Australian Royalty: Genealogy of the colony of NSW

[see immigration below]

The Old Bailey transcript of his trial:
'JOSEPH DAY, THOMAS THOMPSON, and BENJAMIN JONES, were indicted for feloniously stealing, on the 4th of June, three shirts, value 15 s. fifteen pair of stockings, value 4 s. and a tablecoth, value 2 s. the property of Thomas Bass ; twenty-three towels, value 5 s. a handkerchief, value 6 d. seven pair of stockings, value 5 s. and a tub, value 5 s. the property of Ann Bradley, widow.
ANN BRADLEY. I live at No. 29. Palace-street, Pimlico ; I am a widow, and take in washing; these things I had to wash.
Q. When did you lose them - A. On the 4th of June; I got up at six o'clock in the morning, and missed them; I had left them on the over night in the washhouse.
Q. How had they got into the washhouse - A. Over a wall. The door is always left open; it is in a small yard walled very high round.
Q. What is there on the other side of the wall - Gardens. My washhouse communicates with the house. They were all safe when I went to bed at night; the stocking I were boiling in the copper. I picked up a button in the yard where they had got over the wall; I gave it to the officer.
MRS. BASS. I wash for Mrs. Bradley; I was there at work, and had some of my own linen there; they were all safe at eleven o'clock at night when I left the washhouse.
JAMES GILLMORE. I am an officer. On the 4th of June, about two o'clock in the morning, Lee, the patrol, called me out of bed; in consequence of his information I went to Day's house in Pear-street; I broke Day's door open, and there I found these two bundles of linen, but not him. I expected I should find him either at Thompson's or Jones's lodgings; I went to Jones, and in Jones's garden I found Day. I took Day to his own lodging, handcuffed him, and went back to the same place, there I found Jones laying on the floor in the two pair of stairs. I thought at first it was a bundle. I kicked my foot so I thought against the bundle; his father said that is my son. I said I must have that bundle. I then went to Thompson's lodging; I broke open Thompson's door; there I found Thompson partly undressed, just going to bed; I told him to dress himself, which he did; and under his bed was another large bundle of linen; as soon as he had dressed himself he jumped upon the bed; he said now, Gillmore, I will show you something. He clapped his hand to a sword on the top of the tester; I told him if that was what he meaned to shew me, I had got another, and I would run him through as sure as he was alive, if he dared to take it down. He said no; I will not serve you so; but if these b - y charleys had been here by themselves there would be something the matter.
Q. That, was meaning the patrols - A. Yes; I have seen the whole three of these chaps together frequently; and I saw them all three together that evening.
ROBERT KING . On the morning of the 4th of June, I heard of Mrs. Bradley's robbery; I and Bradman went to Day's house; we saw Day, Jones, and Thompson come out. I told Bradman I thought the linen was there; I went to Gilmore, and told him of it; he came, and broke Day's door open, and found two bundles of wet linen; I went and told Mrs. Bradley to come to the office.
-POPE. I compared this button to Thompson's coat, it fitted the shank left on the coat.
Prosecutrix. This is my linen.
Day's Defence. A young man left them things in my room; he said he could not get into his lodging.
Jones's Defence. I never saw Day until Gillmore took me to his house.
Thompson's Defence. It is a hard things to swear a man's life away on account of a button, there are so many buttons alike.
DAY, GUILTY , aged 23.
THOMPSON, GUILTY , aged 20.
JONES, GUILTY , aged 19.
Transported for Seven Years .
Second Middlesex jury, before Mr. Recorder.

The ship 'Indefatigable' arrived in the colony 26 Apr 1815

Thomas Thompson, one of 200 convicts transported on the ship Indefatigable, October 1814.
Sentence details: Convicted at Middlesex Gaol Delivey for a term of 7 years on 02 June 1813.
Vessel: Indefatigable.
Date of Departure: October 1814.
Place of Arrival: New South Wales.

Thomas Thompson, Middlesex Gaol Delivery, 2 Jun 1813, seven years, native of Dublin, a shoemaker, age 22, five feet 11 and a quarter inches tall, fair complexion, red hair and grey eyes

Name: Thomas Thompson
Spouse Name: Hannah Russell
Marriage Date: 1819
Marriage Place: New South Wales
Registration Place: Sydney, New South Wales
Registration Year: 1819
Volume Number: V

The Sydney Gazette reported that during the trial following the death of bushranger Butler shot by James Bellamy, Thomas Thompson gave evidence that his house at Pennant Hills had been entered on Tuesday, 20th March 1821, the three bushrangers had stayed until Thursday, forcing Mrs Thompson to cook for them. When they left they took tea and sugar, a pistol and the assigned government sevant, William Smith, with them.

