Occasionally you stumble across something that takes your breath away. In this case it’s a letter I found on the National Archives website from William Sewell Swendell, my great great great grandfather and Frederick Augustus Swendell’s father, to the king asking that Charles isn’t sent to Australia as a convict. I don’t have a precise date for the letter, but it must have been written in late December 1834 or early January 1835.
To the King’s most excellent majesty
The Humble Petition of William Swendell of N 38 Reeves Place Hoxton
Your petitioner humbly begs leave to state that on the day the robbery was committed (Wednesday the 10th of December instant) his son was never absent from his home more than five minutes at any one time and moreover that he (the convict) being unwell was to bed at an early hour, and as the property was stolen at Hackney a distance of three miles from his dwelling, it is impossible that his for could have been accessory to it - On the day following (Thursday) his son was not out of the home until 12 o’clock when he was accosted by two young men whom he had only known a few days. They invited him to accompany them into the Kingston Road where they induced him to partake of some refreshment at a Public House and requested he would oblige them by offering a sheet to be pawned as they were in want of a few shillings.
Your petitioner’s son being asked by the pawnbroker where he obtained the sheet said he had it from his mother but on being further interrogated he declared he would tell the truth that the sheet was given him by two lads then at the Cherry Tree public house. A policeman was called and Frederick Swendell given into custody and on seeing this his companions made their escape.
Your petitioner’s begs further to state that having made enquiry on the night previous to his sons conviction, when the trial would take place he was informed it was sixteen on the list. That he your petitioner attended with xxxx evidence before 10 o’clock on the following morning and to his great grief and dismay learnt that the trial was over and that his son was convicted.
Your petitioner therefore humbly implores your gracious majesty will take the case of his xxxx xxxx son into your majesty merciful considerations.
And for which your petitioner is xx duty bound, will for ever pray.
W Swendell
The undersigned householders in the parish of Shoreditch readily can xxxx to the general character of the petitioner, and an xxxx, honest and xxxxxx man, who has resided in the parish twenty five years; and we believe the statement of his petition to be correct.
R N Nicolas 96 Hoxton Town
XX XXX 97 Hoxton Town
Wm Williams 18 Cavindish Street Hoxton
William Neaves No 9 AXXX Place Hoxton Green
Tho Hughes Huntingdown Street
Thomas Price Kingsland Road
Chris Wimp Funk Street Bethnall Green
Char Lewisham XXX Street Hoxton Baker
John Long 140 High Street Hoxton
Joshua Reeve 88 Hoxton Town
Thomas Fordham 84 Hoxton High Street
There’s a lot of detail in the letter. To summarise:
- William and Frederick live at 38 Reeves Place, Hoxton.
- Frederick is currently being held as a convict on the Leviathain at Portsmouth.
- Frederick has been charged with robbery and sentenced to be transported to Australia.
- Frederick went with two men to the Cherry Tree pub on Kingston Road.
In terms of the locations Reeves Place in Hoxton no longer exists. The modern road closest to its route is Nuttall Street. However, some of the workhouse buildings nearby remain. Although Charles Booth’s poverty map was compiled between 1886 and 1903, over 50 years after Frederick’s arrest it’s interesting to note that Reeves Place, is recorded as poor, and is mentioned in a police notebook.
Assuming that William meant Kingsland Road rather than Kingston Road I’ve found a record of the Cherry Tree pub at 64, Kingsland Road, Shoreditch.
How did William come to write this letter? The Proceedings of the Old Bailey has a record of Frederick’s trial. Frederick was sentenced for stealing a sheet from a washing line in Brook Terrace in Clapton. Brook Terrace doesn’t seem exist any more. To draw all of the locations together I’ve put the following map together. As I can’t find Brook Terrace I’ve just marked Clapton on the map.
So was Frederick innocent of stealing the sheet? It’s impossible to say although Henry’s letter is compelling. That said further research reveals that William had three sons, including Frederick, sentenced to be sent to Australia as convicts. The letter he wrote to the King about Frederick wasn’t the first time he’d done this for one of his sons. In 1825 he sent a similar letter pleading clemency regarding his son William who had been convicted of stealing a hankerchief.
Unfortunately for Frederick the letter made no difference as he was sent to Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania), Australia on the 21st of April 1835, arriving on the 1st of August 1835 . Digital Panoptican pulls together multiple documents about Frederick as a convict. It’s a very well put together website and well worth a look. For example there is a scan of a document that has a detailed description of Frederick. Frederick had two tattoos, a cross on his elbow and his initials on his arm. The website also has a document that records that Frederick was found dead in his bed at morning muster on the 20th of May 1836.