Convicts: Bound for Australia

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Key to library resources

Access anywhere with a library card In the Library (or anywhere with a Library card for NSW residents)
Available to access in the library Only in the Library
Publicly available online Publicly available

Criminal registers, England & Wales, 1805-1868 (HO 27 Series 2)

How to use Criminal registers, England & Wales, 1805-1868 (HO 27 Series 2)

Only in the Library You can use Criminal registers, England & Wales, 1805-1868 (HO 27 Series 2) when in the Library. Can't come to the Library? Contact us.

How to find a convict's date and place of trial

STEP 1

Use the Australian Joint Copying Project Handbook Part 3: Home Office ('HO 27: Criminal registers' page 26-27) to find the microfilm reel number that covers the date and county of your convict's trial. Ask at the Special Collections desk in the Mitchell Library to view the handbook.

Don’t know the county where your convict’s trial was held?

  • Use Ancestry Library Edition to search ‘England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892’ by the convict’s name to find the full image of the criminal register taken from the microfilm reel.
  • Or for 1805-1816 you can use 'Supplement T: Transportation' in the HO 27 Criminal register indexes to find the county. The ‘Supplement T: Transportation’ indexes names of convicts sentenced to transportation 1805-1816. Ask at the Special Collections desk in the Mitchell Library. 

STEP 2

Complete a stack request slip (including the microfilm reel number) to have staff collect the reel for you.

STEP 3

Search the registers for the county and session where your convict was tried to find your convict's entry.

Example of the information found in an entry:

Name When Tried Crime Sentence How disposed of
John Brannon Alias Edwd Taylor Mar Sessn Stealg a brass weight Transport 7 years N.G.*

* Newgate Prison.

Ancestry Library Edition

Also available on Ancestry Library Edition as England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892.

Ancestry Library Edition is only available in the Library.

What's in the registers?

These registers list all individuals in England and Wales who were charged with an indictable offence. You can use the registers to find the results of the trial and sentence.

Records for Middlesex are only included for 1850-1868. 

Tip

Sometimes the registers do not provide any further direct detail other than that found in the index, but it is always worth checking. It's also good practice to check as errors in transcription can be made.