(Research):William's Headstone at Latrobe Catholic Cemetery reads: Native of London, Died November 22 1886, aged 84 years. Several decendants have failed to find when & how He arrived in Tasmania, Australia. The closest guess was a William Steers who travelled "steerage" to Tasmania on the ship Lady Leigh on 13 December 1852, which left Port Phillip on 6 December 1852. The first official record we have of William was when he purchased 2 acres of land from the Crown in West Parade, Deloraine, Tasmania for the sum of 110 pounds. He later sold the land to the Catholic Church.

Comments:

Mary Steers My great grandfather William Steers came as convict William Steers on the ship Woodford in 1828. His father was John and he had a brother John. He was found guilty of highway robbery at the Old Bailey in London. The story passed down to me is that he always said not to trust the authorities. The court records show that today the case would be tossed out. There is a story about William Steers on the web written by his greatgrandson Martin. Type - 'William Steers it's all relative it seems' - and the story should appear. Cheers Mary

188 days ago

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