Establishing which Hulk William Carbis was incarcerated on

William Carbis was transported to Australia in 1816, he was convicted as part of a trio, with his son William Carbis and son-in-law Francis Bassett his.[i]

After having their sentences commuted from death to “Life in NSW” Australia the trio spent many months living on a Hulk before being shipped out on the “Ocean”.[ii]  Finding the details of the Hulk and where they were held proved challenging.  A search on Ancestry in the “Prison Hulk Registers and Letter Books, 1802-1849” brought up 5 results:-

Figure 1 - Search results see below for image credits

At a preliminary glance, it appears there are two father-son duos incarcerated one on the Perseus and the other on the Portland.

Theoretically the results should provide 2 results for each person as outlined below:-

1. An entry in the Prison Hulk Index Books, that lists the page in the Hulk registers that where a prisoner can be found
2. The page for a prisoner’s entry in the Hulk Books

Obviously this was not what the case for results found in the above search.  As I was looking for a father-son pair I focused on the first four records.

On examination the only index entries listed in the above search were for the “Portland”, the other referred to a register page for the "Coromandel; Perseus; Laurel”. Both entries for the “Portland”,  pointed to the index book entry for the Carbis father & son pair on page 5 listing Wm Carbis Senr & Wm Carbis Jun?r page 80.[iii]  There is also an entry for Francis Bassett page 79 on the previous page.[iv]  All three accounted for.

In contrast the link for “Coromandel; Perseus; Laurel” took me to an image of the Hulk Register with a “breadcrumb trail”[v] above which read “Perseus > Index>  1801-1836”,

indicating that this page was part of the Perseus Register, page 80. It seemed incredible that both the “Portland” and the “Perseus” listed a William Carbis on page 80.

To establish that the “Perseus” register page was actually a page from the “Portland” register I scrolled back from the page to find the first page of the Register containing page 80 the page I found was the first page of the “Portland’s” Register an excerpt of which can be seen below.[vi]

Figure 2 Excerpt from the first page of the Portland Hulk Register see below for image credits

There was no break in the numbering sequence, as I went backwards so I felt it was reasonable to assume that the “page 80 “ belonged to the “Portland” rather than the “Perseus” register. 

To further confirm my conclusion I went on the hunt for other collaborating records. On FindMyPast I found a different set of records for the Portland – “Portland's Quarterly Account for year 1814-1816” the first page of which read “Report of the Convicts under Sentence of transportation removed from sundry Gaols by command of his Majesty on Board the Portland Hulk Langston Harbour commencing 1^st January 1802” This “Portland's Quarterly Account for year 1814-1816” presents its accounts in summarised 3 monthly increments from 1814 to 1816, “records from the accounts held by the Treasury Department ... and detail what provisions, bedding and clothing had been provided for them.”[vii]

Figure 3 First page of the “Portland” Third quarter accounts 1815 for image citation see below

The transcribed entry[viii]

No. On S.B	Entry	Name	Discharge	No. Of Days Victualled	Clothing	Bedding
2548	unable to read	William Carbis Snr	Aug 22	53	-	-
2549	unable to read	William Carbis Jnr	Aug 22	53	-	-
2550	unable to read	Francis Bassett	Aug 22	53	-	-

Conclusion

My conclusion is that my fellows were held on the “Portland” Hulk not the “Perseus”, for 53 days at least between  1^st July 1815 until 22^nd August 1815 which is the period covered by these accounts. At this stage I am unable to confirm when they boarded the “Portland” as I have not been able to locate them in the account books in the preceding quarter which may also include a record of their victualled days.

Further research required:-

This “Portland's Quarterly Account for year 1814-1816” presents its accounts in summarised 3 monthly increments from 1814 to 1816. To find out when our trio boarded the “Portland” we really need to locate in the previous quarter “April to June” and also possibly the first quarter (January to March) of the year as they were sentenced on the 27^th March 1816. 

These records should be found in the same record set already consulted if “Portland's Quarterly Account for year 1814-1816” exists for these quarters. However not all the pages are easily readable as many are faded beyond recognition so the task ahead will be daunting if not impossible and will require painstaking patience and work.

Image Credits

Figure 1 - "Ancestry Library Edition". 2016.Search: UK, Prison Hulk Registers and Letter Books, 1802-1849 results for William Carbis Ancestrylibrary.Com. Accessed June 21 2016. Results 1-5 of 5

Figure 2 - Ancestry.com, "Prison Hulk Registers and Letter Books, 1802-1849," database and images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 Jun 2016); Entries of the first page of the Portland Hulk Register (p.19, Image 11 of 47); Citing Home Office: Convict Prison Hulks: Registers and Letter Books; Class: HO9; Piece: 8.

