John Ratcliffe was my Great Great Grandfather and the first of the exciting discoveries in the family tree - he was a convict from England, sentenced there and transported to Van Diemen's Land for 7 years. John's decision to steal in a sense started our family history in Australia - although lots of others weave themselves into the picture as immigrants to Tasmania, which I'll cover in future posts. Here's my go at John's life story.... This is a long posting - one of the 'Life Stories' I'll compile and post from time to time. They won't all be this long and detailed, but I've been at this one for years, and have gathered a lot of information...
England (1834 – 1852)
The ‘Potteries’
John Ratcliffe was born in 1834 in the Parish of Buckland cum Bagnall, Staffordshire, England, which is in the ‘Midlands’, and on the outskirts of what is now
Stoke-on-Trent. John was one of eight children born to
James (b. 1802) and
Mary Ratcliffe (b. 1797). He had two older brothers (
Joseph, b. 1829; and
James, b. 1832) and an older sister (
Ann, b. 1830), and three younger sisters (
Mary, b. 1836;
Susanna, b. 1838; and
Elisheba, b. 1842).
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| Seven year-old John Ratcliffe on the 1841 UK Census (and sisters Mary, 5 and Susanna 3). |
In the census of 1851 the family lived at 3 East View Place (now called Ringland Close) in the village of
Hanley (also part of the modern day Stoke-on-Trent). John’s father James was an accountant according to the 1841 census (when the family lived at Buckland cum Bagnall), but is presumed to have died before the 1851 census (when the family lived at Hanley) at which time Mary is listed as the head of the house, and had taken on a job as a seamstress to support her family of six children (James junior was also absent from that census, was he deceased as well?). The children had received some education (not something you could necessarily assume in those times) because later convict records state that John Ratcliffe could read and write.
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| The Ratcliffe Family in 1851, according to the census. Mary is now head of the household. Note the professions of the children as potters painters, printers, and burnishers. Even young Susanna, age 12, was working as a pottery painter, and only Elisheba (aged 4) was still in school. |
Stoke-on-Trent is famous for producing pottery and ceramics – it is home to the famous Wedgewood company, as well as many other well known lines of crockery (there are/were over 1500 makers of pottery there); it is where bone china was invented. John, and all his siblings worked in this industry – According to the 1851 census, John was a Potter’s Printer, and other siblings were pottery printers, painters and burnishers.
Theft and Sentencing
With his father deceased, and a mother working full-time to support six dependent children in a time of some poverty and long before social security and government family support, it is perhaps unsurprising that crime was looming on the horizon. John’s claim to fame (or infamy!) from a family history perspective is of course that he was a
convict. Leading up to his seven-year transportation sentence, he was caught house-breaking and charged with “Stealing one shawl, the property of Mary Talbot, at Hanley”. John received a 6 month & 14 day sentence for that crime, although I do not know where the punishment was served. The following year, he was convicted of larceny, with his convict record stating that he was caught “stealing clothes from a shop” at Shelton, which is about a 30 minute walk from where he lived. The Stafford Quarter Session Calendar of Prisoners gives more information, stating the offence as “Stealing one muffler and two scarfs, the property of Charles Boult, at Stoke-upon-Trent, after a previous conviction of felony of the said John Ratcliffe”. The offence was committed on 20th December 1849, but the trial didn’t take place until the ‘Epiphany’ session (that took place each December) of 1850 when he was aged 16 years). The sentence handed down reads “To be transported seven years”. However, transportation itself didn’t happen until 1852. This all creates a mystery with regard to the census of 1851, where John was listed as being at home on census night, which is highly improbable, as he would have been serving the first part of his sentence in jail while he awaited transportation. Our cousin Bob Standaloft suggested a plausible hypothesis – the shame of admitting to the census-taker that John was incarcerated and awaiting transportation might have been too great, and his mum might have simply told a little white lie as to who was home on the night (perhaps something like “John’s sleeping now, and I shan’t wake him”).
Tasmania (1852 – 1888)
Transportation on the ‘Equestrian’
John Ratcliffe left England as a convict aboard the convict transport ship ‘Equestrian’, which sailed from Plymouth on September 9th, 1852. The Equestrian was a 801 ton ship built in Hull in 1842, and on this voyage, it was transporting its third and final consignment of convicts to Van Diemen’s Land.
