Samuel James, who was born in 1784 at Theydon Garnon, was on the 26 November 1797 accused of stealing 6d in money and a banknote, value £10, the property of Samuel Miller, of Theydon Garnon. He appeared at the Lent Assizes at Chelmsford in March 1798 and was convicted and sentenced to death.
However he was reprieved and instead transported to Australia for 7 years. He travelled on the Perseus, which left Spithead on the 12th February 1802 reaching Port Jackson on the 4th August journey of some 173 days.
In 1808 he married Anne Bean, another convicted felon who had also been transported and their marriage was to produce 12 children. Samuel died in 1833.
After he had served his time he was given 80 acres of land and 4 horned cattle. In the 1828 Census for New South Wales he is shown as a ‘Constable.’
As an aside to the story, Samuel’s father, also named Samuel was buried at Theydon Garnon in 1829. A note in the margin of the burial register states,
“this body was disinterred, but the shroud was not taken.”