James Thurtell love token (front)

James Thurtell, 18, gardener and baker’s apprentice, was tried and convicted at Norfolk Assizes in April 1829 for stealing shoes, spectacles, a tea chest, candlesticks and other items from Martha Chapman. He was sentenced to seven years’ transportation. He sailed for New South Wales on the Katherine S Forbes, leaving 7 October 1829 and arriving 19 February 1830.

Thurtell’s records show that he measured 5 feet 4 inches (1.6 metres), had a ruddy complexion and that he was missing the point of his right fourth finger. He also had a number of tattoos. He gained his ticket of leave in 1836 and his certificate of freedom on 9 February 1842. He married Maria Jane Culverson in 1841 in Kelso, New South Wales. His death certificate shows that he died in the Lunatic Asylum in Parramatta in 1861.