Thomas William Richardson (bef. 1835 - 1925)

Born before 10 Apr 1835 in Riding Mill, Northumberland, England

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Ann (Mead) Richardson — married 26 Nov 1855 in Ramsden Crays parish church, Billericay Parish, Essex County, England

Descendants

Died 24 Aug 1925 after age 90 in Six-Mile Creek area of Queensland, Australia

Biography

1.1.1.1. Thomas William Richardson (1835-1925)

Thomas William was born in Riding Mill, Northumberland, ^[1] and was baptized 11 October 1835 in Bywell St. Andrew, Northumberland, with the record naming Mary Richardson his mother. ^[2] This is the only birth/baptism record for a Thomas Richardson for 1833-1837 in Northumberland. A few family trees give a birth date of 10 April 1835^[3] in Riding Mill, but provide no evidence. Riding Mill is in the St. Andrew Bywell parish and 2 miles west of the church. Thomas was a son of John Richardson and Elizabeth Green, according to Thomas' death record. ^[4]

St. Andrew's Church, Bywell, Northumberland, England

The only other record relating Thomas William to his father is the 1841 census, ^[5] shown here. Thomas, age 6, can be traced conclusively through the subsequent 1851 through 1881 censuses to his son John. Unfortunately, the 1841 census does not show the relationships among household members. It lists five Richardson's living in the first of two Richardson households in Salmon Field, a small area in the Middle Quarter of Hexhamshire about 4 miles south of Hexham village and about 7 miles southwest of Riding Mill. Mary, age 76, apparently took Thomas William to his baptism and was mistakenly named as his mother, which is an obvious error, as she was much too old.

Thomas Wiilliam Richardson Image 2

1.1.1.2. Mary Ann Mead (1831-1916)

Mary Ann Mead, a daughter of John Mead and Susan Bannister,^[6] was born in the village of Crays Hill in Ramsden Crays parish, Essex County, England, and was baptized 3 Jul 1831 in Ramsden Crays.^[7] Her birth date is not known, but the 1841-1881 censuses give ages corresponding to birth years of 1831 to 1833, so she was probably born in 1831. She continued living there with her family until her marriage.^[8]

1.1.1.3. Family

Thomas William Richardson and Mary Ann Mead married 26 November 1855 in the Ramsden Crays parish church in Billericay Parish, Essex County, England. ^[9] They are established as the parents of John Mead Richardson by John's US passport application^[10] and their marriage record. Thomas was a railway guard. From 1856-1860 they lived in Prittlewell and Southend-on-Sea, where their first three children were born. Southend was originally part of Prittlewell, and barely a mile away, so it is not clear that the family moved.

Marriage certificate of Thomas William Richardson and Mary Ann Mead

Southend-on-sea Pier

In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Prittlewell as a village that stands on the slope of a hill, is an ancient place, known in the time of Edward the Confessor, and takes its name from a well at an ancient priory. Southend became a famous beach resort in the 19th century and has the world's longest pier.

In 1861 they were living in the town of Grays in Essex County on the north bank of the Thames River, Thomas was a railroad porter, and they already had three children. ^[11] By 1871 they had moved across the river to Gravesend in Kent County on the south bank and had two more children. ^[12] An unsupported claim is that the town's name came from a requirement that burials east of town had to be at sea (Theroux, The Kingdom by the Sea 1983:`19). By 1881 the family had moved back to Essex County, was living in Mucking Ford, included one more child, and had a servant and a 3-year old boarder, and Thomas had changed his occupation to nurseryman with 5.5 acres. ^[13] Mucking Ford is a small hamlet in the former Mucking Parish.