The Hobart Courier ran the
following story on January 14,1853:
EMIGRANT CONVICTS
Some sixty or seventy " good conduct" convicts were sent from the New Convict Prison, Portsea, to Spithead, for the purpose of joining the Equestrian, hired convict ship, for conveyance to Australia. They are all young men, and as soon as they arrive in Australia they will receive, it is reported, tickets-of-leave, and proceed into the interior as agricultural labourers and servants. The Equestrian embarks other convicts from Parkhurst, Portland and Plymouth, on the same footing.
John was one of 294 male convicts onboard when the ship departed England, five of whom died during the voyage. John Ratcliffe fits the bill for one of the ‘young men’ of ‘good conduct’ mentioned in the newspaper article above – John’s ‘Conduct Record’ reads ‘Prison Report Good’, and he was only about 17 or 18 years old when he was transported.
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| The entry in the convict register for John Ratcliffe. Under his name it reads: "Tried at Stafford QS 31st Dec 1949. 7 years. Arrived 16/12/52. C of E, can R & W" (Church of England, Can read and write) |
Convicts were embarked from the following:
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| I've compiled a list of prisons and date and place embarked from the shipping news of the newspapers of the day. There are some gaps in the record - and I don't know from which prison John Ratcliffe was embarked. |
Once the Equestrian left England, the voyage to Australia took 106 days. Life on board the convict ship can be best gleaned from the medical journal of the ship’s surgeon,
Alexander Cross. On reading the summary of this report, it was clear that Dr Cross was a busy man – many pages of the report are devoted to the ills of the convicts on board, which ranged from minor ailments, to serious injuries, and in a number of cases, death. Five convicts never made it to Hobart and were buried at sea, these were: James Eastwood (aged 24, died of renal disease), James Limb (aged 28, died of dysentery), John Sutcliffe (aged 46, died of dysentery), David Hawthorne (aged 48, died of ‘pulmonary lepoplexy’), and Thomas Jennings (aged 52, died of ‘fibrous rheumatism’). Other passengers too were not immune to the hardships of a long sea voyage – Sergeant John Highland of the 11th Regiment died of complications from ‘erysipelas’ or “St Anthony’s Fire” (aged 28; although the report notes he was basically an alcoholic too), and 4-month old Jeanette Gray took ill with a ‘bowel complaint’ and died on 14th September, just 5 days into the voyage.
The surgeon did not have a high opinion of the guard, noting they were:
“…composed chiefly of recruits, mainly Irish, who neither been inured to service, discipline nor the confinement and discomfort of sea voyage, the women were what soldier's wives generally are, indolent and not one cleanly, their children were squalid and unhealthy, this subsequently lead to 17 of the soldiers being sent back to the depot and replaced by an equal number of men of good character”
The surgeon also mentioned that when the ship crossed through the Tropics during early October, the weather was wet and hot, and diarrhoea became very prevalent amongst the convicts and some cases of dysentery likewise occurred, which the surgeon attributed to the impurity of the water in use for it was found
“to be offensive to the smell and to deposit a copious dark peat-like sediment evidently showing that it had not been properly filtered as according to the stipulations… for if properly filtered all mechanical impurities must have been removed, which was very far from being the case”. As a result
“Bowel complaints were entirely confined to the convicts and children of the guard, neither guard nor crew having in the least suffered from them”. The state of the water was dutifully reported to Sir William Denison, the Governor of Van Diemen's Land, upon arrival.
Despite all these ills and privations, John Ratcliffe was evidently a sturdy fellow – there is not a single mention of him (among the dozens of medical entries) being treated for any ailment, major or minor, throughout the voyage, so we can assume he disembarked healthy, if not happy, in Hobart when the ship docked there on December 16th, 1852.
The Hobart Town Daily Courier reported the arrival of the Equestrian in the ‘Shipping News’ on Saturday 18 December 1852:
Arrived the ship Equestrian, 679 tons, Lowry, from England 1st September, with 289 male convicts. Cabin - A. Cross, Esq., Surgeon-Superintendent; Mr. Pickwood, Religious Instructor; Mrs. Pickwood, Lieut. Osborne and Ensign Davies, 11th Regt.; in the steerage 4 male and 7 female passengers, 1 child, 1 sergeant, 4 corporals, and 14 privates of the 11th Regt. The sergeant of the guard and one child died on board. [Note that they don’t mention the convicts that died!]
