Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. sentenced to transportation.

1859		Hotten Dict. of Modern Sl. etc. 89: SETTLED, transported. [Ibid.] 116: WINDED-SETTLED, transported for life.
1864, 1867, 1870		Hotten Sl. Dict. [as cit. 1859].
1873		Sl. Dict.

2. imprisoned.

1867		Nat. Police Gaz. (NY) 26 Oct. n.p.: The probability is that he will be settled this term himself.
1871		‘One Who Has Been There’ [J.H. Banka] Illus. History & Description of State Prison Life 492: Vocabulary of Slang Terms [...] Sentenced to State Prison...Settled.
1899		J. Flynt Tramping with Tramps 396: SETTLED: in prison.
1900		Flynt & Walton Powers That Prey 131: Some were ‘settled’ (in prisons like himself), he learned.
1910		J. Sullivan ‘Criminal Sl.’ in Amer. Law Rev. LII (1918) 889: When a man is convicted of a crime he is ‘settled.’.
1914		Jackson & Hellyer Vocab. Criminal Sl. 75: settled [...] Convicted of misdemeanor or statutory offence. Example: ‘He’s settled for a two spot.’.
1921		P. & T. Casey Gay-cat 304: Settled—in jail; imprisoned.
1929		‘Josphine Tey’ (as ‘Gordon Daviot’) Man in the Queue 31: ‘I’ll lay you [...] five to one in pounds that you don’t have one of us settled inside two years’ .
1931		‘Und. “Lingo” Brought Up-to-Date’ L.A. Times 8 Nov. K16: SETTLED: Imprisoned in the penitentiary.
1936		Mencken Amer. Lang. (4th edn) 581: In virtually all American prisons [...] To have no hope of release is to be buried, lagged or settled.
1962		Ragen & Finston World’s Toughest Prison 817: settled – Imprisoned.

3. (Aus./UK) finished, ‘done for’.

1895		Mirror of Life 4 May 14/3: The field where the men fought was like a slaughter-house, and in forty minutes Mace had his man hopelessly settled.
1902		Bulletin (Sydney) 6 Sept. 36/1: But if yer’ goin’ ter take ther short cut yer want ter be careful, for if yer miss ther track, s’elp yer, yer settled. […].
1910		Bulletin (Sydney) 25 Aug. 14/2: Don’t be a fool. If you have any more beer you’ll be too full. (3) If you don’t pull yourself together you’ll get bundled out. (4) If you get bundled out you’re settled.