Do you remember that a while ago I wrote about John Anderson (week 116 – a tailor) who was 19 when he married 17 year old Mary McKissock in 1861 ? Little did I, or anyone else, know at the time that her father, John McKissock (my 3 x great grandfather), had been sent to prison for four years in 1854 and would commit further offences after his release ending up with him being sentenced to a further eight years servitude in 1862 before being deported on the prison ship "Clara" to Western Australia in 1864.
I was recently contacted by a researcher living in New Zealand looking at the lives of convicts in their countries of origin prior to them being deported to Australia. We were able to prove that Mary McKissock’s father was the same John McKissock who had appeared on her marriage certificate as a witness. This blog is his story.
John certainly had a chequered record of petty theft – mostly, I suspect, through necessity rather than for any long term advantage. On 3rd May 1854 he was convicted of stealing a wheelbarrow and copper boiler, thought to have been a kettle, from the burn in Muirside of Aldbar near Brechin in February of that year. Aggravated by three other similar convictions he was sentence to 4 years penal servitude.
John certainly had a chequered record of petty theft – mostly, I suspect, through necessity rather than for any long term advantage. On 3rd May 1854 he was convicted of stealing a wheelbarrow and copper boiler, thought to have been a kettle, from the burn in Muirside of Aldbar near Brechin in February of that year. Aggravated by three other similar convictions he was sentence to 4 years penal servitude.
On 30th September 1862, John McKissock was convicted again for stealing in July, possibly on the same night :
It was obviously the clothes John was after in 1862 - probably so he could provide them for his family.
- from a wash house in Balmadity, Fearn : A gown, 5 caps, an apron, a shift, a petticoat and a towel.
- From an unnamed place : Two shirts and a pair of stockings.
It was obviously the clothes John was after in 1862 - probably so he could provide them for his family.
Above is a map showing the places where the two thefts he was convicted of took place. I was initially worried that it was rather a long way - about 28 miles from Dundee where he was shown as living with his wife and daughter on the 1861 census (St Clements) - but the article in the Perthshire Advertiser says he was living in Forfar which is much nearer so makes more sense.
Four previous convictions for theft were taken into account - presumably the three prior ones taken into account plus the actual conviction in 1854.
This time he was sentenced to eight years penal servitude and, as it turned out, this involved being deported to Australia !
Four previous convictions for theft were taken into account - presumably the three prior ones taken into account plus the actual conviction in 1854.
This time he was sentenced to eight years penal servitude and, as it turned out, this involved being deported to Australia !
He arrived as convict number 7786 to Fremantle Gaol, Western Australia aboard prison ship Clara on 13th April 1864 having previously been held in Chatham Gaol. Fremantle Gaol had been constructed between 1851 and 1859 so was reasonably new. At the time it was solely used for convicts deported from Britain. It is now a World Heritage Site.
Prison records from 1864 (see below) show that he was indeed married to Ann McKissock and that they had these three children :
I haven’t found anything at all about Robert or Archibald or any other child who might have been born and died in the unusually long gap for those years without being pregnant between 1845 and 1856.
Prison records from 1864 (see below) show that he was indeed married to Ann McKissock and that they had these three children :
- Robert born about 1842
- Mary Ann born about 1844 (my 2 x great grandmother)
- Archibald born about 1857
I haven’t found anything at all about Robert or Archibald or any other child who might have been born and died in the unusually long gap for those years without being pregnant between 1845 and 1856.
According to prison records, John was 5 foot 4 and three quarters inches tall, had brown hair, grey eyes, a sallow complexion with oval face and was middling stout. He had "burn marks both sides of neck". I wonder whether he got these marks from an accident or an assault ?
John wouldn't have been sent down the mines to work due to his age but between September 1866 and May 1868 was sent on a 'ticket of leave' to Geraldton which was a crayfishing town on the edge of the desert. The winds which blew off the Indian Ocean were horrific and life would have been very hard for John.
A ticket of leave allowed convicts to work for themselves provided that they remained in a specified area, reported regularly to local authorities and attended divine worship every Sunday, if possible. They could not leave the colony. Its principal aim was to reduce the burden on the fledgling colonial government of providing food from the government's limited stores to these convicts. Convicts who seemed able to support themselves were awarded a ticket of leave. Tickets were given as a reward for good behaviour, which permitted the holders to seek employment within a specified district, but not leave it without the permission of the government or the district's resident magistrate. Each change of employer or district was recorded on the ticket.
John's worked for 10 different masters :
John wouldn't have been sent down the mines to work due to his age but between September 1866 and May 1868 was sent on a 'ticket of leave' to Geraldton which was a crayfishing town on the edge of the desert. The winds which blew off the Indian Ocean were horrific and life would have been very hard for John.
A ticket of leave allowed convicts to work for themselves provided that they remained in a specified area, reported regularly to local authorities and attended divine worship every Sunday, if possible. They could not leave the colony. Its principal aim was to reduce the burden on the fledgling colonial government of providing food from the government's limited stores to these convicts. Convicts who seemed able to support themselves were awarded a ticket of leave. Tickets were given as a reward for good behaviour, which permitted the holders to seek employment within a specified district, but not leave it without the permission of the government or the district's resident magistrate. Each change of employer or district was recorded on the ticket.
John's worked for 10 different masters :
He was conditionally released on 30th April 1868 but a notice in The Perth Gazette on 24th September 1869 says he breached the conditions of his release. It looks like he was sentenced to one month back in prison.
I haven't found out anything else about John or his family. He probably stayed out in Australia after serving his sentence and made a life for himself. There is evidence to suggest that in 1877, when he was 60 plus, he employed a 'ticket of leave' man at Champion Bay which is a bay facing the port and the northern part of the city of Geraldton.
I haven't found out anything else about John or his family. He probably stayed out in Australia after serving his sentence and made a life for himself. There is evidence to suggest that in 1877, when he was 60 plus, he employed a 'ticket of leave' man at Champion Bay which is a bay facing the port and the northern part of the city of Geraldton.
Source : I am indebted to Christine Grange for supplying the link between John McKissock and the fact he was a convict who was deported to Australia.