George Best

[Kit]

George Best was transported to Australia on the William and Ann and arrived August 1791. He later married Martha Chamberlain, another convict, and had numerous children. He died in 1836.

What happened in Australia I know about but his reason for arriving has me confused.

I have a partial copy of court documents stating that George stole property from William Cheeseman the elder, in East Peckham, Kent. He was tried at the Maidstone Assizes and sentenced to death. The sentence was later commuted to transportation for life.

Having a look at ancestry today and records I have had for years, the records of his arrival all state George was tried in Coventry, which is nowhere near Kent.

I have not been able to find a birth for George, but have ruled out what is on many online trees - James and Frances are not his parents. Their George died in England in 1818.

I have never found any newspaper accounts of the trial in Maidstone, nor any record of William Cheeseman.

I'd love to find a DOB for George but for now I'm trying to make sure that the George who was tried at Maidstone is actually my George.

[Phoenix]

This link says Kent:

https://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=1179&h=80810&tid=&pid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=rBo2497&_phstart=successSource

[Kit]

Thank you. So I'm not going nuts.

I wonder why or how it changed to Coventry on later documents?

[Phoenix]

No, but Ancestry might be! Trying to get the results I want from a search is so difficult these days.

[Kit]

True. I find ancestry hard to use too.

[kiterunner]

Newspapers didn't report much of that kind of thing in 1791.

[kiterunner]

I now have the "Georgie Best" version of "Jesus Christ Superstar" going round my brain!

The Australian Convict Records Index says he was born in 1758, and there is lots of other info if you scroll down:
https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/best/george/133007

[kiterunner]

There is a record on FMP but I don't know whether it will help at all as I haven't viewed it:
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/search/results?datasetname=england+%26+wales%2c+crime%2c+ prisons+%26+punishment%2c+1770-1935&firstname=george&firstname_variants=true&lastname=best&lastname_variants=true&eventyear=1790&eventyear_offset=2

[Mary from Italy]

It's the commutation of various prisoners' sentences to transportation for life, dated 14th April 1790.

He's listed as "George Best at the same place (Maidstone) of stealing goods value £5/0s/3d in a dwelling house".

[Kit]

I now have the "Georgie Best" version of "Jesus Christ Superstar" going round my brain!

The Australian Convict Records Index says he was born in 1758, and there is lots of other info if you scroll down:
https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/best/george/133007

Not sure who Georgie Best is but there is an English football player who makes googling hard.

I also have a note, no idea where from now, that he may have been born in 1763. It does tie in with a baptism in Surrey and the following note " a contemporary newspaper reported that George Best had to be brought by a writ of habeus corpus from Surrey to face the charges laid against him in Kent. " although I have been unable to substantiate the note.

I can't find a baptism that suits George being born in 1758, which would be taken from his age at death but I don't know if that was accurate. He is very frustrating.

(For any Best researchers who read this Martha is unlikely to be baptised at St Benet Paul's Wharf as there were 2 Martha's born and both died young. The second burial I found in a book of transcriptions for the parish and that death appears to be missing from familysearch)

[kiterunner]

Not sure who Georgie Best is but there is an English football player who makes googling hard.

Yes, that's who I was talking about, although he was actually Northern Irish.

[Kit]

Yes, that's who I was talking about, although he was actually Northern Irish.

oops bad me. I've not read enough to learn where he was from. I turn off at the word football.

[HarrysMum]

I really wanted to marry George Best in my much younger days........lol

[Kit]

You are a LOT older than I thought you were, if you are referring to MY George Best.

[Annab]

Hi Toni
Our family has too been researching George Best, the convict who is my dependent. We have all of his information following his arrival into Australia but have had no success finding him in England. It is extremely frustrating. The Ancestry.com website leads to the same family which as you say is not correct because that George died in England.

[Kit]

Hello Anna welcome to the George is an annoying ancestor club. I think we are suffering because he is so easy to trace in Australia.

How are you descended from George? I'm descended twice via his sons Thomas and William. William's daughter married Thomas' grandson.