→Thomas James Blencowe (I5503) born about 1830 a Shoemaker arrive Jul 1852 to Melbourne aboard the Mariner from London on an unassisted passage
→Mary Frances Ann Blencowe (1841, Hanwell ,Middlesex) → Queensland. Arrived: on 16 Dec 1878 on the ship Scottish Princess with her son Thomas George Henry Blencowe age 14 yrs.
Synopsis
This is a story of two emigrations from the same family but 26 years apart and separate journeys. It is unclear about a lot of Thomas James intentions and movements. He went to Australia following in the family tradition but no record of his return or why he returned is found. He married but failed to stay in the relationship and we have the bizarre situation where his wife and child emigrate to Australia without any family there and go to one of the remotest spots populated by Europeans at the time. A clue to what happened between the couple may be in the end note of this page, but it is speculation.
Camberwell
Thomas James grew up the son of a Cordwainer a skilled maker of shoes and he learnt this trade from Thomas his father. The village of Camberwell was changing rapidly during his teens and became one of londons first commuter hubs. By the 1830s, coaches ran seven times a day from Camberwell to the City of London (Gracechurch Street). It was one of London’s first “commuter suburbs,” primarily housing middle-class families who wanted to escape the smog of central London. In 1851 Thomas James is 21 and while he may claim to be a shoemaker in the next few years he is reported in the census as Clerk to calvinal (Colonial) merchant.
Thomas James most likely read about the Australian Gold Rush and seeking his fortune and adventure decided to emigrate to Australia. An Uncle John Blencowe 1798 had emigrated in 1830 and was the first recorded Blencowe in the century. While it seems, Thomas made no effort to seek out his uncle in South Australia the family connection should be seen as a further influence on Thomas James decision.
The Voyage 1852
Thomas James paid his own fare and set sail on the Mariner a British barque of approximately 683 tons, commanded by Captain Robert S. Harriman.
Taking about 104 days. She cleared the Port of London (Gravesend) on March 31, 185. and dropped anchor in Hobson’s Bay (Melbourne) on July 13, 1852.
While we do not know what Thomas did on arrival we do know that within 8 years he was back living in London, and so we can presume his first migration wasn’t successful, and he was motivated to return home.
Camberwell 1861
Thomas is lodging in an establishment with is Uncle Benjamin (also a lodger) at 3 Monks Place, High Street, Christ Church Camberwell he is employed as a a Colporteur Bible salesman, which was a missionary role. His Uncle seems in a simular occupation
In 1863 he had met and married Mary Frances Anne Froud daughter of Edward Froud and Mary Louisa Parnham Groves, on 11 Jul 1863 in St Giles Parish,Camberwell, Surrey.
Mary Frances was 22 and we know that she died in Australia in 1892 thus telling us the couple may have emigrated at some point. That Thomas James and Mary Frances went to Australia is doubtful . A 1871 Census shows that Mary Frances is an assistant to the superintendent of a Trinity Lane Orphanage in Yorkshire. Son George Henry age 6 is with her and in a column of her status she has changed from Married to Unmarried. We have no death date for Thomas James, but would she have not said Widow if this was the case. The impression given by this is the couple are separated and living apart
Quite what Mary Frances knew of Australia, we can only guess. Did Thomas James talk of it its potential? we can only speculate but 7 years after her job at the orphanage Mary Frances decides to emigrate..
Mary Frances and George Henry’s appearance in Australia is evidence that she took an assisted passage to Queensland in 1878. Mary Frances age 36 and son Thomas George Henry age 14 arrived in Townsville Queensland on 16 December 1878 aboard the Scottish Prince from London.
Cooktown 1878
Mary Frances is resident in Cooktown, North Queensland, this was thriving Gold rush town at the time and she must have thought it had good prospects for a business. She started a Drapery business but it failed and in 1882 subsequently goes broke the insolvency from the Queensland Gazette.
In 1883 The Drapery business is finally wound up and in a public notice Mary Frances pays 4.5 pence on the £ to creditors. She is still residing in Cooktown.
