criminals

criminals and their crimes
Britain's population increased rapidly in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Attracted by the prospect of jobs, workers from the countryside flocked to the developing towns. Overcrowding and poor sanitation led to poverty and disease and many resorted to petty crime:
"If the poor cannot procure employment, and are not supported, they must commit crimes or starve."
One of the most frequent crimes dealt with by the courts of Quarter Sessions was theft. Often, items stolen were of little value - clothing, household utensils, or food.
Defendant George Williams James Kelly George Williams James Kelly Robert Stephens Williams Stephens Richard Evans Mary Whalley David Jones John Hughes	Offence Larceny of a shirt Larceny of a shirt Larceny of shoes, lasts and leather Larceny of shoes, lasts and leather Larceny of iron Larceny of iron Unlawfully in a building at night Breaking into a house and stealing clothes Larceny of two half sovereigns Assault				Result Imprisonment, 7 days hard labour. Imprisonment 1 month hard labour, 1 week solitary confinement. 4 years penal servitude. Acquitted. 2 months hard labour. 1 months hard labour. 1 month hard labour. 2 months hard labour. 2 months hard labour 2 weeks solitary confinement Imprisonment 14 days and £5 fine.
Denbighshire Quarter Sessions convictions book, 1849 (Denbighshire Record Office). Children, perhaps orphaned or abandoned, also turned to crime. The 1851 census for Ruthin Gaol names seven prisoners aged 20 and under.
*Name* Edward Jones John Cartwright Robert Hiskith James Jones Edward Williams William Jones Thomas Carter Robert Davies William Evereth James Collins Thomas Reeves		*Age* 35 18 21 29 40 30 17 71 30 18 50	Occupation Labourer Tramp Labourer Shoemaker Labourer Labourer Mariner Stonemason Labourer Hawker Groom	Name George Howes George Howman William Jones John Williams George Mathews Mary Conway Patrick Nicholson Michael Henry Elizabeth Meddin William Cunnah Margaret Parkes		Age 38 20 21 27 19 21 17 14 35 51 27	*Occupation* Publican Tramp Shoemaker Shoemaker Joiner Servant Hawker Errand boy Laundress Proprietor of Houses Publican