Leviathan Convict hulk

[mostadome]

Hello there and welcome to the forum

The 'Leviathan' was one of a number of prison hulks where those sentenced to transportation were held before transfer to a convict transport ship. Many of the prisoners on the hulks never got transported, but served out their sentence on the hulks, or died there, or were pardoned. During the period you're talking about some prisoners were transported to Bermuda, rather than to Australia, so that's another possibility for your man.

The National Archives, Kew, has quarterly lists of prisoners on the hulks. If you look for John in each quarter after his arrival on the 'Leviathan', you should sooner or later find out what his fate was.

Luckily for you, the quarterly lists for the 'Leviathan' for 1802 to 1836 can be downloaded free from the Documents Online site as part of the 'Digital Microfilm' programme.

(You have to click on 'Add to shopping' and then to 'Checkout' but don't need to part with any money!)

P.S. They're very big files

Thanks for your help,I did look at it but it's hard to read. Thanks anyway.

[Coromandel]

Thanks for your help,I did look at it but it's hard to read. Thanks anyway.

I've now downloaded the registers myself and see that they're not the quarterly registers (sorry for misleading you about that; they're in HO 8, I think not HO 9). Rather, the downloadable registers list convicts as they were received onto the hulks.

I finally found John Gissing in the downloadable hulk registers in HO 9/8. Note that HO 9/8 is in two parts, which you have to download separately. He is on image 12 of 119 in the second PDF file. He's shown as one of four men received on the hulk from Bury St Edmunds on 11 April 1828:

No. on S.B.: 8578
Name: John Gissing
Age: 23
Offence: Larceny
When and Where Convicted: 21 Mch 1828 Bury St Edmo.
Sentence: 7 yrs
How disposed of: F.P. 29 Augt. 1832.

F.P. = free pardon.
So he was never transported in the end, but was pardoned after serving 4 years on the hulks.

[mostadome]

coromandel Thank you very much for your help, it is very kind of you.