It may surprise you that John Frost’s stepson became a solicitor.
William Foster Geach was just seven years old when his mother, Mary, married John Frost in 1812 after the death of her first husband, Charles.
William must have been well educated and pretty confident as he played a major role in the defence of John Frost and other Chartists at their trial in 1839.
He was made bankrupt earlier in that year and had his own problems to deal with while carrying out this role - but was he a crook?
Well, he was tried for forgery just weeks after John Frost arrived in Van Diemen’s Land and the judge he faced was Mr Baron Parke – one of the Judges at the Chartists' trial mentioned above! A coincidence?
William Foster Geach was found guilty of forgery and sentenced to transportation to Van Diemen’s Land. But was he guilty? Did his punishment fit his alleged crime?
In his book “William Foster Geach”, published September 2015, David Mills looks into the life and times of the solicitor and, with well referenced sources, answers the questions above. He also raises the so far unanswered question… what became of William Foster Geach after his conditional pardon in 1848?
After reading this book, we have been researching what became of William Foster Geach.
Follow this link to read what we have discovered: