Thomas Lansdown (1817-1885)

Birth and Immigration to Australia
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) at about the age of 29.

Not the convict sent to Tasmania in 1848
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 (1821-) is a different man. Records kept in Tasmania, English census documents, and parish records reveal that Thomas Lansdown the convict was born in 1821 the son of William Lansdown (1792-1875) and Anne Fussell (1788-1872) in the small village of Stoke Lane, Shepton Mallet, Somerset. Records in Tasmania show that he received a Conditional Pardon on 29 August meaning that he could leave Tasmania as long as he stayed in the Australian Colonies or New Zealand. From 13 March 1851 when his sentence expired he was free to travel anywhere. When his brother William Lansdown (1828-1905) arrived as a convict in Tasmania on 19 September 1851 the records in Tasmania recorded that the convict Thomas Lansdown was "at sea". The records held in Tasmania also reveal that the convict was illiterate, and Thomas Lansdown, the son of Thomas Lansdown and Mary Spencer, could read and write (court records, marriage registration).

Possibly employed as a cook at Tarban Creek Lunatic Asylum
There is a story in the family that Thomas told one of his sons that he helped with the cooking on the voyage out from England to Australia.

On 15 May 1847 a Thomas Lansdown was employed as a cook at Tarban Creek Lunatic Asylum (Gladesville, Sydney) by the then superintendent Joseph Thomas Digby (1812-1899) (superintendent 1838-1847, steward 1848-1850). A letter written to the Colonial Secretary of New South Wales shows that this Thomas Lansdown arrived in the Colony of New South Wales as a free man, and was to receive a salary of £20 per annum. 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.

Did not marry Sophia Todd in 1850
For a long time it was believed that on 25 November 1850 Thomas Lansdown 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).

First confirmed record of Thomas Lansdown in Australia
The first confirmed record in Australia of Thomas Lansdown, the son of Thomas Lansdown and Mary Spencer, is at the christening of Isabella Lydia Lansdown (1851-1911), at St Mary's Catholic Cathedral in Sydney. (It is not known why Isabella was baptised at the Catholic Cathedral as both parents were protestant, and this is the only record of either parent being associated with the Catholic church.) Isabella Landstone(sic) was born on 4 September 1851 and christened on 6 October 1851 as the daughter of Thomas Landstone(sic) (about 33 years old) and Jane Kelly (c1830-1872) (about 21 years old). 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 Landstone(sic) and Jane Kelly by those names.(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.)

Are Thomas Lansdown and Thomas Digby the same person?
Research has confirmed that Jane Kelly (c1830-1872) was a married woman when Isabella was born In Sydney in September 1851. Jane had married the baker Thomas Digby (c1820-) in Yass on 4 November 1850, and conceived Isabella about 6 weeks later in mid-December 1850. Jane was still living with her husband Thomas Digby in Yass in February 1851, Thomas Digby was still living in Yass in March 1851 and assumably Jane was still with him, but neither of them were still in Yass by September 1851.

The mystery becomes was Thomas Digby (c1820-) an alias for Thomas Lansdown? In other words, are they the same person, or did Jane became involved with another man,  Thomas Lansdown, soon after her marriage?

No record of a marriage between Thomas Lansdown and  Jane Kelly (c1830-1872) has been found. The court case of December 1857, where Jane sued Thomas for spousal maintenance, was only possible if they did marry. A marriage to Jane would also explain why Thomas Lansdown and Rebecca Best (1834-1921), in an era when divorce was the prerogative of the rich, did not marry until after Jane's death, and why Thomas stated that he was a widower. It would also explain why Jane never married the widower William Garner (1809-1868). If the man that Jane married in 1850, Thomas Digby (c1820-), and Thomas Lansdown (1817-1885) were the same person this would fully explain these circumstances.

If the man that  Jane Kelly (c1830-1872) married in 1850, Thomas Digby (c1820-), and Thomas Lansdown were the same person it would also explain the details that Jane provided when she registered the birth of her daughter Martha in 1857.

