Cuffay's convict record

William Cuffay: Convict record (click picture to enlarge)
On arrival every convict had their Transport record written up in leather bound books. These records have a wealth of information, a book entry number (1668), name (Cuffey William), crime transported for, length of sentence (Life), name of transport ship (Adelaide), religion, conduct on the voyage and a statement from the prisoner stating the reason for transportation in their own words (Sedition. convening a public meeting and and speaking at the time).

Below this information is a 19th century 'identikit' for tracing the prisoner through his or her sentence:


For Cuffay the information reads:
Trade (Tailor) Height (4/11) Age (61) Complexion (dark) Head (Med.) Hair (black thin) Whiskers (grey) Visage (narrow) Forehead (high) Eyebrows (brown) Eyes (hazel) Nose (Broad) Mouth (large) Chin (Med.) Nat. Place (Chatham)
Cuffay Free Pardon
The Hobart Town Mercury Wednesday 25 February 1857
Notes:
You can search the records of Tasmanian convicts online by name at the Index to Tasmanian Convicts at:

This comprehensive index of all convicts transported to Tasmania and those who were convicted (through the convict system) in the colony was created by indexing all original records we hold from the beginning of transportation in 1804 until 1853 when transportation ceased. The latest entry in the database for the locally convicted convicts is 1893. About 76,000 people are indexed.