Hidden Treasures: Sarah Arment’s Petition

Like the final documents in Jane Tripp’s pension file, Sarah Arment’s petition is also from 1849. But her petition was filed all the way across the ocean in London. This made it easier to find background information on the family. Nominal censuses in England started in 1841. 

In 1841, Sarah Arment was living with her husband, Thomas, a 55-year-old carman, her son, Thomas, at 20-year-old light porter and her daughter, Sarah, a 15-year-old rug weaver. The ages in this census were rounded to the nearest age divisible by 5. Sarah’s age was given as 45. The snapshot that the 1841 census gave seems to have only lasted a little while.

Sarah’s petition was a plea for mercy for her husband and son who were convicted of “stealing or feloniously disposing of a quantity of Silk Damask and other Articles the property of Messrs Druce + CoȲ of Regent Street Upholsterers.” What could have driven them to such and act?

Reading between the lines it appears that age and ill health lost the elder Thomas his job eight years previous. Since that time, he had been carrying out his own small business as a greengrocer and coal seller. He suffered from Rheumatic Gout and was of the advanced age of upwards of 67. Sarah, herself, suffered from anxiety and asthma. Besides the frailty of the parents, there was also the fact that Thomas and son did not knowingly transport good owned by the upholsterers. They were the innocent dupes of others. Again, and again Sarah refers to their previous good characters.

The petition ends with a page of signatures of supporters most of whom lived in Goodmans Fields or Tenters Ground, not the most affluent area of London. Interestingly enough, there was one name with an address in Pall Mall. 

Was the petition that Sarah filed in February successful? Well, only the younger Thomas was eventually transported to Australia. What happened to the elder Thomas was, to my mind, more cruel. It was a practice at the time to house convicts in unseaworthy ships, or hulks in back waters. Thomas senior’s death was recorded on October 19, 1849 at 2:15 am on the convict ship Defence. The cause of death was given as bronchitis 13 days. Not surprising as he was kept aboard an unseaworthy ship in Portsmouth Harbour for the duration of his illness. It was a high price to pay for receiving stolen goods. 

By National Library of Ireland on The Commons - On the rooftops of London. Coo, what a sight!NLI Ref.: STP_0424Uploaded by oaktree_b, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22151567