Jeremiah Scrivens - A Convict's Story
John and Hester Scriven's son, Jeremiah (Scribbin) was baptised 23 March 1817 at Lassington, Gloucestershire, the youngest of their 12 children. In 1837, when Jeremiah was 20, he was accused by his sister Harriet of 'feloniously stealing on the ninth day of
June at Lassington a silver watch the property of George Neale, her husband'. Jeremiah was arrested and sent to Gloucester Prison to await his trial.
He was described as having: 'dark brown hair, grey eyes, roman nose, ruddy complexion, small mouth, long visage, large scar on right wrist, right guard toe dislocated, spotted on the body from a child' His occupation was given as labourer and height 5ft 9 3/4in.
Jeremiah appeared before the Trinity Sessions on 27 June 1837.
"Jeremiah Scrivens, aged 20 was charged with stealing at Lassington, on 9th June, a watch, the property of George Neale. The case against the prisoner was to this effect: The watch was seen by a witness (prisoner's sister) hanging against the head of the bed on the morning of the 9th: she went into the garden, and the prisoner entered the house; on her return in about a quarter of an hour the watch was gone. In consequence of suspicions against the prisoner, he was taken into custody about a week afterwards, when he stated that he had not then got the watch, but that Bristol George had had it from him. The jury returned a verdict of not guilty. The Chairman desired them to re-consider the verdict, and again read over the evidence, they, however, perisisted in their original verdict of not guilty"
Gloucester Journal on 07 July 1837
Unfortunately, Jeremiah didn't learn from this narrow escape and only a few months later he was in trouble again, but this time he didn't get off lightly. He stole a watch and knife from a sleeping man but a witness reported the theft and Jeremaih was caught by the police after a chase. He was still in possession of the knife and admitted that he had thrown the watch into a nearby garden where it was found. He was sentenced in October 1837 to be transported to Van Diemens Land to serve a sentence of 10 years. He was held on the prison hulk Ganymede until he sailed to Australia on the ship Coromandel II from Sheerness, Kent 27 June 1838. The voyage took 121 days arriving in Hobart 26 October 1838. Ganymede's records say Jeremiah was healthy but could neither read nor write.
Jeremiah would have suffered a year long ordeal between his conviction in 1837 and arrival in Australia in 1838. Hulks like the Ganymede were old sailing ships which had been taken out of service and were used to house prisoners awaiting transportation. Use of hulks introduced in 1776 was intended to be a temporary measure to relieve overcrowded prisons but their use continued for 80 years even though some MPs were concerned about the inhumane conditions. Prisoners on these 'Floating Hells' endured filth, violence and disease.
'the black Hulk lying out a little way from the mud of the shore, like a wicked Noah's ark, cribbed and barred and moored by massive rusty chains'
The convict hulk as seen by Pip in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
By the time he arrived in Van Diemens Land Jeremiah had gained tattoos which are described under remarks in his description - 'Laurel & pipes & Glass & bottles rt arm JS left arm'. His convict record comments that Jeremiah’s Gaol report was ‘character very bad in prison before’ and the hulk report ‘very bad’. Convicts were assigned to work for local landowners rather like slaves. Jeremiah was initially assigned to 'Glover'. This was probably the artist John Glover. John Glover was a famous landscape artist in England but became even better known for his Australian landscapes after he migrated with his family to Tasmania in 1831. His painting My Harvest Home depicts convicts working on his land.
Jeremiah couldn’t keep out of trouble for any length of time. While with Glover, in April 1840, he was given one month's hard labour in the House of Correction for disobeying orders and insolence and a further six week sentence for insolence in July 1841. Presumably Glover had had enough of Jeremiah’s behaviour after this because he appears next in an 1841 convict muster in the service of a Mr J Smith of Launceston (the musters were a kind of census carried out to monitor convicts). It wasn’t long before Jeremiah was in trouble again. In April 1842, still with Smith, he stole an amount under £5 and was sentenced to two years hard labour on the road at Port Arthur. Somehow he survived his 10 year sentence and Jeremiah was included in the list of convicts granted Tickets-of-Leave 01 Jun 1844 published in the Colonial Times 7 Jan 1845. Ticket of Leave (parole) meant he was released on licence. The convict record states he got his certificate (freedom) on 11 July 1848 and the 1849 muster confirms he was free.
What happened to Jeremiah after 1849?
He does not appear on any further records at the Tasmanian Archives.
There are no records to indicate that he came back to England either and why would he? Both his parents were dead, and, although acquitted, his sister Harriet had accused him of the earlier charge of stealing a watch.
He may have moved to another part of Australia. Jeremiah would, no doubt, have heard of the Australian Gold Rush which began in New South Wales in 1851, and eventually spread to other states including Tasmania, attracting prospectors from all over the world.
There is also the possibility that he simply died in Tasmania, an anonymous ex-convict who no-one would miss once he was out of the convict system.
June at Lassington a silver watch the property of George Neale, her husband'. Jeremiah was arrested and sent to Gloucester Prison to await his trial.
He was described as having: 'dark brown hair, grey eyes, roman nose, ruddy complexion, small mouth, long visage, large scar on right wrist, right guard toe dislocated, spotted on the body from a child' His occupation was given as labourer and height 5ft 9 3/4in.
