Thomas Davis abt 1820 - 1905

Thomas Davis (abt 1820 - 1905)

Thomas Davis was born about 1820, apparently in Sydney NSW, however we have been unable to find any record of his birth. All of our information about Thomas comes from his obituary and death certificate. His death certificate notes his parents as Clement and Sarah - Clement is recorded as a carpenter - but there are no record of a Clement Davis anywhere in the colony in that period.

On his death certificate he is noted as having married in Victoria in 1854 to Jane Bygrave. Jane was the illegitimate daughter of Dr Thomas Bygrave and Eliza Jane Ham.

This assertion does raise some questions. Jane arrived in the Port Phillip in September 1853. In August 1854 she is recorded on the birth certificate of her son - Francis - as having married Francis MacDowel in the Roman Catholic church in Melbourne - although her erstwhile husband - Francis - is noted as being deceased at the time of the childs birth and we have been unable to find a marriage certificate for Jane and Francis, or a death certificate for Francis. Their sole child was

• Francis MacDowell Born 18 Aug 1854 Geelong, VIC; Christened 2 Oct 1854 St Mary's RC Geelong; Died Mar 11 1899 Casino, NSW

We have been unable to identify marriage certificate for Thomas and Jane in either 1854 or 1855, however Jane's eldest son took on the Davis name and was known throughout his life (and his death certificate) as Francis MacDowell Davis.

There is no record of the family. The information we have is from Thomas death certificate which notes that they 

• lived for a "few years" in Victoria - most likely chasing gold - and
• spent an "unknown period" of time in Toowoomba (around 1864/65) - they may have travelled from Victoria to Queensland via the inland route
• settled around Tenterfield some time after 1865. 

Based on Jane's death certificate, they had 3 more children, none of whom appear to have made it onto BDM records

• ? Davis Born ? Died bef. 1877
• Louisa Jane Davis Born 1865 Married Patrick McDermott 1882 Died 1942
• ? Davis Born ? Died bef 1877

There is a Charlotte Davis born in 1855 in Berrima and there are two children born to a Thomas and Jane Davis in Pleasant Creek Victoria - Mary 1856 and John 1858. The timing of these work, but there is no ability to confirm records at this point. If these are the two missing children, the seven year gap to Louisa's birth (supposedly in 1865 in Toowoomba is difficult to explain)

There is a notation in the Government Gazette under the heading of UNDEFINED PRE-EMPTIVE LEASE for a Thomas Davis Tenterfield - we are unable to confirm if this is our Thomas or not.

We do know that in 1876 the family were living in Bryan's Gap (7km from Tenterfield) as it is here that Jane passes away in January 1877.

Thomas again disappears off the radar until the 1890s when he appears in Government Gazettes

In 1900 NSW introduced an Old Age Pension. Before being eligible for the pension, individuals had to satisfy that they:

• were over 60 (for women) and 65 (for men)
• were of good character (having led a sober and respectable life for the previous 5 years)
• had lived in the NSW for at least 25 years
• satisfied a strict means test

From 1902 until his death in 1905, Thomas is recorded as receiving the Old Age Pension in the amount of £26 per annum - which meant that he owned property worth less than £390. Only 39% of people over 65 were deemed eligible. It is hoped that it may be possible to access the Pension application register which may provide further information.

Thomas died of senile decay at Lismore Hospital on 2 December 1905 - he is noted as being 85 at the time. He was interred at North Lismore Cemetery

Thomas did leave a will, but we are yet to secure a copy of that.

Possible Scenarios

The inability to find any record of Thomas is challenging, especially given that Australian record keeping - as a penal colony - in this period was very good. There are range of scenarios that could account for this, This leads us to think that some of Thomas claims may be less than authentic, and that there are a couple of different possible scenarios:

• Thomas is the son of Sarah Davis or Sarah Clement a convict, and was born at the Sydney Female Factory and raised in the Orphan Schools
• Thomas Davis and Francis MacDowall are in fact the same person and for some reason Thomas changed his name
• Thomas Davis was not born in Australia but was rather a convict OR a deserted ships crewman and for some reason lied about his origins
• Thomas Davis is an alias for an unknown individual
• Thomas is the son of Clement Davis and Sarah and was NOT born in Australia, but rather arrived in Victoria in the 1850s with his brother - See Thomas Davis of New Hampshire below
• Thomas is the son of a Clement and Sarah, but not Clement and Sarah DAVIS - there is no reference to DAVIS next to his parents name on his death certificate

Thomas Davis son of Sarah (a convict) born in Female Factory and raised in Orphan Schools - PROBABLE

Despite the fact that NSW was a penal colony and had excellent records on convicts and penal affairs, formal birth registrations were not started until 1855, so the availability of BDM documentation prior to date is dependent upon early Church Records.

Many children of convicts were never baptised, especially illegitimate children born to female convicts. From 1807 female convicts and other female prisoners were housed in Female Factories. The Church regularly refused to baptise the children of these women at birth. Most of the children were removed from their mothers to the Orphan Schools at the age of 3. In some cases the children ended up back with their mothers and were baptised as children years after their birth, but many lived their lives in the orphan schools until they were apprenticed at 14.

In addition to these illegitimate children of female born in Australia there were a significant number of children traveled with their mothers when they were transported and the only records of these children is in Ship Muster documents and or Colonial Secretary Papers

There are a number of Sarah Davis and Sarah Clements inside the timeframe, however it will be necessary to confirm Female Factory and Orphan School records to confirm this theory. 

Thomas Davis and Francis MacDowall are the same person - UNLIKELY

The timing of events in 1853 and 1854 lends some weight to the potential that Thomas and Francis are the same person. Jane arrives in September 1853. In August 1854 (11 mths later) she gives birth to a son (with the father noted as Francis MacDowel (deceased) There are no marriage records for their marriage or of Francis Death, and based on Thomas's death records he marries Jane in 1854... this is all pretty quick work.

That said it was not unusual for a woman left alone with a child to seek a male protector, and on Francis MacDowell Davis's death certificate his father is recorded as Francis MacDowel, and it does not seem likely that the family would perpetuate the alias.

Thomas Davis was not born in Australia, but was a convict or deserted ships crewman - POSSIBLE

Thomas Davis is an alias for an unknown individual

Thomas Davis of New Hampshire - POSSIBLE

The only records of a Clement Davis and Sarah in this time frame are out of New Hampshire in the US (see below). There is a possibility that this could be his parents, except for the absence of a Thomas in their child listing.