The Lansdown-Digby connection

 * Thomas Lansdown (1817-1885), farmer of Boxers Creek, Goulburn (Part 1)
 * Arrives in NSW in about 1847
 * Family stories that he worked as a cook aboard the ship to Australia
 * Possibly working as a cook at Tarban Creek in May 1847 for Joseph Thomas Digby (1812-1899)


 * Thomas Digby (c1820-), baker of Yass
 * Record of a relationship with Jane Kelly from 1849 to 1851. A child is born during this time.
 * Married Jane Kelly in November 1850 in Yass
 * Left Yass before September 1851
 * No record of a death


 * Thomas Lansdown (1817-1885), farmer of Boxers Creek, Goulburn (Part 2)
 * Record of a relationship with Jane Kelly from September 1851 to September 1856. Children born of this relationship
 * Birth of daughter Isabella in Sydney in September 1851
 * Moved to near Goulburn in 1851/52 and commenced work on the farm/estate of William Pitt Faithfull (1806-1896)
 * Purchased first land near Goulburn in April 1856 to commence farming
 * Married to Jane Kelly but no record of a marriage found
 * Break-up of relationship with Jane Kelly in September 1856
 * Began relationship with Rebecca Best by July 1857. Children born of this relationship
 * Married Rebecca Best in 1873 after the death of Jane Kelly in 1872
 * Died 1885 near Goulburn
 * Daughter Isabella Lansdown lists his occupation as baker at her marriage in 1900


 * Jane Kelly (c1830-1872)
 * Alternative names: Ann Digby, Martha Digby, Jane Digby, Jane Lansdown, Jane Garner/Gardiner
 * Arrived in NSW in April 1849 aboard the "Digby"
 * Began a relationship with Thomas Digby, baker of Yass by August 1849
 * Record of birth in Yass in May 1850 and death in Yass in Jun 1850 of a son to Thomas Digby, baker of Yass
 * Record of marriage in November 1850 in Yass to Thomas Digby, baker of Yass
 * Daughter Isabella conceived in December 1850
 * Record that she is still living in Yass in a relationship with Thomas Digby in February 1851
 * Left Yass before September 1851
 * Record of a relationship with Thomas Lansdown from September 1851 to September 1856.
 * Birth of daughter Isabella in Sydney in September 1851. Other children of the relationship with Thomas Lansdown born near Goulburn.
 * Married to Thomas Lansdown but no record of a marriage found
 * Record of a relationship with William Garner/Gardiner from June 1857 to late 1862. Children born of this relationship. Never married the widower William Garner/Gardiner.
 * Died 1872 in Sydney as Jane Digby


 * Isabella Lydia Lansdown (1851-1911), daughter of Thomas Lansdown and Jane Kelly, born September 1851 in Sydney. Married Henry Conquit in 1900
 * Alternative names: Anne Maidman, Anne Lansdown, Isabella Digby, Isabella Conquit
 * Raised from the age of 5 by her father after her parents split in September 1856
 * In records for the death of her eldest son in 1891 she is shown as both Isabella Digby and Isabella Lansdown
 * When her youngest son died in 1932 the informant lists his mother’s name as Isabella Digby
 * When she married in 1900 she lists her father as Thomas Lansdown, baker


 * Rebecca Jane Lansdown (1852-1923), daughter of Thomas Lansdown and Jane Kelly, born December 1852 near Goulburn. Married David Forrester in 1880
 * Alternative names: Rebecca Digby, Rebecca Forrester
 * Raised from the age of 3 by her father after her parents split in September 1856
 * When one of her sons married he listed his mother’s name as Rebecca Digby


 * Mary Anne Lansdown (1854-1921), daughter of Thomas Lansdown and Jane Kelly, born January 1854. Married David Lamb Sutherland in 1894
 * Alternative names: Mary Anne Sutherland
 * Raised from the age of 2 by her father after her parents split in September 1856
 * When she died in 1921 Martha Jager nee Digby, her younger sister, was a witness to her death


 * Thomas Lansdown (1855-), son of Thomas Lansdown and Jane Kelly, born January 1855 near Goulburn.
 * Alternative names: Frederick Davis
 * Raised from the age of 1 by her father after her parents split in September 1856


