Thomas Bates (abt. 1770 - 1836)

Born about 1770 in Harwich, Essex, England

Husband of Ann (Griffin) Bates — married 1800 in Sydney NSW Australia

Descendants

Died 17 Dec 1836 at about age 66 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Problems/Questions Profile manager: KerrieAnne Christian [send private message]

Biography

Thomas Bates was a convict on the Second Fleet.

Birth (1773)

Thomas BATES was born about 1773 in Harwich, Esssex, England.^[1]

Crime & Punishment (1788)

On 6th April 1788, Thomas was caught stealing two men's leather boots, valued at 10s., from the shop of Edward Bell. His case was heard on 7th May 1788 at the Old Bailey in front of the first Middlesex Jury before Mr. Recorder. Thomas was just 15 years old.

EDWARD BELL testified under oath:

On Sunday, the 6th of April last, between two and three o'clock, the prisoner took two odd boots off my counter. He was pursued and brought back with the boots.

WILLIAM WILLIAMS testified under oath:

I pursued the prisoner, and brought him back to Mr. Bell's, with the boots upon him.

Thomas's defence:

I saw a boy go in and take the boots. I ran after him, and he dropped them. I picked them up, and this gentleman came and laid hold of me.

Thomas was found guilty and sentenced to seven years' transportation to Australia.^[2]

Transportation (1790)

Thomas was transferred from gaol to his convict ship in November 1789. He had the misfortune to be assigned to the Neptune, built on the River Thames ten years earlier. At 809 tons, the Neptune was the largest ship of the Second Fleet. Chartered by slave traders, Neptune (also known as the "hell ship") had the highest mortality rate of all the ships of the second fleet.

On 30 Nov 1789, the Neptune sailed under the command of Captain Traill. The convicts on this ship were treated so badly that 147 men and 11 women died during the voyage and many more died of malnutrition and fever even after they arrived. The Neptune arrived in Sydney on 28th June 1790.^[3]

Captain Traill was later charged with neglect and cruelty but was acquitted at the Old Bailey after a trial lasting only three hours.

Marriage & Family (1800)

On 12 May 1800, Thomas BATES married free settler Ann GRIFFIN, the daughter of soldier Michael GRIFFIN & his wife Mary AMOS at St Philip's Church in Sydney.

On 23 August 1800, Thomas enlisted in the NSW Corps and he later also served with the troops of the 102nd, 73rd and 40th Regiments.

Together, the couple had 8 children between 1806 and 1826:

• Lydia (Bates) Stewart (1806 Sydney - 1867)
• Maria (Bates) Green (1808 Tasmania - 1896)
• William Bates (1812 Sydney - 1871)
• James Bates (1814 Sydney - 1841)
• Ann (Bates) Piper (1817 Sydney - 1901)
• Nathaniel Bates (1819 Sydney - 1887)
• Martha (Bates) Clayton (1823 Sydney - 1849)
• Sarah (Bates) Clayton (1826 Sydney - 1884)

Their first child Lydia was born in 1806 in Sydney before Thomas was posted to Port Dalrymple in Tasmania where daughter Maria was born in 1808. She was baptised in 1810 after the family's return to Sydney

Thomas was granted land at Back Row off Sussex St, Sydney in 1810.

In 1817, Thomas retired from the army as his regiment was being sent to India and he wanted to remain in Australia.

In 1820, Thomas applied to the Governor General for a land grant, following his 17-year service in the armed forces. His petition, dated Sydney, 3 July 1820, reads:

The memorial of Thomas Bates late a private in the 102d 73d & 40th Regiments respectfully represents

That your memorialist came to this colony in the ship Neptune in the year 1790.

That your memorialist has served in the said regiments upwards of seventeen years and in consequence of having a wife and six children he obtained his discharge.

That your memorialist in order to provide more comfortably for his numerous family humbly prays that land may be granted to him, with such other indulgences as your Excellency made deem him deserving of.

Thomas Bates

"I believe the petitioner to be an honest industrious man. William Cowper"

"Ths Bates has always been a well conducted man. John ___per."

A margin note reads: "60 acres", but it's unclear whether his petition was successful.^[4]

In 1822, Thomas and Ann were living in Bates Lane, Sussex St with six children: Maria, William, Ann, Nathaniel, Martha and Sarah. Lydia was already married and James was apprenticed to a carpenter. Thomas' profession is given as a 'carter'.

In the 1828 Census, Thomas is recorded as a boat builder, owning 3 horses and seven cattle.^[5]

Death (1836)

Thomas died on 17th December 1836 in Sydney, NSW, aged 64. He is buried at Devonshire Street Burial Grounds in Sydney, Australia.^[6]

Ann carried on the boat building business with son William.

Lydia had married John Stewart, Maria had married George Green a boat builder, William (a boat builder) married Mary Ann Green (George's sister), Nathaniel went to the South Island of New Zealand and had three partners and many children, Ann married Jonathon Piper (a boat builder), Martha and Sarah married brothers Joseph and George Clayton.

Ann died 1864 at Sydney aged 74.

Sources

1. ↑ Approx. birth year based in his earliest recorded age (15 when on trial at the Old Bailey in 1788) - [1] - researched by M.Lohmeyer on 21 Mar 2014.
2. ↑ https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/record/t17880507-21 - researched by M.Lohmeyer on 21 Mar 2014.
3. ↑ History Australia - Convict Stockade - 275
4. ↑ Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia, Colonial Secretary's Papers, 1788-1825, Memorials To The Governor, 1810-1826, Memorial dated 3 July 1820 - researched by M.Lohmeyer on 21 Mar 2014.
5. ↑ Ancestry.com. 1828 New South Wales, Australia Census (TNA Copy) for Thomas Bates, listing:
   • Bates, Thomas 53 came free Neptune 1790 Protestant, boat builder Sussex Street Sydney, 3 horses, 7 horned cattle
   • Bates, Ann 42 came free Britannia 1792 Protestant
   • Bates, Maria 16 born in the colony
   • Bates, William 15 born in the colony
   • Bates, Ann Jr. 11 born in the colony
   • Bates, Nathl. 9 born in the colony
   • Bates, Martha 7 born in the colony
   • Bates, Sarah 3 born in the colony
6. ↑ https://www.geni.com/people/Thomas-Bates/6000000009522402853?through=6000000000847929756

• http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cowiepatt/cpf217.html

• The Digital Panopticon Thomas Bates b. 1773, Life Archive ID obpt17880507-21-defend179 (https://www.digitalpanopticon.org/life?id=obpt17880507-21-defend179). Version 1.1, consulted 19th January 2019.

• The Digital Panopticon Thomas Bates, NSW Early Convicts Index, 7th May 1788, Record ID nec7514 (https://www.digitalpanopticon.org/life?id=nec7514). Version 1.1, consulted 19th January 2019.

• Bates, Thomas - Convict from the Convict Stockade website at: http://www.historyaustralia.org.au/twconvic/275

• Details for the convict Thomas Bates (1790) from the Claim a Convict website at: http://www.hawkesbury.net.au/claimaconvict/convictDetails.php?convictId=747

• Thomas Bates 1772–1836 from the Australian Royalty website at: https://australianroyalty.net.au/individual.php?pid=I67877&ged=purnellmccord.ged

• Thomas Bates, one of 1063 convicts transported on the Neptune, Scarborough and Surprize, December 1789 from the Convict Records database at: https://convictrecords.com.au/convicts/bates/thomas/98080

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Kerrie Christian for creating Bates-4354 on 5 Nov 13.

Click the Changes tab for the details on contributions by Kerrie and others.