George Thomas Weldon was born about 1816 in Ickenham, London, Middlesex, England. He was christened on 21st April 1816 in Ickenham, London, Middlesex, England. His parents were George WILLDEN & Sarah.

On the 29th November 1832, aged just 16 years, George Willden (Weldon) was sentenced to Death, changed to Life, after being indited and convicted for feloniously breaking and entering the dwelling house of John Lawrence, on the 20th November 1832, in Ickenham, and stealing therin one watch, value £2, his property.
Below is a copy of the Trial Transcript.

JOHN LAWRENCE - I am a labourer, and live at Ickenham near Uxbridge - I keep the house, it is a cottage - I rent it. On tuesday 20th November 1832 I left the house at two o'clock in the afternoon - I locked the door, and the windows were closed - I left nobody in the house - I left my watch hanging on a shelf - it is a large silver case watch, with a blue ribbon, and two keys to it - I came back at 3 o'clock and before I got to my door I saw the window had been moved, and ajar, one side of it was pushed in, it was a sliding sash - I am sure it was fast when I went out - I unlocked the door, went in, and my watch was gone - I saw fresh foot marks from the window where they had jumped up, there was the print of a nail in the heel of one shoe, and part of a tip of the other, there were only two marks - there were no nails in the front of the shoe - the marks were quite fresh - I saw the prisoner about twenty minutes after 2 o'clock, fifty or sixty yards from my house- he lives at the end of the buildings near me - directly I missed my watch I went to look after him, and about 7 o'clock next morning I found him laying in a barn on the top of some beans. I took him to the window and me assured his shoe with the footmarks on the ground - I did not take his shoe off - the marks were just the length of the shoe - there were no nails on one side of the heel of one shoe - and on part of the tip of the heel - and there were marks of that whole tip, and the other had half a tip, and there was a mark of that - I saw my watch again last Thursday afternoon.
JURY - What induced you to go after him ?
JOHN LAWRENCE - I suspected him - I told him I would not hurt him if he told me where the watch was.
JOHN SOUTHAM - I am 14 years old and live at Vine Street, Uxbridge. I was at play with Lipscomb, on Tuesday 20th November 1832 by the Churchyard and saw the prisoner there - Inever saw him before - I said to LIPSCOMB," I wonder what it is o'clock" and the prisoner pulled out a watch , and said it was 5 minutes past 4 o'clock - the clock struck 4 at the time - he opened the watch glass and put it to his ear - the watch had a kind of blue ribbon which had something on it - I am not sure whether it was seals or keys.
WILLIAM LIPSCOMB - I am 13 years old, and live at Vine Street. I was at play with SOUTHAM - he asked what o'clock it was - I saw the prisoner there - I did not know him before - he came to my fathers about a black bitch - and staid there some time - when SOUTHAM asked the time the prisoner pulled a watch out of his pocket - the clock was just striking four - and he said is was five minutes after four by his watch - he opened the glass of the watch - and put it to his ear - was a large silver watch - I cannot say whether it had a string or what to it.
William BELL - I am a Constable - I took the prisoner into custody and put him in the cage - I searched him but found nothing - I took him from the cage to the magistrates at Uxbridge, and he kept stamping with one foot as he went along - he did it a great many times - he was delivered to me by LAWRENCE on the 21st who said - in his hearing - that he had his house robbed of his watch - he said nothing about his shoes then - the house is in the parish of Ickenham.
WILLIAM INGRAM - I am a Constable - I found the watch at Uxbridge common, in a ditch, the prisoner denied the charge until his commitment was made out, but afterwards told me where he had hid it, and I found it at the place he described - I never heard any promise made to him.
John LAWRENCE - This is the watch I lost.

30 November 1832 = Guilty - Death = age 17 years (he was only 16).

Recommended to mercy by the prosecutor - believing it to be his first offence.

George departed Portsmouth, England on the 14th May 1833, on board the vessel "HEROINE:and arrived at Sydney, Australia on 19th September 1833. there were 260 male convicts on board the "HEROINE", with 4 dying during the voyage. The ship's Master was Robert McCarthy and the Surgeon was George Roberts.

George WELDON obtained his Ticket of Leave in 1841, which allowed him to remain in the District of Berrima. At that time George was described as being 4foot 9�inches tall, with light brown hair and blue eyes.

George married Mary Ann Galvin on the 2nd September 1845 at St Francis Xavier's Roman Catholic Church at Wollongong, NSW, Australia. Mary Ann had arrived in Australia in 1823, with her mother, a convict. Mary had previously married John Galvin who died in 1844. It is presumed that George would have met Mary Ann while they were both living in the district of Berrima. It is even possible that he was one of the two single males listed as living at Homer's Farm (where John and Mary GALVIN were listed as living) in the 1841 census and classified under the heading "Shepherds and others in the care of sheep, Gardeners, Stockmen and Persons employed in Agriculture".

The Weldon family had moved from Wollongong by 1853 as their son Robert George was baptised in Campbelltown in March 1853, his father's occupation given as "Farmer - Menangle" - they later moved to the Mittagong area as another son George was born in Mittagong in 1861. In 1859/1860 George WELDON is listed as being a resident of the Upper Mittagong area.

George WELDON was admitted to the Liverpool Asylum on 26 February 1875 and died there on 11 January 1876 age 61 years (or 66 years according to some records). He was buried on the 12th January 1876 at St Luke's, Liverpool, NSW, Australia.






Other Names for George were: George WALDEN, George WILDEN, George WILDON, & George WILLDEN.

THE INFORMATION ON THIS PAGE WAS KINDLY SUPPLIED BY MICHAEL MAHON A DIRECT DESCENDANT OF GEORGE WELDON.