 * Ellen Henrietta Lansdown (1856-1932), daughter of Thomas Lansdown and Jane Kelly, born January 1856 near Goulburn. Married Walter Hardy in 1886
 * Alternative names: Ellen Hardy
 * Raised from the age of 7 months by her father after her parents split in September 1856


 * Martha Digby (1857-1926), daughter of Jane Kelly, born May 1857 near Goulburn. Married William Hugh Rabbits Craddock in 1876 and George Jager in 1896
 * Alternative names: Martha Craddock, Martha Jager
 * Conceived when her mother Jane Kelly was still in a relationship with Thomas Lansdown. Thomas Lansdown claimed that his employee Mr Burns was her father
 * Her mother, using the name of Jane Digby, registered her birth. Her mother stated that Martha’s father was her husband Thomas Digby, baker
 * Raised by her mother from birth until the age of 7 when she was placed into care in Sydney
 * Witness to the death in 1921 of Mary Ann Sutherland nee Lansdown, her older sister


 * Ann Jane Digby (1858-1943), daughter of Jane Kelly and William Garner/Gardiner, born May 1858 near Goulburn. Married John Poulter in 1879
 * Alternative names: Ann Jane Poulter
 * Raised by her mother from birth until the age of 5 when she was placed into care in Sydney


 * William Digby Garner (1860-1861), son of Jane Kelly and William Garner/Gardiner, born November 1860 near Goulburn. Died April 1861 near Goulburn


 * William Minn Digby (1862-1862), son of Jane Kelly and William Garner/Gardiner, born March 1862 near Goulburn. Died 1862 near Goulburn


 * Cecilia Digby (1862-1862), daughter of Jane Kelly and William Garner/Gardiner, born March 1862 near Goulburn. Died December 1862 in Sydney


 * Cecilia Digby (1863-1864), daughter of Jane Kelly and William Garner/Gardiner, born April 1863 in Sydney. Died April 1864 in Sydney

Prospecting for gold near Braidwood?
For a long time it has been believed that Thomas Lansdown joined in the gold-rush in New South Wales and moved with Jane and baby Isabella to near Braidwood in New South Wales. This is based upon a newspaper report in the Sydney Morning Herald of 21 September 1852 where a Thomas Lansdown sent 134oz of gold that he had found from Bell's Creek to the Colonial Secretary in Sydney. Bell's Creek, which is about 100 miles south of Goulburn on the Braidwood side of Araluen, was first pegged out for gold prospecting in September 1851.

For a long time it has therefore been believed that Thomas and Jane's next child, Rebecca Jane, was born on 25 December 1852 near Braidwood. It is, however, possible Rebecca Jane was born at Goulburn even if her father  Thomas Lansdown was gold-prospecting near Braidwood 3 months earlier. No birth registration exists for Rebecca, her place of birth was not recorded when she married, and her death registration, filled in by her son Herbert, stated that her place of birth was Goulburn. Rebecca then told her family that she was born at Goulburn, and not Braidwood.

The difficulty in trying to confirm if Thomas Lansdown, the son of Thomas Lansdown and Mary Spencer, was prospecting for gold near Braidwood in 1852 is that there was a number of Thomas Lansdowns.

In 1855 there was a Thomas Lansdown in the gold-mining area of Major's Creek, nearby to Bell's Creek. "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). At the same time Thomas Lansdown, the son of Thomas Lansdown and Mary Spencer, was working and living at "Springfield", Tirrannaville, Goulburn in 1855 with Jane Kelly (c1830-1872) and their then 4 children, with their youngest child, 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. This clearly shows that in 1855 there were 2 different men by the name of Thomas Lansdown both living within about 100km of Goulburn.

In 1872-1876 there is a Thomas Lansdown listed in the Grenville's Post Office Directory as a miner living at Labert, Braidwood (1872), and burying his daughters in the Braidwood Cemetary (1873, 1876). At the same time Thomas Lansdown, the son of Thomas Lansdown and Mary Spencer, was living closer to Goulburn with his family at "Springfield" or Boxers Creek (his place of residence on 10 April 1873 was Boxers Creek). This clearly shows that in 1872-1876 there were 2 different men by the name of Thomas Lansdown both living within about 100km of Goulburn.

