#52Ancetorsin52weeks Wk36/52 Thomas Case 1818-1860
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| Thomas Case |
Ahnentafel Number 54
Context for discovery:
This
biography was written as part of the 52 ancestors in 52 weeks exercise devised
by Amy Johnson Crow. You can join in too
here. The theme for this week is Exploration.
Amy says:
Where did your ancestors explore? Who moved around a lot? You could also share records, libraries, or archives that you've explored in. Remember, there's no wrong way to interpret the theme! Feel free to post your links and stories in the comments.
Thomas was my 3rd
great-grandfather on my maternal side of the family. I am ashamed to say that I
have written next to nil about the Case family on my blog. “Why is that?”, I
wonder. I suspect it is because others had done quite a bit of research already
and shared it with me, so I didn’t think any more needed to be done. When I
check my vital records for him, I only have a marriage certificate so I think I
will order the death certificate. I have
found a baptism on Ancestry which should be sufficient.
Mary Shelley publishes Frankenstein 1818
Peterloo Massacre 1819
Singapore established by British East India Company 1819
Childhood
Birth
Date/Place:
Thomas Case
was born Sunday (Sunday’s child is bonny and blithe, and good and gay) 15
November 1818 in Bishopstone, Wiltshire, England to Harry and Ann Case.[i]
He seems to have
been the last of the children born to this marriage according to notes from a
cousin. Other children were:
Mary Case 17
Feb 1799
John
Case 20 Sept 1801
Susanna
Case 9
Nov 1806 who married John GIBB
Henry 22
May 1809
Anne 25 Feb 1811 who
married William LANHAM
James 26 Feb 1815
Baptism
Date/Place:
He was
baptized in the parish church on 17 January 1819 by Thomas Bromley Rector.[ii]
I am imagining that it was at the Church of St John the Baptist.
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| St John the Baptist Church in Bishopstone by Michael Day on Flickr https://flic.kr/p/pjbp7p |
These sites look useful if you want to do further research in Wiltshire
https://www.wshc.org.uk/gateway.html
https://apps.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityhistory
https://www.wiltshirefhs.co.uk/
Greece breaks away from Ottoman Empire 1821
Beethoven’s 9th Symphony premiered
1824
Cadbury opens a shop in Birmigham 1824
Internal combustion engine patented 1826
Of course, I
had to look at my beloved British Newspaper Archives and see if I could dig up
anything there and I think I may have found Thomas’ elder brother Henry being
transported in 1830 as per the newspaper articles below.
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| 1829 12 21 Salisbury and Winchester Journal Henry Case charged |
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| 1829 12 24 Devizes and Wiltshire Gazette committed to jail |
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| 1830 03 13 Morning Herald London judgement |
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| 1830 03 27 Berkshire Chronicle committed to life |
I
subsequently found a convict record for a Henry Case ploughman from Wiltshire tried
on 6 March in 1830 for Life at Salisbury.
There is a good description of him. He was 5ft 9 ½ inches with dark
brown hair and blue eyes. He was 22 years
old and had a tattoo HC on the inside of his left arm. He was transported on the Clyde to Tasmania.[iii]
It look like he was pardoned in 1841/2.[iv]
Liverpool and Manchester Railway opened 1830
Great Reform Act passed 1832
Slavery Aboliton Act 1833
Queen Victoria comes to the throne 1837
Oliver Twist published 1837
Chartist movement 1838 - 1857
Emigration
Thomas
came out to Australia on the “Woodbridge” with two of his sisters and many of
his neighbours. They left Portsmouth 4th
May and arrived in Sydney on 18th September 1838. My father
transcribed the Surgeon’s report of the voyage and went through the return of
the disposal of Immigrants with a fine tooth comb to identify friends and
family 😊
Thomas
was one of the unmarried men on the ship and described as a farm servant aged
20. He was engaged to a Mr C Smith of
Sydney for £25 per
annum.
Here
is a quote from the surgeon’s report:
On 4th May embarked 130 emigrants from Wiltshire the greater number of these were also Farm Servants and married with families; the day after the last came aboard I found out that some of the children were suffering from hooping cough, but with one exception, of a mid character, no means could be adopted for their separation from the healthy, and I am happy to say no serious consequence followed, only a few cases susbsequently occurred and these very mild requiring some medical treatment.
Maria
Mussel/Muzzlewhite (Thomas's future wife) was also on board The Woodbridge. She was described as a Maid of all work aged
20 and was engaged by Mr E Borley of Sydney @ £12 per annum.
The
voyage was well documented in the papers at home and abroad.
