Thomas Davis aka William Walker abt 1820 - 1905

Thomas Davis aka William James Walker (abt 1820 - 1905)

Thomas Davis is the name used by my GGG Grandfather at the time of his death, and on the legal documents and the marriage and death records of his child. According to his death certificate he was born about 1820, in Sydney NSW, and married my GGG grandmother, Jane Bygrave in Geelong Victoria - supposedly in 1854 - and lived in Queensland for a period. The death certificate also notes his parents a Clement and Sarah and his father was a carpenter. Comprehensive search of records in both New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, failed to identify birth or marriage records for a Thomas Davis, or any of his children that aligned with the information provided on the Death Certificate.

Thanks to Jen Christianson - a fellow descendant of this line - we were finally - after 8 years - able to find some records that helped us identify some candidates for Thomas in September 2021. This discovery changed our thinking and furthered our research efforts.

What we had previously known is that Jane had married a Francis McDowell in 1853, but he died in early 1854 before the birth of his son - also Francis McDowell. Jen's discovery allowed us to discover that Jane subsequently married a Thomas Walker a cook and mariner in 1858, initially we thought this was our Thomas Davis, but Thomas Walker subsequently died in April 1861. 

The first record that provides a potential candidate for Thomas Davis is the registration of the birth of a child Mary Jane Walker in Ashby - a suburb of Geelong located in the area of Geelong West - on 3 July 1862. This record identifies her mother as Jane Walker - with the notation "previously Walker, previously McDowell, previously Bygrave" - and her father as William James Walker. We now working on the assumption this this man is my GGG grandfather - who later assumes the name Thomas Davis.

William James Walker (also known as Thomas Davis) was born in Buffalo, USA in 1821. His parent are unknown, and it is not known when he immigrated to Victoria Australia. Some time in the second half of 1861, in Geelong Victoria, he married Jane Bygrave - who was likely pregnant at the time. Jane was the illegitimate daughter of Richard Bygrave Esq and Sarah Thomas.  

There is no further records of the family record of the family until Janes death in 1877 and then Thomas death in 1905. What we know from those records is 

• lived for a "few years" in Victoria 
• 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, we know they had 3 more children, only one of who appear to have made it onto BDM records

• Mary Jane Davis Born 1862 Died bef. 1877
• Louisa Jane Davis Born 1865 Married Patrick McDermott 1882 Died 1942
• ? Davis Born ? Died bef 1877

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) under the name Davis 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 - under the name Davis - 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.

Associated Records

• 1858 - Thomas Walker and Jane McDowell - Marriage Certificate
• 1862 - Mary Jane Walker - Birth Certificate
• 1890 - Thomas Davis - Census
• 1905 - Thomas Davis - Will

Possible Scenarios

The only consistency in term of information about Thomas is that the information he provides changes, making it incredibly difficult to follow the line further back. Key questions to answer 

• When did Thomas arrive in Australia. 
• Who was his previous wife and did they have children
• Why and when did Thomas Walker use the name William James Walker 
• When did Thomas and Jane leave Victoria
• Are there other aliases
• When did Thomas and Jane start using Davis
• Are the missing childrens bdm records under walker or some other name
• Are his parents really Peter and Mary Walker if so who are the Clement and Sarah recorded on his death certificate ; was Peter Walker a carpenter
• Was he really born in the USA, if so what bought the family there.

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

Jens' research identified a potential marriage record for a Jane McDowell to a Thomas Walker on June 28 1858 at the Wesleyan Chapel Geelong. Upon receipt of this marriage certificate, we confirmed it was in fact the correct couple (based on Janes information). This marriage certificate stated that Thomas Walker was born abt 1822 in America to Peter Walker and Mary and that he was a widower whose previous wife had died in 1851. It also notes his occupation as a cook.This led us to the conclusion that Thomas changed his name some time between after 1858, but we had no insights as to his previous spouse, or a date of immigration to Australia.

We then identified a birth record for of a daughter in Ashby - a suburb of Geelong located in the area of Geelong West - on 3 July 1862. Again this record raised a number of other questions, as its not that the fathers name is William James Walker, place of birth Buffalo, USA, estimated date of birth 1821 occupation Publican and marriage 1861. It also noted that Jane's as Jane Walker, previously Walker, previously McDowell, previously Bygrave. This seem unusual, so we search for death records for Thomas Walker, sure enough we found a death certificate for Thomas Walker on 10 April 1861 at Sydney St Geelong. The death certificate notes that he died aged 40 of acute inflammatory rheumatism. The certificate also confirms he was born in 1821, he was a cook, who was born in North America and who was married in 1858 to Jane McDowell (previously Bygrave), but there we no children from the union. Interesting, it also noted that he had been in Victoria for about 7 years. Thomas was buried on 11 April 1861 at the Wesleyan Cemetary Geelong. His will was read left a will Based on this information, we can confirm that Thomas Walker is NOT the same person as William James Walker, but we are no closer to identifying if William James Walker IS Thomas Davis