Thomas Lansdown (1817-1885)

Thomas Lansdown was the son of Thomas Lansdown and Mary Spencer, born in Yeovil, Somerset (marriage certificate of 1873), and christened on 17 December 1817 (parish records). He had arrived in Australia in about 1847/48 (death certificate).

For a long time it was believed that Thomas Lansdown, the son of Thomas Lansdown and Mary Spencer, had arrived in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia on 14 July 1848 as a convict aboard the ship "Bangalore". It is now known, from new research undertaken in 2013, that the convict Thomas Lansdown is a different man. Records kept in Tasmania reveal that Thomas Lansdown the convict was born in about 1821 at Stoke Lane, Somerset a few kilometres from Shepton Mallet where he was living when he was convicted, the son of William Lansdown and Nancy/Ann Fussell.

In 1847 a Thomas Lansdown was employed as a cook at Tarban Creek Lunatic Asylum (Granville, Sydney). Records from there show that this Thomas Lansdown had arrived in the Colony of New South Wales as a free man. Further research needs to be undertaken to establish if this is Thomas Lansdown the son of Thomas Lansdown and Mary Spencer, or another different Thomas Lansdown.

For a long time it was believed that on 25 November 1850 Thomas was in Sydney marrying Sophia Todd (1831-1916) and that either Sophia had died shortly after the wedding with her death being unrecorded, or that the marriage had broken down as Thomas had a child with another woman, Jane Kelly (c1830-1872), in September 1851. It is now known, from new research undertaken in 2013, that Sophia did not die shortly after her wedding but moved to Victoria and lived until 1916. It is also now known that Thomas Lansdown, the son of Thomas Lansdown and Mary Spencer, did not marry Sophia Todd but that Sophia married another different man by the name of Thomas Lansdown. Thomas Lansdown, the son of Thomas Lansdown and Mary Spencer, was literate (as proved by a court case in 1857, and his marriage to Rebecca Best (1834-1921) in 1873 where he signed the marriage register with his signature), and Sophia Todd and her husband Thomas Lansdown were both illiterate (as proved by the marriage register which they both signed with their mark, that is a cross).

Our first confirmed record in Australia of Thomas Lansdown, the son of Thomas Lansdown and Mary Spencer, is at the christening of his first-born child. Isabella Landstone(sic) (Isabella Lydia Lansdown (1851-1911)), was born on 4 September 1851 and christened in Sydney on 6 October 1851 as the daughter of Thomas Landstone(sic) and Jane Kelly (c1830-1872). The christening register records Isabella's date of birth and that Thomas and Jane were living at Hunter Street, Sydney. It also records both Thomas Lansdown and Jane Kelly by those names, confirming that Thomas and Jane were not married when Isabella was christened. Later events have confirmed that Jane Kelly was already a married woman. She had married Thomas Digby in Yass on 4 November 1850, but had conceived Isabella with Thomas Lansdown about 6 weeks later in mid-December 1850. Isabella's birth in Sydney in September 1851 suggests that Thomas and Jane had then run away together to Sydney sometime after Isabella was conceived.

For a long time it was believed that Thomas next joined in the gold-rush in New South Wales and moved with Jane and baby Isabella to near Braidwood in New South Wales. There was a Thomas Lansdown who was prospecting for gold at Bell's Creek which is about 100 miles south of Goulburn on the Braidwood side of Araluen. (Bell's Creek was first pegged out for gold prospecting in September 1851.) This Thomas Lansdown was successful in his gold prosepecting as in September 1852 he sent 134 onces of gold from Bell's Creek to Sydney (Sydney Morning Herald, 21 September 1852). It is now known, from new research undertaken in 2013, that the Thomas Lansdown prospecting for gold near Braidwood is another different Thomas Lansdown: a different Thomas Lansdown who by 1855 had moved his gold-mining operations to Major's Creek, nearby to Bell's Creek, and who is listed in the Grenvilles Post Office Directory of 1872 as a miner living at Labert, Braidwood.

Thomas, the son of Thomas Lansdown and Mary Spencer, instead moved with Jane and baby Isabella to Quialigo, 20 kilometres south of Goulburn. There he obtained work as a stock overseer for William Pitt Faithfull (1806-1896) on his property "Springfield" at Quialigo. It was here that Thomas and Jane's second daughter, Rebecca Jane Lansdown, was born on 25 December 1852 (her place of birth, Goulburn, is unstated at her marriage but confirmed by her death record). Mary Anne Lansdown followed on 21 January 1854, their son Thomas followed on 11 January 1855, and their daughter Ellen Henrietta followed on 26 January 1856. Birth records do not exist for these children, but their dates of birth are recorded at their baptism at the Presbyterian church in Goulburn on 27 November 1857. (Isabella was also christened for a second time on 27 November 1857 confirming her date of birth and her parentage. That she was born in Sydney is confirmed at her marriage in 1900, and at her death in 1911.)

Thomas Lansdown, the son of Thomas Lansdown and Mary Spencer, was working and living at "Springfield", Quialigo, Goulburn in 1855 with Jane Kelly (c1830-1872) and their then 4 children, with their youngest children being born there, and then baby Thomas having been born there as recently as January 1855. The "Sydney Morning Herald" in April 1855 lists people who had subscribed to the Patriotic Fund. Listed among those identified as living at "Springfield" was Thomas Lansdown who subscribed 5s. "The Goulburn Herald and County of Argyle Advertiser" in February 1855 shows a different Thomas Lansdown, of Major's Creek, advertising in regard to a horse that had strayed. (Major's Creek was 100km from Goulburn and covered by the Goulburn newspaper as the largest settlement in that area). This clearly shows that these were 2 different men by the name of Thomas Lansdown, living within about 100km of Goulburn.

