Researchers who have claimed this convict
There is currently one researcher who has claimed Thomas Death
Biographies
Thomas Death (1774-1846).
Thomas Death (pronounced deeth) was born c1774 at or near Ipswich, Suffolk, England. Due to the variations in recording his age in convict records, his exact birthdate, place and parents can not be confirmed.
His marriage to Elizabeth Simpson appears on ‘Find My Past’ and is given as 20 Sep 1801 at Stonham Aspall, Suffolk.
By 1819 Thomas and Elizabeth had had their tenth child, but six of them had died in infancy. In the same year at the Suffolk Lent Assizes at Bury Saint Edmunds, 26 March, Thomas was sentenced to death for sheep stealing but was immediately reprieved and the sentence commuted to a life sentence of transportation to NSW. The Ipswich Journal, 3 April 1819, reported; ‘Thomas Death, for stealing 4 wether (sic) sheep from a field at Netlestead (sic), the property of Mr John Edwards, of Bramford’.
Thomas arrived at Sydney on the Malabar, 30 Oct 1819, having spent a few months in prison and a few months on the voyage out. The 1822 Census shows that he was employed by G.S. Henly of Windsor NSW.
The 1830 Government Labour Exemption Register dated 1 May, seems to show that Thomas was working for himself in the Hawksbury District but there is no record of a Ticket of Leave.
On 1 April 1839 he was recommended for a Conditional Pardon by Sir George Gipps, which was granted on 5 May 1840 in Hawksbury District, NSW. On 6 Nov 1839, some 20 years after his arrival, he applied for family emigration assistance when he would he have been approximately 65 years of age. It is unknown whether his wife was still alive, but some of his children were living in London.
The Conditional Pardon documentation gives a description of the convict. Thomas Death, per ship Malabar, a native of Ipswich, butcher, born 1774, five feet five- and three-quarter inches tall, ruddy complexion, sandy to grey hair and light blue eyes.
Thomas’ skills as a butcher, would have been in demand in the colony and we now understand a possible reason for his stealing of four sheep OR being in possession of stolen sheep. The Hawksbury District was settled in the early years of the colony and became the food bowl of Sydney with its fertile river soil suitable for agriculture and grazing.
The 1841 Census shows that Thomas was living in a wooden house in March Street, Richmond, District of Windsor which he shared with another male. Both were listed as single.
The Australian Death Index records Thomas’ death as 1846, Richmond, NSW.
Prior to his death, Thomas’ daughter Maria Death married John Charlesworth in 1845 at St Leonards Shoreditch, London and his son Edward Death married Selina Cheney in 1843 at Stepney, London. In both cases they reported their father as Thomas Death, butcher, but since neither could write it is unclear whether they were in contact with their father in Australia.
There is no record of any of Thomas’ family joining him in Australia despite his application for their assisted migration. It would not be until 1914 that his great great grandson, John James Death and family, migrated to Melbourne on board the Norseman and they were probably unaware of Thomas’ fate if they knew of him at all!
Some Ups and Downs of an old Richmondite,
by Mr. Alfred Smith (Feb, Mar, Apr, 1910)
Chronicled by Robert Farlow
Windsor and Richmond Gazette (NSW : 1888 - 1954)
Transcription, janilye, 2012
https://www.familytreecircles.com/alfred-smith-1831-1917-recollections-windsor-st-cont-2-56375.html
While describing buildings and their owners in March Street, Richmond; Smith recalls: –
“Next to this vacant block I speak of was a skillion with no verandah, at that time, which belonged to old Mr. Sam Payne, He was grandfather, of the present Mrs. Tomkinson who lives in Windsor street. The first man I remember living there was Thomas Death, a butcher. He was a single man, and was found dead on the floor of his bedroom. They held an inquest, and found the cause to be eating cucumbers"
Submitted by Researcher (Paul Davies) on 15 May 2021
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Disclaimer: The information has not been verified by Claim a Convict. As this information is contributed, it is the responsibility of those who use the data to verify its accuracy. Research notes
There are currently no research notes attached to this convict. Sources
- The National Archives (TNA) : HO 11/3, p.184
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