Introduction

The fate of my GGG-Grandfather George Trowbridge has for many years been a mystery. At the time of writing the original version of my book[1] (c1990), which summarised all that was then known about the family, his last ‘sighting’ was the entry in the Ebbesbourne Wake (Wiltshire) Parish register for the baptism of his son Lot in 1811. After this nothing more had been uncovered until January 2000 when I acquired a copy of the Criminal Records Indexes for Wiltshire, recently available on floppy disk[2]. This was a source  ignored for years. I did know however that George and his family were extremely poor and desperate for work as the Church Warden accounts for the village show.  To my delight, I have to say, George immediately was discovered and as will be seen there is little doubt that he was my missing ancestor. This note summarises the rich body of information obtained from the CRO, PRO and from Archives in Australia which together allow us to piece together most of George’s story. 

NAME	SURNAME	ALIAS	WHEN TRIED	CRIME	SENTENCE	HO 27/	YEAR	COUNTY
George	Trowbridge		Lent assizes	larceny	acquitted	3	1807	WIL
George	Trowbridge		Summer assizes	felony in killing & carrying away a fallow Deer	transportation for seven years	9	1813	WIL

Table 1 : Extract from HO 27 Criminal Register Indexes for Wiltshire 1805-1816

  Back to top

  Time Line

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 2 : Time Line for George Trowbridge, 1775 to 1821

Table 2 shows the principal events in George’s chronology with the main sources cited. Later sections give more details from these sources and some speculations where the evidence is not complete.

The parents, children, and other family details of George and Anne Trowbridge are listed in Table 3 .

Father	George Trowbridge (1724-1802)
Mother	Hester Chown (1732-1797)
Spouse	Anne Trowbridge
Birth	1777    Ebbesbourne Wake WIL
Death	1817    Ebbesbourne Wake WIL
Burial	20 Aug 1817    Ebbesbourne Wake WIL[19]
Religion	Baptist
Father	James Trowbridge (-1786)
Mother	Mary Scamel (1745-1817)
Children	James (1800-1864)[20]
	Susanna (1802-)
	Ann (1805-)
	William (1809-)
	Lott (1811-1818}

Table 3 : The Family of George and Anne

  Back to top

  Overseers of the Poor Accounts

 George appears several times in Overseers of the Poor accounts and in the Ebbesbourne Parish Churchwardens accounts. The last entry referring to George is in Oct 1811. These sources are for 1788 onwards i.e. Ebbesbourne Wake, WIL, Churchwardens accounts, CRO, Trowbridge, 940/3.

Date		Task
1805	Nov 22	George Trowbridge for cleaning ye water course at 6 ? £1-0s-6d
1805	Dec 10	George Trowbridge for stones 6s
1806	Jan 5	George Trowbridge for stones 8s
1806	Jan 17	George Trowbridge for stones £1-1s-6d
1810	Nov 3	George Trowbridge for wheeling stones from lime pits 3s-4d
1811	Feb 16	George Trowbridge for 2 days at lime pits 3s-4d
1811	Apr 6	George Trowbridge for 4 days at lime pits 6s-8d
1811	Oct 5	George Trowbridge pd for 6 days on roads10s-10d 7s

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 4 : Overseers of the Poor Accounts for Ebbesbourne Wake

Back to top

Brushes with the Law

Further research at the PRO (Kew) CRO (Trowbridge) following the events recorded in HO 27 (See section 1) enabled George’s criminal career to be established. 

Alleged Stealing 1807

  Transcription of PRO ASSI 25/5/10

Lent assizes New Sarum 7 March, 1807 Indictment[21]

Wilts The Jurors of our lord the King upon their Oath that George Trowbridge late of Ebbesbourne Wake in the County of Wilts labourer on the 19^th Jan in 47 year of our Sovereign Lord George Third (1807) by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland King Defender of the Faith with force and arms at the Parish aforesaid Two sacks of the value Six shillings and Eight Bushels of Wheat of the value of Two pounds of the Goods and Chattels of John Rebbeck then and there being found feloniously did steal take away against the peace of our said Lord the King his Crown and Dignity.

