Introduction:

My great-great-great-uncle William PARKER (No. 1 on pedigree chart), was transported to Van Diemen’s Land in 1835. The same year his father John, and brothers, Ambrose and John arrived in New South Wales as convicts. His brother Thomas, was also sentenced and transported to Van Diemen’s Land in 1841. I have evidence that Ambrose and Thomas worked together, and are both buried at a property called ‘Jerula‘, in Cowra, New South Wales. His other brother, John, my great-great-grandfather, lived and died at Cowra and married at Carcoar, New South Wales. (Refer family group sheet).

Main Research Question:

What happened to William PARKER after his release?

Did he reunite with his father and three siblings?
Did he marry and have children?
Where did he die?

Records and Resources I Have Used to Date:

I have found William PARKER’s convict records, and this tells me about his prison term and that he became a free man via Conditional Pardon on 20 September 1845[1].

I have my great-great grandfather’s convict records stating that he and his brother, Ambrose, and father John (the elder), stole eight pieces of cotton from a warehouse in Lancashire. John was sentenced seven years and his father and brother were both sentenced fourteen years. These documents also told me that William PARKER had been previously sentenced and transported to Van Diemen’s Land. I have evidence that John (the elder) arrived in New South Wales on 14 July 1835 onboard Mary Ann andJohn (the younger) and Ambrose arrived New South Wales on board John Barry on 21 September 1835, and evidence of all three receiving their ticket of leave[2].
Thomas Parker, a younger sibling of William PARKER, was also transported to Van Diemen’s Land. Thomas’ sentence was seven years and he arrived on board the Egyptian on 5August 1839. Records show he received his Ticket of Leave October 1843 and Certificate of Freedom in 1845. Thomas eventually made his way to New South Wales and found his brother Ambrose in Cowra, New South Wales. They were both shepherds on the same property in Cowra. I have evidence for Thomas and Ambrose being admitted to Cowra hospital in 1882 and 1884, respectively[3]

Repositories and Records that I Plan to Use:

Tasmanian Archives and Heritage Office:

Explore the online Convict Portal to get a better understanding of records that may assist me further with William PARKER’s life after his release.

State Records New South Wales:

Read the following Archive in Brief sheets to assist my search for William PARKER and his brother Thomas, entering New South Wales. Peruse Electoral Rolls for the brothers living in the vicinity of one another. Refer the Colonial Secretary’s papers for any mention of either father or sons that may give me a lead.

AIB No. 1 – Shipping and Arrival Records.

AIB No. 24 – Shipping and arrival records – additional sources.

AIB No. 5 – Electoral Rolls

AIB No. 104 How to search the Colonial Secretary’s papers 1788-1900.

New South Wales Birth, Death, and Marriage online database.

Search for and purchase a death of William PARKER within the area of Cowra, New South Wales

National Library of Australia Trove Newspaper online portal

Search newspaper articles for William PARKER residing at Jerulai n the Cowra, New South Wales district.

Reflective Statement:

Whilst evaluating the records I have used to date I have found that I have been very untidy in recording repositories and sources. This has made my research unreliable. This research plan has made me realize I must be thorough whilst collecting information I must become more methodical whilst researching, by planning ahead and compiling family group sheets, pedigree charts, timelines and recording where to search prior to carrying out further investigations.

I must learn to concentrate on one person at a time to avoid surfing the repositories and resources and becoming waylaid with collateral relatives. Although, in stating this, there have been times when I have had to research collateral relatives to get the next piece of the puzzle to allow me to continue to the next generation.

My work has been verified by way of starting with myself and working backward and finding the original records to further confirm that the person is the correct piece that fits the puzzle. I have always used the principle of sourcing, at least, two primary records and various secondary records to verify the person in question is, in fact, the correct person.I have always confirmed family history research that has been passed on to me rather than accepting it as accurate work and I have always shared my research with others, to assist with their research and hoping that it will further preserve my family history.

Copying and pasting information into my family tree records have been a bad habit in the past. This is an important lesson that I have learned through doing this course. Although I have been aware of copyright, plagiarism was not part of my vocabulary. I was aware of repositories, referencing, footnotes, endnotes, but citing sources using the correct method has been a difficult learning curve. In saying that, I know it will become second nature with practice and will also be beneficial to my work.

All of these lessons I have learned over the past weeks will improve my research skills and prevent me wasting precious time going over the same information I have sourced in the past.

