• Title
  Thomas Scott - 'Life of a Convict named "Isaacs" a Jew in Van Diemen's Land taken down from his own dictation in the year 1821 at Elizabeth River where he then was - Servant to Govr. Sorell as his Stock Keeper'
• Call number
  B 41
  
• Level of description
  series
• Date
  
  1821
• Type of material
  Textual Records
• Reference code
  423973
• Issue Copy
  Microfilm : CY 1793, frames 1-13 (B 41)
  
• Physical Description
  0.01 metres of textual material (1 volume) - manuscript
  
• ADMINISTRATIVE/ BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
  
  Michael Isaacs was born in London in 1798. According to his account he became a thief when aged about 13. At 15 he joined the army, probably the 43rd (Monmouthshire) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry). His regiment was involved in battles in the Peninsular War including Salamanca (1812) and Toulouse (1814), before being shipped to New Orleans. The men returned to Europe a few days after the Battle of Waterloo. The regiment went to Ghent, then Paris (1815). In 1818 Isaacs was convicted of horse stealing and transported for life, arriving in Van Diemen's Land in May 1819.
• Scope and Content
  Account of Isaacs' life, in the first person, written in the hand of Thomas Scott. Isaacs tells of his life, crimes (including robbing the dead and other forms of theft), service in the military, and travels. The account breaks off after Isaacs states his intention to desert from the army. Isaacs does not focus on military history. Instead, he describes his life as a thief in the army. The account is wholly set in Europe and North America. It does not describe Tasmania, nor his life as a convict. This account is incomplete.
• Finding Aids
  Read the transcription here: archival-classic.sl.nsw.gov.au/_transcript/2017/D00007/a695.html
• General note
  
  D.S. Mitchell bookplate inside front cover.
  "D.S. Mitchell" signature on front endpaper.
  Further biographical notes about Isaacs can be found in 'The Forefathers: a Dictionary of Biography of the Jews of Australia, 1788-1830' by John Simon Levi, Australian Jewish Historical Society, 1976.
  Digital order no:Album ID : 824124
• Signatures / Inscriptions
  
  Handwritten on page 1 : 'Either the 43rd or 45th Regmt.'
• Creator/Author/Artist
  Isaacs, Michael, 1798-
  
• Subject
  Convicts--Tasmania.
  David Scott Mitchell Collection.
  Jews--Tasmania.
  Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1815.
  Peninsular War, 1807-1814.
  
• Open Rosetta viewer
  IE1000813

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