Figure 3 - Findmypast, "Convict England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment, 1770-1935" database and images, www.findmypast.com : accessed 21 Jun 2016); Cropped first page of the Portland's Quarterly Accounts for year 1 July 1815 - 30 September 1815,; citing "Portland's Quarterly Account for year 1814-1816" TNA Ref: T 38/310-338

Sources

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[i] "Cornwall Assizes," Royal Cornwall Gazette, Falmouth Packet & Plymouth Journal, 22 April 1815, p. 4, col. 1; digital images, British Library Newspapers (http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/ : accessed 21 Jun 2016), The British Newspaper Archive; Ancestry.com, "England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892," database and images, Ancestry.com (www.Ancestry.com : accessed 20 Jun 2016); 1815 Entries for  Wm Carbis, Wm Carbis Junr & Francis Bassett (Page 40, Line 2, 3 & 4, image 4 of 29); Original data: Home Office: Criminal Registers, Middlesex and Home Office: Criminal Registers, England and Wales . Class: HO 27; Piece: 11; Page: 40

[ii] Ancestry.com, "Prison Hulk Registers and Letter Books, 1802-1849," database and images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 Jun 2016); Entries in the Portland Hulk Register for William Carbis Snr, William Carbis Jnr & Francis Bassett (p.80 #2548, 2549 & 2550, Image 43 of 47); Citing Home Office: Convict Prison Hulks: Registers and Letter Books; Class: HO9; Piece:8; Findmypast, "Convict England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment, 1770-1935," database and images, www.findmypast.com : accessed 21 Jun 2016); entries for Wm Carbis Senr, Wm Carbis Junr & Francis Bassett; citing "Portland's Quarterly Account for year 1814-1816" Series T38 piece number 328.

[iiii Ancestry.com, "Prison Hulk Registers and Letter Books, 1802-1849," database and images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 Jun 2016); Index Book entries for Francis Bassett (p.4 col.1 Line 21, image 4 of 29); Citing Home Office: Convict Prison Hulks: Registers and Letter Books; Class: HO9; Piece: 8

[iv] Ancestry.com, "Prison Hulk Registers and Letter Books, 1802-1849," database and images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 Jun 2016); Index Book entries for William Carbis Snr & William Carbis Jnr  (p.5 col.3 Line 30 & 32, image 5 of 29); Citing Home Office: Convict Prison Hulks: Registers and Letter Books; Class: HO9; Piece: 8

[v] Webopedia.com. (2016). What is breadcrumb navigation? Webopedia Definition. [online] Available at: http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/B/breadcrumb_navigation.html [Accessed 8 May 2016]; Gube, J. (2009). Breadcrumbs In Web Design: Examples And Best Practices – Smashing Magazine. [online] Smashing Magazine. Available at: https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/03/breadcrumbs-in-web-design-examples-and-best-practices/ [Accessed 8 May 2016].

[vi] Ancestry.com, "Prison Hulk Registers and Letter Books, 1802-1849," database and images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 Jun 2016); Entries of the first page of the Portland Hulk Register (p.19, Image 11 of 47); Citing Home Office: Convict Prison Hulks: Registers and Letter Books; Class: HO9; Piece: 8.

[vii] Findmypast, "Convict England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment, 1770-1935" database and images, Findmypast (www.findmypast.com : accessed 21 Jun 2016); Portland's Quarterly Accounts for year 1 July 1815 - 30 September 1815, entries for Wm Carbis Senr, Wm Carbis Junr & Francis Bassett; citing "Portland's Quarterly Account for year 1814-1816" TNA Ref: T 38/310-338

[viii] Findmypast, "Convict England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment, 1770-1935" database and images, Findmypast (www.findmypast.com : accessed 21 Jun 2016); First page of the Portland's Quarterly Accounts for year 1 July 1815 - 30 September 1815,; citing "Portland's Quarterly Account for year 1814-1816" TNA Ref: T 38/310-338; Findmypast, "Convict England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment, 1770-1935" database and images, Findmypast (www.findmypast.com : accessed 21 Jun 2016); original data Description of Treasury: Departmental Accounts: Convict Hulks 1802-1831TNA Ref: T 38/310-338