Thomas decided to immigrate to Australia, taking all of his family, except son John and daughter Jane, with him. Thomas, son John and daughter Elizabeth left from London and arrived in Hobart, Tasmania on the SS Sonic on 30 July 1886. ^[14] Six months later they continued on to Sydney arriving there on the SS Flora on 1 February 1887. ^[15] Six months later the rest of the family left London and arrived in Brisbane, Queensland, on the SS Decca on 26 July 1887. This included Mary Ann, son Edney and his wife and children, and daughter Annie. ^[16]

SS Decca

The SS Dacca was a steam-powered passenger cargo ship of 3,909 GRT built in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1881, was 390 feet in length, and was Brigantine rigged with 3 decks. She had accommodations for 75 1st-Class passengers, 32 2nd-Class passengers, and up to 300 passengers in the 'tween decks. No information is available on what accommodations the Richardson family had or other aspects of their trip, but it was almost certainly less exciting than that of the SS Dacca three years later. On 29 April 1890 the Dacca left London with a crew of 91 Europeans and 464 passengers for Queensland, Australia and cleared Suez 15 May. Early the next day the ship struck the Daedalus shoal in the Red Sea and was "observed to go down in very deep water." All passengers and crew were rescued (www.shipwrecksofegypt.com).

By 1903 Thomas and Mary Ann had settled in the Six-Mile Creek area of Queensland, about 20 miles southwest of Brisbane, where Six-Mile Creek enters the Brisbane River. ^[17] Thomas is listed as a gardener and Mary Ann's occupation is domestic duties, apparently the Australian euphemism for house wife. They were still there in 1913, although the designation of the electoral area was apparently changed to Redbank, a close-by town to Six-Mile Creek. ^[18]

Mary Ann died on 13 September 1916. ^[19] Thomas continued living in Redbank as a gardener^[20] and died 24 August 1925. ^[21]

Thomas and Mary Ann had six known children.

(1) John Mead Richardson (see his Profile).

(2) Thomas William Richardson was born in July-September 1858 in Southend, Essex County, England. ^[22][23] Thomas married Louisa Jones in Queensland, Australia, and in June 1903 their daughter Ivy was born. ^[24] Neither this marriage record nor Louisa's death record could be found. Thomas was a "timber getter", and lived in the Dinmore area, which is about a mile west of where his father lived. ^[25] Thomas died 15 July 1922. ^[26]

(3) Jane Ann Richardson was born in January-March 1860 in Southend. Neither an England nor Australia marriage or death record that could be confidently assigned to Jane was found.^[27]

(4) Edney Richardson was born in April-June 1862 in Grays, Essex. ^[28] Grays is a town in the local governing authority of Thurrock and in the registration district of Orsett. He married Ellen Sarah Wiles in Octobe-December 1881 in the North Aylesford district, Kent. ^[29] They had three children in England before immigrating to Australia. ^[30] Edney lived in the town of Goodna in Queensland, dying there on 18 June 1946. ^[31]

(5) Elizabeth Annie Richardson was born in July-September 1870 in Gravesend, Kent. ^[32] In August 1894 she married Oscar Bensley in Queensland. ^[33] They were living together in the electoral list of 1903 but subsequently were not. Elizabeth died in Queensland on 8 December 1910. ^[34]

(6) Anne Richardson went by the name Annie and was born in April-June 1875 in Gravesend, Kent. ^[35] She married George Johnson on 26 August 1896 in Queensland. ^[36] There are too many Annie and George Johnson entries in the Australia electoral records to identify confidently this couple. Annie died on 27 February 1958 in Queensland. ^[37]

