McCormack, James – Crimean War Veterans in Western Australia

PERSONAL DETAILS	James McCORMACK Name variations: McCORMICK
Birth date and place	From 1826 to 1831 (see Additional Details).
Baptism date and place
Occupations pre-WA	Labourer.
Physical Description	Height: 5 ft. 7½ ins. Complexion: dark. Eyes: dark hazel. Hair: dark brown. Face: round. Build: middling stout. Distinguishing marks: marks on left hand; anchor on left arm; scar on left cheek; pockmarked.
Marriage date and place	Single.
Spouse	None.
Children	None.
Death date and place	8 Apr 1888 Alvarenga’s Coffee Palace and Boarding House, Pakenham Street, Fremantle, Western Australia. Cause of Death: Suicide by strychnine poison (determined by Inquest Monday 9 Apr 1888, Fremantle Courthouse).
Burial date and place	Apr 1888 Skinner Street Cemetery, Fremantle, Western Australia – not verified.
Will and Probate	None.
Death Notices and Obituaries	Daily News 9 Apr 1888. Inquirer and Commercial News 11 Apr 1888.
ARMED FORCES
Regiment(s)	28th (North Gloucestershire) Regiment – not verified.
Regiment No. and Rank	# illegible. Private.
Attestation date and place
Service/Campaigns	Malta and Turkey. Crimean War. Malta.
Promotions	None.
Medals, Clasps and Badges	Crimea War Medal clasp Sebastopol [WO100-28-147 as McCormick]. Turkish Crimea Medal.
Casualty/Medical	None.
Regimental Courts Martial	None.
District Courts Martial	None.
General Courts Martial	Malta [WO90-42]. Trial: 5 Feb 1857. Absenting himself from drill and striking his sergeant. Sentence: Seven years penal servitude [PCom2-38-4204].
Prison and Registers #	Malta from 5 Feb 1857, 5 days. On Board Ship 10 Feb 157 to 17 Feb 1857, 17 days. Millbank #4204. 17 Feb 1857, 24 days. Parchment Certificate of Discharge received and issued 2 Mar 1857. Pentonville #7115.23 Mar 1857 to 24 Dec 1857. Chatham #1505. 26 Dec 1857 to embarkation on convict ship. Edwin Fox sailed 26 Aug 1858 Plymouth, arriving 20 Nov 1858 – a passage of 86 days.
Chelsea Pension Reference	Not eligible.
Post Discharge Residence	Western Australia.
ARRIVAL AND LIFE IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Ship	Edwin Fox.
Departure and Arrival	26 Aug 1858, Plymouth; 20 Nov 1858 Fremantle.
Status/Occupation	Convict.
WA Convict #	Fremantle Prison #5104 and #9978.
OFFENCES
Dates and Details	Click here to read offences from 1860 to 1865 before a Resident Magistrate. On 1 or 2 Mar 1870 he committed larceny with two other men. They were sentenced in the Supreme Court, Criminal Proceedings to three years imprisonment.
WA Ticket of Leave	1st: 8 Apr 1860. 2nd: 7 Sep 1872.
WA Certificate of Freedom	1st: 10 Feb 1865. 2nd: 7 Jul 1873.
WA Conditional Pardon	None.
Misc. Newspaper Articles	Perth Gazette 8 Apr 1870 and The Herald 9 Apr 1870 – Larceny.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS
McCormack’s medals for the Crimea War with clasp for Sebastopol and Turkish Medal	There is a considerable discrepancy in McCormack’s recorded birthdate – at least a five-year range. The WO90 Court Martial register record does not mention his age; nor does the HO11 Transportation Register for Edwin Fox. The prison records (PCOM & HO24]) for Millbank, Pentonville and Chatham (all in 1857) indicate that he was 26 years old, hence a birthdate of 1831. The Convict Establishment record Acc 1156/R1 shows his age as 32 and there followed all Western Australian records. Although we know of no injuries or medical conditions arising from McCormack’s service in the Crimean War, there are a number of Convict Establishment records of his medical issues. These can be found in records digitised by ancestry.com.au, in its Card Catalogue under Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930, part of the ‘Court, Criminal, Land & Wills’ set of records. McCormack could neither read nor write and his occupations would be found by waiting it out in the Colony’s Convict Hiring Depots in Perth, Fremantle, Bunbury and Toodyay. He worked as a labourer at Victoria Plains and Sussex and also as a General Servant. It seems from his inquest that he had been a shepherd working in the north-west of the State.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS

McCormack’s medals for the Crimea War with clasp for Sebastopol and Turkish Medal

There is a considerable discrepancy in McCormack’s recorded birthdate – at least a five-year range.

The WO90 Court Martial register record does not mention his age; nor does the HO11 Transportation Register for Edwin Fox.
The prison records (PCOM & HO24]) for Millbank, Pentonville and Chatham (all in 1857) indicate that he was 26 years old, hence a birthdate of 1831.
The Convict Establishment record Acc 1156/R1 shows his age as 32 and there followed all Western Australian records.

Although we know of no injuries or medical conditions arising from McCormack’s service in the Crimean War, there are a number of Convict Establishment records of his medical issues. These can be found in records digitised by ancestry.com.au, in its Card Catalogue under Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930, part of the ‘Court, Criminal, Land & Wills’ set of records.

McCormack could neither read nor write and his occupations would be found by waiting it out in the Colony’s Convict Hiring Depots in Perth, Fremantle, Bunbury and Toodyay. He worked as a labourer at Victoria Plains and Sussex and also as a General Servant. It seems from his inquest that he had been a shepherd working in the north-west of the State.