The Thomas Lansdown living at Labert, Braidwood in 1872 was Isaiah Thomas Lansdown (1823-1900) who was also known as Thomas Lansdown. Isaiah Thomas Lansdown, also known as Thomas Lansdown, married in Sydney in 1852, and his first child was born in Sydney on 27 June 1853. It is therefore possible that he was the gold-miner at Bell's Creek in September 1852, but if he is it meant regular trips between the goldfields and Sydney. As he moved his family away from Sydney after the birth of his first child, birth registrations do not exist for his subsequent children to confirm where he was during the period from 1853  to 1871. It is possible that he was the gold-miner at Major's Creek in 1855 but this has not been confirmed. He is known to be the gold-miner at Braidwood in 1872 as he had 2 daughters buried at the Braidwood Cemetery in the period. There was Louisa in 1873, with her parent's names given as Thomas Lansdown and Catherine McCara, and Eliza in 1876, with her parent's names given as Isaiah Thomas Lansdown and Catherine McCara. Catherine Lansdown nee McCara died at Leichardt in 1896, where their son Thomas William Lansdown was living with his wife and family. Isaiah Thomas Lansdown, who had been born in 1823 in Crickdale, Wiltshire as the son of Richard and Susan Lansdown, died in Parramatta in 1900, and his death is registered under the name of Thomas Lansdown.

There were therefore as few as 2 and as many as 4 Thomas Lansdowns living within about 100km of Goulburn in the period 1852 to 1876.
 * (1) Thomas Lansdown who was gold-mining at Bells Creek near Braidwood in September 1852. Could be (3) or (4) below, or someone else entirely.
 * (2) Thomas Lansdown who was gold-mining at Majors Creek near Bells Creek near Braidwood in 1855. Could be (3) below, or someone else entirely.
 * (3) Isaiah Thomas Lansdown known as Thomas Lansdown who was gold-mining at Braidwood in 1872-1876.
 * (4) Thomas Lansdown, the son of Thomas Lansdown and Mary Spencer, who was living at "Springfield" and Boxers Creek near Goulburn from after 1851 to 1885.

It is therefore unconfirmed that Thomas Lansdown, the son of Thomas Lansdown and Mary Spences, was gold-prospecting at Bell's Creek in September 1852. Ut may have been a different Thomas Lansdown entirely.

