Searching for information - Job STONE

[Brian W Smith]

Job Stone is my Great-Great-Great Grandfather.

I am having extreme difficulty in finding anything meaningful about Job Stone in British records. It would be appreciated if anyone could enlighten me anything associated with Job Stone, particularly with respect to his military records.

Hereunder is some information about Job:

Job Stone was born in 1813 a Son was born to Anthony and Mary Stone (Nee Collins). At that time the family lived in Taunton, Somersetshire, England.

Job grew up in Taunton where he became a shoemaker by trade. At age 20 years Job enlisted in the British Army on the 5th of November 1833. In 1837 Private Job Stone, Regimental Number 847 was posted to Quebec, Canada with his Regiment the 66th Foot.

It seems that Job was less than content with his lot in the British Army in Canada and he went Absent Without Leave on the 8 June 1839 at La Prairie, Lower Canada. The event probably occurred during Canada Rebellion against British 1838/39 (French and English settlers against the British). He was captured the next day 9 June 1839.

He was charged with Desertion and Robbery and faced a General Court Martial. He was found guilty of the charges in the Lower Canada Court in Montreal on 30 June 1839 and sentenced to be “Transported” to Australia for 14 years.

I have a great deal of info of his time in Australia, but I won't go into that at this time.

Kind Regards

Brian Smith

[Peter Goodey]

You seem to have found a fair bit of information - more military history than a lot of us manage to find!

The service records that have survived tend to relate to men who were discharged to pension which wouldn't apply in this case.

May I ask where you found
(a) the military records?
(b) a record of his birth/baptism?

I had a quick look but couldn't find anything online that ties up with what you told us. But that doesn't mean much because I've gone stir crazy here.

[Megan Roberts]

Brian

Civil registration of births, marriages and deaths did not begin until 1837 so before then so before then you have to rely on church records, or other sources if you can find them. The first meaningful census was in 1841.

I haven't found any baptism for Job Stone with parents Anthony and Mary.

As to his military / service record if it existed it would be on Findmypast. I had a quick look and I don't believe it's there because those records are those of soldiers honourably discharged, and to be fair if it did exist it would tell you much more than you already know, as they tend to be a list of dates and postings.

I don't know if you have had all his transportation records but in case you haven't-

He was 1 of 47 military convicts transferred from the ship Athol to the prison hulk Fortitude at Chatham 26 Aug 1840. The Fortitudes records have knocked 3 years off his age, say that he can read and write and that he's a labourer by trade. He was convicted of desertion and theft and the gaolers report which accompanied him from Canada described his character as good which means that he wasn't causing problems. On 7 Nov 1840 he was transferred to the Mangled for transportation to NSW.

[Brian W Smith]

Hi Peter, thank you for your response.
Concerning military records:
Some years ago I found the information below on a search of either Ancestry or My Heritage or one of the genealogy sites. The search brought up several family sites/trees and I obtained the info from there. Unfortunately, I didn't take the name of the person. You will note that there are some references from the War Office, however, I have unable to access the references. I have found great difficulty navigating the War Office and National Archives. Apologies for the presentation, but this is how it was presented when I copied it from the website.
MILITARY SERVICE:
Enlisted on the 5.11.1833
June Quarter 1839-non-effective. Deserted. 66th Foot Regiment
From War Office Records (WO----)
WO12/7488 24. 2.1838 -> 15. 3.1838 :- Pte Job Stone in confinement. No 847 Pte STONE, Job, was present in Quebec in the first musters for Apr. to June 1837. In the last musters for Jan to Mar 1838, he was noted as being detached at Chambly, and was noted in the "Remarks" column as "In confinement from 24 Feb to 15 Mar". This was for a military offence.
WO 12/7489 Pay Lists & Muster Rolls, 1838-1839, 66th Foot :- No847 Pte STONE, Job, was paid for the full period of the last muster in this book - i.e. Jan/Mar 1839
WO12/7490 66th Foot:- The musters for Apr. Jun 1839 at La Prairie, Lower Canada, show that No.847 Pte STONE, Job, "deserted (8. 6.1839) and retaken 9 June. Tried by a general court-martial 19 June. Sentenced to be transported for 14 years."
Reg. No 847
Rank Pte
Birthplace Taunton
Enlisted 5.11.1833
Trade Shoemaker
How became non-effective - Deserted at la Prairie, 8. 6.1839
----
INDENT:
Lower Canada Court-martial 19. 6.1839 :-
14 yrs. Standing Convict No. 40-12*** Indent No. 288- from Somerset - 23 yrs - single - Protestant - could read - labourer and soldier - desertion and robbery - former conviction 14 days - 5'8" - dark, ruddy complexion - brown hair - hazel eyes - scar on the left side of the top of forehead - a mark of a burn under left eye, and left side of the upper lip - "D" under the left arm ("d" for a deserter and designed to prevent fraudulent enlistment in another regiment to gain a second bounty.) - anchor - JS insert lower underarm - brig and scar inside lower left arm - scar on the back of the left hand - Two scars on the right shin.
From Court Martial Register (WO 90/2 R2723.F7) 66th Regt:-
Sentenced at Montreal on 30. 6.1839.
Probably occurred during Canada Rebellion against British 1838/39 (French and English settlers against the British)
----
TRANSPORTED:
21.11.1839:- left Portsmouth on "Mangles", convict ship (290 New South Wales), 9th Voyage. Master Wm. Carr (AO p.76 - Surgeon Alan Nisbett's Journal ML MF reel 3202 ADM 10/47)