The most compelling evidence that Thomas James has died is that she marries two years later William Johnson in Queensland. Son Thomas George Henry now 19 keeps his Blencowe surname.
Timeline
| Event | Date/Location | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Full Name | Thomas James Blencowe | |
| Birth Date | 1830 | |
| Birth Place | Peckham | |
| Census | 1841, Meeting House Lane Camberwell | Thomas Blencowe/Blencour 35 n cordwainer Thomas Blencowe 35 Ann Blencowe 30 Thomas Blencowe 11 Eliz Blencowe 1 |
| Census UK 1841 (6 Jun) | 6 Jun 1842, London | Age 11 With Parents |
| Census UK 1851 (30 Mar) | 30 Mar 1851, High Street, Saint Giles Camberwell | Thomas Blencowe Head Married Male 45 1806 Master shoemaker Brackley, Northamptonshire, England Ann Blencowe Wife Married Female 35 1816 - Epsom, Surrey, England Thomas Jas Blencowe Son Unmarried Male 21 1830 Clerk to calvinal merchant Peckham, Surrey, England Elizabeth Blencowe Daughter - Female 10 1841 Scholar Peckham, Surrey, England Francis Blencowe Son - Male 4 1847 Scholar Peckham, Surrey, England Mary Ann Blencowe Daughter - Female 2 1849 Scholar Peckham, Surrey, England Eliza Ruth Blencowe Daughter - Female 1 1850 - Peckham, Surrey, England Louisa Blencowe Daughter - Female 0 1851 - |
| Emigrated | Jul 1852, Melbourne, Victoria | Thomas James Blencowe born about 1830 a Shoemaker arrived Jul 1852 to Melbourne aboard the Mariner from London on an unassisted passage |
| Occupation | 1861, Lewisham, London, Kent | Coleporteur Missionary |
| Census UK 1861 (7 Apr) | 7 Apr 1861, Lewisham, London, Kent | Eliza David 45 Wife Elzn S David 20 Daughter Sophus David 8 Thomas J Blencowe 32 Benjamin Blencowe 60 Uncle RIN [36] Ann Fawcett 60 Lodger |
| Marriage | 11 Jul 1863,St Giles Parish,Camberwell, Surrey. | To Mary Frances Ann Froud Spinster of George Street Father Edward Froud Gas Fitter |
| Birth of Son Thomas Henry George | 11 Jun 1865, Hampstead, Middlesex | |
| Census UK 1871 | 2 Apr 1871, Trinity Lane Orphanage, St Mary Bishopshill Junior, Yorkshire | Olivia Eliza Matthew 49 Head Superintendent Mary Fa Blencowe 29 Assistant Thomas Hy Blencowe 6 Boarder Maude M Gillies 15 Orphan Sarah Mary Neville 11 Orphan Mary Hudson 17 Servant |
| Emigrated | 6 Dec 1878 Townsville Queensland | Mary Frances Ann Blencowe 36 and Thomas George Henry Blencowe 17. Onboard Scottish Prince |
| Insolvency | 1882, Cooktown, Qld | Mary F A Blencowe Drapers |
| Marriage | 7 May 1884, Cooktown | Mary F A Blencowe to William Johnson |
| Marriage of Son | 9 April 1886, Queensland | To Catherine McKeown |
| Death | 1892 Cooktown, Queensland |
Descendants
Thomas George Henry married but they had only one child who died in the year he was born.
Sources
- Daphne Austin Blencowe Databse
- Ancestry and FamilySearch
- Trove Newspaper Archive
Note
Thomas died presumably in England as no records of another voyage to Australia is found . This record could be him ie right age and location London is where he was most of his life. Its four years before Mary Frances emigrates as well. Also of note this man was admitted to the Wandsworth Lunatic Asylum that year on 26 Feb 1870 and died there. He was a Pauper meaning the family were unable to support his private care.
| Deaths Mar 1874 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLENCOWE | Thomas | 43 | Wandsworth | 1d | 395 |