The many Thomas Lansdowns
A number of Thomas Lansdowns have been identified as in Australia in the period 1847-1855. Allowing for possible overlaps in the records, this identifies between 4 and 8 different Thomas Lansdowns in Australia at the same time. Immigration records only exist for 1 of these men. Death records exist for only 2 of these men.
 * (1) Thomas Lansdown (1821-), illiterate, the convict, the son of William Lansdown and Anne Fussell, who was transfered to Tasmania aboard the Bangalore from Bermuda in 1848, and who in 1849 is recorded as in holding a Conditional Pardon. The terms of his Conditonal Pardon restricted him to the Australian Colonies and New Zealand until his 7 year sentence expired on 13 March 1851. When his brother William Lansdown (1828-1905) arrived in Tasmania as a convict on 19 September 1851 the Tasmanian authorities recorded this Thomas Lansdown as "at sea".
 * (2) Thomas Lansdown the seaman who was working as a member of the crew on the Irish built ship Emma on a trip from Hobart to Sydney (Sydney Morning Herald, 7 January 1850). The Emma was working in Australian waters and regularly sailed between Sydney and Hobart. He was a good swimmer as he dived into the sea to save a drowning man. It is possible that this man was (1) above, especially as (1) above may have learnt to swim during his 5 years as a convict in the British penal colony in Bermuda.
 * (3) Thomas Lansdown, illiterate, who married Sophia Todd in Sydney in November 1850 and then moved with her to Melbourne. Found in the records from 1850 (Sydney) to 1858 (Melbourne). It is possible, however, that this man was (1) and/or (2) above.
 * (4) Thomas Lansdown the gold-miner of Bells Creek near Braidwood, NSW. Found in records in September 1852. It is possible, however, that this man was (1) and/or (2) above.
 * (5) Thomas the gold-miner of Majors Creek near Braidwood, NSW. Found in records in 1855. It is possible, however, that this man was (1) and/or (2) and/or (4) above.
 * (6) Thomas Lansdown, literate, the farmer of Goulburn, NSW, the son of Thomas Lansdown and Mary Spencer. Death registration of 1885 states he immigrated about 1847. Found in records from 1851 (Sydney) to 1885 (Goulburn). However, if he was not the father of his eldest daughter Isabella (conceived mid-December 1850) it is possible that he is (2) above, but not likely as the seaman could swim, and swim well enough to jump into the water to try to save a drowning man, and this Thomas Lansdown was not raised near the sea. It is also possible that he is (4) above.
 * (7) Isaiah Thomas Lansdown (1823-1900), also known as Thomas Lansdown, the gold-miner of Braidwood, NSW. Death registration in 1900. Found in the records marrying in Sydney in 1852, and having his first child in Sydney in June 1853. He is also found in the records living in Braidwood, occupation miner, in the period 1872 to 1876. It is possible that this man is (2) above, but not likely as the seaman could swim, and swim well enough to jump into the water to try to save a drowning man, and this Thomas Lansdown was not raised near the sea. It is also possible that this man was (4) and/or (5) above.
 * (8) Thomas Lansdown who worked as a cook at Tarban Creek Asylum, NSW, in 1847 after arriving in the Colony of NSW as a free man. It is possible, however, that this man was one of the men (2)-(7) above.

Moved to Goulburn
Thomas, the son of Thomas Lansdown and Mary Spencer, moved with his family to Goulburn. There he obtained work from William Pitt Faithfull (1806-1896) on his property "Springfield" at Tirrannaville, 20 kilometres south of Goulburn. It was here that Thomas and Jane's second daughter, Rebecca Jane Lansdown, may have been born on 25 December 1852. It was there that their third daughter, Mary Anne Lansdown, was born on on 21 January 1854. Their son Thomas followed on 11 January 1855, and their daughter Ellen Henrietta followed on 26 January 1856 (place of birth as Springfield, Goulburn confirmed by her death record). 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.

First Parcel Of Land Purchased
Thomas Lansdown, the son of Thomas Lansdown and Mary Spencer, at about the age of 38 purchased his first land, 55 acres (22 hectares), block no. 119 at Boxers Creek in the parish of Towrang, on 3 April 1856, for the cost of £1 per acre. The purchase was made from the Government. Even though he owned and farmed land at Boxers Creek from 1856, Thomas did not live there for quite some time. He continued in paid employment to be able to fund his farming venture.

Break-down of one relationship, and beginning of another
In September 1856 the relationship between Thomas (about 38 years old) and Jane (about 26 years old) broke down (court documents). At that time Thomas had "brutally beaten her (Jane's) naked body with a whip" on a day when Thomas "had detected an improper intimacy between her and a man (Mr Burns) in his employ". (In September 1856 Jane was probably unaware that she was newly pregnant, having conceived near the end of August 1856. Thomas never accepted paternity for this child, Martha.) Jane was compelled, whether by force or by circumstance, to leave without her 5 young children who at that time ranged in age from 7 months to 5 years.

Thomas (about 38 years old) needed to hire outside help to care for his children, and he hired  Rebecca Best (1834-1921) (21 years old). 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. Thomas and Rebecca were soon living in a domestic relationship.

Caring for Thomas's children and household was more than a full-time job, and Thomas allowed Rebecca to hire outside help. On 25 June 1857 Rebecca, 22 years old, entered into a written agreement to hire an 82 year old woman, Sarah Ash (c1775-1860), "to look after the children and make herself generally useful for the term of three months" for a remuneration of 2s 6d per week (court documents). The three month agreement was to terminate on 25 September 1857. As Rebecca was illiterate she had to receive help to have the agreement drafted, and it is possible that Thomas, who was literate, was the help that she sought.