At around the time the Equestrian docked in Hobart, there was much opposition in the colony to transportation – I have found a
lengthy article in the Hobart Town Daily Courier (on 19 Jan 1853) that declares that the colony of Van Diemen’s Land denounces
“… the system [transportation] as hateful to their feeling and incompatible with their moral, political, and even material interests…” Clearly the writing was on the wall, because John Ratcliffe was among the last convicts to be transported to Van Diemen’s Land – transportation ceased the year following his arrival, but nevertheless, John was one of 2100 convicts that arrived in Van Diemen’s Land in 1852 alone, and one of 160,023 that were transported to Australia during the
convict transportation period.
Arrival in Van Diemen’s Land
John was held in the prison barracks on arrival (‘PB’ noted on his record on December 22, 1852), so the first Christmas in Australia was spent behind bars. However, a few weeks later in early January, John received a ‘
Ticket of Leave’. A ticket of leave was a document of parole issued to convicts who had served a period of probation, and had shown by their good behaviour that they could be allowed certain freedoms. Once granted a ticket of leave, a convict was permitted to seek employment within a specified district but could not leave the district without the permission of the government or the district's resident magistrate. Each change of employer or district was recorded on the ticket. On John’s record, he is shown to be working for an ‘R. Hepburn’ at ‘Swanwick’. This note was dated January 6, 1853 – so he only spent a few weeks in the lockup before being free to work.
Swanwick and the Hepburns
Captain Robert William Hepburn emigrated with his wife and eight children to Tasmania in 1828 with the aim of acquiring land on the east coast to establish a shore-based whaling operation. He acquired 565 ha of land at the mouth of the Swan River near to the present day town of Coles Bay on the Freycinet Peninsula, and built his homestead ‘Swanwick’ there in the 1830s (the nearly point is still called Point Hepburn). The original homestead, built of stone, is still standing, and is listed on the Tasmanian Heritage Register, and although it's private property, you can see it easily from the road if you are travelling through and it's worth a stop.
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| 'Swanwick' |
Robert Hosie Hepburn (b. 1819 in Scotland) was one of the sons of Robert William Hepburn. He (Robert Hepburn Junior) was living at Swanwick between 1841-1850, but he later moved to Bellbrook (near Cranbrook) in 1854 with his new wife, Margaret Cameron, who had received the property as a wedding gift from her father. John Ratcliffe was working for one (or both?) of these Robert Hepburns between 1853 and 1856 – so he may have spent time at both Swanwick Estate, and Bellbrook.
The area around Swanwick was known at the time as ‘Great Swan Port’. The convict record that followed John Ratcliffe to Australia (above), and that was updated during the period of his sentence, shows him to be in and out of trouble – albeit minor – during the years that followed. He appeared before the Great Swan Port (‘GSP’) Lower Court for four minor offences between 1854 and 1855 – he was admonished for being ‘out after hours’ on June 2, 1854; fined 1 pound for drunkenness on December 8, 1854; accused of larceny – but the case dismissed – on 19 February 1855; and absent from IC (?) for which he received ‘forty-eight hours solitary’ on April 24 1855. John’s ‘Ticket of Leave’ was revoked on May 20, 1856 (he was again ‘Absent from…’ somewhere he was supposed to be – I can’t read the handwriting though!). But sometime later in 1856, he was given a conditional pardon, and was a free man.
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| The beach at Coles Bay, directly in front of the Swanwick Homestead |
Fingal, Campbell Town and Avoca (1856 – 1882)
Because the convict record followed John and was undated with his court appearances etc, I could build a reasonable history of where he was and what he did. This changes with John being free – so the rest of his ‘life story’ is gleaned from birth, death and marriage certificates, some census records, and the odd newspaper article.
John Ratcliffe lived and worked in the Fingal and Avoca districts of Tasmania after serving his sentence, and on August 3, 1863 he married 23 year-old
Mary McMahon (my great-great grandmother, born about 1840) at St Michael’s Catholic Church in Campbell Town ‘according to the rites and ceremonies of the Holy Catholic Church’, performed by the parish priest, Fr. M. O’Callaghan. The beautiful bluestone church where they were married was built in 1857, and is still standing (see photo). Because they were married in Campbell Town, I had long assumed that Mary was a Campbell Town girl. But on visiting the Campbell Town family history group, I learned that McMahon is not a known early Campbell Town family name, and because there were no Catholic Churches in the Fingal area in 1863, it is likely that this church in Campbell Town was simply the nearest catholic church to where they were living.