Signed Follet

On the reverse side was listed the following names possibly witnesses for or against  John Rebbeck, Stephen Moxham[22], William Moxham, Henry Thorne, Henry Rebbeck, Thomas Parnham[23], Richard Mills, Thomas Trowbridge[24], John Trowbridge[25]. All sworn in court and the parchment was labelled a ‘True Bill’ ( a case to answer).

Calendar Lent Assizes[26]

Before Sir Alexander Chambre Knight one of the Justices of HM Court of Common Pleas and the Hon Sir Thomas Manners Sutton Knight one of the Barons of HM Court of Exchequer.

George Trowbridge committed by T Grove Esq. on suspicion of feloniously stealing two sacks of Wheat value two pounds the property of John Rebbeck of Ebbesbourne Warrant dated 1 Feb 1807.

Sign Thomas Culley Esq. Sheriff.

Tried Tuesday 10th March, 1807 before Jury and found not guilty

Poaching 1807

 Transcription of Easter Quarter Sessions Salisbury[27]

Additional Prisoners

Limited Time

‘George Trowbridge, 33, Committed by J H Jacob, Clerk, for six months, having been convicted of a offence on the Game Laws. Warrant dated April 25, 1808.’

The above warrant offence is referred to in more detail in his second offence at the assizes in 1813, see next section where the actual date of the offence, ‘deer killing’, is stated as being 6th Nov 1807. Also of interest is another case under the felony listed in this quarter session calendar, i.e.

‘Stephen Saunders, 51, Committed by J H Jacob, clerk, charged with feloniously killing a fallow deer in the unenclosed part of Cranborne Chase, without the consent of the owner, he having been convicted of a former offence against the deer acts, Warrant dated April 25, 1808. Committed for the Assizes’

 It seems likely that Saunders may have been involved with George but since this was his second offence he was sent to the assize court where he was acquitted. George was not so lucky on his second offence in 1813.

Poaching 1813

 Transcription of ASSI 25/10/6

Notes

Where a word was impossible to decipher then there has been inserted ****.
A word of obscure meaning is underlined.
After preamble the text first refers to the earlier and similar offence dealt by the Quarter Sessions in 1807.

Indictment 1813 Summer Assize at Salisbury[28]

