Patricks Story - by  Robyn Sharkey

Community Contributions    https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/troy/patrick/131165

Robin Sharkey on 28th October, 2014 wrote:

Convicted in Waterford, in August 1810 and loaded onto “Providence” aged 25 to be transported for Life to NSW for attempting to take the arms of Mr Wilson of Whitestown in County of Waterford. Mr Wilson said he lived about 5 miles from Carrick-on-Suir.

IRISH CRIME:

Taken from the “Waterford Mirror” 20 August 1810:  Patrick Troy had approached Wilson in his garden with another fellow, who carried a blunderbuss, also on trial with him, and they told Wilson they wanted his arms. One of Wilson’s tenants, John Quigley, was in the garden with him at the time. 

Troy and the other man walked Wilson between them towards his house. On seeing this, and realising what was happening, the servants locked the doors of the house. Wilson claimed that Troy had then “ immediately rushed to the Kitchen window, and exclaimed violently, “Ye Whores, Ye Whores, open the door!” Mr Wilson said, “No, no!, don’t open the door for anyone!”, and addressing himself to the man at the window, added, “If you don’t quit that place, you’ll certainly suffer”. The person holding the Blunderbuss replied,  “If he’s peppered, I’ll pepper you!”.

Wilson had not seen his attackers before (implying they were not men who lived around Carrick-on-Suir) but he claimed to remember them well. Patrick Troy called in his defence a man named Sheehan who worked as shoemaker, to say that he’d been at Sheehan’s house all that day.  But the “Waterford Mirror” archly observed that   “The Minutiae of this poor man’s examination, contain a number of incidents unworthy [of] the attention of our readers, in support of the plea of an alibi; but as it was deemed a very cobbling attempt at establishing that species of defence, the Jury brought in a verdict of Guilty against the Prisoner; and he was sentenced to seven years Transportation.”

That was it, Patrick Troy would be on his way to NSW, on board the Providence

ON ARRIVAL IN NSW in February 1811:? he was Probably initially Assigned to Joseph “Halla”. No such person - it could have been a Joseph Hall instead.

* BY 1816 he was assigned to James Squire, First Fleeter, of Kissing Point, and successful brewer and publican.  Squire was a generous master to have.

* 1817 he became Free by Servitude. Still with James Squire to 1818

* Married on 17 August 1818 to Elizabeth Smith, Born in Colony, raised at Kissing Point.  She had three sisters, one of whom, Jane, had married in 1810 with Francis Spencer, born 1790 as the eldest Australian son of James Squire and illegitimate, although looked after by Squire.

* Pat Troy and Francis Spencer were of a similar age and they were friends, married to two Smith sisters, and saw a lot of each other.  The Troys lived at Kissing Point, as did the Spencers.

1820 - 1824

* Troy rented a farm at Kissing Point (this was then a very broad area and included Concord).

* 1820 - his house at Kissing Point was broken into and various articles stolen (listed in Sydney Gazette of 5 October 1820, including several different lengths of cloth, some gold jewelry, baby clothes and other clothing). His certificate of Freedom was stolen, also the certificate of James O’Neil. This was his servant. The ever generous James Squire placed the advertisement offering £5 reward.In January 1821 two men charged with this breaking were transported to Newcastle for 3 years.

*1822 Muster called him a “Settler” of Sydney. By now he was renting his farm at Concord. His farms were known as “Strowd” and “Needham’s” Farms and also variously as being at “Field of Mars’. Notice in Sydney gazette dated 11 Sept 1823, warning against trespassing or cutting down timber.

* 1823 August 8th - on list of persons receiving an Assigned convict - Thomas Bates per “Globe”

* 1823 September Muster - also had Patrick Keane/Kane/Cane per “Boyd” 1809 as his Gov’t Servant.

1824 - 1828

* 1824, January 6th - received 2 more assigned convicts - William and James Bryan both per “Brampton”

* 1824 petition for a Land Grant. Said had four children and the circumstance of paying £15 rent per year for his farm “could be obviated by Yr Excellency granting him a portion of land for the purpose of cultivation”.  He’d never before received any indulgences. He hoped that the governor would grant him a portion “at the north east arm of Broken Bay” .  This obviously did not happen.