Folios 1 – 8: Sick list of the hired convict ship Mangles
Folio 6: Job Stone, aged 23, Convict, disease or hurt, fever. Put on the sick list, 22 March 1840. Discharged, 26 March 1840. Reference: ADM 101/47/9/4
27. 4.1840, arrived Sydney (convict index Fiche742, Page 98, Film 2662, Shelf No X642A).

In Australia:
-----
Principal Superintendent of Convicts Archives of New South Wales Convict Indents - Indent #288
23 years - Read - Protestant - Single - From Somerset. Crime: Desertion and Robbery
-----
PARDON: Register of Pardons HO 10/54 R81, F129.
Recommended for conditional pardon by His Excellency Sir Charles Augustus Fitzroy on 20. 1.1847 (No 1447?), Citation: [4/4480; Reel 798 Page 027]

Not found yet- ticket of leave or cert. of freedom.

Conditional Pardon 31 December 1847[4/4456; Reel 786 Page 315-316]
-----
Gipps Despatch P.874 ML A 1239 Reel CY 862 - 9. 3.1846. 24 straw hats bought from a Job Stone for #2. 8.0 to use in an overland expedition to Port Essington. The expedition was confined to Queensland as Leichhardt had been there and done that just before). Party returned to Sydney on 29.12.1846. Thos. Mitchell joined at Boora nr. Orange on 13.12.1845.
-----
Enclosure to Fitzroy's Despatch No 65, 30. 3.1847
Job STONE, scourger, principal convict superintendent's dept., resigned 30. 9.1846.A1242 Reel CY 685 - P.290 - 3/6 per day.
-----
1854 - Sold some land in Concord district - was a yeoman.
-----
BURIAL: Beechworth Cemetery, Episcop, Sect Grave 241
-----
OBITUARY: O. & M.A. Tuesday 9 March 1869.
Stone at Spring Creek, Beechworth, on 6th March, Mr. Job Stone, late Somersetshire, age 56 years.
-----
WILL: (No.9/437)
probate granted to Sarah on 25.10.1871; admin. completed by 16. 1.1872. She lived in Church St at the time. Left all to Sarah. No money but property. Allotments 4 and 5, No M2, Parish of B'worth (Cnr. Ferguson/ Buckland) title - Vol 315, Folio 880-881
Value Allotment 4 - # 7.10.4 Allotment 5 - #15.13.1 - #24. 0.0 for wooden building
All sold by Sarah for #35. 0.0 on 16. 6.1891 to Charles KNIGHT
Originally bought by Job 4. # 6.10.0 on 13. 6.1868 and 5. #14.12.6 on 17.12.1866 - 2 roods 5 perches and 2 roods and 37 perches respectively
-----
Records of Birth/Baptism:
I don't have any official records relating to Job's Birth/Baptism, however, I have a record of his death from Births/Death/Marriages of Victoria Australia:

Record information
Event: deaths
Registration number 480 / 1869
Family name: STONE
Given name(s)Job
Place of event: SPRING CREEK BEECHWORTH, Australia
Personal detail,
Mother's name: Mary
Mother's family name at birth COLLINS
Father's Name: STONE Anthony

I'll leave it at that for now Peter. If you know your way around War Office and National Archives maze, and you wish to do so, hopefully, you may find the references.

