I was recently challenged with reviewing my family tree to identify any ‘naughty’ ancestors – what they did and the consequences of their actions. I knew that at least one of my Stirland ancestors had fallen foul of the law, so decided to focus on that line and searched for newspaper reports of any criminal cases. I found two likely offenders, Herbert Stirland and Joseph Stirland. Even though the surname is not all that common, it is often problematic to work out which individual was concerned as the same first names are used numerous times in each generation. My original Joseph had six sons from his two marriages, and each son named one of his sons Joseph and so it went on. I have 15 in all. So which one committed a crime, for instance, and was he directly related to me or not. I was able to reduce the number by checking details of their birth and death against the date when the crime was reported. Other filters were the location of the crime – the Stirland name is predominantly found in the Ilkeston area bordering Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire – the occupation, and other details of the individual concerned. I will save Herbert’s story for a future post and focus on Joseph.
Although I have not definitely connected the Joseph Stirland who was convicted of forgery to my direct line family, I have pieced together snippets of information in newspaper articles, census and BMD records and think it is more than likely that he is my 1st half-cousin 4 times removed. A report in the Nottinghamshire Guardian of 29 October 1898 stated that an Ilkeston Borough Auditor was charged with “feloniously uttering, knowing the same to be forged, a cheque for the payment of £10, on or about March 17th last”. Joseph, a coalminer, had been Secretary of the Shipley and Cotmanhay Flower Show for some years, and was also one of the elective auditors for the borough of Ilkeston. The case set out against Joseph at the Ilkeston Petty Sessions on behalf of the Show Society was that he had forged the signatures of fellow auditors to access funds, but the Bank refused to cash the cheque. Joseph denied the charge, pleading not guilty and reserving his defence. He was, however, committed to trial at the next Derbyshire Assizes, with bail set at £40. Two other sureties were set at £20 each. This charge was obviously a major stain on Joseph’s character and reputation.
Joseph’s trial at the Derbyshire Assizes was reported in the Derbyshire Mercury on 7 December 1898. The case presented at the Petty Sessions was summarised and additional charges of embezzlement of £2 and £2 2s were added to the original charge of forging the cheque. Here Joseph was identified as secretary of the Shipley and Cotmanhay Rural and Horticultural Society. Joseph’s defence was that he had borrowed the money from the trustees of the society and that the signatures which appeared on the cheque were bona fide.

Yorkshire Telegraph & Star, 25 November 1898

The Judge’s harsh words reported in the newspaper, and the sentence, must have been a blow to the family and it was unlikely that he would have been able to obtain any future employment in the local area where finances were involved. Although I have not found any reports that shed light on what happened to Joseph following his conviction and sentencing, I did find several earlier reports about Joseph’s role in the local community. A Joseph Stirland who was Secretary of the Shipley and Cotmanhay Horticultural Society and an elected Borough Auditor appeared regularly in the lists of winners of prizes for fruit and vegetables at the annual horticultural show, which were published in local newspapers. He was probably quite well respected in the local horticultural sphere and it is likely that he was one of many coalminers who spent their spare time outdoors in the garden or allotment as an antidote to many hours spent in the dark down a coalmine. My own father, grandfather and great grandfathers, all grew their own vegetables, kept chickens and racing pigeons.
The cases against Joseph seem clear enough and the judge was obviously not backward in coming forward with his assessment of his character. From other newspaper reports that I located, he was regularly in financial trouble, ‘borrowing’ money from the Society on several occasions. He was sued for owing money to his butcher for several years; he had been sued on a previous occasion for keeping money given to him for the Horticultural Society; the two other charges of misappropriation of funds were pending. In relation to these latter charges, a report in the Yorkshire Telegraph and Star on 25 November 1898, Joseph said he would repay the funds when he “turned around” and also suggested that he had been “disgraced enough” in the local papers. Joseph was evidently tough enough to believe that he could defeat all the charges against him. This did not prove to be the case, however, and I wonder whether past demeanours had eventually caught up with him.
I have discovered a Joseph Stirland who died in May 1899 in Cotmanhay. The cause of death was ‘morbis cordis’ for 12 months and dropsy (3 months). Morbis cordis is a catch-all phrase for heart problems leading to a heart attack or stroke. I initially wondered whether his heart problems had caused him to behave in an uncharacteristic way by forging a cheque and falsifying records. However, it appears that these were not isolated cases, if all the reports relate to the same man. I also wonder whether he ever served his nine months’ imprisonment with hard labour since the Joseph who died in May 1899 died at his home. If he had been convicted of his forgery charge at an earlier time, it’s likely that he would have been transported for at least 14 years, possibly life.
Looking for reports in local, or national, newspapers can add a wealth of information to a family’s story and attach context to ancestors’ lives. Whether we like them or not, they were who they were and their lives are well worth exploring – we cannot really know the motivations behind their actions. I accessed the newspaper reports from the British Newspaper Archive at Findmypast.co.uk, where numerous newspapers are now free to view, and would encourage everyone to delve into them to see what they can find.