"James Walls or Wallas, who had five previous convictions recorded against him, was placed in the dock charged with theft, in so far as (1) he did on the 11th December last, steal from a green at Newseat of Drumbreck, Udny, a pair of trousers and a pair of drawers belonging to Robert Forbes, farm servant, and (2) on the same day or the day after, he stole from a field near Orchardtown, Udny, a pair of trousers and a jacket, belonging to Alexander Paterson, farm servant. Prisoner pleaded guilty. Lord Neaves, in passing sentence, remarked that short periods of imprisonment had done panel no good and he would now try the effect of seven years' penal servitude".
Given the remark in the report regarding James's five previous convictions, it was a fair-bet that James would appear as a prisoner in the 1871 census. Sure enough, on checking this he is listed as an inmate at H.M. General Prison, Perth, aged 43 his occupation given as a 'labourer', he was unmarried, and his birthplace was Strichen.
After serving his sentence for the thefts near Udny, James was discharged on licence in October of 1877, aged 50. His entry in the Register of Returned Convicts for Aberdeen (see image below) records that he lived for at least a while at 19 Loch Street in the city. Accompanying the usual details of height, complexion and colour of hair, the entry records that he had "several moles on breast, sores on right side of neck, varicose veins on both legs, covering the calf". Although we can't be certain, it is quite possible that the sores on the right side of his neck were caused by scrofula, a form of tuberculosis from which Peter Reilly, who features elsewhere in this blog, also suffered.
No comments:
Post a Comment