COMMUTATION LETTER
1856Large, single page, handwritten commutation order for James Thorogood, dated 14 March 1856. Large, rectangular, single sheet of yellowed paper, with a short handwritten letter on the front. Addressed to 'Whitehall/ 14 March 1856', the letter is written at the direction of the Secretary of State for the Home Department and commutes James Thoroughgood's sentence from death to transportation for life. The signature at the bottom is indecipherable, but in the bottom left corner of the page is the name, W. Baron Alderson'.
Details
Details
James Thorogood was transported to Australia onboard the ship Nile, arriving in Fremantle on 1st January 1858. He was born in 1828, and his convict record records that he was unmarried, semiliterate and a farm labourer. He was sentenced to death in Chelmsford Essex for murder, however this was commuted to transportation. He was awarded his Ticket of Leave on 8th January 1861 and received a Conditional Pardon on 10th July 1866.