In mid-July 1857 Thomas and Rebecca's first child was conceived.

On 14 November 1857, 22 year old Rebecca was before the courts being sued for wages by 82 yeat old Sarah Ash (c1775-1860), the help that she had hired to look after Thomas's children. Rebecca was sued for £1 12s 6d in unpaid wages, which was the entire wages for the 3 months that the written agreement covered. In other words during the time that Sarah Ash had been employed she had received no wages. The court contrasted the 2 women before the bench as "a decent old woman", and a woman who "has lately been several times in the police court". Rebecca swore that Sarah Ash had only been engaged by the month (and therefore by implication she only owed 1 months wages and not 3), but her evidence was contradicted by the written agreement. In lieu of payment of the outstanding £1 12s 6d in unpaid wages Jane offered goods instead of cash, goods that were brought to the court "by a man named Lansdowne with whom she lives". These goods were accepted, but Rebecca was still ordered to pay Sarah Ash's legal costs of 18s 6d.

On 27 November 1857 Thomas's children Isabella, Rebecca, Mary Ann, Thomas and Ellen, were baptised at the Presbyterian Church in Goulburn. Isabella who had been previously baptised as Catholic was rebaptised as Presbyterian. From this baptism record we learn that Thomas was a settler (that is farmer) at Gulaga near Goulburn, an old place name that has not been able to be located. In the parish register the minister records the name of the childrens' mother as Jane Kelly for Isabella and Rebecca, but in error as Mary Kelly for Mary Ann, Thomas, and Ellen. Due to the acrimosity between Thomas and Jane Kelly (c1830-1872) at that time it is unlikely that Jane was invited to the ceremony.

In December 1857 Thomas was sued for maintenance by Jane Kelly (c1830-1872). It is this court case that establishes that Thomas could read and write. Thomas, however, never taught his and Jane's children to read and write, and their children were illiterate. In December 1857 Jane was pregnant with her first child by her new partner and former employer William Garner (1809-1868). Jane, however, had begun this court action at most a few months earlier at a time when she had a young baby, Martha, to care for, and when her only means of support was any wages that she could earn. Jane only sought maintenance for herself, and not for baby Martha who may have been Thomas's child. Jane was awarded spousal maintenance of 8s a week to be paid by Thomas to the Chief Constable each week. Thomas was also ordered to pay to the Chief Constable Jane's professional costs of 3 guineas (£3 3s) and the costs of court.

Thomas Landown and Rebecca Best'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 on 1 June 1866, Frederick Best Lansdown on 27 September 1868 (he died in 1869), and Edith Best Lansdown on 17 March 1870. Thomas and Rebecca did not marry until 1873.

Residence at "Springfield" near Goulburn
A story that has survived in the family is that Thomas worked a stock overseer at "Springfield" stud for about 20 years.

The seat of the "Springfield" stud, the homestead and its adjoining acres, was in the parish of Mangamore, about 20 kilometres south of Goulburn, adjoining the road from Goulburn to Braidwood, and in the modern day suburb of Tirrannaville. The farm, however, also extended over large tracts of land that were owned by William Pitt Faithfull (1806-1896) in the adjoining parishes of Terranna, Quialigo and Gundary (The Goulburn Herald and Chronicle, 9 January 1867, 1900 map by Department of Lands of NSW Government).

Newspapers of the day show that Thomas Lansdown did live in the area of "Springfield" for a long period, and was employed by William Pitt Faithfull.
 * In Dec 1857 Thomas Lansdown was to call Mr Huggart as a witness at the court case. Mr Huggart was Senior Overseer for the Faithfull family property "Springfield"
 * In Aug 1860 Thomas Lansdown is describes himself as Thomas Lansdown, Quialigo
 * In May 1862 Thomas Lansdown was appointed ranger of Springfield "with orders to prosecute all trespassers, and impound all stock found upon my lands" by William Pitt Faithfull, Springfield.
 * In Apr 1863 Thomas Lansdown, who found 1 small brown mare "on the run at Quialigo", describes himself as Thomas Lansdown, Quialigo
 * In May 1863 Thomas Lansdown is fined for illegally impounding three head of horses

Marriage to Rebecca Best
On 10 April 1873, at the Weslyan Parsonage in Goulburn, 55 year old Thomas Lansdown married 38 year old Rebecca Best (1834-1921). The details that Thomas provided included his age (stated age 54), place of birth and parent's names. The details that Provided provided included her age (stated age 40), 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. Rebecca's marital status was single.

