Isaac "Ikey" Solomon (1787-1850)
In 1827, Isaac Solomon escaped by drugging his jailers on his way to court. He went to the United States but the police were so incensed that they framed his wife, Ann, for receiving a stolen watch. She was sentenced 14 years in Van Diemen’s Land and arrived in June 1828.
Ikey had committed no crime in the colony so he travelled to Van Diemen’s Land then reunited with Ann and set up a tobacco shop in Hobart. He briefly enjoyed life in the colony as free man. But Governor Arthur, furious at the thought of having such a criminal walking around freely, pursued him relentlessly and eventually succeeded in having him kidnapped and sent to London for trial.
Convicted of receiving stolen goods, he was sent back to Van Diemen's Land as a convict but was never able to reunite the family. His physical and mental health declined and he died in 1850.
