User talk:Karipatta

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Why do you keep changing the entry for James Waterson Johnston in Ex-convict school teachers in Western Australia. I checked into this after your first (anonymous) edit, and the references clearly support my version. Please provide a reference for your change or leave the article alone. Snottygobble 02:37, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

Response

I am related to James Waterson Johnston Ex-convict school teacher.

He is Convict Number 5793. I have researched the records extensively over a period of 16 years.

I have edited the entry because the details given are incorrect and confuse the Ex-convict teacher James Johnston with another convict of the same name ie Johnson, James Convict Number 9479. I have a copy of James Waterson Johnston's trial - Ref: Scottish Record Office Reference: JC4/64. He was sentenced to 10 years transportation, for robbery (NOT rape), in 1858.

You claim he was sentenced to eight years' penal servitude for rape in 1865. The Superintendent Order Books (AN 358, Acc 1156, SO7), held in the Battye Library Archives, clearly state on page 451 that James Johnston, Convict 5793, lithographer (lithographic printer), was received in the colony on February 15th 1861. Page 472 clearly states convict Number 5793, James Johnston lithographer, was transferred to Champion Bay (Geraldton/Dongara area) per schooner Favourite, on March 28, 1861.

Note: This is four years before James Johnston, rapist, was sentenced, and six years before he arrived in the colony on the Norwood.

The other details I have changed are also correct (ie date of arrival, convict ship, years of teaching at Dongara, etc):

References include:

Battye Library: R Series 4 Accession 1156

Battye Library: Acc 128/38

Battye Library: Acc1914 p.25

Battye Library: R Series 21B Acc 1156

Rikkers, J: Western Australian Schools 1830-1980 / John Rikkers, (1984)- Western Australian Schools 1830-1980 / John Rikkers, (1984)

Erickson, Rica and O'Mara, Gillian. The Bicentennial dictionary of Western Australians. V. 9. Convicts in Western Australia, 1850-1887. Nedlands, W.A. : University of Western Australia, 1987-[1997]. ISBN 1875560440. [Revision of Dictionary of Western Australians Vol. 2 Bond 1850-1868. Alphabetical listing of convicts and short biography of each]

I am also confident that Rica Erikson, in her book The Brand on His Coat, does not identify the ex-convict teacher as the James Johnston who arrived on the Norwood. I will confirm this when I have a chance to view the book again.

Sorry I edited anonymously - it was unintentional as this is the first time I have attempted to edit Wikipedia.

Karipatta 05:41, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

I have moved our discussion about the article ex-convict school teachers in Western Australia to the article's talk page, and responded there.

I didn't mean to infer that you should not have edited anonymously; you are very welcome to do so.

Oh, and welcome to Wikipedia. Snottygobble 06:23, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

No worries. Referencing in Wikipedia is a bit (too) esoteric. I wouldn't expect you to get it spot on first time! Snottygobble 11:25, 13 August 2006 (UTC)