John Charles Thomas (abt. 1806 - 1860)

Born about 1806 in Glamorgan, Wales, United Kingdom

Husband of Mary (Morgan) Thomas — married [date unknown] in Glamorgan, Wales, United Kingdom

Descendants

Died 27 Mar 1860 at about age 54 in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

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Biography

John Thomas was a miner (assumed) in Wales working at the Merthyr Tydfil coal mines. He would have been in Merthyr Tydfil at the time of the 'Merthyr rising' in 1831 where the miners rebelled against their pay and unemployment. This was apparently the first time that the 'red flag' was raised as a symbol of rebellion.

He married Mary Morgan in 1824^[1][2], and they had 7 children together.

The children were: Mary (1828 Merthyr), John (1830 Merthyr), Samuel (1833 Merthyr), Joanna (1835 Merthyr), James (1837 Merthyr), Rebecca (1839 Redruth Cornwall), William (1843 Adelaide).

Around 1839, John and Mary moved to Redruth in Cornwall to the mines there. The daughter Rebecca was born there. The mines in Redruth were also winding down, and the SA Government was sponsoring miners and their families to come out to SA to work at the Burra mines. John and Mary sailed to SA on the "Waterloo" in 1840 with 6 of their eventual 7 children.^[3]

At the time John and family travelled to Adelaide, there were less than 15,000 people in the town.

They moved to Burra at some stage for John to work in the mines. There is a report in the Advertiser of the time of a coronial inquest which involved a John Thomas as the supervisor of a group of miners, one of whom died falling down a shaft.

In 1854 they moved back to Adelaide, and started up the Gilles Arms Inn, in Gilles St. The building still exists as part of the Pulteney Grammar School Prep School building. The only references found in the Advertiser of the time was to him receiving a 10 shilling fine for NOT ensuring the gas light outside the premises remained on. Presumably, as there was no street lighting at the time, the light was needed to guide travellers around the streets of Adelaide.

In 1860 John died after 'a short illness' according to the newspaper notices. He is buried in West Tce Cemetery in a pauper's grave.^[4] We have no information about why. Mary continued to run the hotel for another 10 years.

Mary and some of the children, including James and William, then moved down to Wellington.

Sources

1. ↑ "Wales, Glamorganshire, Parish Registers, 1538-1912," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KCBD-W6K : 3 September 2015), John Thomas and Mary Morgan, 27 Feb 1824, Marriage; from "Parish Records Collection 1538-2005," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Cadoxton-juxta-Neath, Glamorganshire, Wales, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.
2. ↑ "Wales, Glamorgan Parish Registers, 1558-1900," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VF41-38P : 5 December 2014), John Thomas and Mary Morgan, 1824; Marriage, citing Cadoxton-J-Neath, Glamorgan, Wales, Glamorgan Family History Society, Cardiff.
3. ↑ Diane Cummings, Bound for South Australia, http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1840Waterloo.htm
4. ↑ Adelaide Cemeteries Authority, https://aca.sa.gov.au/aca-records/

• 1993 Betty Marwood family history
• NLA SA Deaths CD
• SA Maritime Museum