William is my great grandmother's brother. He was placed in the orphanage with
3 of his siblings. He was 9 years old, and his siblings ranged from him (the
oldest) to 4 years old. His father was convicted of a felony (stole peas?).
His mother , despite no previous convictions, was sentenced to 12 months
hard labour for shoplifting 2 shawls, and also mention of a gentleman's
coat. The farmer who employed William's father made the application for the
children to be admitted to the Orphanage.
Eventually, William's mother's sentence expired, but the children were
unable to be returned to her care, as she had given birth to another baby
while she was in the Cascades Factory, and could not take them back. They
could not be returned to their father either: after his sentence finished 6
months later, his whereabouts became unknown. William married Julia Gifford
in 1876. Documents over the years list him as a farmer and a brick carter.
He had at least two daughters. He may have died at 34 years of age due to an
accident in central Hobart.