offence while under sentence. The local magistrate decided to send her to the Launceston Female House of Correction or factory. She was sentenced to one month’s hard labour which probably meant time at the washtub. Maybe it was this final punishment that helped Isabella mend her ways.

The third man with influence would be her husband. Francis Colegrave arrived in Van Dieman’s Land on theCircassian 16 February 1833, having been tried at Huntingdon Lent Assizes 7 March 1832 on two indictments: one of stealing chests of tea valued 3 pound and  the other of stealing wearing apparel.  He was found guilty and sentenced to fourteen years transportation. He received a Ticket of Leave in March 1839 and a conditional pardon 28 October 1841.[4] This meant he was a free man at the time his wife-to-be applied for permission to marry him. Francis had only two offences while under sentence and was either reprimanded or admonished.

I feel Francis was the steadying influence in Isabella’s life but if it were not for her father, Baron Parke and Robert Legge and their reactions to her behaviour, she would not have arrived in Van Diemen’s Land to eventually become my great great great grandmother.

References

[1] Wikipedia contributors, “James Parke, 1st Baron Wensleydale,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=James_Parke,_1st_Baron_Wensleydale&oldid=718145459 viewed 11 June 2016

[2] http://definitions.uslegal.com/b/baron-parkes-rule/

[3] http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~becher/legge_family_of_rodeen.htm

[4] TAHO, CON 31/1/7 p178, Conduct record Francis Colegrave

Readers: Who do you think was the most influential person in changing the behaviour of your convict?