* Sept 1824 Servants drowned - Pat Troy must have been trying a variety of ways to get ahead.  He had three men out in his small boat “near the arm of Broken Bay” in September 1824 bringing wood and grass to town when the boat upset and they all drowned.  One was Patrick Kane who was recorded the year before in the September 1823 muster as his assigned Gov’t Servant. The other swede Thomas Finnegan and John Tierney.

* By 1825 LIVING IN SYDNEY CITY he has moved off his farm at Kissing Point/Concord and into Sydney City.  He had a liquor booth on the racecrourse, - it was a tent, with a licence to sell spirits and liquor at the Raceground in Sydney (near Hyde park). Five men were found guilty of stealing wine, rum, brandy and other articles from his tent booth at the racecourse when the last races were on. They were all sent to Port Macquarie for seven years. (The ‘Australian’ 12 May 1825).

1825 - Was appointed a constable in Sydney around 1825.

1826 -  Dismissed from Constable duties, for drunkenness, notified in May 1826 Sydney Gazette

FINANCIAL PROBLEMS

* In Sydney he rented part of a house at no 52 Kent Street Sydney from the owner/Occupier, an approx 60 y.o. single man named patrick McKew. by now had give children.  Would have been crammed into the back part of the house.  Finances for Patrick must have got tight since he has given up his farm and although he got a constable job he lost that for being drunk.  Probably drowning his sorrows.  He has another mouth to feed with the arrival of a fifth child, George, in 1826.

* HIS ASSOCIATES:

His Brother in law Francis Spencer is now the license of a watering hole in King Street called the Black Horse”.  He had a business partner for the public house with the odd name of Astley Lawrie.  Pat Troy also knew Joseph Bradley well, former clerk to the Bench of Magistrates at Parramatta, who since 1823 made a living writing petitions and documents for people. Bradley left because he was unhappy with the pay rate and believes he was owed none. He said he had sometimes loaned Pat Troy money.

* In July 1827 old Patrick McKew died.  Pat Troy concocted the idea of forging a Deed of Gift from McKew to himself, gifting him the house at 52 Kent Street.  Bradley drew up the document, and signed it as a “witness”, Astley Lawry signed it as a “witness” and Bradley made the mark pretending old McKew who luckily couldn’t read or write. The brother-in-law Francis Spencer refused to get involved.  All were sworn to secrecy.

* Pat Troy and his family stayed on the house at 53 Kent Street = free of rent.  However, McKew had made a will the day he died, witnessed by more respectable clerks than Pat Troy’s mates and including the Catholic priest J J Therry watching over the signing, and having talked at length with McKew the day he died about his wishes for disposal of his property. Troy had never been been mentioned.

* Troy ran several advertisements in 1827 to protect his “interest” in the Kent Street property, cautioning anyone from purchasing it. (Sydney Gazette: 10th, 12th, 14th & 17th September 1827). Obviously the Executors were on his back, probably demanding rent payments.

In September 1827 he was re-appointed a Constable for the City of Sydney. This brought him in a regular income again, and he was not paying rent. Plus he ha the whole of 52 Kent Street to his family alone.  Things must have been looking better.

McKew’s Executor was an intelligent and worldly business man, with a persistent solicitor who smelled a rat.  They brought a civil claim against Pat Troy for damages for the period of the unpaid rent since McKew’s death. This meant they did not believe the Deed of Gift was genuine. They won their civil case.  (Sydney Gazette, Monday 30 June 1828)

Immediately the civil case finished the judge ordered Troy, Bradley and Lawrie to be charged with forgery. Lawrie had vanished already straight after he gave evidence at the court hearing.  Troy and Bradley were put into gaol forthwith. (per Sydney Gazette, Monday 39 June 1828)

CRIMINAL TRIAL FOR FORGERY, COUNTERFEITING & INTENT TO DEFRAUD.