 Wilts Be it Remembered that at the Assizes and General Session of Oyer Terminer of our Lord the King holden at New Sarum in and for the County of Wilts on Saturday the thirty first day of July in the fifty third year[29] of  the reign of our Sovereign Lord George the Third by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland King Defender of the Faith  Before Sir Robert Graham Knight on of the Barons of our Lord the King of his Court of Exchequer Sir Vicary Gibbs Knight one of the Justices of our Lord the King of his Court of Common Pleas and others their Fellow Justices of our said Lord the King assigned by letters patent of our said Lord the King under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to them the said Sir Robert Graham Sir Vicary Gibbs and others their Fellow Justices of our said Lord the King and to any two or more of them directed (of whom one of them the said Sir Robert Graham and Sir Vicary Gibbs or of others in the said Letters of patent  named our said Lord the King willed to be one) to enquire more fully the truth by the Oath of good and lawful men of the Count aforesaid and by other ways means and methods by which they should or might better know (as well within Liberties as without) by whom the truth of the matter might be better known and enquired into of all Treasons Misprisions  of Treason Insurrections Rebellions Counterfeitings Clippings Washing of false Coinings and other falsities of the money of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and other Kingdoms or Dominions whatsoever and of all Murders Felonies Manslaughters and Killings Burglaries Rapes of Women unlawful meetings  and Conventicles unlawful uttering of words assemblies Misprisions Confederacies False Allegations Trespasses Riots Routs Retensions Escapes Contempts Falsities Negligencies Concealments Maintainances oppressions  champarties Deceits and all other evil doings offences and Injuries whatsoever and also the accessaries of them within the County aforesaid (as well within Liberties as without) by whomsoever and in what manner soever done committed  or perpetrated and by whom or to whom when how and after what manner and of all other articles and circumstances concerning the premises and every of them or any of them in any manner whatsoever and the said Treasons and other the premises according to the Laws and customs of England for this time to hear and determine by the Oath of Richard Long Esqire Paul Methuen Esquire Sir Eyre Coote Knight of the Bath Thomas Grimston Estcoint Esquire John Bennett Esquire John Hungerford Penriddock Esquire Aylmer Bourke Lambert Esquire John Hussey Esquire Wadham Locke Esquire John Gale Everett Esquire George Eyre Esquire  William Bird Brodie Esquire Alexander Powell Esquire Thomas Grove Esquire Daniel Compton Esquire Thomas Tugwall Esquire William Harding Esquire Ambrose Awdry Esquire Edward Horlock Mortimer Esquire Edward Slade Esquire John Garrett Esquire and Charles Timbrell good and lawful men of the said County of Wilts then and there sworn and charge to enquire for our Sovereign Lord the King for the body of the said County It is presented in manner and form following (that is to say) “ Wilts to wit the Jurors for our Lord the King upon their Oath present that heretofor “to wit on 25 April in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eight one George Trowbridge was duly convicted before John Henry Jacob Clerk then being one of His Majesties Justices of the peace in and for the said County of  Wilts upon information and complaint of Bernard Harrington of Pentridge in the county of Dorset Yeoman who prosecuted as well for our Sovereign Lord the King as for himself in that behalf and upon the oath of Joseph Gulliver late of Bower Chalke in the said county of Wilts labourer a credible witness in pursuance of an Act of Parliament passed in the 42^nd year[30] of the reign of his present majesty King George III entitled “An act more effectively to prevent the stealing of deer” For that he  the said George Trowbridge on the sixth day of November then last past[31] at the parish of Bower Chalke in the county of Wilts aforesaid within a certain ancient walk called Cobley[32]   Walk in Cranbourne Chase in the unenclosed part of the said walk and chase did wilfully kill one fallow deer without the consent of the Right Honourable Lord Rivers the owner of the said Deer and without being otherwise duly authorised so to do where upon the said Justice adjudged that the said George Trowbridge had forfeited the penalty of Fifty Pounds and the sum of Ten Shillings and Sixpence for the charges incident to that conviction to be levied and distributed as the statute in that behalf directed as by the said conviction duly filed and kept amongst the Records of the quarter sessions of the said county of Wilts more fully appears which said conviction still remains in full force in no wise reversed set aside quashed or Discharged And the Jurors[33] aforesaid upon their oath aforesaid  further present ****[34] that the said George Trowbridge late of Ebbesbourne Wake[35] in the said county of Wilts  labourer after he was so convicted of the said offence as aforesaid, to wit on the first day of June, in 53^rd year [36]of the reign of our Sovereign Lord George the Third by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King