Sources

1. ↑ 1871 England census of Kent County/Civil parish: Gravesend/Town: Gravesend/District 11/page 10 for Thomas William Richardson.
2. ↑ England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975: Thomas William Richardson: Baptism 11 Oct 1835 in Bywell-St.Andrew, Northumberland; Mother: Mary Richardson; FHL Film Number: 1068610; Reference ID: item 7 p 25.
3. ↑ The Muggleton_2010-07-02 Family Tree gives a birth date and place of 10 April 1835 in Bywell St Andrews, Northumberland, but gives no source or other support for the information, and no record of a birth on that date was found.
4. ↑ Australia Death Index, 1787-1985 about Thomas William Richardson: Death Date: 24 Aug 1925; Death Place: Queensland; Father's Name: John Richardson; Mother's Name: Elizabeth Green; Registration Year: 1925; Registration Place: Queensland; Registration number: 003369, Page Number: 1490.
5. ↑ 1841 England Census Record for Northumberland/Hexham/District 2/page 7.
6. ↑ Australia Death Index, 1787-1985 about Mary Ann Richardson: Death Date: 13 Sep 1916; Death Place: Queensland; Registration Place: Queensland; Registration number: 003582; Page Number: 1696; Father's Name: John Mead; Mother's name: Susan Banister [should be Bannister].
7. ↑ England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975: Mary Ann Mead, Baptism 3 Jul 1831 at Ramsden-Crays, Essex, England; Father: John Mead, Mother: Susan; FHL Film Number: 1702508, Reference ID: item 153 p 19.
8. ↑ 1851 England Census for Essex/Ramsden Crays/District 9/page 3.
9. ↑ England & Wales, FreeBMD Marriage Index, 1837-1915 about Mary Ann Mead and Thomas William Richardson: Date of Registration: Oct-Nov-Dec 1855; Registration district: Billericay; Inferred County: Essex; Volume No. 4a; Page No. 199; and the marriage record obtained through Ancestry.com from the England General Registry Office and shown here.
10. ↑ US Passport Applications, 1795-1925 about John Mead Richardson.
11. ↑ 1861 England Census for Essex County/Grays Thurock Parish/District 11/Town of Grays/page 25.
12. ↑ 1871 England Census for Kent County/Gravesend civil parish/Gravesend town/District 11/page 10.
13. ↑ 1881 England Census for Essex/Mucking Civil parish/Address: Mucking Ford/District 6/page 8.
14. ↑ Tasmania, Australia, Passenger Arrivals, 1829-1957 Record for Mr, Master and Miss Richardson: arrived Hobart, 30 Jul 1886 on SS Sonic from London.
15. ↑ New South Wales, Australia, Unassisted Immigrant Passenger Lists, 1826-1922 about Mr T W Richardson and Mrs and Miss Richardson: Port of departure: Hobart, Tasmania; Port of arrival: Sydney, New South Wales; Voyage Arrival Date: 1 Feb 1887; Vessel Name: Flora.
16. ↑ Queensland, Australia, Passenger Lists, 1848-1912: Ship Name: Dacca; Port of Departure: London, England; Port of Arrival: Brisbane; Arrival Date: 26 Jul 1887.
17. ↑ Australian Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980 Election Year 1903: Queensland/Moreton/Dinmore, Six-Mile Creek: Thomas William Richardson, gardener, and Mary Ann Richardson, domestic duties.
18. ↑ Australian Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980 Electoral Year: 1908; State: Queensland; District: Moreton; Subdistrict: Bundamba, Six-Mile Creek: Thomas William Richardson, gardener; Mary Ann Richardson, home duties; 1913: Queensland/Moreton/Goodna, Redbank: Thomas William Richardson, gardener, and Mary Ann Richardson, domestic duties.
19. ↑ Australia Death Index, 1787-1985 about Mary Ann Richardson: Death Date: 13 Sep 1916; Death Place: Queensland; Registration Place: Queensland; Registration number: 003582; Page Number: 1696; Father's Name: John Mead; Mother's name: Susan Banister [should be Bannister].
20. ↑ Australian Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980 Election Year 1919: Queensland/Moreton/Goodna, Redbank: Thomas William Richardson, gardener.
21. ↑ Australia Death Index, 1787-1985 about Thomas William Richardson: Death Date: 24 Aug 1925; Death Place: Queensland; Father's Name: John Richardson; Mother's Name: Elizabeth Green; Registration Year: 1925; Registration Place: Queensland; Registration number: 003369, Page Number: 1490.
