Australia tips 1850s/60s?

[Asa]

Am very chuffed to have accidentally stumbled on Richard Fid(d)ler, the brother of an ancestor. Born in 1820, he was found guilty of larceny in 1849 and sentenced to be transported for seven years.

He's on a hulk ship in Portsmouth in 1851 - I had no idea they took that long to go - and I've found his death in 1868 in Victoria on Ancestry. I found loads on another convict relation some time ago but there doesn't seem to be anything else on him on Ancestry or FMP.

Is there anywhere else I should be looking?

[Margaret in Burton]

I can't help with your research Asa but my GG Grandfather was on the Leviathan Hulk in Portsmouth. He was convicted in July 1838 and was still there in 1841 on the census. He was formally pardoned on 2nd February 1842, so wasn't actually transported.

So he was on board for almost 4 years.

[Asa]

I've learnt something, Margaret - I assumed they went more or less straight away - I think my other one went very quickly

[KiwiChris]

Aussie newspapers might be helpful
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/home

You can find BMD by state here
http://www.coraweb.com.au/bdmau.htm
If you can get Victorian records on Ancestry go there first because you have to pay for BMD information from Victoria but other states are free.

I don't know how useful this is
http://members.iinet.net.au/~perthdps/convicts/index.html

[Asa]

Thanks very much Chris - I'll have an explore :-)

[KiwiChris]

http://www.naa.gov.au/

This is the link to the Australian Archives, I only really use it for WW1 records which are digitalised, so I don't know what else they may have, but there might be something useful there.

[Mary from Italy]

He doesn't seem to be listed in the Ancestry Prison Hulk registers 1802-1849, but perhaps his conviction was a bit too late to be included. His ship doesn't seem to be listed there, anyway.

A Richd Fidler of the right age travelled to Melbourne as a free settler in 1856, which is when his 7-year term would have ended:

http://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=VictoriaPL%2c&rank=0&gsfn=ric*&gsln=fid*ler&sx=&gs1co=1%2cAll+Countries&gs1pl=1%2c+&year=&yearend=&sbo=1&sbor=&ufr=0&wp=4%3b_80000002%3b_80000003&srchb=r&prox=1&ti=5538&ti.si=0&gss=angs-d&o_iid=21417&o_lid=21417&o_sch=Web+Property&offerid=0%3a21318%3a0&pcat=40&fh=1&h=2712701&recoff=6+7

Maybe he heard good things about Australia from the other people on the hulk?

[Mary from Italy]

Unfortunately the image of the passenger list isn't on Ancestry.

He's listed as an unassisted passenger on the Victoria archives site, which means he paid his own passage.

The original passenger list will be available there, but you'd have to get an agent to copy it for you:

http://210.8.122.120/indexes/index_search.asp?searchid=23

[marquette]

Also the Public Record Office of Victoria has Wills and Divorce and lots of other digitised records.

http://access.prov.vic.gov.au/public/PROVguides/PROVguide023/PROVguide023.jsp.

The NLA Trove website already suggested is very good.

If you find any descendents the Ryerson Index has recent (and some older) listings of death and funeral notices - http://www.ryersonindex.org/

Di

[Mary from Italy]

Oh dear - it looks as though he didn't exactly turn over a new leaf when he arrived in Oz, if these cuttings refer to the same person:

http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/result?q=%22richard+fidler%22&sortby=dateAsc

[Mary from Italy]

Oh! Did you know Richard was a policeman?

The report of his trial is on the Old Bailey site:

http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/browse.jsp?id=t18491126-55&div=t18491126-55&terms=richard%20fidler#highlight

There's also a report on the new British Library newspaper site:

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/

[HarrysMum]

Richard Fidler is still very much alive. He's my favourite radio announcer......lol



Can't see him as a policeman though. Probably has been spoken to by a few...lol

[Asa]

Thanks everyone - I'm really chuffed with this find because Richard (the brother of my MFMFF) has been a mystery to me and I only came across him accidentally because he happened to marry the daughter of my MMMFMF. His wife and children stayed in London - I notice his wife had the same lodger in 1851 and 1861 :s

Mary, I did find him at the Old Bailey - he appears twice in 1849 - once as a policeman and then as the defendant :-) I'll buy some more credits for the British Library site when I have a couple of days spare after Christmas.

It looks likely that he is the same person as the chap on the NLA Trove site but no age is given so hard to prove I suppose?

[Asa]

On Ancestry Victoria Passenger Lists, it looks like he returned twice to London and then back to Australia - in 1856 (as Mary says when his term would have ended) and in 1861.