Regards Brian

[Brian W Smith]

Hi Megan, thank you for your response. Yes, I also found the info regarding the 47 transferees.
Concerning military records:
Some years ago I found the information below on a search of either Ancestry or My Heritage or one of the genealogy sites. The search brought up several family sites/trees and I obtained the info from there. Unfortunately, I didn't take the name of the person. You will note that there are some references from the War Office, however, I have unable to access the references. I have found great difficulty navigating the War Office and National Archives. Apologies for the presentation, but this is how it was presented when I copied it from the website.
MILITARY SERVICE:
Enlisted on the 5.11.1833
June Quarter 1839-non-effective. Deserted. 66th Foot Regiment
From War Office Records (WO----)
WO12/7488 24. 2.1838 -> 15. 3.1838 :- Pte Job Stone in confinement. No 847 Pte STONE, Job, was present in Quebec in the first musters for Apr. to June 1837. In the last musters for Jan to Mar 1838, he was noted as being detached at Chambly, and was noted in the "Remarks" column as "In confinement from 24 Feb to 15 Mar". This was for a military offence.
WO 12/7489 Pay Lists & Muster Rolls, 1838-1839, 66th Foot :- No847 Pte STONE, Job, was paid for the full period of the last muster in this book - i.e. Jan/Mar 1839
WO12/7490 66th Foot:- The musters for Apr. Jun 1839 at La Prairie, Lower Canada, show that No.847 Pte STONE, Job, "deserted (8. 6.1839) and retaken 9 June. Tried by a general court-martial 19 June. Sentenced to be transported for 14 years."
Reg. No 847
Rank Pte
Birthplace Taunton
Enlisted 5.11.1833
Trade Shoemaker
How became non-effective - Deserted at la Prairie, 8. 6.1839
----
INDENT:
Lower Canada Court-martial 19. 6.1839 :-
14 yrs. Standing Convict No. 40-12*** Indent No. 288- from Somerset - 23 yrs - single - Protestant - could read - labourer and soldier - desertion and robbery - former conviction 14 days - 5'8" - dark, ruddy complexion - brown hair - hazel eyes - scar on the left side of the top of forehead - a mark of a burn under left eye, and left side of the upper lip - "D" under the left arm ("d" for a deserter and designed to prevent fraudulent enlistment in another regiment to gain a second bounty.) - anchor - JS insert lower underarm - brig and scar inside lower left arm - scar on the back of the left hand - Two scars on the right shin.
From Court Martial Register (WO 90/2 R2723.F7) 66th Regt:-
Sentenced at Montreal on 30. 6.1839.
Probably occurred during Canada Rebellion against British 1838/39 (French and English settlers against the British)
----
TRANSPORTED:
21.11.1839:- left Portsmouth on "Mangles", convict ship (290 New South Wales), 9th Voyage. Master Wm. Carr (AO p.76 - Surgeon Alan Nisbett's Journal ML MF reel 3202 ADM 10/47)

Folios 1 – 8: Sick list of the hired convict ship Mangles
Folio 6: Job Stone, aged 23, Convict, disease or hurt, fever. Put on the sick list, 22 March 1840. Discharged, 26 March 1840. Reference: ADM 101/47/9/4
27. 4.1840, arrived Sydney (convict index Fiche742, Page 98, Film 2662, Shelf No X642A).

In Australia:
-----
Principal Superintendent of Convicts Archives of New South Wales Convict Indents - Indent #288
23 years - Read - Protestant - Single - From Somerset. Crime: Desertion and Robbery
-----
PARDON: Register of Pardons HO 10/54 R81, F129.
Recommended for conditional pardon by His Excellency Sir Charles Augustus Fitzroy on 20. 1.1847 (No 1447?), Citation: [4/4480; Reel 798 Page 027]

Not found yet- ticket of leave or cert. of freedom.