Residence at Boxers Creek
Their marriage certificate from 1873, and newspapers of the day reveal that Thomas and Rebecca were living at Boxers 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.

More Land Purchased


In October 1876 Thomas is known to have purchased, at the cost of £1 an acre, an additional 40 acres (16 hectares) from the Government which was described in the newspapers as being at Towrang. The land was block no. 199 at Boxers Creek which was in the parish of Towrang. This block did not adjoin Thomas's original 55 acres, but was just to the east. This block also had a small creek on its southern boundary.

Thomas had continued to purchase land by private sale after his initial purchase of 55 acres (22 hectares) at Boxers Creek in 1856. At the time of his wife Rebecca's death in 1921 the farm, then known as "Shaws Creek", comprised of 255 acres (103 hectares), all at Boxers Creek, Goulburn.

WOOD & CO.

''HAVE received instructions from the Executor in the Estate of the late Mrs. Lansdowne Vaughan, to sell by auction, on Saturday, 21st May at 12 o'clock sharp, at the Town Hall, Goulburn, that Snug Little Grazing Property known as Shaw's Creek, at Boxer's Creek, 4 miles from Goulburn, comprising 255 Acres of Good Grazing Land, which will be submitted in two lots; viz., 224 Acres Homestead and 31 Acres which does not join the homestead. This property has all conveniences for carrying on a dairy or trading depot, in easy distance of factory and market, and can be a suburban home, half mile from school; mail passes every other day; very sound country; well watered, and richly pastured; has been used chiefly for dairying for the past thirty years.''

Terms and full particulars at sale.

(Goulburn Evening Penny Post, 14 May 1921, emphasis added)

Death
At the age of 67 (stated age 66) Thomas died on 24 August 1885 at Towrang, just 2 months after the death of his youngest daughter Edith at Boxers Creek. Towrang is 15 kilomtres north-east of Goulburn, and about 10 kilomtres north of Thomas's land at Boxers Creek (in the parish of Towrang). 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”, describing him by the parish that he had lived in, rather than the place.

Thomas is buried at Goulburn. His stated age at death was 66 years.

After Thomas' death his wife Rebecca continued to farm Thomas's land at Boxers Creek. Rebecca had been left use of the land and its profits for the term of her life, after which the land was to pass to his at that time unmarried son Robert, and then on Robert's death to any children that Robert may have. Thomas's will was written before his daughter Edith died in June 1885, and under the terms of the will Edith was to inherit if Robert died without issue. Executors of the will were Richard Styles of Bullamalite, Grazier and James Worrall of Goulburn, Miller. When probate was granted on 22 September 1898, James Worrall was living at "Cargo near Orange", and Thomas's place of death was stated to be Boxers Creek.

Nearly 20 years after Thomas's death Rebecca married Michael Vaughan on 21 Septemeber 1903 at Moss Vale.

Rebecca died on 20 January 1921 at Towrang, Goulburn. When Rebecca died the then 255 Acre (103 hectare) farm at Boxer's Creek was placed up for auction by her estate.

Frederick Thomas Lansdown
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 for a long period on the "Springfield" Stud of William Pitt Faithfull at Tirrannaville near Goulburn. In 1838 William Pitt Faithfull did himself father an illegitimate son, Henry Pitt Faithfull (1838-1896), with a female employee working on his farm. This child was raised by his mother whilst retaining the Faithfull surname, and is the exact opposite of a precedent of adopting out illegitimate children fathered by the Faithfull family. There is no record of a Day family associated with the Goulburn district in that period, but it is possible that an employee with the surname of Day worked on the Faithfull farm. 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. Frederick may, for example, have been born illegitimately on the Faithfull farm from a liason between two employees neither of whom was in a position to raise him.