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| 1838 05 07 Hampshire Telegraph departure Woodridge |
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| 1839 04 08 Salisbury and Winchester Journal Overseer Jos Sheppard plate |
Married Life
Marriage
Dates/Places:
On Monday 1st
October 1838 Thomas married Maria Muzzlewhite/Mussel at St Andrew’s Church in
Sydney according to the rites of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Uriah and Elizabeth West were witnesses. None
of the parties to the marriage or the witnesses could sign their name. Rev John McGarvie was presiding. [v]
Children’s
Birth Dates/Places:
Thomas and
Maria had the following children:
1. Mary Ann b 1840
2. Henry b. 13 Oct 1842
3. Louisa b 8 Nov 1845
4. James b 21 Oct 1847
5. Susan b 21 Oct 1849
6. Sarah b 4 April 1852
7. Emma b 2 Jan 1855 (my 2nd
great-grandmother)
8. Charlotte b. 2 Oct 1856
9. Maria b 1858 d 1858[vi]
10.Thomas b 28 Oct 1860
Unfortunately,
I don’t know much more about Thomas and Maria’s life than these hard
facts. However, I feel confident that if
I wrote to Yass & District Historical Society, they may be able to dig up
some stuff for me. They have been very
helpful in the past. Also, the Gundaroo and District Historical Society may
have some records.
The only
other records that I found that may be of interest are a Thomas Case going to
Tasmania on the Julia in 1846.[vii]
Was he going to see his older brother or was this a different Thomas Case?
There
is a record of a Thomas Case in the Hue and Cry Police Gazette for 27 April
1839 in Lambeth Street Volume 13 Page 51 Column C3 which I might send off to
the AIGS and see if they can look that up for me. I found a reference to it on
FindMyPast.
I did find
Henry Case’s convict record on FindMyPast – unfortunately much of the ink is
very faded and difficult to read. What I can read of it says March 7 1832 – Laurence/Neglect
of duty and threatening to destroy his??
?6? months Imprisonment. Hard labor in Bridgwater Chain Gang and returned
to the ?? Crown/W Lyttleton &WK. Aug. 26 1834 Buchall/Insolence
disobedience of orders and being absent without leave, Grafetree??? Gang 2
months and recommended to be returned to his master/PM/TL 7.12.38
Conditional
Pardon 3652 22 Dec 1841[viii]
The transcript says he arrived in Tasmania on 18 December 1830 and departed 30 August
1830 from Portsmouth.
Date and place of Death
Thomas died
8 April 1860 at Gundaroo in New South Wales, Australia at the age of only 41.
It is the
second time this week that I have seen the word “furious” associated with an
ancestor. Here is the newspaper report
of his death.
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Burial
Place
St Luke’s Church Cemetery Upper Gundaroo[ix]
Estate
Unable to
find any evidence of probate etc
Conclusion
The theme this week is exploration and I feel like I have been the one doing the exploration rather than my ancestor! He certainly explored this great old globe traveling from England to Australia. Many cousins have assisted me with research over the years so a big thank you to them: Bernadean Noakes, Carol Nix and cousin Veronica. And of course to my dear parents who infected me with their enthusiasm for family history :) Please forgive me if I have forgotten to acknowledge anyone in particular. The geneaworld is full of generous souls.
References
[i] Ancestry.com. Australia and
New Zealand, Find a Grave Index, 1800s-Current [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com
Operations, Inc., 2012.
[ii]
Ancestry.com, Wil tshire, England,
Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1916, Wiltshire and Swindon History
Centre; Chippenham, Wiltshire, England; Reference Number: 577/8
[iii] Ancestry.com.
New South Wales and Tasmania, Australia, Convict Pardons and Tickets of Leave,
1834-1859 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc,
2007.
Original data: Home Office: Settlers and Convicts, New
South Wales and Tasmania; (The National Archives Microfilm Publication HO10,
Pieces 31, 52-64); The National Archives of the UK (TNA), Kew, Surrey, England.
[iv] Ancestry.com.
New South Wales and Tasmania, Australia, Convict Pardons and Tickets of Leave,
1834-1859 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc,
2007.
Original data: Home Office: Settlers and Convicts, New
South Wales and Tasmania; (The National Archives Microfilm Publication HO10,
Pieces 31, 52-64); The National Archives of the UK (TNA), Kew, Surrey, England.
[v]
NSW Registry Office, Marriage Parish of St Andrew in the County of Cumberland
Number 3121 Vol. 74
[vi]
FindMyPast Civil Deaths and Burials Australia Registration Number 5207
[vii]
FindMyPast, Tasmania Departures 1817-1863
[viii]
FindMyPast, Tasmania Convict Records 1800-1893 Appropriation List CON27/1/4;
Appropriation List MM33/6; Conduct Record CON31/1/7; Description List CON18/1/2
Page 10; Description List CON23/1/1; Indent MM33/2; Muster Roll CSO1/1/482 Page
10711; Muster Roll MM33/7; Remarks CSO1/1/482 Page 10711
[ix] https://austcemindex.com/
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