Australian outlaw Ned Kelly's Tipperary father features in new online collection

The father of Australia's most famous outlaw, Tipperary's Ned Kelly features in a new online collection of famous Australian convicts who had been transported from their Irish homelands for crimes committed at home.

Ancestry, the global leader in family history and consumer genomics, has over 140 years of historic records from the Australian convict collection available online. 

Research undertaken to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Captain Cook leaving the United Kingdom to discover Australia reveals some of the stories of those who followed in the years after. A selection of the convict records can be found here. 

The records detail the convict's name, their town of origin in Ireland, the crime they have been convicted of and the sentence they received. Some records also mention the ship they were transported to Australia on and the length of the sentence they served. 

According to the National Museum of Australia, between 1788 and 1921 about half a million Irish people are believed to have been transported to Australia. This is 12% of all transported convicts to the country. Today, Australia is the most Irish country in the world outside Ireland.*

Joe Buggy spokesperson for Ancestry.ie said:

"Many Irish took the same journey as Captain James Cook when they were transported to Australia for crimes committed at home. This led to families becoming separated and many starting a new life in the new country. The Australian Convicts Collection allows families to answer some of the unanswered questions about how and why their relatives ended up in Australia. 

"Now it is possible to search for a name or county and have the results shown on the Ancestry database. Family history has never been easier."

Accounts of several interesting cases appear in the records, including:

Father of Australia's most famous outlaw 

John 'Red' Kelly was born on the 20th February 1820 in County Tipperary. John was single and worked as a labourer in his native county. In 1841 at the age of just 21 he was convicted of stealing a pig. For his crimes he was sentenced to Australia and on the 7th August 1841 he set sail on the Prince Regent. He arrived in Van Diemen's Land and Norfolk Island (later known as Tasmania) on the 2nd January 1842. 

John remained in Australia upon his release and went on to father one of the country's most famous outlaws, Ned Kelly. John 'Red' Kelly died on 27th December 1866. 

Murder in County Cork

Timothy Coleman from County Cork was a married tailor with four children when he was convicted of murder in 1839. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in July 1839. He was sent to Australia on board the ship Nautilus which arrived in New South Wales on 9th February 1840. In his arrival documents he was described having "front upper teeth prominent, scar back of left ear, breast and arm freckled, left foot much smaller than right, left leg short". 

Shoplifting sisters

Ellen Howard, born in 1815, and her younger sister Rose Connolly, nee. Howard, born in 1818, were both from County Dublin. Ellen worked as a child's maid while Rose was married and worked as a house maid. Both women worked in Dublin although it is unsure if they worked for the same family. 

Both women were convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison for shoplifting. Rose was convicted of the crime in Dublin City on 24th January 1840, while Ellen was convicted just two months later on 2nd March 1840. Both women had previous convictions and had each served three months in prison for unknown crimes. 

Rose and Ellen set sail to New South Wales on the ship the Margaret. In their documents Ellen is described as ruddy and freckled "had dark brown hair. Mark of burn on lower part of left side of her cheek. Nail of forefinger of left hand disfigured". Rose is described as "sallow and pockpitted. Has brown hair. Mark of a burn on her left hand. Two scars on the back of her left thumb". 
Ellen was issued a Certificate of Release on 12th April 1847 while Rose was issued her release on 3rd July 1847. 

Potato theft in Fermanagh

Born in 1804, Alexander Humphreys was a labourer from County Fermanagh. He is described as "fair, ruddy and freckled. Had brown hair. Breasts and arms hairy. Scar on his left arm". On 1st January 1840 he was convicted of stealing potatoes and sentenced to seven years in prison. He had no prior convictions. This sentence was upgraded and he was soon sent to New South Wales on the ship the King William. He arrived in Australia on 17th August 1840. Alexander was sent alone leaving his wife and five children behind. His Certificate of Release was issued on 4th January 1847. 

Young woman sentenced for shoe theft

Bridget Feeny was born in County Roscommon in 1821. At the age of 18 she was working as a kitchen maid in County Westmeath. On 4th March 1839 she was convicted and sentenced to seven years in Australia for the crime of stealing shoes. Her convict and transportation documents describe her as "ruddy, freckled and slightly pockpitted. Had light sandy brown hair. Scar on her nose and two moles on her throat". She was sent to New South Wales on the ship Isabella which arrived on 24th July 1840. Her Certificate of release was issued on 27th September 1847. 

Father of three sentenced for perjury

Matthew Brady was born in County Monaghan in 1805. He was a painter, glazier and soldier. He was a married father of three. Matthew had previously spent four months in prison when he was convicted of perjury in Dublin City on 15th February 1840. He was sentenced to seven years in Australia and left for New South Wales on the ship the King William arriving on the 17th August 1940. His papers describe him as "ruddy and freckled. Has brown hair. Has horizontal scar on his forehead". In 1845 he was issued with a ticket of leave which allowed him to leave prison and relocate to Parramatta under certain restrictions. 

The collection also provides information of residents when their sentence was complete and they were released, with many of the new inhabitants of the country continuing their life of crime. A selection of the Australian crime records can be found here. 

It was common for convicts, once their sentence had been served, to request their family be brought to join them in Australia. Wives and children were transported to Australia at the government's expense. These records also include female convicts whose children were transported with them. A selection of wives and children records can be found here. 

On 26th August 1768 Captain James Cook set off on his expedition from the United Kingdom on board his ship HMS Endeavour. The following year on 23rd April 1769 he made his first recorded observation of Australia. 

The Australian Convict Collection includes indexed images extracts. This collection and all of Ancestry's 20 billion records are available on www.ancestry.ie.