Thanks Dennis for the informative posting. I have delved into the social unrest in the British Isles. The years of the famine and its partly political reasons is tragic. It's amazing our suffering ancestors did not create more trouble. They were fighting for their lives.

In your research do you have any access regarding any of the Thomas Scott's you can find as to one's origins in Ireland?

Could the 1848 conviction have happened to a 13 year old boy who was carrying a gun (me thinks it was probably for game but alas, I can imagine there would be little consideration when it came to English rules in Ireland.) Was a portion of the 'convicts' so young? I did see some children going to Tasmania (a Joseph Scott) because the father had been sent there.

I checked the ancestry.com burial records of convicts and could not find any Thomas Scott there so it' my hope he was released early (often after 3 years on average for a 7 year sentence.) If he was released in 52 he would have been 17.

Are there any census' in Australia from those days. I am hoping a 1901 census might reveal if there was a Thomas Scott of Irish origin. I would be able to try and find my Australian cousins after our families last met 155 years ago!

Sincerely,

Blaine Scott