What happened to your ancestor in the early years of his residence? What 'indulgences' were granted; what trouble did he get into; was she assigned to the Female Factory; could he sign his name?

The Colonial Secretary's Correspondence includes correspondence to, from, and about many people in the Colony - convicts, soldiers, immigrants and others - on any number of topics.

The State Records NSW website has an online index of the Colonial Secretary's Correspondence from 1788 to 1825. A further index from 1826 to 1877 on microfiche is available at State Records NSW and many libraries (Index to Convicts and Others Extracted from the Colonial Secretary's In Letters, and Colonial Secretary's Correspondence Letters Sent re Convicts, indexed by Joan Reese). These indexes can lead to documents, usually handwritten, concerning a huge variety of topics - permission to marry, requests to bring family over, lists of convicts to be moved or assigned, requests for ticket of leaves and pardons, reports of stolen property; the list is almost endless.

Price includes a search of this index and photocopies of any documents found up to 20 pages. If there are more documents than this there will be an extra charge - please indicate if you are NOT prepared to pay this.

There is no guarantee that any records will be found for your ancestor