Herman Moll (convict)
Encyclopedia
Herman Joseph Moll was a convict transported
to Western Australia
. He was one of only four such convicts to be elected to the prestigious and respected position of member of a local Education Board.
Germany
, the son of Joseph Moll, a tobacco
merchant, and Sophia Eick, he went to England
where he was a 24 year old "London man of business" when convicted of forging
and uttering
in 1861. Sentenced to ten years' penal servitude
, he was transported to Western Australia on board the York, arriving in December 1862.
Herman Moll was described as 5' 9 1/4" having greyish hair and hazel eyes. His face is described as “full”, his complexion “dark” and his build as “middling stout”. At the time, it was noted that he had a “scar left thumb and near forefinger, injured third finger right hand”.
Herman received his ticket of leave 16 July 1864 and was appointed to teach in the York district.
He later found work as a clerk and accountant
for John Monger
. He was eventually promoted to manager of Monger's York business. In 1874, Moll was elected to the local Board of Education, a prestigious and respected position attained by only three other ex-convicts: Daniel Connor
, Malachi Meagher and James Hasleby
. He served only one or two years, resigning to accept the management of Monger's business in Perth
.
in 1874. They were to have four children;
1. Cecilia Mary Agnes Moll 1875, who was to marry farmer John White of Jennacubine
2. Sophia Mary Josephine b 1877, who was to become a Dominican nun and live her later years in South Australia
3. Wilfred Joseph "van Eyck" Moll b 1879, who was head boy at Hale
in the 1890s
4. Herman Moll b 1881 who died as a young child.
to manage the business of Macroe and Co. Two years later he broke a leg while disembarking a ship and died of complications. It is likely he is buried in an unmarked grave at Cossack.
Wife Agnes Moll as a widow supported her three fatherless children by running a boarding house.
Penal transportation
Transportation or penal transportation is the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony. Examples include transportation by France to Devil's Island and by the UK to its colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and then to Australia between...
to Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. He was one of only four such convicts to be elected to the prestigious and respected position of member of a local Education Board.
Biography
Born in CologneCologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the son of Joseph Moll, a tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
merchant, and Sophia Eick, he went to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
where he was a 24 year old "London man of business" when convicted of forging
Forgery
Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations. Forging money or...
and uttering
Uttering
In the law of countries whose legal systems derive from English common law, uttering is a crime similar to forgery. Uttering and forgery were originally common law offences, both misdemeanours...
in 1861. Sentenced to ten years' penal servitude
Penal labour
Penal labour is a form of unfree labour in which prisoners perform work, typically manual labour. The work may be light or hard, depending on the context. Forms of sentence which involve penal labour include penal servitude and imprisonment with hard labour...
, he was transported to Western Australia on board the York, arriving in December 1862.
Herman Moll was described as 5' 9 1/4" having greyish hair and hazel eyes. His face is described as “full”, his complexion “dark” and his build as “middling stout”. At the time, it was noted that he had a “scar left thumb and near forefinger, injured third finger right hand”.
Herman received his ticket of leave 16 July 1864 and was appointed to teach in the York district.
He later found work as a clerk and accountant
Accountant
An accountant is a practitioner of accountancy or accounting , which is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and others make decisions about allocating resources.The Big Four auditors are the largest...
for John Monger
John Monger
John Henry Monger was a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council from 1870 to 1875, and again from 1890 to 1992....
. He was eventually promoted to manager of Monger's York business. In 1874, Moll was elected to the local Board of Education, a prestigious and respected position attained by only three other ex-convicts: Daniel Connor
Daniel Connor
Daniel Connor was a convict transported to Western Australia, who became one of the wealthiest men in the colony.Daniel Connor was born in County Kilkenny, Ireland in 1831. Nothing is known of his early life, but on 20 June 1850 he was sentenced to seven years transportation for sheep stealing...
, Malachi Meagher and James Hasleby
James Hasleby
James Hasleby was a convict transported to Western Australia. He was one of only 37 convicts transported to the colony to overcome the social stigma of convictism to become schoolteachers, and one of only four convicts to be elected a member of a local Education Board.Little is known of James...
. He served only one or two years, resigning to accept the management of Monger's business in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
.
Issue
He married Agnes Roe, daughter of James Elphinstone RoeJames Elphinstone Roe
James Elphinstone Roe was a convict transported to Western Australia. After serving his sentence he became one of the colony's ex-convict school teachers. Through his agitation for education reform, he played an important role in "shaping the education system and political policies in the colony"...
in 1874. They were to have four children;
1. Cecilia Mary Agnes Moll 1875, who was to marry farmer John White of Jennacubine
2. Sophia Mary Josephine b 1877, who was to become a Dominican nun and live her later years in South Australia
3. Wilfred Joseph "van Eyck" Moll b 1879, who was head boy at Hale
Hale School
Hale School is a selective, independent, Anglican day and boarding school for boys, located in Wembley Downs, a coastal suburb of Perth, Western Australia....
in the 1890s
4. Herman Moll b 1881 who died as a young child.
Business
In 1880, Moll moved to CossackCossack, Western Australia
Cossack is an historic ghost town located 1,480 km north of Perth and 15 km from Roebourne in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The nearest town to Cossack is Wickham. At the 2006 census, Cossack had a population of 236....
to manage the business of Macroe and Co. Two years later he broke a leg while disembarking a ship and died of complications. It is likely he is buried in an unmarked grave at Cossack.
Wife Agnes Moll as a widow supported her three fatherless children by running a boarding house.