Richard Polkinghorne married Grace Dunn on 1 September 1804 in Phillack, Cornwall.1 Their daughter, Honor, was baptized on 28 December 1806 in Phillack.2 Richard died at age 34 and was buried on 7 November 1814 in Phillack.3
Honor married Thomas Tremelling on 24 May 1828 in Phillack.4 He died at age 31 and was buried on 21 August 1836 in Phillack.5 She appeared in the census in 1841 in Camborne, Cornwall.6 Mr. York employed her as a cook in 1841.7 He was a draper in Penzance, Cornwall.7
Honor was charged with a felony, which occurred on 15 November 1846.8 “Being in want of change one morning to purchase provisions for the family before her master returned from his dwelling-house, and having none of her own, she took six shillings from the till, the shopman being present when she did so. She did not think that her master on being told by the shopman what she had done would suspect her of dishonesty.”9
Honor was undefended at her trial on 30 December 1846 in Penzance.8 She pleaded guilty and was given a seven-year sentence.8 It was her first conviction.9 She was transferred on 22 January 1847 to Millbank Prison in Millbank, Westminster, London, England.9
According to her convict record, Honor was 5'2".10 She had a sallow complexion, a round head, brown hair, an oval visage, a medium forehead, brown eyebrows, hazel eyes, a long nose, a small mouth, and a small chin.10
The Tory departed on 24 April 1848.11 She transported 170 female convicts and reached Van Diemen’s Land on 6 August 1848.12 Honor spent the next six months on the Anson,13 which was moored on the River Derwent in Van Diemen’s Land.14
Honor was issued a ticket of leave on 1 October 1850.15 She was recommended for a conditional pardon on 23 December 1851.16 She married James Spackman on 27 July 1852 at a chapel on Brisbane Street in Hobart, Van Diemen’s Land.17 She was issued a certificate of freedom on 3 January 1854.18
A man was murdered in 1879 in Meredith, Victoria.19 James served on the jury.19 Honor died on 21 May 1884 in Meredith.20 Her death was due to heart disease.20 She was buried on 23 May 1884 in Meredith Cemetery.20 James died at age 70 on 5 October 1884 in Meredith.21 He was buried on 7 October 1884 in Meredith Cemetery.21
1 Cornwall OPC Database, Richard Polkinghorne and Grace Dunn, 1804.
2 Cornwall OPC Database, Honor Polkinghorne, 1806.
3 Cornwall OPC Database, Richard Polkinghorne, 1814.
4 Cornwall OPC Database, Thomas Tremelling and Honor Polkinhorne, 1828.
5 Cornwall OPC Database, Thomas Tremelling, 1836.
6 1841 U.K. census, Cornwall, Penwith, p. 7, Honor Tremellen.
7 "Felony," The West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser, 20 November 1846, column 6.
8 "Penzance Borough Sessions," The Penzance Gazette and West Cornwall Advertiser, 30 December 1846, p. 4, column 5.
9 England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment, 1770–1935, 2159, Honor Tremelling, 22 January 1847.
10 Tasmania, Convicts, 327, Honor Tremelling, 30 December 1846.
11 England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment, 1770–1935, 2159, Honor Tremelling, 24 April 1848.
12 Manifest, Tory, 6 August 1848, Honor Tremelling.
13 Tasmania, Convicts, 327, Honor Tremelling, 8 February 1849.
14 Kavanagh and Snowden, "Uncovering the Convict Story," 44.
15 Tasmania, Convicts, 327, Honor Tremelling, 1 October 1850.
16 Tasmania, Convicts, 327, Honor Tremelling, 23 December 1851.
17 Tasmania, Marriages, 197, James Spackman and Honor Tremelling, 27 July 1852.
18 Tasmania, Convicts, 327, Honor Tremelling, 3 January 1854.
19 "The Shocking Murder at Meredith," The Geelong Advertiser, 17 March 1879, p. 3, column 2.
20 Victoria, Deaths, 82, Honer Speckman, 21 May 1884.
21 Victoria, Deaths, 86, James Speckman, 5 October 1884.