Person:James Nicholas (14)

James was convicted for stealing sheep in the harsh local economic climate of 1829 and sentenced to death, later commuted to life. He was sent to the ? Captivity prison hulk in Portsmouth and then put on the Katherine Stewart Forbes in 1829 to be transported to Australia. Four days later however, he was taken from the vessel and returned to the hulk. The last record I have found for James is in April 1834, as a prisoner, number 69, transferred to the Leviathan prison hulk. The blank entry in the discharge column suggests he remained there until at least 1837, the last date in the record book. It is possible that James was subsequently released from prison as there are three burial records (1847, 1852 and 1854) and an 1848 conviction for a James Nicholas in the Alderbury district that I have so far been unable to place and for which there are few other candidates.