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| St Michael's Church, Campbell Town, Tasmania, Where John and Mary were married. |
On the marriage certificate you can see the signature of John Ratcliffe, but Mary could not read or write – in the space for her signature is an ‘x’ appended with the words ‘her mark’. I know nothing of Mary – whether she was a convict or free, her date of birth and death, whether she was Tasmanian born or born elsewhere – nothing at all! That marriage certificate lists John as a ‘Labourer’, but later in 1867, a son (unnamed on certificate, by later revealed to be
William) was born, and on that birth certificate, under ‘Rank or Profession of Father’ it reads ‘Shepherd’ – so John was working in the district as a farm labourer, tending sheep. In 1872 another son was born – my great grandfather
Thomas Ratcliffe – on November 3, 1872. This birth was recorded in the District of Fingal, at the town of Avoca – and John’s profession is still recorded as ‘Shepherd’ on that certificate.
I don’t know much else about friends and family – although Stephen and Ellen Varien who lived at Campbell Town, were friends – they are the signed witnesses to their marriage, and Ellen was the witness to their first born child.
I could find no other birth certificates in the Launceston Library, so I had long assumed it was just the two boys - William and Thomas. Pieces of a larger puzzle emerged through trolling old newspapers (for family notices - births, deaths etc), the finding of Mary's grave in Launceston, and most importantly, connecting with a cousin I never knew I had (Bob Standaloft). This all led to the emergence of no less than eight children -
George (1863), who died at age 20,
Mary (1864-1932),
William (1867-1952),
John (1868-1946),
Thomas (1872-1845),
Margaret Ann (1875-1941),
Annie (1877-1918) and
Elizabeth (1881-1979).
Launceston (1882 – 1888)
The last part of John’s life was lived in the northern Launceston suburb of Inveresk. Inveresk today is an area of light industry – small factories interspersed with old working-class wooden houses. Parts of it look and feel quite old and historic. In the late 1800s it was Tasmania’s largest industrial site with extensive rail yards, train workshops and tramways that serviced the nearly port on the Tamar River. John worked as a labourer in this working class area. The Launceston city records list John Ratcliffe as owner/occupier of 3 New Street Inveresk in the property census of 1882, and again in 1884.
John Ratcliffe died 36 years earlier than his wife on January 15, 1888, at the age of 55. His death certificate states:
“A watchman [shepherd]
, lived at Inveresk, died of heart disease” (and lists his age as 56 years, not 55). The deaths and funeral notices in the Launceston Examiner of Monday January 16, 1888 reads:
RATCLIFF – On 15th January, at his residence, New Street, Inveresk. Mr John Ratcliff, aged 55 years.
The funeral of the late Mr. RATCLIFF will leave his late residence, Inveresk, this day at half-past 3 o’clock. Friends will please accept this invitation. DOOLAN, Undertaker, Wellington Street.
When John died, Mary still had four children under 16, including Elizabeth (who everyone called 'Tot') who was just 9. Life at 3 New Street must have been pretty tough.
I visited New Street, Inveresk, in March 2009 – there are no houses there now, only factories. The Ratcliffe’s lived at New Street until 1927. Mary lived there until her death on 24 September 1924 at the age of 88 and Thomas Ratcliffe was listed as the occupier in 1925 (but the owner was eldest son William). The following census in 1927 shows no Ratcliffe’s living in New Street, but Thomas died there in 1945, so the house had been in the family for over 60 years. I don't know of any photos of the house, but there must been some.
I do not know in which of Launceston’s cemeteries John is buried, or whether there is a surviving headstone or other marker. I recently learned that Mary Ratcliffe (nee McMahon) is buried in Carr Villa Cemetery in Launceston, in a family plot with her daughter Annie Ratcliffe, son William, Annie’s husband George Atkins, and Annie's daughter Alice Amira Sarich.
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| Headstone of the Ratcliffe/Atkins plot in Carr Villa Cemetery, Launceston |
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