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"Along Those Lines"
3/4/2003 - Archive
In Our Ancestors' Debt
Many criminal offenses in previous centuries could be punished with cruel sentences,
ranging from public floggings to an appointment with the hangman, and even to
a meeting with an executioner with an axe, if you were a 'special' prisoner.
During the 17th Century, a more humane method of punishment was sought, and
'transportation' to a distant wilderness environment seemed an ideal solution.
Thus, transportation began from the British Isles to the American colonies.
Both Georgia and Maryland were primary transportation destinations, but other
places were used as well. France, too, sentenced its criminals to transportation
to the Louisiana Territory and elsewhere in its domain.
The British used debtors' colonies and criminal settlements for those condemned
to a term of penal servitude or for life. The outbreak of the American Revolution
called a halt to transportation of criminals and undesirables to the colonies.
While sentences of transportation were still passed by the courts, the convicts
were sent to prison. Before long, the prison overcrowding problem created dire
conditions. As a result, older ships, referred to as 'the hulks,' were fitted
to house criminals and a great many convicts were imprisoned in these floating
jails moored in coastal waters. The deplorable living conditions in both the
prisons and onboard the 'hulks' reached a crisis stage, with rampant disease
and escalating death tolls. The British government soon sought a new penal colony
as a solution. In 1787, what is referred to as the 'First Fleet' set sail from
England for Australia. A number of penal colony settlements developed over the
next seventy years. Transportation as a punishment was effectively stopped in
1857, although it was not formally abolished until 1868.
It is possible that some of your own ancestors may have been criminals, particularly
debtors, and their passage to the New World may have been subsidized by the
Crown. But don't despair. It happens even in the best of families and in this
week's "Along Those Lines . . ." column we'll discuss some places to search
for records of these debtor ancestors.
Searching in the Old Country
Those persons in the 1600s and 1700s who could not pay their bills were often
taken to court. Then, as now, the courts imposed judgment and charged the defendant
with paying his or her bills and/or sentenced them to some kind of penalty.
Sometimes the individual was forced to work off his or her debt. In some cases,
the person's property was seized and sold to pay the debts. In the more chronic
cases, the offender was sentenced to a term of prison and/or servitude. The
ultimate goals were to have the person satisfy their debts and to prevent the
person from becoming a public charge.
Court records in England, for example, many cases relating to questions of property
and debts came before the courts of common law. This was a natural combination
because the satisfaction of debts owed could often be handled by the transfer,
auction, liquidation, lien, or other such action against a person's property.
In other cases, the cases came to the bankruptcy courts.
Sherry Irvine, CGRS, FGS (Scot), has written excellent articles here at Ancestry.com
on the subject, which can provide even more insight into the topic of transportation
records.
"Saving Their Necks: The Origins of Transportation to America"
and "Looking for Records of Transportation to America Before 1776"
discuss the records, where to look, and some references for additional reading.
Criminal records may exist that point you toward the ship used for transportation
to the colonies, the departure date, and the scheduled destination.
In addition, public notices may well have been published in the London Gazette
and in other newspapers. These may exist on microfilm and may have been indexed,
providing yet another avenue for your research.
Debtors' Records in the Colonies
A debtor or criminal sentenced to transportation to the colonies, on his or
her arrival, would have been remanded to the custody of the governor. There
are records among some of the colonial governments' documents in state archives
which relate to the receipt of such prisoners, even including copies of their
warrants concerning the term of servitude, subsequent rosters, and occasionally
even discharge papers. Documents with details about imprisonment in the colonies
often still exist, as do rolls of prisoners and the expenditures made on them.
All of these documents are another step in the research path to tracing your
ancestor forward or backward in time. A state archives is an excellent starting
place for your research, as are local and county libraries and academic library
collections. Don't overlook the historical and genealogical societies' records
and publications for clues to help locate these materials.
More Recent Records
Not a great deal has changed over the centuries. People still become insolvent
and bankrupt, but the penalties imposed are much less severe now than 300-400
years ago. For information on bankruptcy records which are available through
the National Archives and Records Administration ( NARA
), see the Ancestry Magazine article:
"To Whom I Am Indebted: Family History in Bankruptcy Files," by Loretto Dennis
Szucs.
Some of the records you might want to search in U.S. courthouses might include:
--- Civil court records
--- Sheriff's records for arrest, seizure of property, and auction of personal
property
--- Land and property records dealing with liens, title transfers, and court
judgment awards
Since laws and court processes can vary by state and time period, it is wise
to invest some time understanding the history and jurisdictions of the court
systems where your ancestors lived. My article, Seeking Your Ancestor's Court
Records,"
provides a primer to help you begin your research.
Most county courthouses have websites to help you determine what might be available
there. The National Association of Counties (NACo) has an
About Counties page
with a clickable map, which takes you to lists of all county courthouse Web
pages for each state.
If you are looking for websites for state libraries, where older state court
materials may reside, Library Spot has a complete collection of these sites.
If you also are looking for a state's archives website, try using your favorite
search engine and type the following, prefaced with the spelled-out name of
the state.
"state archives"
Public and academic libraries may have additional information in their collection
that can provide clues or pointers to other public records, and these might
include:
--- Microfilmed newspaper archives (public notices posted in the papers, court
reports, and stories concerning bankruptcies, property seizures, and auction
announcements)
--- Published abstracts and extracts from court hearings
--- Books on persons in indentured servitude in America
Summary
It may not always present a pretty picture of your ancestor, if you learn that
he or she was financially insolvent. However, the records left behind may provide
a traceable path to help locate more information about them. These records of
our debtor ancestors may, indeed, place us in their debt.
Happy hunting!
George
George G. Morgan is the president of Tampa-based Aha! Seminars, Inc., which
is engaged in continuing education for libraries across Florida and the Southeast.
He also is an internationally recognized genealogist. He is the author of three
online columns, two books, two compilations, and magazine and journal articles
published in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. He is a frequent speaker at genealogical
societies, at genealogy conferences, and is the Program Chair for the 2003 Federation
of Genealogical Societies Conference to be held in Orlando, Florida, in September
next year.
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