All For a Loaf of Bread

On the first of March 1852, my third great grandfather George Brand was sentenced by the Court of Justiciary, Edinburgh, Scotland to 14 years transportation for theft. George lived in Larbert, Scotland with his wife Isabella and their four children. Life in rural Scotland would not have been easy, however, the opening of the Glasgow …

The Sentence

The convict ship “Stag” departed England, bound for Fremantle, on the 27 January 1855.  George Brand was one of 85 convicts onboard.  George was 33 years old and did not consider himself a handsome man.  He had scraggly brown hair that was lightly balding, a sallow complexion with grey eyes and whilst quite tall at …

A Convict Legacy

Over the past week, I have released the story of George Brand: A Convict Success Story.  If you missed this series, you can read about him at the following links.  For those of you who have already read them, I really hope you enjoyed hearing about George and the Australia convict system that he became …

Prisons and Convicts

  We are very lucky that some of the best records kept in history are in regards to people who broke the law.  Many records survive today and give us a wealth of information about our lawless ancestor.  Here are some websites that will help you to find them.         Australia Australian …