Thomas Hancock (1782 - 1852)

Born 1 Sep 1782 in Chacombe, Northamptonshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Ann Floyd — married 17 May 1816 in Gibraltar

Descendants

Died 13 Feb 1852 at age 69 in Glendon, Singleton, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

Thomas Hancock was born in Northamptonshire, England.

Thomas Hancock was born on 1 September 1782 in Chacombe, Northamptonshire, England, the son of Elizabeth Newcombe and Wyatt Hancock. His father passed away when Thomas was 7 and his mother passed away when he was 11.

He enlisted in the British Army in about 1804 as a private and was a soldier for almost 17 years. After surviving service in the Peninsular War where he took part in the many battles fought and was wounded he met and married his wife, Mary Ann Floyd in Gibralter. Their first child Jane was born in Gibralter in 1819.

Thomas was discharged from the army with a pension of 9 pence per day and a service medal.

After returning to England there was little work available at home so he decided to emigrate with his family to Australia. Thomas and his wife Mary Ann with their children left England to seek a better life for themselves in the colony of New South Wales. Their children were: Jane thirteen years, Elizabeth ten years, George eight years and the youngest child, Robert seven years old.

The family arrived in Australia on 6 December 1832 on the "Lavinia" which was an assisted immigrant ship. Thomas and his family lived in Parramatta until Thomas received a position at Paterson in May 1833. Mary Ann and the children did not go with him to Paterson immediately, but waited until he had become established there.^[1]

Thomas gained employment with the New South Wales colonial government on 20 May 1833 as "watchhouse keeper" ^[2] at Paterson Plains ^[3] and a concurrent appointment as "pound keeper" on 2 October 1833. ^[4]

Occupation

Wine seller; Framework Knitter; Lockup Keeper

Paterson, New South Wales, Australia

Immigration

Immigration: 1832, "Lavinia".

1832

Chacombe, Northamptonshire, ENGLAND

Sources

• Wyatt Hancock (1743-1790) [5]
• The Sydney Times (NSW : 1834-1838) Fri 2 Jan 1835 Page 3 Bottom of Column 5 [6]
• Paterson River History, Pound-keepers 1826 to 1841 [7]
• New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900) Wed 3 Dec 1834 [Issue No.144] Page 850 [8] Hancock sworn as a Constable.
• Paterson River History, Police at Paterson 1819 to 1840 [9]
• New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900) Wed 25 Feb 1835 [Issue No.156] Page 108 Government Gazette Appointments and Employment [10] Hancock dismissed as lock-up keeper, Paterson
• The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser (NSW : 1843 - 1893) Wed 25 Feb 1852 Page 3 [11]
  Death.
  At Glendon, near Singleton, on Friday, the 13th instant, Mr. Thomas Hancock, after a short and painful illness, aged 73 years, much regretted.

1. ↑ MICHAEL WILLIAMS OPEN FOUNDATION AUSTRALIAN HISTORY, Transcript of taped interview. Interviewer: Michael Williams, Interviewee: Hilma Maybury, 2nd September, 1988. and Essay - The Early Years of Hilma Maybury - nee Hancock and the history of her ancestors' arrival in Australia. [1]
2. ↑ Paterson River History [2] A watch-house, sometimes called a 'lock-up' was a small, local prison, often made of wooden slabs. It usually included a room as living quarters for the Constable/watch-house keeper stationed there.
3. ↑ New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900) Wed 15 May 1833 [Issue No.63] Page 177 Government Gazette Appointments and Employment [3]
   Paterson, Hunter's River—Thomas Hancock, free, to be watchhouse keeper, in the room of James Browne, dismissed for neglect of duty and drunkenness.
4. ↑ New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900) Wed 20 Nov 1833 [Issue No.90] Page 487 Government Gazette Appointments and Employment [4]
   NOTICE is hereby given, that the site of the Pound in this District is fixed near the Court House, on the Paterson River; and that Thomas Hancock, free, has been appointed Keeper of the same.
   By Order of the Justices,
   J, J. ALLMAN,
   Clerk of Petty Sessions,
   Paterson,
   2nd October, 1833.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Glenn Smith for creating WikiTree profile Hancock-2027 through the import of Appleyard Family Tree.ged on May 2, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Glenn and others.