William MEREDEN
1811 -
-
Name William MEREDEN Birth 4 Dec 1811 Latimer, Buckinghamshire 
[1] Gender Male Person ID I42 Webb Last Modified 1 Jun 2025
Family Fanny FREEMAN, b. 12 Nov 1814, Hertfordshire d. 27 Sep 1893, Hertfordshire (Age 78 years) Marriage 19 Dec 1831 Bovingdon, Hertfordshire [2, 3] Notes - The tree at http://trees.ancestry.co.uk/tree/34754962/person/18699292740
has Fanny's parents as Tom and Ann (HADDEN)
Children 1. Ann MERRIDON, b. 12 May 1853, Bovingdon, Hertfordshire d. 1896, 39, Puller Road, Boxmoor, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire (Age 42 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]2. Henry MERRIDON, b. 2 Apr 1832, Bovingdon, Hertfordshire [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]3. Joseph MERRIDON, b. 12 Apr 1834, Bovingdon, Hertfordshire [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]4. Keziah MEREDEN, b. 1843, Bovingdon, Hertfordshire [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]5. Thomas MEREDEN, b. 1850, Bovingdon, Hertfordshire [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]Family ID F13 Group Sheet | Family Chart Last Modified 1 Jun 2025
- The tree at http://trees.ancestry.co.uk/tree/34754962/person/18699292740
-
Event Map 
Birth - 4 Dec 1811 - Latimer, Buckinghamshire 
Marriage - 19 Dec 1831 - Bovingdon, Hertfordshire = Link to Google Earth
-
Notes - The information here should be looked at alongside that of his wife's daughter Ann (b1853)
Family trees on the internet suggest that he died in Tasmainia in 1842.
There appears to be no evidence to support these
There are court records of larceny punished by 3 months at the Lent 1831 Assizes in Bucks and then sentenced to life (transportation ?) at Aylesbury 3 Mar 1834 for Burglary (one internet source has house burglary). He was aged 21 when he arrived on the ship Justitia at Woolwich on 22 Apr 1834.
When his children were baptised in 1842, he was noted as "transported for life"
He was also in the Bucks Assizes in Lent 1832 for Larceny, but it is recorded as "No Bill", which I think means there was not sufficient evidence to proceed
The Australian Convict Records site (https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/merridon/william/12812), with transcripts from both UK and Australian government records adds to the story by saying this
Left: 12th Dec, 1834
Travelled on: George the Third
George III, was wrecked on reefs at the south-eastern entrance to the D'Entrecasteaux Channel, Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) on 12 March 1835 near the end of a voyage from Woolwich to Hobart Town. 133 of 220 male convicts on board lost their lives, 81 survived, one being a 10yr old boy. Only five of the 88 crew, guards and their families were drowned. Firearms had been discharged to keep the convicts below decks while the latter were being evacuated.
Arrived on: 12th Mar, 1835
Assuming that the birth details here are correct (and there is no other obvious birth details on any internet site), then his parents were John and Sarah and there are a number of siblings. Note that Latimer is about 4 miles on foot to Bovingdon, so it is reasonable to assume that this person could be the same William we see marrying Fanny in 1831.
- The information here should be looked at alongside that of his wife's daughter Ann (b1853)
-
Sources