Defender of Faith, with force and arms at Alvediston in the county of Wilts aforesaid in the unenclosed part of a certain Chase called Cranbourne Chase did wilfully and feloniously kill a certain Fallow Deer of the said George Lord Rivers of the price of Twenty Shillings then and there being in the right unenclosed part of the said Chase without the consent of the said George Lord Rivers the owner of the said last mentioned Deer  and without being otherwise duly authorised against the form of the Statute in such case made and provided and against the peace of our said Lord the King his Crown and Dignity And the Jurors aforesaid upon their oath aforesaid further present that the said George Trowbridge after he was so convicted as aforesaid, to wit, on the said first day of June in the 53^rd year aforesaid with force and arms at Alvediston aforesaid in the county of Wilts aforesaid in the inenclosed part of the said Chase called Cranbourne Chase one other fallow Deer of the said George Lord Rivers of the price of 20 Shillings then and there being in the unenclosed part of the said Chase without the consent of the said George Lord Rivers the owner of the said last mentioned Deer and without being otherwise duly authorised wilfully and feloniously did carry away against the form of the Statute in such case made and provided and against the peace of our said Lord King his Crown and Dignity Whereupon the Sheriff of the said County is commanded that he omit not by reason of any Liberty in his Bailiwick but that he enter therein and take the said George Trowbridge if he may be found in his Bailiwick and him safely keep to answer to our said Lord the King concerning the said Felony whereof he stands indicted as aforesaid which said Indictment the said Justices of our said Lord the King above named afterwards, to wit, At the Delivery of the Gaol of our said Lord the King of the said County of Wilts holden at New Sarum aforesaid in and for the said County on the said Saturday the thirty first day of July in the said fifty third year of the reign of our said Lord the King before the said Justices of our Lord the King above named and others their Fellows Justices of our said Lord the King assigned to deliver the said Gaol of the prisoners therein being by their own proper hands do deliver here in Court of Record  in due force of law to be determines and afterwards, to wit, At the same delivery of the Gaol of our said Lord the King of the said County of Wilts holden at New Sarum aforesaid in for the said County on the said Saturday the thirty first day of July in the said fifty third year of the reign of our said Lord King before the said Justices of our said Lord the King above named and others their Fellows aforesaid here cometh the said George Trowbridge under the custody of William Fowle Esquire Sheriff of the said Count of Wilts (in whose custody in the said gaol of our said Lord the King of the said County for the cause aforesaid he had been before committed) being brought to the Bar here in his proper person by the said Sheriff to whom he is here also committed and forthwith being demanded concerning the felony in the indictment above specified and charged on him how he will acquit himself thereof the said George Trowbridge Saith he is not Guilty thereof and thereof for good and ill he puts himself upon the Country and Thomas Chambre Esquire clerk of the Assizes and clerk of the Crown for the said County of Wilts who prosecuteth for our said Lord the King in his behalf doth the like Therefore Let a Jury thereupon immediately come before the said Justices of our said Lord the King above named and others their fellows aforesaid here by whom the truth of the matter may be better known and who have no affinity to the said George Trowbridge to recognise upon their Oath whether the said George Trowbridge be guuily of the felony in the indictment aforesaid specified and charged on him or not because as well the said Thomas Chambre who prosecuteth for our said Lord the King in his behalf as the said George Trowbridge have put themselves upon that Jury and the Jurors of the said Jury by the said Sheriff for this purpose impanelled and returned, to wit, John Spencer James Guley James Harding Thomas ****  Sartain  John Smith Thomas Mizen James Wilkins Edward Eatwell Thomas Bodman Henry Druett Ezuile Hudd and James Cottle being called come who being chosen tried and sworn to speak the truth of and concerning the premises in the said Indictment contained say upon their Oath that the said George Trowbridge is Guilty of the Felony aforesaid in the said Indictment charged on him in manner and form as by the said indictments is alleged and that the said George Trowbridge at the time of committing the said Felony or at any time since to this time had not any Goods or Chattels Lands or Tenements in the said County of Wilts or elsewhere to the knowledge of the said Jurors and hereupon it is forthwith demanded of the said George Trowbridge if he hath or knoweth anything  to say for himself why the Court now here ought not upon the Verdict aforesaid to proceed to Judgement and Execution against him Upon which the said George Trowbridge prays the benefit of the Statute in such Case made and provided to be  allowed to him  in his behalf and it is granted to him[37]      

