Find your ancestors in Home Office: convicts, miscellanea

In association with The National Archives, Findmypast is excited to release an extensive collection of records from criminal cases, gaols, hulks, prisons, and criminal calendars. England & Wales, crime, prisons & punishment, 1770-1935 is the largest single collection of British crime records online. Explore the world of courts and prisons, and discover if your ancestor committed a criminal offence and what your ancestor’s sentence was. There are over 20 series available in this collection. The series can be found on the transcript.

Series HO7,Home Office: convicts, miscellanea, comprises minutes of the House of Commons Committee for West Africa transportation in 1785 and papers and correspondence of the Home Office and the Convict Establishment from 1823 to 1835, which include the returns of deaths of convicts in New South Wales. You will also find reports on the conditions of prisons and hulks in the United Kingdom and the colonies. The records will reveal your ancestor’s offence and age at the time of conviction, as well as a description of your ancestor’s character by the gaoler. For example, we can find that James Gilmour was convicted of theft at the age of 30 and was recorded as ‘wicked, vicious and violent’ by the gaoler.