Genealogy Chat

Yvonne, you have probably already found this site: Convict Tattoos Written by David Kent, Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of New England in Armidale, NSW. Published in Smith's On Line, Volume 38 Number 24, 19 December 1997 [ Close the Window ] Historian probes the stories of convicts' tattoos When Australia's convicts etched soot and the black sediment from lamps into their skins early last century, they recorded their hopes, beliefs, disappointments and loves. When Associate Professor in the Department of History David Kent came across descriptions of these tattoos, he knew he had found a mine of information that could tell us something about the convicts that other records could not. 'What the descriptions tell us is that convicts were not just this mass of a lumpen proletariat, but that they were real men and women with hopes and fears just like the rest of us,' said A/Prof Kent. 'Although the tattoos were recorded by the authorities to help identify escaped convicts, the tattoos were a way for convicts to make human statements about themselves,' he said. A/Prof Kent analysed the tattoos of all convicts transported to New South Wales during 1831, numbering about 3000, of whom 30 per cent of men and 10 per cent of women carried tattoos. 'For some convicts, tattoos were purely decorative, while others transcribed the date of their trial, transportation, or date when their sentence was up on to their skins,' he said. 'There were family trees, slogans, religious symbols, and many more. One of the most popular was the anchor - and most of the wearers had nothing to do with the sea - which was a symbol of hope and constancy, and often attached to a loved one's initials,' he said. 'One example of how symbols were used was that of Laban Stone. He married Sarah Burgess in 1828 and fathered a son, John, before his exile. On his left arm was 'LS, SS, sun, JS, tree, 1831, heart'

Does anyone know information giving a history of tattoos? I have some on a convict - not registration numbers - but done early 1800's. JGAMAC on left arm and ACST anchor on right arm. Thanks, Vonny