People Australia

John Morris ( - ), a 20-year-old tin plater, was found guilty on 25 March 1840 at the Warwick Assizes, Warwickshire, 'of stealing from the person'— pickpocketing. Sentenced to 10 years transportation, he arrived at Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) in September 1841 aboard the Layton. According to his convict record he was 5 feet 5½ inches (169 cms) tall, with a fair complexion, brown hair, and light blue eyes. 

Convict Conduct Record
13 January 1842 — absent without leave — six weeks in chains

25 January 1842 — abscond ? ? ? ? ? ? in chains, then to return to his ?, and second to be sent to the Coal Mines

19 March 1842 — idleness — 25 stripes on the back

17 April 1843 — misconduct in having some fat? improperly in his possession — two weeks hard labour in chains

11 September 1843 — misconduct in improperly allowing meat to be taken from the cookhouse — extension of probation recommended — one month

21 February 1844 —out after hours — 14 days solitary

11 November 1844 — misconduct by being in a public house on a Sunday — 14 days solitary

Morris was granted a ticket of leave on 20 October 1846, a conditional pardon on 30 January 1849 and a free certificate on 28 March 1850. He had married Eliza Baskerville at Bethesda Church, Hobart, on 14 December 1846; both signed the register. James and Fleur Symonds were the witnesses. The couple had at least one child in Hobart. In the early 1850s they went to Victoria.