Conditional Pardon 31 December 1847[4/4456; Reel 786 Page 315-316]
-----
Gipps Despatch P.874 ML A 1239 Reel CY 862 - 9. 3.1846. 24 straw hats bought from a Job Stone for #2. 8.0 to use in an overland expedition to Port Essington. The expedition was confined to Queensland as Leichhardt had been there and done that just before). Party returned to Sydney on 29.12.1846. Thos. Mitchell joined at Boora nr. Orange on 13.12.1845.
-----
Enclosure to Fitzroy's Despatch No 65, 30. 3.1847
Job STONE, scourger, principal convict superintendent's dept., resigned 30. 9.1846.A1242 Reel CY 685 - P.290 - 3/6 per day.
-----
1854 - Sold some land in Concord district - was a yeoman.
-----
BURIAL: Beechworth Cemetery, Episcop, Sect Grave 241
-----
OBITUARY: O. & M.A. Tuesday 9 March 1869.
Stone at Spring Creek, Beechworth, on 6th March, Mr. Job Stone, late Somersetshire, age 56 years.
-----
WILL: (No.9/437)
probate granted to Sarah on 25.10.1871; admin. completed by 16. 1.1872. She lived in Church St at the time. Left all to Sarah. No money but property. Allotments 4 and 5, No M2, Parish of B'worth (Cnr. Ferguson/ Buckland) title - Vol 315, Folio 880-881
Value Allotment 4 - # 7.10.4 Allotment 5 - #15.13.1 - #24. 0.0 for wooden building
All sold by Sarah for #35. 0.0 on 16. 6.1891 to Charles KNIGHT
Originally bought by Job 4. # 6.10.0 on 13. 6.1868 and 5. #14.12.6 on 17.12.1866 - 2 roods 5 perches and 2 roods and 37 perches respectively
-----
Records of Birth/Baptism:
I don't have any official records relating to Job's Birth/Baptism, however, I have a record of his death from Births/Death/Marriages of Victoria Australia:

Record information
Event: deaths
Registration number 480 / 1869
Family name: STONE
Given name(s)Job
Place of event: SPRING CREEK BEECHWORTH, Australia
Personal detail,
Mother's name: Mary
Mother's family name at birth COLLINS
Father's Name: STONE Anthony

I'll leave it at that for now Peter. If you know your way around War Office and National Archives maze, and you wish to do so, hopefully, you may find the references.

Regards Brian

[Megan Roberts]

WO12/7488

This is the document reference for War Office records that are held by the National Archives. Unfortunately these have not been digitised so are not at the moment accessible because of COVID-19,

More specifically they come from:
WO 12 - Commissary General of Musters Office and successors: General Muster Books and Pay Lists

and cover:

Description:66th Foot 1st Battalion
Date:1837 - 1838

[Megan Roberts]

PARDON: Register of Pardons HO 10/54 R81, F129.
Recommended for conditional pardon by His Excellency Sir Charles Augustus Fitzroy on 20. 1.1847 (No 1447?), Citation: [4/4480; Reel 798 Page 027]

Not found yet- ticket of leave or cert. of freedom.

Conditional Pardon 31 December 1847[4/4456; Reel 786 Page 315-316]

-----

A conditional pardon was not normally awarded to a convict serving 14 years - normally they would after a period of time, conduct permitting have received a ticket of leave, which would have restricted them to a district, and then in the fullness of time, conduct permitting have been given a certificate of freedom.

Job, 7 years into his sentence gets a conditional pardon. The conditionality being that he do whatever he wants, go wherever he wants, except go to Canada - not much of a restraint. He was free. That suggests that he performed some notable service for the state - perhaps helped them catch someone?

The actual pardon is on Ancestry: New South Wales, Australia, Convict Registers of Conditional and Absolute Pardons, 1788-1870 for Job Stone

Because he had the pardon there won't be a certificate of Freedom. He was in the process of being issued with a Ticket of Leave 17 Oct 1846 residing in Paramatta district (NO 46/1405), but this really did not come into effect because he got the conditional pardon.

[Brian W Smith]

Many thanks for the info Megan. Cheers Brian

[Peter Goodey]

National Archives series WO12 is what I would have recommended for researching soldeiers whose service records haven't survived.

However, there's nothing can be done to verify the details until happier times return.

What is worrying is that we ought to stand a reasonable chance of confirming his birth details from online sources. But Megan and I have both looked but can't find anything that matches.

I think you need to put a big question mark beside the dates and parentage that you've picked up from other people's trees.

[Pam Downes]

National Archives series WO12 is what I would have recommended for researching soldeiers whose service records haven't survived.

However, there's nothing can be done to verify the details until happier times return.

What is worrying is that we ought to stand a reasonable chance of confirming his birth details from online sources. But Megan and I have both looked but can't find anything that matches.

I think you need to put a big question mark beside the dates and parentage that you've picked up from other people's trees.

FMP have a transcript in their Somerset Baptism Index.
Job Stone, baptised 15 June 1814 at South Petherton, son of Samuel and Mary. Samuel was a labourer.

Drat. He might not be the one you want, because in 1841 there's another Job Stone baptised in South Petherton. Son of Job and Elizabeth Stone.
Job Stone and Elizabeth Stuckey married in South Petherton in 1834, and are still living there in 1851, along with Job junior and more of his siblings.

Pam