Thomas Lansdown purchased his first land, 55 acres (22 hectares), at Boxers Creek (aka Shaws Creek) in the parish of Towrang, on 3 April 1856. In 1856 he was also leasing land at "Springfield", Quialigo. He also continued to work on the "Springfield" stud. Even though he owned and farmed land at Boxers Creek from 1856, Thomas did not live there for quite some time. He continued to live and work at "Springfield".

In September 1856 the relationship between Thomas and Jane broke down (court documents). Thomas began a new relationship with Rebecca Best (1834-1921) by about July 1857 when their first child was conceived. Rebecca had arrived in Sydney on 18 October 1855 on the Gilmore as a single female immigrant at the age of 21. The ship indent shows her to be illiterate, a general servant, from Compton Dundon in Somerset.

In December 1857 Thomas was sued for maintenance by Jane Kelly (c1830-1872). It is this court case that establishes that both Thomas and Jane could read and write. They never taught their children to read and write, however, and their children were illiterate.

Thomas and Rebecca's first child Henry Thomas Best Lansdown was born on 12 April 1858, followed by Frances Mary Best Lansdown on 7 April 1860, Susan Best Lansdown on 10 May 1862, and Robert Best Lansdown on 1 August 1864. Three more children were to follow: Emma Best Lansdown 1 June 1866, Frederick Best Lansdown 27 September 1868 (he died in 1869), and Edith Best Lansdown on 17 March 1870. Thomas and Rebecca did not marry until 1873.

A story that has survived in the family is that Thomas worked a stock overseer at "Springfield" stud for about 20 years. Newspapers of the day show that he did indeed live in the area of "Springfield" for a long period.
 * In August 1860 he is described as Thomas Lansdown, Quialigo
 * In May 1862 he was appointed a ranger of Springfield (duties including the impounding of stray animals)
 * In Apr 1863 he is described as Thomas Lansdown, Quialigo
 * In May 1863 he is fined for illegally impounding three head of horses

On 10 April 1873 in Goulburn Thomas Lansdown married Rebecca Best (1834-1921). The details that Thomas provided at this wedding to Rebecca Best included his age, place of birth and parent's names. Thomas signed the marriage register with his signature, and Rebecca signed the marriage register with her mark (that is a cross). They married after the death of Jane Kelly (c1830-1872) in 1872, and Thomas recorded his martital status as widower. (No record of a marriage between Thomas Lansdown and Jane Kelly has been found. The court case of December 1857, where Jane sued Thomas for maintenance, suggests that they did marry. A marriage to Jane would also explain why Thomas and Rebecca, in an era when divorce was the prerogative of the rich, did not marry until after Jane's death in 1872. If Thomas and Jane never married, Thomas maintained that they had, and Rebecca would not have married Thomas whilst Jane was still living.)

Their marriage certificate from 1873, and newspapers of the day reveal that Thomas and Rebecca were living at Boxers Creek (aka Shaws Creek), 6 kilometres east of Goulburn in the latter years of Thomas' life.
 * In 1875 Thomas lansdown placed an advertisement warning trespassers to stay of his purchased and leased land at Boxers Creek
 * In 1876 Thomas Lansdown of Boxers Creek advertised to sell a horse
 * In 1879 Thomas Lansdown of Boxers Creek won a tender to plant trees for the local government
 * In 1882 Thomas Lansdown of Boxers Creek received a license to slaughter
 * In 1884 Thomas Lansdown of Boxers Creek posted a reward for the return of a dog.

In October 1876 Thomas had purchased an additional 40 acres (16 hectares) at Towrang, 15 kilomtres north-east of Goulburn, and about 10 kilomtres north of his purchased and leased land at Boxers Creek.

Thomas died on 24 August 1885 at Towrang, just 2 months after the death of his youngest daughter Edith at Boxers Creek. There is a story in the family that Thomas died at the Towrang Hotel. It is interesting that Thomas was described in the marriage notice for his son Robert in January 1886 as “the late Thomas Lansdown of Towrang” as there is no evidence that he ever resided there. Thomas is buried at Goulburn. His stated age at death was 66 years.

After Thomas' death his wife Rebecca continued to farm his land at Boxers Creek and Towrang.

Nearly 20 years after Thomas's death Rebecca married Michael Vaughan on 21 Septemeber 1903 at Moss Vale. She died on 20 January 1921 at Towrang, Goulburn.

It is not known if Thomas's son Frederick Thomas Lansdown (1849-1910) was adopted as a young child, or if instead Thomas's son Thomas Lansdown (1855-) and Frederick Thomas Lansdown (1849-1910) are the same person.

There is a story that has become folklore within the family. In this story Thomas Lansdown had an adopted son by the name of Frederick, adopted in exchange for a piece of land, and that his birth name was either Day or Faithfull. The only Faithfull associated with the Goulburn district in that period was pastoralist William Pitt Faithfull (1806-1896) who had settled in the district in 1828, and married in 1844. (William Pitt Faithfull was the son of Corporal William Faithfull (1774-1847) who had arrived on the "Pitt" on 14 February 1792 as a soldier in the NSW Corps.) It is known that Thomas Lansdown worked on the "Springfield" Stud of William Pitt Faithfull at Quialigo near Goulburn. There is no record of a Day family associated with the Goulburn district in that period. One version of the story states that Frederick was the son of a Miss Faithfull and an employee by the name of Day who became scared of what her family would do to him and absconded. There was, however, no Miss Faithfull of child-bearing age in the Faithfull family in that period. Neither has a record of transfer or ownership of a piece of land been found. The story that Frederick was adopted, however, may be true.