John Oliver was my 3 x great-grandfather. He was a farmer in a hamlet called Bramwith Woodhouse, a few miles from Doncaster in Yorkshire. John held a game certificate, presumably for killing wildlife or vermin, etc. and one summer night in 1847, two seventeen year-old lads broke into his house and stole a couple of double-barrelled guns.

These same guns were used in a second burglary the following night at another house. The young lads stood at either end of the bed of one Samuel Rudman with the guns in their hands and demanded 'his money or his life'. They were disturbed and made off with three shillings, a handkerchief and two ounces of tobacco. A few days later, John Oliver's guns were found in the possession of the two criminals and the lads received the sentence of transportation for 15 years.

I looked up the Criminal Registers and discovered that this was neither of the boys' first offence. Richard Bisbroun or Bisbrown had committed larceny in 1844 and was sentenced to be whipped and impisoned for 1 month. He was at it again in 1846 and was sentenced to be whipped and impisoned for 1 week. James Walker had also committed larceny in 1842 at the age of 12. He received the sentence of whipping and imprisonment for 1 month.

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