Read the full version of this article in our latest issue<\/a>, on sale now<\/h4><\/div><\/div>\u201cMy mum\u2019s maiden name<\/a> was Josephine Collins,\u201d Mary explains. \u201cShe was widowed young and took up a few hobbies after Dad died, including genealogy. I decided to help her, and soon became hooked on it. That\u2019s how I found our Victorian relative Michael Collins, who fell foul of the law during childhood.\u201d<\/p>“I became hooked on genealogy”<\/p><\/blockquote>
Michael was born in Youghal, County Cork, Ireland, in 1848. His parents were John and Mary Collins, and his eldest brother Thomas would grow up to become Mary\u2019s great great grandfather.<\/p>
\u201cThe family came to Wales in 1849 at the height of the Great Famine. Life must have been terrible for them in Ireland.\u201d Food riots erupted in Irish ports, including Youghal, where starving people had to watch home-grown grain being loaded onto boats destined for England.<\/p>
The family settled in Newport, Monmouthshire<\/a> (now Gwent), which is where they were listed on the 1851 census. The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal transported coal, limestone and iron ore from the Valleys to Newport. The town expanded to become a thriving port, and this generated work opportunities.<\/p>\u201cA large Irish community grew up around Newport, and it\u2019s still there today. It was a dreadful place to live in the mid-19th century, built on a marsh with houses just thrown up for the workers. Sewage ran down the middle of the road, and there was one \u2018privvy\u2019 for 20 households. The Collins family lived close to the docks and canal, where barges came in laden with coal.\u201d<\/p>
Arrested for stealing coal<\/h2>
Mary began searching for John, Michael\u2019s father, and looked up his name on the National Library of Wales\u2019 website Welsh Newspapers Online<\/a>. \u201cI found two magistrates\u2019 reports and these revealed that John had been arrested twice for stealing coal, the first time with Michael who was aged only seven.<\/p>\u201cI found this so shocking. Imagine being a seven-year-old child standing in the dock of a court. Michael was acquitted, but John was sentenced to three months\u2019 hard labour.\u201d<\/p>
Michael\u2019s challenges had only begun, because in 1859 he was arrested with his brother John for stealing coal. They were found guilty, and 14-year-old John was given six months\u2019 hard labour. Michael was sentenced to a fortnight in gaol, which began immediately, then five years in a reformatory. \u201cI thought this was a very harsh sentence for a 10-year-old child. All he\u2019d done was steal a few lumps of coal.\u201d<\/p>
“All he\u2019d done was steal a few lumps of coal”<\/p><\/blockquote>
Reform schools began in 1854 under the terms of the Youthful Offenders Act. The intention was to take child \u2018criminals\u2019 off the streets, separate them from adult prisoners and lead them into a new way of life.<\/p>
Children were educated and taught trades or skills to prepare them for domestic service. Life was strict and regimented, with every second of the day occupied. The diet was akin to that of the workhouse, consisting mainly of tea, bread and butter, potatoes, and stew or barley soup. Overcrowded conditions caused outbreaks of contagious diseases, including smallpox and measles.<\/p>
Reformatory staff were stern, and meted out harsh punishments. Many children ran away; if girls were caught then their hair was cut off, and if boys were caught they were flogged. Families hadto pay the school a regular stipend to support their children.<\/p>Boy being flogged before being sent to a reformatory, Yorkshire, 1877 (Source: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\u201cMichael was sent to Monmouthshire Reformatory for Boys in the village of Little Mill around 11 miles north of Newport. It was also known as Little Mill Reformatory, and opened in February 1859. Michael was its first pupil and, for 10 weeks, the only child there.<\/p>
\u201cI visited Gwent Archives<\/a> at Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent, to discover more. The reformatory kept notes about its pupils, and it was incredible to see Michael\u2019s case history in its \u2018Register of Boys, 1859\u20131914\u2019.<\/p>\u201cThe notes revealed that he arrived on 11 April 1859 after spending a fortnight in Usk House of Correction, a few miles away. Michael was unable to read, and was \u2018unconscious of right or wrong, with no idea that to steal was a sin\u2019. To begin with, when he was the only child, he spent most of the time working in the potato fields, and receiving basic instruction in English and mathematics. I\u2019m not sure how often the family could visit him, although the record stated that his sister Hannah did so on one occasion. At least the reformatory school gave him a chance in life that he may not have had otherwise.<\/p>
