Did your ancestor find love in the Australian penal colonies in the 19th century? Find out by searching more than 35,000 applications to marry by convicts in New South Wales from 1825 to 1851. Find out the name of their spouse, their profession and the length of their sentence as well as when they were given their freedom.
Each record contains a transcript and a black and white image of original documents. The amount of information can vary but you can find out the following about your ancestor:
Profession or trade
Name of spouse
Spouse’s profession or trade
Length of sentence
Name of ship
Name of whoever conducted the marriage
Whether or not the application was successful
Convicts were actually encouraged to marry as Governors believed that marriage and family life were good for both the morality and stability of the colony. Various inducements were available including a convict’s freedom through tickets of leave or pardons and assistance in establishing a household. It wasn’t uncommon in the early years of the colony for convicts to marry even if they had already been married at home. Many believed that they would never see their spouse again or that transportation annulled marriage (it didn’t).
Until the 1820s, all marriages were conducted by the Church of England, regardless of the faith of the bride and groom and all marriages required banns to be read out on three successive Sundays in church or the issuing of a licence, for a fee, to guarantee that there was no legal or moral impediment to the proposed union. In the case of convicts, permission had to be given by the Governor and copies of the banns would be sent by the local clergy to the Colonial Secretary. Registers contain details, not just of the convicts wishing to marry but also parties in the marriage who were free settlers. Some approved marriages did not go ahead so you might find more than one successful application for your ancestor.
These records correspond to Archive reference NRS 12212, reels 713-715.
© the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales and is used under licence with the permission of the State Records Authority. The State of New South Wales gives no warranty regarding the data’s accuracy, completeness, currency or suitability for any particular purpose.