Jeremiah appeared before the Trinity Sessions on 27 June 1837.
"Jeremiah Scrivens, aged 20 was charged with stealing at Lassington, on 9th June, a watch, the property of George Neale. The case against the prisoner was to this effect: The watch was seen by a witness (prisoner's sister) hanging against the head of the bed on the morning of the 9th: she went into the garden, and the prisoner entered the house; on her return in about a quarter of an hour the watch was gone. In consequence of suspicions against the prisoner, he was taken into custody about a week afterwards, when he stated that he had not then got the watch, but that Bristol George had had it from him. The jury returned a verdict of not guilty. The Chairman desired them to re-consider the verdict, and again read over the evidence, they, however, perisisted in their original verdict of not guilty"
Gloucester Journal on 07 July 1837
Unfortunately, Jeremiah didn't learn from this narrow escape and only a few months later he was in trouble again, but this time he didn't get off lightly. He stole a watch and knife from a sleeping man but a witness reported the theft and Jeremaih was caught by the police after a chase. He was still in possession of the knife and admitted that he had thrown the watch into a nearby garden where it was found. He was sentenced in October 1837 to be transported to Van Diemens Land to serve a sentence of 10 years. He was held on the prison hulk Ganymede until he sailed to Australia on the ship Coromandel II from Sheerness, Kent 27 June 1838. The voyage took 121 days arriving in Hobart 26 October 1838. Ganymede's records say Jeremiah was healthy but could neither read nor write.
Jeremiah would have suffered a year long ordeal between his conviction in 1837 and arrival in Australia in 1838. Hulks like the Ganymede were old sailing ships which had been taken out of service and were used to house prisoners awaiting transportation. Use of hulks introduced in 1776 was intended to be a temporary measure to relieve overcrowded prisons but their use continued for 80 years even though some MPs were concerned about the inhumane conditions. Prisoners on these 'Floating Hells' endured filth, violence and disease.
'the black Hulk lying out a little way from the mud of the shore, like a wicked Noah's ark, cribbed and barred and moored by massive rusty chains'
The convict hulk as seen by Pip in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
By the time he arrived in Van Diemens Land Jeremiah had gained tattoos which are described under remarks in his description - 'Laurel & pipes & Glass & bottles rt arm JS left arm'. His convict record comments that Jeremiah’s Gaol report was ‘character very bad in prison before’ and the hulk report ‘very bad’. Convicts were assigned to work for local landowners rather like slaves. Jeremiah was initially assigned to 'Glover'. This was probably the artist John Glover. John Glover was a famous landscape artist in England but became even better known for his Australian landscapes after he migrated with his family to Tasmania in 1831. His painting My Harvest Home depicts convicts working on his land.
Jeremiah couldn’t keep out of trouble for any length of time. While with Glover, in April 1840, he was given one month's hard labour in the House of Correction for disobeying orders and insolence and a further six week sentence for insolence in July 1841. Presumably Glover had had enough of Jeremiah’s behaviour after this because he appears next in an 1841 convict muster in the service of a Mr J Smith of Launceston (the musters were a kind of census carried out to monitor convicts). It wasn’t long before Jeremiah was in trouble again. In April 1842, still with Smith, he stole an amount under £5 and was sentenced to two years hard labour on the road at Port Arthur. Somehow he survived his 10 year sentence and Jeremiah was included in the list of convicts granted Tickets-of-Leave 01 Jun 1844 published in the Colonial Times 7 Jan 1845. Ticket of Leave (parole) meant he was released on licence. The convict record states he got his certificate (freedom) on 11 July 1848 and the 1849 muster confirms he was free.
What happened to Jeremiah after 1849?
He does not appear on any further records at the Tasmanian Archives.
There are no records to indicate that he came back to England either and why would he? Both his parents were dead, and, although acquitted, his sister Harriet had accused him of the earlier charge of stealing a watch.
He may have moved to another part of Australia. Jeremiah would, no doubt, have heard of the Australian Gold Rush which began in New South Wales in 1851, and eventually spread to other states including Tasmania, attracting prospectors from all over the world.
There is also the possibility that he simply died in Tasmania, an anonymous ex-convict who no-one would miss once he was out of the convict system.
More info on transportation:
- The Port Cities website includes a vivid account of the transportation system: Prison hulks on the River Thames
- Ancestry includes Australian convict transportation registers and the musters mentioned above.
- Port Arthur in Van Dieman's Land (now Tasmania) was the notorious destination for many convicts - portarthur.org.au
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Document Sources for Jeremiah's Story
Gloucester Journal 7 July 1837 and 28th October 1837- Gloucester County Archives Gloucester Gaol doc ref: Q/Gc5/5 - Gloucester County Archives Hulk registers - National Archives, Kew and ancestry.co.uk Jeremiah's Convict Record ref: 62813 - Tasmanian Archives Convict Musters, Tasmanian Archives - ancestry.co.uk Colonial Times (Hobart, Tas: 1828-1857), 7 January 1845, page 2 - trove.nla.gov.au |
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