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Jacob
Ancestry
SAMUEL JACOBS: (b Birth Dec 1817 St
Giles, London, d: 8 Apr 1885 Christchurch) He was son of
Moses Jacobs (b. Abt 1794,
Whitechapel, London; Occ: 30 Mar 1851 London, Law & General
Agent; d. 26 Nov 1856, Lambeth, London) and his
mother Sarah Levy (b. Abt 1793, St
Martin in the Fields, London , d. Aft 1851)
SAMUEL JACOBS: Court Case: 17 Jun
1833 Age: 18y; Address: Oxford St; Middlesex
Larceny from the Person - stealing a handkerchief - Guilty - Transported for 7 years on 27 Sep 1833 to Tasmania on board the "Southworth" and arrived in Hobart on 14 Jan 1834.
He d: 8 Apr 1885 Christchurch, NZ; Age: 68y; bur: 10 Apr 1885 Jewish Cemetery now Linwood Cem., ChCh. Samuel died intestate - letter of administration granted to his wife, Emma, and a statement regarding his estate - he had been declared bankrupt not long before he died.
Samuel mar: (1) 25 Jan 1849 Hobart, Tasmania to Fanny Matilda Gomm (b. Abt 1830, Sherston Magna, Wiltshire; Samuel and Fanny moved on to New Zealand abt: 1865 - she d. 25 Mar 1869, Hokitika, Westland, N Z) They had 2 living children and 5 (un-named who had died bef. 1859)
Samuel Jacobs (now a widower) remar: 19 Jun 1876 at Hokitika to Emma Bristow (b: 31 Oct 1851, South Lambeth, Surrey, England; she d. 4 Apr 1907, Public Hospital, Christchurch) In "Intention to Marry" Samuel is shown to have been a resident of Hokitika for 11 years. His brother, Lawrence Jabobs immigrated from England to join Samuel in Austalia -Death Notice: West Coast Times: Lawrence Jacobs, Eastern Road, Emerald Hill, Melbourne, and refers to "his beloved brother Mr S Jacobs of this town" (i.e Hokitika) The Life of Samuel Jacobs: Author: Dave Simpson Early life: With no direct knowledge of Samuel’s early life we can only assume it was typical of the life lead by many poor families in London at the time and according to history there was little pleasure to be had. He was one of five children. Of his siblings the only one we know anything about is his brother Lawrence. Samuel stole a handkerchief and was deported to Tasmania for seven years. This was at a time when a sentence of seven years meant the person very seldom returned to their home country. He was 18. His brother Lawrence later went to Melbourne, Australia and met up with Samuel. Some thought’s on Samuel’s imprisonment : When Samuel stole a handkerchief in 1833 we wonder whether he had any idea where it would lead? His prison record is a catalogue of offences.
His original sentence of 7 years was twice extended. First in 1837 when a further 3 years were added for stealing yet another handkerchief! And again in 1838 when he was given another 2 years for ‘larceny under £5’. He was fortunate the amount was under £5; larceny over £5 was a capital offence.
During his twelve years much of his time appears to have been served in prison rather than being allowed out as many prisoners were.
He makes 29 appearances before the officials resulting in an impressive 4 years of hard labour, a good part of which was served in chains. He also spent a total of 3 months in solitary confinement. Additionally he received a total of 111 lashes – and was lucky not to have received a further 50 on one occasion, avoided by apparently being able to ‘give very useful information’.
What sort of man was he? Whilst his prison record sounds horrendous, should it have been? By today’s standards the crimes he committed, in total, would probably not result in a custodial sentence at all, or a short term one only.
On two occasions he stole a handkerchief, once that resulted in his original sentence and once while serving his sentence. What of his other crimes whilst in prison? Absent from muster, being in possession of some flour, disobedience of orders, absent from barracks, insolence and refusing to work, making use of obscene language, having some dough in his possession, having a quantity of apples in his possession, having raisins improperly in his possession, assault. Not exactly the most heinous of crimes are they?
If his behaviour in prison is typical of the man then it is likely that he was a criminal before he was caught in 1833 – can we find him in other courts? So far we have had no luck with this. Could he have simply been rebelling against what he thought was an injustice? Whatever the reason it is unlikely that he changed once he was set free. If the punishment he received didn’t stop him while in prison it is unlikely that he would change once he was free.
Life after prison (Src: Jacobs Family Tree) Samuel's "free certificate" was granted in 1845. There is no documentation about him until his marriage in Jan. 1849. at Hobart, Tasmania. His bride was the daughter of another convict and it is supposed that this would be the social level he (and she) would be allowed. They had one child while living in Hobart.
Samuel and the family moved on to Melbourne. Here he became a stable-keeper. Another child was born while they were there. Samuel’s brother Lawrence joined them in Melbourne. Little is known of his life in Melbourne but it is obvious he and Lawrence made contacts they later used for transacting business between Melbourne and Hokitika.
They became "dealers" at Clyde, N.Z. where gold
had been discovered. Later Lawrence returned to Melbourne
and Samuel and family went to Hokitika.
At that time Hokitika was a thriving and busy port and was the nearest New Zealand port to Melbourne. It is obvious the brothers had many deals on the go – the record of goods they imported to Hokitika from Melbourne was wide and varied.
Here Samuel seemed to establish a "normal" life for himself and his family. He had a wife and family; he had a business; he attended and was a choir member and office bearer of the Jewish synagogue; he bought the rights to operate the tollgates at Omotumotu for which he paid £615 for one year; he chaired the Hospital Committee.
He had the unfortunate habit of getting into petty trouble – unregistered dogs, straying horses, sly-grogging, an "innocent" role in a perjury case, bankruptcy. These resulted in several fines but no prison, hard labour or lashes. He was a free man.
After Samuel’s wife, Fanny Matilda died in 1869, in 1876 he re-married and had three more children while living in Hokitika. In 1878 the family moved to Christchurch as Hokitika was beginning to lose its importance and Christchurch was growing. Samuel and Emma had a further five children, two of whom died after surviving a few weeks. Once again Samuel was a dealer but there are no reports of nefarious activities in Christchurch. He died in 1885 – an adjudged bankrupt for the second time.
Children of SAMUEL JACOBS and EMMA BRISTOW were:
SAMUEL HENRY GEORGE JACOBS - son of SAMUEL, grandson of MOSES; (b: 29 Sep 1876 in Hokitika, Westland; d: 30 Jul 1956 in Cherry Farm Waikouiti aged 79Y. Bur: Waimate Cem., Sth Canty) He mar: 1906 to ELIZA ANN (Nickname Tot, Tottie) ATTWILL (b: 1881, and d: 12 Jun 1946 in Waimate). Their children:
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