Researchers who have claimed this convict
There are currently 4 researchers who have claimed Daniel Eldridge
- Researcher (Leonard Guest)
- Researcher (13100)
- Researcher (Melanie Gepp)
- Researcher (GRAEME ELDRIDGE)
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Biographies
On the 22 of June 1824, a servant hanging washing took notice of a group of boys loitering in a Streatham laneway. It was later discovered that of the items left to dry, four dresses and a silk handkerchief were missing. A description of the boys was circulated with Daniel Eldridge identified as having presented the items at two different Pawnbrokers. Daniel was apprehended a few days later, along James Davis, Diogenes Herring and George Goff.
At the Newington Surrey Session held on 19 of July 1824, the boys were found guilty of Larceny with Daniel, James and Diogenes all sentenced to seven years transportation. George was sentenced to twelve months imprisonment due to good character.
Following the delivery of the verdict, Daniel was held on Prison Hulks pending transportation to New South Wales. In the first instance, Daniel is recorded as being held on the Leviathan, however is later identified on the Captivity; both of which were moored at Portsmouth, England.
Whether it was the frustration of his incarceration or perhaps a glimpse of his character prior to his conviction, it is noted across multiple registers that as a prisoner, Daniel’s behaviour ranged from “bad” to “very bad”. A letter sent by the mother of Diogenes after the trial seems to confirm the negative assessment of his character, noting that Daniel and his co-convicted, James, were of “notoriously bad character and reputed thiefs & considerably older than himself” (with himself being in reference to Diogenes).
It was more than a year after Daniel was found guilty that, on 4 of April 1825, he was transported from the Prison Hulk to the ship Norfolk. The journey to New South Wales was direct from Portsmouth, with the Norfolk arriving in Port Jackson on the 18th of August 1825. During the voyage, it was recorded that there were two deaths on board and a small number of passenger medical complaints. In the final notations of the Surgeon Superintendents journal, he passes comment that the convict passengers are “so little disposed to assist each other but also to look after themselves”. It paints a grim picture of the transportees in both the condition of their physical and physiological state.
Having made the journey across the seas to New South Wales, Daniel was nineteen years of age. Standing at five feet and four inches, Daniel was described as having a pink complexion, flaxen hair, middling and with a large scar over his right eyebrow. He was originally assigned to work at the Parramatta Store, however within his first year, he was moved to the Orphan School at Liverpool.
Three years after his arrival, Daniel was identified as working in Windsor at the Hospital. Having had a period of time without any recorded incidents, it could be interpreted that Daniel had settled into his routine as a convict. However, only a year later, on the 13 of March 1829, Daniel was charged with theft and sentenced to three years at the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement.
When Daniel arrived at the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement, the settlement commander was Captain Patrick Logan. Captain Logan was said to be “cruelly harsh” to the prisoners with continuous unrest and regular uprisings as a result. It is documented that in the year Daniel joined the settlement, floggings were regularly administered in large volumes, a quarter of the settlement suffered from ophthalmia (inflammation of the eye) and the death rate was 11.5%.
Daniel survived these trying times and was returned to Sydney where, on the 25 of July 1832, he was issued his Certificate of Freedom. Physically, his appearance was noticeably different to when he first arrived in New South Wales. In addition to the scar above his eye, Daniel was missing a tooth and had an array of tattoos including a sun, anchor, flowerpot and the word hope. After his release, Daniel went on to marry Elizabeth Gunyon, a recently arrived convict, with the couple settling in Binda, near Goulburn.
Submitted by Researcher (Melanie Gepp) on 7 November 2021
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Disclaimer: The information has not been verified by Claim a Convict. As this information is contributed, it is the responsibility of those who use the data to verify its accuracy. Research notes
Butts of Certificates of Freedom, 1832, NSW State Archives, NRS1165, 1166, 1167, 12208, 12210, reels 601, 602, 604, 982-1027., No. 32/652, NSW, Australia, Certificates of Freedom, 1810-1814, 1827-1867
Submitted by Researcher (Melanie Gepp) on 7 November 2021
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Captivity, Unknown Date, Home Office: Convict Prison Hulks: Registers and Letter Books, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey, England, HO9/8, p.24, UK, Prison Hulk Registers and Letter Books, 1802-1849
Submitted by Researcher (Melanie Gepp) on 7 November 2021
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Convict Hulks, Convict Prisons & Criminal Lunatic Asylums: Quarterly Returns Of Prisoners, 1824, The National Archives, England, HO8/3/6852, England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment, 1770-1935
Submitted by Researcher (Melanie Gepp) on 7 November 2021
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Entrance Book, 1829, New South Wales State Archives, Series: 2514; Item: 4/6430; Roll: 851, New South Wales, Australia, Gaol Description and Entrance Books, 1818-1930
Submitted by Researcher (Melanie Gepp) on 7 November 2021
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Leviathan, 1824, Home Office: Convict Prison Hulks: Registers and Letter Books, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey, England, HO9/8, p.49, UK, Prison Hulk Registers and Letter Books, 1802-1849
Submitted by Researcher (Melanie Gepp) on 7 November 2021
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New South Wales General Muster, 1825, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey, England, HO10/5/ 19-20, 32-51, p.337, New South Wales and Tasmania, Australia Convict Musters, 1806-1849
Submitted by Researcher (Melanie Gepp) on 7 November 2021
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New South Wales General Muster, 1828, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey, England, HO10/21-28, p.178, 1828 New South Wales, Australia Census (TNA Copy)
Submitted by Researcher (Melanie Gepp) on 7 November 2021
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Norfolk, 1825, Bound indentures, New South Wales State Archives, NRS 12188, Item, 4/4009A, Microfiche: 656, New South Wales, Australia, Convict Indents, 1788-1842
Submitted by Researcher (Melanie Gepp) on 7 November 2021
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Convict Hulks, Convict Prisons & Criminal Lunatic Asylums: Quarterly Returns Of Prisoners, The National Archives, England, HO8/4, p.166, England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment, 1770-1935
Submitted by Researcher (Melanie Gepp) on 7 November 2021
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Entry for Daniel Eldridge & Elizabeth Gunyon, Granted, 1833, NSW State Archives, Series 12212, pg. 99, NSW, Australia, Registers of Convicts' Applications to Marry, 1826-1851
Submitted by Researcher (Melanie Gepp) on 7 November 2021
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Death certificate for Daniel Eldridge, died 14 May 1864, Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, New South Wales, 3755
Submitted by Researcher (Melanie Gepp) on 7 November 2021
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Journal Entry, William Hamilton, 11 March 1825 - 23 August 1825, ‘Norfolk’, The National Archives, Medical Journals (ADM 101, 804 bundles & volumes), UK, Royal Navy Medical Journals, 1817-1856
Submitted by Researcher (Melanie Gepp) on 7 November 2021
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‘Shipping Intelligence’, The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, 25 August 1825, p.2, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2184383
Submitted by Researcher (Melanie Gepp) on 7 November 2021
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‘Surrey Sessions. – Thursday, July 22.’, Morning Advertiser, 23 July 1824, p.3, https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0001427/18240723/024/0003
Submitted by Researcher (Melanie Gepp) on 7 November 2021
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Susannah Herring to Robert Peel, letter, 1824, Criminal Petitions: Series I, The National Archives, Surrey, England, HO17/ 117/ XK2, pg. 7, England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment, 1770-1935
Submitted by Researcher (Melanie Gepp) on 7 November 2021
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Disclaimer: The information has not been verified by Claim a Convict. As this information is contributed, it is the responsibility of those who use the data to verify its accuracy. Sources
- The National Archives (TNA) : HO 11/5, p.260
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