Month: July 2016

Martha Virco – trial record

Miss W. Convict Ancestors course, Virco ,

This story has been created by Wendy Westgate as part of the University of Tasmania’s HAA007 Convict Ancestors unit

The Trial of Martha VICO at the Old Bailey

457. MARTHA VICO was indicted for stealing, on the 12th of December, 1 watch,. value 1l. 5s.; 1 purse, value 6d.; and 2 shillings; the goods and monies of William Leighton, from his person.

WILLIAM LEIGHTON . I am a private in the 45th regiment of foot. I was out on furlough, and was at Edgware, on the 12th of December—I was going to Watford, to my friends—I got to Edgware about eight or nine o’clock at night—I went into the White Lion public-house, and found the prisoner there, in company with another woman—I got into conversation with them, and treated them—I paid about 2s. for what I had—I took out my purse to pay—I had 5s. or 7s. in it—I was rather under the influence of drink, but I knew what I was about—about eleven o’clock the prisoner and I went out together, and the other woman left us—I went into the fields with the prisoner, and laid down and went to sleep—I do not know whether I paid her any thing—I had a watch, fastened to a guard round my neck—the purse was in my right-hand pocket—I awoke between four and five o’clock in the morning, and she was gone—I missed my watch directly I awoke—the guard-chain was broken—I went into a public-house immediately, and then missed my purse—the prisoner was taken next evening—this is my watch—(looking at it)—I did not give either the watch or purse to her.

JOHN BLEUMAN . I am shopman to Mr. Marchant, a pawnbroker in Edgware-road. I took this watch in pawn between ten and eleven o’clock, on the morning of the 13th of December, for 12s., from a woman—I cannot positively swear to the prisoner, but I believe she is the person—I did not see her face, but I can swear to the bonnet she had on—I saw her before the Magistrate on the 19th, and believed her to be the person.

THOMAS BUTLER . I am a policeman. On the 13th of December I apprehended the prisoner, from the prosecutor’s description—she denied having the watch—I took her to the Magistrate, who remanded her for a week—on our road to Clerkenwell she became lame, and we got on a coach, with Susan Burr—she told Burr, in my presence, on the coach, that the was sorry to see her in trouble, for she had nothing to do with it, that she had taken the watch herself, and pawned it at Paddington—Burr was discharged at the next examination.

SUSAN BURR . I was in company with the prisoner and prosecutor at the public-house—I left them—I was taken up on this charge—the prisoner told me what the officer has stated, on the roof of the coach.

GUILTY .+ Aged 22.— Transported for Ten Years.

 

Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org, version 7.2, 13 June 2016), December 1838, trial of MARTHA VICO (t18381231-457).

Martha Virco – breakouts

Miss W. Boyd, Convict Ancestors course, Virco ,

This story has been created by Wendy Westgate as part of the University of Tasmania’s HAA007 Convict Ancestors unit

THE HINDOSTAN

Martha was transported to Van Diemen’s Land on the Hindostan; the ship was carrying 179 female convicts. The ship’s Master was George LAMBE, and the Ship surgeon was Thomas W. MCDONALD.[1]

This journey was the second the Hindostan had made as a Convict ship; in July 1821, the ship sailed to New South Wales with 152 male convicts, arriving in Port Macquarie on 24th November of that year.

The Hindostan subsequently made one more trip as a Convict ship; it left London on 7th October 1840 with 209 male convicts on board, arriving in Hobart on 19th January 1841.[2]

[1] http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/hindostan

[2] http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~austashs/convicts/conships_h.htm

John Boyd

When Martha married John BOYD, he is described as a Free Man[1]. I have tried to find out more information about John, but there are at least three men of that name who arrive in Van Diemen’s Land in the 1830s; with more research, I’m sure the correct one could be identified.

John was a carpenter, a valuable trade to have in those times. The children of Martha and John were born in a number of places, which suggests John moved his family around in stay in employment; many of the places are in the north of Tasmania, south of Launceston.

John died on 9th October 1862:[2]

 

JB, death

Entry for death of John BOYD; TAHO, RGD35/1/31, Morven, 1862/309

[1] Ancestry.com. Australia, Marriage Index, 1788-1950 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Compiled from publicly available sources; John BOYD and Martha VICO

[2] TAHO, RGD35/1/31, Morven, 1862/309, John BOYD

 

Martha Virco – main story

Miss W. Boyd, Convict Ancestors course, Virco ,

This story has been created by Wendy Westgate as part of the University of Tasmania’s HAA007 Convict Ancestors unit

Martha VICO was a housemaid; she was 5 feet 1 inch tall, and had a broad head and oval ‘visage’ with a high forehead and long chin. Her hair was brown, her eyes hazel and she had a ruddy complexion. [1]

vico14

Description, Martha VICO; TAHO, CON19-1-13, pg. 318

 

On 8th December 1833, Martha, nee HEARNE, married William VERCOE at the Parish church of Little Stanmore, Harrow[2];  she would have been 16 or 17 years of age.

MV, marriage cert_0

Entry of marriage of William VERCOE and Martha HEARNE; Ancestry.com. London, England,

Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921  

According to her Indent record, she had two brothers, Thomas and Henry, and a sister, Elizabeth, who lived in St Albans, Hertfordshire; the record also states that William was a blacksmith.[3] In addition, it notes that William is in Newgate Prison, and that Martha had spent ‘12 months on the Town’. This would suggest that, due to William’s imprisonment, Martha had nowhere to live and was finding it difficult to survive without his income… which was perhaps what led to her offence.

vico16

Entry for Martha VICO; TAHO, CON15-1-9, pg. 10, Hindostan 12 Sep 1839

Martha was found guilty of her crime at the Old Bailey on 31st December 1838; her sentence was transportation for ten years.[4]

MV, verdict

Entry for Martha VICO; findmypast.co.uk; England & Wales, Crime, Prisons and Punishment, 1770-1935, Institutions & organisations, Prison registers

After sentencing, due to overcrowding in Newgate Prison, Martha was moved to Millbank[5], and then to the Hindostan; this ship left London on 6th May 1839.

