| Number | [253]02 |
| Name | Foster Michael Foster |
| Where Tried | York Ass. |
| When Tried | 11 July 49 |
| Sentence | 7 |
| Age | 24 |
| Height | 5 8¼ |
| Religion | C.E |
| Read or Write | RW |
| Married or Single | S |
| Statement of Offence |
Burglary Stg[?]a Timepiece & Clothes
pr[operty] Mr Taylor nr Leeds for Burglary 9[?] Months [this may be a previous conviction] |
| Surgeon's Report | |
| Trade | Cloth dresser |
| Native Place | nr Leeds |
| Remarks |
B[rothers] Joseph John Sam[?]
Chas Wm
S[isters] Agnes [3 letters crossed out] Betsey NP. [NP probably stands for Native Place, denoting where the named family members live. Where an entry does not have these letters at the end, they have instead the name of a different town from the convict's Native Place] |
NB - Michael has not mentioned his mother in the list of family members. Though alive at the time of his trial, she died later that year, well before he was transported.
He also has not listed his brother Robert in Canada, who he later names as his official 'contact' person. Perhaps he thought the officials only wanted to know the names of family members who lived in England for this record?
The term "indents" is a contemporary one and seems to have had varied meanings. Its application to the documents of legal significance which conveyed a property in the services of the convicts is clear, as these were legal indentures; but the documents in this series, which were bound up after compilation, and the volumes entitled "Indents", were compiled on board the transports before the convicts disembarked; their purpose appears to have been to provide the basis for the "pre-arrival" information, certain parts of which were, after 1827, entered on the conduct records (CON 31).
Source:
CON14 Indents of Male Convicts (27 Jul 1824 - 26 May 1853)
Source: Tasmania Government Archives, Australia, Convict Records