Have you a convict in your tree?  If you have a bit of good luck has come your way as Ancestry.com have made available over 42,000 records of convicts transported to the Australian penal colonies.  These new additions join a collection now in the region of over 2 million documents from the 19th century related to convicts from their arrest to release.

Ticket of leave

During an 80 year period over 160,000 men, women and children were transported as convicts and it is estimated that over 2 million Britons have one or more convicts as relatives – so why not have a look, you never know what or who you may find.

You can either read the article on the link below or follow the direct link to begin your search – happy hunting!

The article can be found by clicking here    The linked has been removed 

New South Wales and Tasmania, Convict Pardons and Tickets of Leave, 1834-1859