A tale of two criminals

Joel Coldron

Joel Coldron (or possibly Cawthorn), my 3x great grandfather, was born in about 1821 in South Hykeham. His mother, Rebecca Coldron, was not married at the time of his birth, and as a result I do not (currently) have information about his father.

I don’t know much about Joel’s early life, though I suspect that it was difficult. In 1827 his mother married Edward Simpson. I do not think that Edward was Joel’s father. In 1841 Rebecca and Edward are living in the parish of St Peter at Gowts with their four children. Joel is not living with them – though he would be around 20 at this time. I haven’t been able to find Joel in 1841 on the census.

In 1847 Joel Cawthorne married Elizabeth Ann Chambers in Lincoln. I’m reasonably sure that this is the right marriage because the details all look right for Elizabeth and it ties in with the birth of their first child, Thomas George, in 1849.

By 1851 they’re living in the parish of St Martin in Lincoln, in 1861 Joel's profession is "Higgler" and in 1871 he's living in the pub "The White Horse". Sadly the original building is no longer there, but there is still a pub on the site in Lincoln.

As far as I’ve been able to discover, Joel had the occasional brush with the law. In 1857 he was caught receiving stolen brass, and was convicted and sentenced to one year imprisonment. As a "higgler" I'm sure Joel often received goods which had a dubious past. He probably turned a blind eye to any misdoings if he could make some money from it, as with 7 children he would have needed every penny!
Later on, there is a newspaper report of another brush with the local constabulary. In 1868 it is reported that Joel and his son Charles were convicted of assaulting a police officer and sentenced to two months' hard labour each. I haven't found the court records for that yet. The report in the newspaper suggests that the policeman may have had a drink or two, and some of the witnesses said that the policeman was lying. I have no evidence, but I suspect that Joel was probably well known in the community as a publican, and it sounds like he may have been a fairly sturdy fellow. Perhaps the policeman had a grudge against him, or perhaps there really was a fracas. I'll never know the exact details, so I choose to believe that he was perhaps quick tempered, but was generally trying to make ends meet and stand up for his family.

George Chambers

Joel’s wife, Elizabeth, was no stranger to criminality. Her father, George Chambers (my 4x great grandfather) was born in about 1797 in Wragby. He married his wife, Sophia Espin, in 1822.

George’s first brush with the law came in 1835, when he was acquitted of larceny.

Things must have been difficult for the family, as in 1841 we do not find them living together. Elizabeth appears to be living with an uncle, or possibly other relative, I haven't tracked down George yet. Sophia is living in, and gives birth to their second-youngest son Uriah, in the house of correction in Kirton Lindsey. She was found guilty of receiving stolen goods and sentenced to 6 months imprisonment.

On 7^th April 1843 George Chambers is found guilty of larceny and is sentenced to 7 years transportation. On the 9^th May he is sent to the Fortitude, a prison hulk which was moored in Chatham. The books from that ship state that he was guilty of stealing ducks and fowl. It tells me that he can read and write, and that his occupation is brick-maker. It describes him as having bad habits, since he was charged with a felony before! It then says that he was moved to the York Hulk.
The following year, on the 19^th April 1844, hi was moved to the York, another hulk moored at Gosport. Once again it describes his "habits and practices" as bad. The notes attached to his case suggest that he was due to be sent "per Thames Bermuda" to serve what remained of his 7 years. I gather that the "Thames" was another ship, this time moored in Bermuda.
I don't know what happened to him there (I need to take a trip to Kew to the Archives there to see the Bermuda Convict books), but I do know that he was back in the UK and having another son in 1850. Since there was no recognised way of bringing people home, I have no idea how he got back from Bermuda - perhaps I will find that out if I go to the Archives.

By Illustrated London News - National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, Public Domain, Link

Notes about the prison hulks.
Fortitude was originally HMS Cumberland, it was renamed in 1833. Before conversion it had 74 guns and two gun decks.
HMS York was similarly a third-rate gunship, and after conversion housed around 500 criminals.
HMS Thames was a smaller ship, housing only 46 guns.
Details from Wikipedia's article on Prison Hulks.