Thomas Clarkson - Convict - A LONG WAY
FROM HOME
Link to Parish of Bedworth Map and Image of the
Clarkson Marriage Certificate
It was a busy morning that 26th day of March, when
the London judges of
the Midland Circuit opened the Assizes in Warwickshire. Appearing
before Judge Chambre and his colleagues was the usual stream of
prisoners, gathered to answer the various charges brought against them
and to be sentenced accordingly.
Among hose committed for trial that day was one
Thomas Clarkson, arrested and charged with circulating a counterfeit
£1 Bank of England note, (the official term was "uttering" the
note,). Along with Thomas was Richard Clarkson, (relationship to Thomas
unstated), charged with a similar offence. With them was John Mills,
for having in his possession some forged Bank of England notes and
William Henshall and Thomas Ashford for making and counterfeiting
silver dollars. These five men joined the throng of felons doomed to be
sentenced that day.
The proceedings were reported on in the Aris'
Gazette of the 1 April 1805 and it listed the above persons, together
with many others, who heard their fates announced that day, (1)
The similarity of the crimes of these five men has
caused us to wonder whether the five men were engaged in a money making
venture together and not just "lone offenders' . Attempts to prove the
connection have been thwarted by the fact that the transcripts of the
trials of the Midland Circuit were destroyed by a clerk in the 19th
Century. An account of this trial would have made interesting reading
and added much to our background on Thomas Clarkson but its loss leaves
us only to speculate on the events which led to his passing the forged
note. We do know that they all appeared that same day and were
sentenced to transportation to NSW and that the five men found
themselves together once again, some months later, when they appeared
together on the indent of the same ship, the "Alexander", Thomas and
Richard for 14 years; John Mills similarly and William Henshall and
Thomas Ashford for 7 years apiece. (2)
They were to join the steady stream of souls already
leaving England's shores by the boatloads, bound for the new penal
colony.
Petty crime in England had reached almost epidemic
proportions at this time, and the authorities were at a loss to control
or even deal with it effectively. Even the severity of the sentences
did nothing to deter the crime rate. This was made even worse by the
changed social conditions brought about by the Industrial Revolution.
People flocked to the cities looking for work in the factories, moving
away from their farms to work at machines or in mines. They crowded
together in dingy tenements and toiled long hours. All this just added
to their poverty and hardship,
Regularly the courts filled to capacity and
regularly harsh sentences
were dealt out to these unfortunates. As a result the gaols became
hopelessly overcrowded. When England lost control of the American
Colonies in 1783, she had nowhere to send her "overflow" from her
gaols, so those doomed for banishment wound up on the shores of a new
penal colony in NSW.
England was also facing many external problems at
this time,
particularly with her French neighbours. At the very time of Thomas
Clarkson's misfortune, England was actively engaged in the Battle of
Trafalgar. In fact that very year, 1805, when Thomas' destiny was
altered, news reached England of the death of her hero, Lord Nelson, on
board his ship "Victory".
The same issue of the Aris' Gazette carried another
item of interest.
Under a heading "Bankrupts to Surrender" we find Thomas Clarkson listed
again. (3)
Thomas Clarkson, late of Kingsbury, (but now a prisoner in the Warwick
gaol) April 24, 25, and May 11 at the Warwick Arms, Warwick, Solicitor,
Mr Whateley, Birmingham.
None of the other men were mentioned here. Perhaps
this was the reason
for his need for forged money.
The Birmingham Library provided the following
background to the report;
"Warwick gaol was the prison in the
town of Warwick, the county town.
Prisoners awaiting trial at Warwick Assizes would have been held there
as well as convicted prisoners. The Warwick Arms would have been a
public house" (4)
The Warwickshire County Records Office provided the
following
information; "Thomas would have been
required to surrender his account
books etc. on 24 or 25 April or on May 11 next at the Warwick Arms
hotel in the High Street in Warwick, his solicitor being Mr Whateley of
Birmingham. Warwick Gaol was at this time in Northgate Street, about 5
minutes walk from the Warwick Arms". (5)
Thomas' fate was not his alone to suffer. It was
shared with a wife and
young family.
Ten years previously, in the parish of Bedworth, in
Warwick, Thomas
Clarkson of Kingsbury, had married Catherine Rayson, the daughter of
Thomas Rayson and Sarah Bennett. (6)
Thomas
Clarkson of the parish of Kingsbury and Catherine Rayson of this
parish (Bedworth) were married in this church by licence this
eighteenth day of August in the year one thousand seven hundred and
ninety four. By me Jos. Twigger Curate.
This marriage was solemnized between
us
Thomas Clarkson
Catherine Rayson
In the presence of:
John Rayson, X (his mark) and Mary
Turner
The couple returned to Kingsbury to establish a home and begin the
rearing of their family. The baptisms of their children appear in the
Kingsbury Parish Registers indicating they were resident in Kingsbury
for those years.(7)
Catherine
bapt 29 May 1798
John
bapt 2 December 1799
Mountford born 6
June 1802, buried
18 Nov 1802
Hannah
bapt 18 November 1802
Sarah
born 23 February 1804 (8)
The fate of Hannah Clarkson is unknown ---- she disappears from our
records here.
Page last updated - 7 July
2006