Hello,

Hopefully someone may be able to help me in my research as a Postgraduate for a PhD on Parkhurst Prison 1838-1864.

I am trying to find details of William McCLURE, born 1832, possibly in Douglas, who was sentenced to transportation for 7 years in August 1848 alongside his co-defendants James PITTS and John CLAQUE. The latter two I have traced and have comprehensive Biographies for them. It seems that McCLURE was sent to Portsmouth Prison via
Parkhurst Prison and released on license (probation) in 1853, returned to IOM, then re-offended and this time sentenced to transportation for 10 years via Millbank and Pentonville Prisons in 1854. There is no record of him being transported, neither are there are entries on any Census returns from 1841 onwards nor BDM details from Australia. He just vanishes.

There are references to him on pages 112, 113, 117, 145 and 146 of Hampton Creer's "Never to Return" from which I extracted some of the above details.

Any information, no matter how small, would be appreciated.

For the moment

Tony