Convict records

If you know your ancestor was a convict or you want to find out if they were, the best place to start is the Convict Indents (1788-1842) on Ancestry.com. There is information on 80,000 convicts who were transported to NSW. There is also the Australian Convict Index (1788-1868) on Ancestry.

The Convict databases will often tell you some of the following information about the convicts:

• Age
• Occupation
• Marital status
• Religion
• Place of origin
• Date of conviction
• Place of trial
• The crime they were convicted of
• Length of their sentence
• Name of the ship they came out on
• Departure date of the ship and when it arrived in Australia
• Physical description of the convict (eyes and hair colour, height etc)
• Who and where the convict was assigned to
• If they received a ticket of leave, certificate of freedom or a pardon

Colonial Secretaries Records

Convicts were normally sentenced to either 7 or 14 years in the colony, with some of the more serious crimes carrying life sentences. About half the convicts sent to the Australian colonies came here came with 7-year sentences, and a quarter came with 14-year sentences.

The Colonial Secretaries Records can be found on Ancestry or Findmypast. These records are a comprehensive collection of information relating to convicts and their sentences and freedoms. Convicts had to request permission to marry and these requests are found in these records. It also contains applications for land grants.

Ticket of Leave

A Ticket of Leave was a document issued to a convict to allow them to work for themself. They usually had to remain within a certain area and report to authorities. They were not allowed to leave the colony.

Certificate of Freedom

A Certificate of Freedom was issued to a convict on completion of their sentence to prove they were a free person. They were free to travel anywhere, including back to the UK.

Conditional Pardon

A Conditional Pardon allowed convicts with life sentences the freedom to move around the colony, but they were not allowed to return to the UK.

Absolute Pardon

An Absolute Pardon meant that a convict with a life sentence was given complete freedom within the colony, and allowed to return the UK if they could afford to get back there.

Convicts were required to carry these documents on them at all times.