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 to Perth railway line in…
Today, being Remembrance Day, I felt it fitting to remember my ancestors who served in World War I. The brave men and women who served in the first world war (and of course all subsequent wars) are to be remembered for their bravery and sacrifice. The families at home need to be remembered as well. This war had a terrible…
A Western Australian Convict On 2 February 1855 George departed for Western Australia with 224 other convicts onboard the “Stag”, which sailed from London with Surgeon Superintendent Caldwell on board.1,2,,3,4 They arrived in Fremantle on 23 May 1855, the fourteenth convict ship to arrive on its shores.1,,2,,3 The Swan River Settlement in Western Australia was founded by free settlers on…
George Brand in Prison The first records of imprisonment that can be found are of George being sent from Edinburgh Prison, Scotland to Millbank Prison, Middlesex, England on the 13 September 1852.1,2 Millbank Prison was opened in 1816 as the national penitentiary but the design was so poor that even the guards would get lost.3,4 Due to this, the decision…
George Brand and His Crimes In 1851 George again found himself before the courts for theft. A total of seven charges were put to him of numerous thefts from goods trains and trucks.1 At the time of these charges his occupation was listed as a potato dealer so it would seem that he used his prior knowledge from working for…
Introducing George Brand Australia was built on the backbone of convicts and the stories of these men and women are as vast and varied as the lives they left behind. Whilst some of these people failed to ever get out of the system, many others went on to establish a successful life in Australia. One such convict is George Brand…
Today I decided to veer away from the “Stories Under the Tree” that I have posted over the past week to tell you about my convict ancestor, George Brand. During the Diploma of Family History I have undertaken there has been two Units on convicts – Convict Ancestors and Convicts in Context. The first unit lets you choose a convict…
For many years my ancestors have held great interest for me. I don’t know whether it was because we lived on the opposite side of the world to my dad’s English family. Or because we lived on the opposite side of Australia to my mum’s family. Whatever it is I have always wanted to know more. Whenever I journeyed to Perth…