Thomas McWilliams in court in Manchester 1883

[GallowayLass]

Thomas McWilliams 13 Jun 1883 1883 Lancashire, England Imprisonment England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892 on ancestry. He was found guilty of “larceny from the person after previous conviction for the felony” and sentenced at Manchester to 1 month with hard labour. This may or may not be the father of my cousin’s great grandmother on her mother’s side. Thomas is supposed to have been born in County Tyrone, Ireland but it could have been any date 1840-1856 as he was never consistent and his gravestone doesn’t say! We’d like to either confirm or eliminate this record. In 1881 census he is a furnace man living 41 Victoria Street in Windle, Lancashire. His wife was called Flora and there were two children, Mary (4) and William (4 months) Can anybody find out more about this man and possibly his earlier conviction (no idea of date but likely 1876 onwards as our Thomas got married in Scotland in April that year. I have tried FMP newspapers with no success (par for the course with me ) Thanks in advance.

[teasie]

The sentence was for 18 calendar months with hard labour & 3 years police supervision. Its in the newspapers as Thomas M'William (Manchester Courier 16 June 1883), and he was a hawker, aged 23, convicted of stealing 3s 8d from the person of Elizabeth Feeney.

As the age doesn't seem to match your man, I haven't looked for any previous conviction.

[cbcarolyn]

Just looked up Windle as never heard of it, I lived quite near there for a while, and never knew it! I used to work with someone with same surname and she used to sometimes end up as Mick Williams.

[GallowayLass]

Just looked up Windle as never heard of it, I lived quite near there for a while, and never knew it! I used to work with someone with same surname and she used to sometimes end up as Mick Williams.

[GallowayLass]

The sentence was for 18 calendar months with hard labour & 3 years police supervision. Its in the newspapers as Thomas M'William (Manchester Courier 16 June 1883), and he was a hawker, aged 23, convicted of stealing 3s 8d from the person of Elizabeth Feeney.

As the age doesn't seem to match your man, I haven't looked for any previous conviction.

Many thanks, I have just had another look at the ancestry image and I can see 18 now rather than 1 month.
It certainly doesn’t fit with our Thomas who had the same occupation when he married in 1876 and on that document he says he is 24 years old.

Could you please email me the image as I still cannot find a match in FMP newspapers although I have narrowed it down to the correct newspaper and date. My email is in my profile.

[teasie]

It always seems to go distorted when I clip newspapers, so try this:

Manchester Courier 16 June 1883
Page 14 (of 16)
Column 6
Towards the top look for the sub-heading 'THE EFFECT OF POLICE SUPERVISION' & go down from there until you see an indented sentence/paragraph starting 'Eighteen months' imprisonment' - that's the one!

[GallowayLass]

It always seems to go distorted when I clip newspapers, so try this:

Manchester Courier 16 June 1883
Page 14 (of 16)
Column 6
Towards the top look for the sub-heading 'THE EFFECT OF POLICE SUPERVISION' & go down from there until you see an indented sentence/paragraph starting 'Eighteen months' imprisonment' - that's the one!

I found the reference by putting the date and name of the newspaper and used the surname Feeney to narrow it down. Great, or so I thought. Turns out that my access to FMP via National Library of Scotland does not include seeing newspaper articles.

Thanks so much for trying Does the article give an address for Thomas M’Williams?

[GallowayLass]

Can anyone else please send me an image of the article that teasie found?

[cbcarolyn]

https://search.findmypast.co.uk/bna/...16%2f094&s tringtohighlight=williams%20police%20thomas second column in from right

does this work for you?

I realised I had done this and not posted! if you can't see via this will get the clip

[GallowayLass]

Sorry, can’t see it as don’t have a sub.

[teasie]

Does the article give an address for Thomas M’Williams?

No, it doesn't. What I posted is pretty much all that was reported.

Looking at the census for 1881 though, there was a Thomas McWilliams of the right age born & living in Manchester, although he was a general labourer. In 1901 a man of the same name, age and birthplace was in prison in Prestwich/Cheetham. He was a Hawker, so probably the man from the 1883 report. He's still in Manchester in 1911 with wife Georgina and children, plus two relatives named Brannon.

[GallowayLass]

Thanks ever so much teasie.
Definitely not our man then. Our McWilliams family were back in Kirkintilloch by 1891 census and most of them (more children by then) remained there till death. Flora McWilliams nee Hutcheson was born in Kirkintilloch 1857.