Pat Troy was never free again.  He was tried with Bradley at a criminal trial for forgery, counterfeiting with intent to defraud, - 12 counts in all because of the various beneficiaries under the Will who would have been defrauded. The trial was held on Monday 22 September 1822 and fully reported in the Sydney Gazette dated 24 September 1828. Troy’s brother-in-law, Francis Spencer, was a crucial witness against them, reporting their attempts to involve him in the forgery. They were found guilty that day and remanded for sentencing.

Sentencing was on Tuesday 30th September.  To be executed.  The judge told them not to hold out even the most distant hope of mercy. There was none. Sydney Gazette, Wednesday 1 October 1828.

Monday 20 October 1828, Patrick Troy and Joseph Bradley were hanged with 7 other men at the same time in the back yard of Sydney Gaol, watched by a huge crowd from the street on the rocks up above.

CHILDREN’s POSTSCRIPT

December 1828 - Troy’s four eldest children were placed by their mother into the two orphanages for boys and girls respectively.  The eldest was aged 9 the youngest of these four kids only a little girl of 4.  Elizabeth Troy kept the youngest, George with her and remarried in 1830 to their ex-convict servant, James Bryan or O”Bryan,  She never took her other four children back again. She hd a completely new family with O’Bryan.

The second boy, Patrick was released from the Orphanage into an apprenticeship to a cabinet maker, James Brady, which he was perhaps never capable of undertaking,  At the age of 22 in March 1842 he was found wandering the streets and reportedly “has for some considerable time past been a source of great annoyance to the Police. Wandering about the streets at all hours of the night, and sleeping in ruined or unfinished buildings, seems to be his chief delight. He is an apprentice to Mr. Brady, the cabinet maker, of Pitt street, who has tried all means in his power to keep him in the house, but in vain.”  Since Mr Brady entered bankruptcy proceedings in June 1842, he was probably not in a position to take much interest in his simple ‘apprentice’.

While he was brought before the police bench regularly, it was only on 9 June 1842 that Patrick Troy, a simpleton apparently, was finally placed into the Tarban Creek Lunatic Asylum. It appears he was not released, suffering from a “dementia” which would have been a general imbecility of the mind.  Was his whole case worsened by the ordeal of his father being hanged and he being put into the loveless environment of an orphanage? No doubt.

Patrick Troy Jnr was probably the saddest victim of his father’s misguided attempt to look after his family through dishonest means, contrary to all his previous endeavours, principles and behaviours.

Robin Sharkey on 5th February, 2015 wrote:

BLOCK OF LAND IN SUSSEX ST

In about 1826 or 1827, Pat Troy bought a block of land in Sussex St from William Farrel (Irish ex-convict per “Boyd"in 1809).  It had a frontage to Sussex Street, and ran down to the water in Darling Harbour. A house had been built on it by Henry Early before 1814, and the next owner was also Ex-Boyd, William Farrel who put a fence on it and rented it out to a person who had a lime kiln, and the government built a stone wharf also down to the water.  Patrick Troy paid Farrel “£25 in money and Troy’s note at three months for the other half.”  Pat Troy then sold it on 9th August 1827 to one Payne for £46 6s.  So he lost out on this transaction.

From “Sydney Monitor” dated 24 March 1830

Convict Changes History

Robin Sharkey on 28th October, 2014 made the following changes:

convicted at, term: 7 years, voyage, source: Sydney Gazettes 30/6/1828 civil trial, 22/9/1828 criminal trial, NSWBDM, Marriage 832/1818 V1818832 147B, State Records of NSW, re Colonial Secretary's papers - assignment of convicts. re Tarban Creek Lunatic A

Primary source:

Sydney Gazettes 30/6/1828 civil trial, 22/9/1828 criminal trial, NSWBDM, Marriage 832/1818 V1818832 147B, State Records of NSW, re Colonial Secretary's papers - assignment of convicts. re Tarban Creek Lunatic Asylum Returns and reports 1845 -1849