22. ↑ England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915 about Thomas William Richardson: Date of Registration: Jul-Aug-Sep 1858; Registration district: Rochford; Inferred County: Essex; Volume: 4a, Page: 145. [Rochford is the Registration District for Southend, where Thomas was born.]
23. ↑ 1881 England census for Essex County/Civil parish: Mucking/Street Address: Mucking Ford/District 6/pg 8; Registration district: Orsett.
24. ↑ Australia Birth Index, 1788-1922 about Ivy Richardson: Birth Date: 22 Jun 1903; Father's Name: Thomas William Richardson; Mother's Name: Louisa Jones; Birth Place: Queensland; Registration Year: 1903; Registration Place: Queensland; Page Number: 22010; Registration number: B006886.
25. ↑ Australian Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980 Election Years 1903, 1905 and 1913: Queensland/ Moreton/ Dinmore, St Helens: Thomas Richardson, timber getter, and Louisa Richardson, domestic duties.
26. ↑ Australia Death Index, 1787-1985 about Thomas William Richardson: Death Date: 15 Jul 1922; Death Place: Queensland; Father's Name: Thomas William Richardson; Mother's Name: Mary Mead; Registration Year: 1922; Registration Place: Queensland; Registration number: 002929; Page Number: 1382.
27. ↑ England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915 about Jane Ann Richardson: Date of Registration: Jan-Feb-Mar 1860; Registration district: Rochford; Inferred County: Essex; Volume: 4a, Page: 176. Could not find an England marriage record for her. Could not find an Australian marriage record that could be confidently assigned to her. Could not find her in 1891 or 1901 England censuses.
28. ↑ England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915 about Edney Richardson: Date of Registration: Apr-May-Jun 1862; Registration district: Orsett; Inferred County: Essex; Volume: 4a, Page: 120.
29. ↑ England & Wales, FreeBMD Marriage Index: 1837-1915 about Edney Richardson and Ellen Sarah Wiles: Date of Registration: Oct-Nov-Dec 1881; Registration district: North Aylesford; Inferred County: Kent; Volume No. 2a, Page No. 831.
30. ↑ Australian Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980 Election Year 1919: Queensland/Moreton/Goodna, Goodna: Edney Richardson, attendant, Ellen Sarah Richardson, home duties.
31. ↑ Australia Death Index, 1787-1985 about Edney Richardson: Death Date: 18 Jun 1946; Death Place: Queensland; Father's Name: Thomas William; Mother's Name: Mary Ann Mead; Registration Year: 1946; Registration Place: Queensland; Registration number: 002072l Page Number: 1901.
32. ↑ England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915 about Eliza Richardson: Date of Registration: Jul-Aug-Sep 1870; Registration district: North Aylesford; Inferred County: Kent; Volume: 2a, Page: 421. The North Aylesford registration district is now the Gravesend registration district.
33. ↑ Australia Marriage Index, 1788-1950 about Elizabeth Annie Richardson: Spouse Name: Oscar Bensley; Marriage Date: 1 Aug 1894; Marriage Place: Queensland; Registration Place: Queensland; Registration Year: 1894; Registration number: 000880, Page Number: 22000.
34. ↑ Australia Death Index, 1787-1985 about Elizabeth Annie Bensley: Death Date: 8 Dec 1950; Death Place: Queensland; Father's Name: Thomas William Richardson; Mother's Name: Mary Ann Mead; Registration Year: 1950; Registration Place: Queensland; Registration number: 004775; Page Number: 157.
35. ↑ England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915 about Anne Richardson: Date of Registration: Apr-May-Jun 1875; Registration district: Gravesend; Inferred County: Kent; Volume: 2a, Page: 412.
36. ↑ Australia Marriage Index, 1788-1950 about Annie Richardson: Spouse Name: George Johnson; Marriage Date: 26 Aug 1896; Marriage Place: Queensland; Registration Place: Queensland; Registration Year: 1896; Registration number: 000975, Page Number: 21993.
37. ↑ Australia Death Index, 1787-1985 about Annie Johnson: Death Date: 27 Feb 1958; Death Place: Queensland; Father's Name: Thomas William Richardson; Mother's Name: Mary Anne Mead; Registration Year: 1958; Registration Place: Queensland; Registration number: 000576; Page Number: 1293.