\u201cI was pleased to see that Michael thrived at the school. The master recorded that after two years, \u2018he had good moral qualities and capabilities which there was not the least chance of development in his former wretched condition\u2019.\u201d<\/p>![\"A](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2023\/12\/Reformatory-notes-scaled.jpeg\")
Mary found Michael in reformatory records from Gwent Archives (Source: Gwent Archives)<\/figcaption><\/figure>Captain’s apprentice<\/h2>
By the mid-1860s, Thomas had joined the Merchant Navy<\/a> and it was suggested that Michael should be apprenticed to a sea captain. In 1864, he was licensed for a month to a ship owner in Newport and became an able seaman.<\/p>\u201cAgain, Michael did well and voyaged to Portugal and other European nations. His reformatory notes recorded that he returned to speak to the staff and boys about his new life.\u201d<\/p>
Sadly, Mary discovered that Michael fell foul of the law again in 1871 when was convicted of stealing a cap. He was sentenced to three months\u2019 hard labour.<\/p>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/52\/2023\/12\/Michael-Collins-mugshot.jpeg\")
Michael Collins’ mugshot from when he was arrested for stealing a cap in 1871 (Source: Gwent Archives)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\u201cDespite this aberration, life was taking a more positive turn for Michael. In 1871, he married<\/a> Mary McCarthy in Newport and she became pregnant.<\/p>\u201cA few months later, Michael sailed from Liverpool on the Universe to Savannah, Georgia, USA. I then found a tragic record in the collection \u2018UK, Registers of Births, Marriages and Deaths at Sea, 1844\u20131890\u2019 on Ancestry<\/a>. Michael had caught dysentery on the voyage home, and was taken to the Northern Hospital<\/a> in Liverpool. The record stated that he died on 3 December 1872, two days after being admitted. It\u2019s highly unlikely that Mary could have travelled from Newport to Liverpool to see her husband before he died. Their son Michael was born in June 1872. I don\u2019t know if he ever got to see him.<\/p>\u201cThe record stated that Michael had wages of \u00a311 18s 11d, which he insisted on taking into hospital with him. I suppose he was keen to ensure that the money would go to Mary and his son if he passed away. After his death, the funds were handed over to the Board of Trade, and I\u2019m still trying to find out if they were passed to Mary.\u201d<\/p>
“I became hooked on genealogy”<\/p><\/blockquote>
Michael was born in Youghal, County Cork, Ireland, in 1848. His parents were John and Mary Collins, and his eldest brother Thomas would grow up to become Mary\u2019s great great grandfather.<\/p>
\u201cThe family came to Wales in 1849 at the height of the Great Famine. Life must have been terrible for them in Ireland.\u201d Food riots erupted in Irish ports, including Youghal, where starving people had to watch home-grown grain being loaded onto boats destined for England.<\/p>
The family settled in Newport, Monmouthshire<\/a> (now Gwent), which is where they were listed on the 1851 census. The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal transported coal, limestone and iron ore from the Valleys to Newport. The town expanded to become a thriving port, and this generated work opportunities.<\/p>
\u201cA large Irish community grew up around Newport, and it\u2019s still there today. It was a dreadful place to live in the mid-19th century, built on a marsh with houses just thrown up for the workers. Sewage ran down the middle of the road, and there was one \u2018privvy\u2019 for 20 households. The Collins family lived close to the docks and canal, where barges came in laden with coal.\u201d<\/p>
Arrested for stealing coal<\/h2>
Mary began searching for John, Michael\u2019s father, and looked up his name on the National Library of Wales\u2019 website Welsh Newspapers Online<\/a>. \u201cI found two magistrates\u2019 reports and these revealed that John had been arrested twice for stealing coal, the first time with Michael who was aged only seven.<\/p>
\u201cI found this so shocking. Imagine being a seven-year-old child standing in the dock of a court. Michael was acquitted, but John was sentenced to three months\u2019 hard labour.\u201d<\/p>
Michael\u2019s challenges had only begun, because in 1859 he was arrested with his brother John for stealing coal. They were found guilty, and 14-year-old John was given six months\u2019 hard labour. Michael was sentenced to a fortnight in gaol, which began immediately, then five years in a reformatory. \u201cI thought this was a very harsh sentence for a 10-year-old child. All he\u2019d done was steal a few lumps of coal.\u201d<\/p>