MV, newspaper

Morning Advertiser, London, England, 05 February 1839

On 12th September 1839, the ship arrived at Van Diemen’s Land; the Surgeon reported that during the voyage Martha had been ‘extremely insolent’. On arrival, Martha was sent into the employ of Mr W Learmouth of Ross[6].

However, the first years that Martha was in Van Diemen’s Land did not run smoothly for her; just two weeks after her arrival, Martha was found guilty of Gross Misconduct after going into the men’s’ berths on the Government brig Tamar whilst on her way to Launceston, for which she received the sentence of 14 days Solitary Confinement on bread and water at Launceston Female Factory. [7]

In 26 December 1839, now in the employment of Mr Atkinson, Martha sentenced to two months’ hard labour in the Launceston Female Factory (having been found guilty of being ‘drunk and disorderly and in the company of a man in the back of a house in York Street’), and was back in the Female Factory again in April 1840 after being Absent without leave from her master – this time for 14 days, on bread and water.

December 1840 saw Martha with another ‘Master’ – Mr Rodgers. On the 31st, she was found guilty of Gross insolence to the Chief District Constable, and sentenced to a year’s Hard labour, again in Launceston Female Factory.

Perhaps this term of Hard labour was her ‘turning point’ which finally made Martha settle down and ‘toe the line’, as there are no further records of misdemeanours. In fact, the 1842, she applied for permission to marry John BOYD[8], with the clergyman being satisfied with the evidence:

 

vico5

Entry for John BOYD and Martha VICO; TAHO, CON52/1/2 Page 016; NAME_INDEXES:1267689; June 1842, RGD37/2: 1842/1739

They were married on 8th September of that year, in Ross, Avoca[9]. Obviously the fact that Martha had been married in England was ‘overlooked’, as to Martha it would have been obvious that she was never going to see William, or return to England, ever again, and she would have had to have made the best she could of her new life.

John and Martha went on to have at least seven children, born between 1842 and 1858:

Anne, born on 19th October 1842 in Evandale[10]

Susan, born on 29th May 1844 in Launceston[11]

Catherine, born on 13th September 1846 in Rogan Falls[12]

Robert, born 1st July 1848 in Mary Vale, Morven[13]

Martha, born on 18th November 1850 in Mary Vale, Morven [14]

Frederick, born on 16th December 1855 in Evandale[15]

Harriet, born on 21st June 1858 in Evandale[16]

During this time, Martha’s Ticket of Leave was granted in November 1845, and her Certificate of Freedom was issued in February 1849.[17]

John died on 9th October 1862 in the Morven district[18]; Martha died on 25th January 1880[19], again, in the Morven district.

Martha Virco references

[1] TAHO, CON19-1-13, pg. 318, Martha VICO. Retrieved on 4 June 2016

[2]Ancestry.com. London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Original data: Church of England Parish Registers, 1754-1921. London Metropolitan Archives, London. Retrieved on 11 June 2016

[3] TAHO, CON15-1-9, pg. 10, Hindostan 12 Sep 1839, Martha VICO

[4] findmypast.co.uk; England & Wales, Crime, Prisons and Punishment, 1770-1935, Institutions & organisations, Prison registers. Retrieved on 4 June 2016

[5] findmypast.co.uk; British Newspapers; Morning Advertiser, London, England, 05 February 1839. Retrieved on 4 June 2016

[6] Ancestry.com. New South Wales and Tasmania, Australia Convict Musters, 1806-1849 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.

Original data: Home Office: Settlers and Convicts, New South Wales and Tasmania; (The National Archives Microfilm Publication HO10, Pieces 5, 19-20, 32-51); The National Archives of the UK (TNA), Kew, Surrey, England. Retrieved on 4 June 2016

[7] TAHO, CON40-1-10, pg. 149, Martha VICO

[8] TAHO, CON52/1/2 Page 016; NAME_INDEXES:1267689; June 1842, RGD37/2: 1842/1739, John BOYD and Martha VICO

[9] Ancestry.com. Australia, Marriage Index, 1788-1950 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Compiled from publicly available sources; John BOYD and Martha VICO

[10]  TAHO, RGD32/1/3/ Evandale 1852/1954 Anne BOYD

[11] TAHO, RGD 33/1/23 Launceston 1844/242 Susan BOYD

[12] TAHO, RGD32/1/3/ Evandale 1846/2986 Catherine BOYD

[13] TAHO, RGD33/1/27/ Morven 1848/1203 Robert Boyd

[14] TAHO, RGD33/1/27/ Morven 1850/1330 Martha BOYD

[15] TAHO, RGD33/1/33 Morven 1855/1152 Frederick BOYD

[16] TAHO, RGD33/1/36 Morven 1858/1505 Harriet BOYD

[17] TAHO, CON40-1-10, pg. 149, Martha VICO

[18] Ancestry.com. Australia, Death Index, 1787-1985 [database on-line] Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Compiled from publicly available sources; John BOYD

[19] Ancestry.com. Australia, Death Index, 1787-1985 [database on-line] Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Compiled from publicly available sources; Martha BOYD