In 1821 he was convicted ot working a private still in a cave in the North Rocks and was sentenced to a fine of 20 pounds and three years' hard labour. The magistrate of the Parramatta bench recommended an emancipation for Hugh Taylor, one of the two constables who had arrested Thompson: 'the police of the colony were much indebted to the patience with which the constables had waited for the appearance of the distiller and the integrity with which they had resisted his bribe'.

A remembrance of this story came from an old identity of Pennant Hills, Mrs Mary Ann Lutherborrow, who in her nineties recalled 'There still may be seen by the Pennant Hills station reminders of the time Thompson had his big still in the rocky gully. They were wild times and people were not improved by the presence of these illicit stills, where vile spirits were made. The more respectable residents of the district were relieved when the police made their raid and cleared the neighbourhood of the principal offenders, when a very underirable lot of people, who always congregated where there was s still, would soon disperse to other places.' (Evening News, March 5, 1907).

"On Saturday last, Thomas Thompson, a settler at Pennant Hills, was convicted, by a Bench of four Magistrates at Parramatta, of using a private still, and was sentenced to a fine of 20 pounds and three years hard labour, under the Government and General Order. - The still, which was produced and forfeited, was found in a cave in the North Rocks, and was brought away, together with the owner, by constables Taylor and White, through the information of one Smith, a free man. Mr. Justice FIELD, as Chairman of the Bench, said that the revenue and police of the Colony were much indebted to the patience, with which the constables had waited for the appearance of the distiller, and the integrity with which they had resisted his bribe; and the Bench would recommend Taylor to the emancipation promised by HIS EXCELLENCY'S Order, White having only one year to serve. The Learned Chairman, in pronouncing judgment, said that the duties of this Colony were levied under an Act of Parliament, and that it was in vain for the legislature to empower the GOVERNOR to levy duties upon spirits unless HIS EXCELLENCY was also empowered to prevent illicit distillation, and this could only be done effectually by immediate seizure and summary conviction."

In 1824 he applied for the piece of land adjoining his father in law.

The 1828 census records that Thomas was free by servitude and had a 50 acre property, eight of which were cleared and cultivated. He employed 6 convicts/ticket of leave men and held two horses and twelve cattle. It also records Thomas as having a wife Annah, and daughters Mary Ann (7), Ruth (5), Eleanor (4) and Rachael (1).

By 1828 Thomas was free by servitude. The value of this document was shown in a further encounter with the law during 18830-1832. John Druitt, a convict servant of James Bellamy, had taken Thompson's Certificate of Freedom and absconded; when Druit was arrested some months later with another man's certificate, the police questioned Thompson as to why he had not reported the loss at once. Thomspn pleaded ignorance of the necessity of such reporting; the police claimed that Thompson had given it to Druitt (who resembled Thompson in appearance) to help protect Druitt who was 'a Prisoner of the Crown ilegally at large'. It was also claimed that Thomspn and Druitt worked together in the same gang and that Thompson had illegally employed Druitt to convey sawn timber by boat to Sydney. The outcome was that Thompson was prohibited from having any more assigned servants (ie convicts who were still serving their terms), from August 1830. This was a serious disadvantage - the 1828 census shows Thompson as employing 6 men, both convicts and ticket of leave, on his 50 acre farm.

In Jun 1831, he wrote a long letter to the Colonial Secretary, appealing against the prohibition; he explained how his wife had been deceived by the plausible Druitt into giving up the certificate whilst Thompson was in Sydney, and that he and his wife and the two free sawyers who worked for him and who were witnesses were not allowed to give their evidence in court when the case was heard; his wife had five female children 'not able to help themselves and at the present expected every day to be confined'. Hannah had applied to the matron of the Female Factory at Parramatta for a servant woman for the time of the confinement, but was refused, because of the court verdict. Matilda was born the following month, the eldest of five daughters was 10 years old.

A further letter to the Colonial Secretary in Jan 1832 was a polite enquiry from Thompson and a report on further approaches by him to the Parramatta Bench. The affair appears to have dissolved into a three cornered dialogue in which the bureaucrats probably were the victors. It is not known whether the prohibition was ever lifted.

Thomas and Hannah were involved in the early Wesleyan Meetings. The first Wesleyan Sunday school was held in their home. When the chapel was built in 1845, Thomas (sen) was one of the foundation trustees.

In
memory of
THOMAS THOMPSON
Died June 7th 1872
in the 79th year of his age
When from the dust of death I rise
to claim my mansion in the skies
ever then shall be my place
Jesus hath lived hath died for me.
Footstone: T.T.