“All he\u2019d done was steal a few lumps of coal”<\/p><\/blockquote>
Reform schools began in 1854 under the terms of the Youthful Offenders Act. The intention was to take child \u2018criminals\u2019 off the streets, separate them from adult prisoners and lead them into a new way of life.<\/p>
Children were educated and taught trades or skills to prepare them for domestic service. Life was strict and regimented, with every second of the day occupied. The diet was akin to that of the workhouse, consisting mainly of tea, bread and butter, potatoes, and stew or barley soup. Overcrowded conditions caused outbreaks of contagious diseases, including smallpox and measles.<\/p>
Reformatory staff were stern, and meted out harsh punishments. Many children ran away; if girls were caught then their hair was cut off, and if boys were caught they were flogged. Families hadto pay the school a regular stipend to support their children.<\/p>
Boy being flogged before being sent to a reformatory, Yorkshire, 1877 (Source: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure> \u201cMichael was sent to Monmouthshire Reformatory for Boys in the village of Little Mill around 11 miles north of Newport. It was also known as Little Mill Reformatory, and opened in February 1859. Michael was its first pupil and, for 10 weeks, the only child there.<\/p>
\u201cI visited Gwent Archives<\/a> at Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent, to discover more. The reformatory kept notes about its pupils, and it was incredible to see Michael\u2019s case history in its \u2018Register of Boys, 1859\u20131914\u2019.<\/p>
\u201cThe notes revealed that he arrived on 11 April 1859 after spending a fortnight in Usk House of Correction, a few miles away. Michael was unable to read, and was \u2018unconscious of right or wrong, with no idea that to steal was a sin\u2019. To begin with, when he was the only child, he spent most of the time working in the potato fields, and receiving basic instruction in English and mathematics. I\u2019m not sure how often the family could visit him, although the record stated that his sister Hannah did so on one occasion. At least the reformatory school gave him a chance in life that he may not have had otherwise.<\/p>
\u201cI was pleased to see that Michael thrived at the school. The master recorded that after two years, \u2018he had good moral qualities and capabilities which there was not the least chance of development in his former wretched condition\u2019.\u201d<\/p>
Mary found Michael in reformatory records from Gwent Archives (Source: Gwent Archives)<\/figcaption><\/figure> Captain’s apprentice<\/h2>
By the mid-1860s, Thomas had joined the Merchant Navy<\/a> and it was suggested that Michael should be apprenticed to a sea captain. In 1864, he was licensed for a month to a ship owner in Newport and became an able seaman.<\/p>
\u201cAgain, Michael did well and voyaged to Portugal and other European nations. His reformatory notes recorded that he returned to speak to the staff and boys about his new life.\u201d<\/p>
Sadly, Mary discovered that Michael fell foul of the law again in 1871 when was convicted of stealing a cap. He was sentenced to three months\u2019 hard labour.<\/p>
Michael Collins’ mugshot from when he was arrested for stealing a cap in 1871 (Source: Gwent Archives)<\/figcaption><\/figure> \u201cDespite this aberration, life was taking a more positive turn for Michael. In 1871, he married<\/a> Mary McCarthy in Newport and she became pregnant.<\/p>
\u201cA few months later, Michael sailed from Liverpool on the Universe to Savannah, Georgia, USA. I then found a tragic record in the collection \u2018UK, Registers of Births, Marriages and Deaths at Sea, 1844\u20131890\u2019 on Ancestry<\/a>. Michael had caught dysentery on the voyage home, and was taken to the Northern Hospital<\/a> in Liverpool. The record stated that he died on 3 December 1872, two days after being admitted. It\u2019s highly unlikely that Mary could have travelled from Newport to Liverpool to see her husband before he died. Their son Michael was born in June 1872. I don\u2019t know if he ever got to see him.<\/p>
\u201cThe record stated that Michael had wages of \u00a311 18s 11d, which he insisted on taking into hospital with him. I suppose he was keen to ensure that the money would go to Mary and his son if he passed away. After his death, the funds were handed over to the Board of Trade, and I\u2019m still trying to find out if they were passed to Mary.\u201d<\/p>