Whereupon all and singular  the premises being seen and by the said Justices and Court now fully understood It is Ordered and Adjudged by the said Court now here that the said George Trowbridge be Transported beyond the Seas for and during the Term of Seven Years persuant to the Statute in that case made and provided.

                                                                                           Chambre[38]

   Back to top

 Map of the area

 

Map 1 : Wiltshire Chalkes and Cranbourne Chase

Environs of Alvediston, Ebbesbourne Wake and Bowerchalke are shown.
The place where the first deer was killed in 1807 is near Cobley (below Woodminton).
The second deer offence in 1813 was is in the Cranbourne Chase south of Alvedistion.

  Back to top

  Convict 1913 to 1820

After his conviction George was ordered for transportation. His name in the Gaol Transportation book[39] was bracketed with John Rose[40] who had also been sentenced to seven years. John he was 25 and came from ‘Trowbridge’ where he had been accused of stealing some clothes. The local paper, The Salisbury and Winchester Journal gives a brief report of the Assizes, the crime and sentence only[41]. The Sheriff’s Accounts for 1813 states that they were held in Fisherton Anger Jail from August 3 to Oct 15 at a cost of £1 5s 7d each[42]. They both appear adjacent on the list of convicts sent to the prison Hulk ‘Portland’ where they spent the next eight months[43]. According to the Master (Captain Mears) victualing accounts they arrived on October 15 1813 and remained on board until March 31, 1814[44]. During this period George spent 5 days in the hospital (Jan 1, 1814), not from excessive New Year’s Eve celebration one suspects. George and John Rose were probably chained together as they appear, also bracketed, in the Ships Indent[45]. They were finally put on the Convict transport ship ‘Somersetshire’[46] and sailed from Spithead on the 10th May. This vessel was probably well managed by its Master (Alex Scott). Only one convict was lost out of the 200 on board (all male) on the voyage, which took 159 days. The Indent gives the following particulars

 

Name	Where Convicted	When	Term	Native Place	Calling	Age	height	complexion	hair	eyes
George Trowbridge	Wilts Assizes	31 July 1813	Seven Years	Wilts	Labourer	38	5/9½	fair-pale	dark brown	hazel
John Rose	do	do	do	do	do	28	5/10½	fair-ruddy	brown	do

Table 5 : Convict Indent of the ‘Somersetshire’

John and George were now separated with John Rose being one of a group of 99 sent to Windsor, Liverpool and Parramatta, he later prospered and founded an Australian dynasty with many descendants alive to day. I am grateful to his ggg-granddaughter Mrs Coralie Hird, who has been helping me with the Australian end of this research, for this information. George appears to been kept in Port Jackson (Sydney) for a year before being sent as one of a group of mechanics and labourers to Port Dalrymple on the north coast of Van Diemans Land (Tasmania). In the index of the papers for NSW Colonial Secretary[47] the following entry appears

Trowbridge, George. Per “Somersetshire”, 1814, harness maker
1815, Oct 30.        On list of mechanics and labourers to be embarked on the “Emu” for the service of the Government at Port Dalrymple (Reel 6004, 4/3494 pp. 253, 258)

The reel confirms this plus a covering letter from the Secretary to the Commander of the “Emu”. He next appears on the NSW Convict Muster for 1817[48] and again on the muster for 1820[49] where it states that his still in VDL. Our next view of him is on the 1821[50] muster which is the ‘nominal and alphabetical return of Male convicts and those that have been such but now free who were in NSW in 1821’. The form has this entry

		Date of Ship		Trial		Period for which Transported		How disposed of	Whether still residing in the Colony
Names	Arrival date	Ship	Master	Where	When
Trowbridge George	Oct 1814	Somersetshire	Scott	Salisbury	Aug 1813	7 Years	Expired 1820	Landholder	Yes

Table 6 : Muster for NSW 1821

Thus we conclude that George successfully served his time and was then allocated a small land grant (Possibly ~30 Acres, as was the custom for emancipated convicts). His name does not appear in the 1828 census for NSW. However the administration of Van Diemans Land separated from NSW in 1825 and was not included in that Census.

  Back to top

   After 1821

The next information came from the Tasmanian Archives Office in Hobart. In response to my request for information on any records referring to a George Trowbridge in VDL the following new facts emerged[51]^.

a.       George Trowbridge received a land grant from Governor Macquarie in 1821 at Patterson Plains. This is noted in document LSD1 /2[52] as follows

Launceston January 2nd 1837

To Capt. Boyd,

Respected Sir

I most respectfully beg the favour of your kindness to be pleased to oblige me with the Diagram of the Grant of Land to George Trowbridge of Paterson Plains[53] who sold the same to one Thomas Prosser and who is now most anxious to apply for a Title[54] for the same from the governor ¾ I have to inform you that a short time back I wrote to you upon this subject but received no answer Therefore I could but conceive it could not have come safe to your hands ¾  I therefore beg as a great favour you will oblige me with the same as early as possible.

Your most respected Sir

Your obedient Servant

J B Clark

NB Sir

This grant was given to Trowbridge by the late Governor Macquarie[55] in about the year 1821. You were once pleased when at Launceston to show me the ms of the grant but at that time I did not want the Diagram.

Your Obed. Serv.

