The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #66536 Message #1106495
Posted By: GUEST,John Gray in Oz
01-Feb-04 - 09:14 AM
Thread Name: BS: Convict ancestry?
Subject: RE: BS: Convict ancestry?
I recently had it confirmed that my GGGG Grandfather was transported to Australia as a convict in 1850.His sentence was 10 years for stabbing a constable in the thumb. Up until a generation or two ago people did not generally discuss any possible convict links. To have a convict ancestor was referred to as the "convict stain" ( on the family ) or just as, "the stain".
I often wondered why this was and looking through my ancestor's archives I came across something that may be a clue. The convict ship manifests list all the convicts on board, their sentence and what they were convicted of. I was surprised to find that bestiality was a not an uncommon charge. Sometimes the lurid details were included, performing an unnatural act with a mare ( or an ass or etc etc ) So just what did all you Brits get up to in the 18th & 19th centuries? Maybe the cows were better looking than the women back then. The poor old Kiwis are still trying to throw off this colonial legacy. And we've got a bloke that likes embracing crocodiles - now there's really rough sex for you.