The most difficult question in this course was where to look for the answer to my problem when I feel I exhausted repositories. But, I have come to realize that I have lacked in reading directive information within the repositories. Instead, I have just jumped in and searched names. I will now go back and explore the Tasmanian LINC online convict portal and the Archives in Brief sheets before I continue with my search of William PARKER’s life after release.

My intention is to now complete a timeline of all the brothers in the hope that I can establish gaps within my research which in turn will give me a favorable outcome.

References:

Cowra Family History Group Library, Cowra District Hospital 1881-1884 Register LIN. HOSP. 2794.02 Thomas Parker May1882 and Ambrose Parker April 1884.

England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/: accessed 17 March 2016), John Parker, 19 July 1816, Burnley, Lancashire, England, reference; FHL microfilm 0093654, 0093664.

England Births and Christenings, 1538-1910, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/: accessed 17 March 2016), William Parker, 20 January 1820, Christening, St Peter’s, Burnley, Lancashire, England, volume, Lancashire Record Office, Preston; FHL microfilm 1,517,690.

England Births and Christenings, 1538-1910, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/: accessed 17 March 2016), Thomas Parker, 3 January 1825, Christening, St Peter’s, Burnley, Lancashire, England, volume, Lancashire Record Office, Preston; FHL microfilm 1,517,690.

Great Britain. Home Office, & State Library of Queensland. (1948). John Parker (the elder), one of 306 Convicts Transported on theMary Ann, 06 July 1835., Criminal: Convict transportation registers [HO 11].
Great Britain. Home Office, & State Library of Queensland. (1948). John Parker (the younger), one of 320 Convicts Transported on the John Barry, 07 September 1835., Criminal: Convict transportation registers [HO 11].
Great Britain. Home Office, & State Library of Queensland. (1948). Ambrose Parker, one of 320 Convicts Transported on the John Barry, 07 September 1835., Criminal: Convict transportation registers [HO11].
NLA Trove. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8754164 Colonial Times (Hobart, Tas; 1828-1857), Tuesday 31 October 1843, p4. Ticket of Leave Thomas Parker,
NSW Death Certificate 1886/8039 District of Cowra Thomas Parker.
NSW Death Certificate 1890/4663 District of Cowra Ambrose Parker.
Society of Australian Genealogist. New South Wales Government Gazette 1832 – 1863 Transcriptions. Ticket of Leave, 16 December 1839, John Parker, Mary Ann (4)at Inverary.
Society of Australian Genealogist. New South Wales Government Gazette 1832 – 1863 Transcriptions. Ticket of Leave, 25 February 1840, John Parker (the younger), John Barry at Carcoar.
Society of Australian Genealogist. New South Wales Government Gazette 1832 – 1863 Transcriptions. Ticket of Leave, 14 August 1843, Ambrose Parker, John Barry at Muswellbrook.

SRNSW: Convict Records; Ref, NRS 12202, [4/4135] Reel 935, No. 39/2300 Principal Superintendent of Convicts, Ticket of Leave butts, 1839 – 1840 Mary Ann 4, John Parker.

SRNSW: Convict Records, Ref, NRS 12202, [4/4171] Reel 947, No. 43/71 Principal Superintendent of Convicts, Ticket of Leave butts, 1842- 1843 – John Barry, Ambrose Parker.

TAHO, CON14/1/51 Indent William Parker No. 1160 Aurora1835.

TAHO, CON18/1/7 p476 Thomas Parker No. 1520 Egyptian 1839.

TAHO, CON27/1/2 p15 Appropriation List William Parker No. 1160 Aurora1835.

TAHO, CON31/1/35 p 213 Convict Conduct Record William Parker Aurora1835.

TAHO, CON18/1/4 p115 Description List William Parker No. 1160 Aurora1835.

TAHO, CON31/1/36 p74 Conduct Record Thomas Parker No. 1520 Egyptian 1839.

TAHO, CON14/1/48 p23 Indent Record Thomas Parker No. 1520 Egyptian1839.

Appendix:

a pedigree chart.
a completed family group chart for the individual identified in the question.

NOTE: In March 2018 my sister and I visited Port Arthur. We discovered that William was an inmate at the Children’s Prison, Point Puer. I have submitted a request to have William’s records transcribed and am eagerly awaiting its arrival.

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