Originally Posted by
Megan Roberts
You are coŕrect that William Watkins was on the Waterloo when it was shipwrecked and that he survived and was sent on to VDL (Tasmania).
I have looked at a few of the records and can tell you that it appears that he was either bad and /or daft or unlucky. It would seem that:
1 Jan 1841 he was found guilty of larceny and sentenced to 3 months
31 Mar 1841 he was found guilty of sheep stealing and sentenced to 18 months. At the end of 1841 the sentenced was remitted (effectively pardoned) due to certain information being passed to the authorities.
30 Mar 1842 he was found guilty of "robbery in company before convicted of felony", and sentenced to transportation for life. This the first time I have seen the expression "robbery in company".
So far the records I have quoted from have come from Findmypast, but if you go Ancestry you will find the Gloucestershire prison records which show him being admitted to the county gaol on 13 Oct 1841 for a robbery that he and a David Jones were later found guilty of in March 1842. They stole money from a woman. I am confused by this because I thought in Oct 1841 he was already inside for sheep stealing.
Following his conviction in March 1842 on 14 April he was ordered to be sent to the prison hulk Justitia moored at Woolwich, and from there he was sent to the Waterloo on 26 May.