JBC

It is clear that this letter refers back to earlier events.

b.      Of great interest also are the following two entries from surveys carried out in VDL on the status of children in the colony. These records are found in CSO1/119[56]. The first extract is dated 1826 as it is preceded by a letter from the Police Office in Launceston which reads:

 

Police Office Launceston

10 April 1826

 

                  Sir,

                                                      I have the honour to enclose herewith

Return of Children whose parents or guardians wish them to be admitted in an Orphan School.

                                    I have the honour to be

                                    Sir,

                                                Your most obedient,

                                                Humble Servant,

                                                           

                                                Captain Montagu

 

but the collected data may refer to 1825 or earlier, it is listed as page 35. The listings are grouped under districts and the children are classified as follows

 

Class	Description
1	Implies children entirely destitute
2	Those being in danger of vice from the example of their parents
3	Those requiring aid from distress, or from being of large families and their parents unable to support them

Table 7 : Classes of Destitute Children

The details relating to George and possibly his neighbours for the district of Breadalbane[57] are on page 34 as follows:

     

Parents or Guardians Names	Description	Children’s Names	Age	Class
William Windsor	Free	Hanna	7	2
		Elizabeth	6	2
		James	3	2
		Catherine	8m	2
Thomas Prosser[58]	Free	Margaret	7[59]	3
Sarah Hopkins	Free	Sarah	7	3
George Trowbridge	Free	John	4	3
Thomas Webb	Free	Mary Anne	2	3

Table 8 : Children at risk at Breadalbane, VD

The above record suggests  that George had indeed formed a new liaison in Tasmania and had a son named John, born sometime before 1821. The Tasmanian  ‘Pioneers Index’[60] of births marriages and deaths lists several individuals with the ‘Trowbridge’ name see the next section. The second extract from CSO1 /119 refer to 1828 but again the data maybe earlier. The extract for the district of Breadalbane is on page 64 and is entitled, “Females having both parents living but in distress”.

 

Table 9 : Females Children at risk at Breadalbane, VDL

The table only refers to females and it is impossible to be sure of the family groupings by 1828 but one can speculate that George, by then, was not supporting Mary or indeed John. Further evidence that John was the son of George was found in the record of a Bulk Registration of Births and  Baptism made by Thomas and Sarah Webb in the parish of Norfolk Plains, Tasmania[1] in 1834 in which the following entries occur:

No 186: January 5th , 1822: John, Parents George Trowbridge & Sarah Hopkins, South Esk, Labourer

No 187: March 10th , 1824: Mary, Parents Thomas & Sarah Webb, South Esk, Farmer

 It seems likely that Thomas Webb  had taken over the young family and was now living with the mother of George’s children. We know that some time before 1835 George had sold his landholding to Thomas Prosser who himself had care of destitute children. It is difficult to avoid the depressing conclusion that George’s parlous condition in Wiltshire was repeating itself in Tasmania . John’s mother Sarah was in fact one of the convict women listed in the book by Philip Tardiff, ‘Notorious Strumpets and Dangerous Girls’ (NSDG) [2] in which her history has been pieced together by an exhaustive study of the relevant records. She was born Sarah Smith  in Surrey(~1800) and was convicted of Larceny at Surrey Quarter Session on 13 January 1818 and sentenced to be transported for 7 years. She had arrived at George Town in 1819, where she married Joseph Hopkins  [3] at Launceston. Her husband who was a free man died by drowning in 1820. There is a bald reference to George Trowbridge in NSDG in the section on Sarah Smith  which states:

 

1823: 7 April G Trowbridge. Being drunk, fined 5 shillings.

 

From this it appears that Sarah was fined[4] whilst under the ‘care’ of George, the destitute children’s records and the later bulk birth registration would imply that she may have been assigned to George as a servant and became his common law wife.  Clearly the relationship did not last as by the time of the bulk registration Sarah was with Thomas Webb and perhaps by 1824 as Mary had even by then taken on the surname Webb. Sarah in fact married Thomas Webb  in 1836[5]. The ultimate fate of George is still unknown that he lived until 1824 is certain but beyond that we have no evidence.

Map 2 : Northern Tasmania

Map of Northern Tasmania showing the position of George Town (formerly Port Dalrymple), St Leonards (formerly Patterson Plains) and  Breadalbane

Back to top