Thomas William Horne (1800 - 1870)

Born 8 Jun 1800 in London, England

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 23 Sep 1870 at age 70 in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

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Judge Thomas William Horne was a

Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court of Tasmania.

Thomas Horne is Notable.

Biography

Thomas William Horne was born on 8 June 1800 in London, England to Thomas Horne and Cecilia Clementine Elizabeth (Zoffany) Horne

He married Maria Hyriott on 5 April 1827 at St James Church -Westminster in Piccadilly, Westminster, London, England. ^[1] In England they became the parents of Margaret Sophia (Horne) Gilles and Maria Horne.

His uncle Sir William Horne recommended him to Colonial Office, and Thomas was appointed to Van Diemen's Land. Thomas, his wife, and 2 daughters arrived at Hobart Town aboard the WILLIAM on 31 January 1830.

In Van Diemen's Land they became the parents of Laura Eliza (Horne) Crawford, John Benjamin Horne, William Thomas Horne, Maria Horne, George Horne, Frances Cecilia Hanrahan Horne, and Thomas Robert Horne.

Thomas became Solicitor-General in January 1841, and acting-Attorney-General from July to November of that year. In March 1844, he officially became Attorney-General, and in January 1848 was appointed as puisne judge to the Supreme Court of Tasmania. This appointment attracted criticism from the press, due to his financial history, and was unsuccessfully challenged in the Supreme Court. When Sir John Pedder retired as Chief Justice, the Lieutenant Governor, Sir William Denison, recommended Valentine Fleming over Horne, arguing that the instability in Horne's finances made him an unsuitable candidate for the position.

His judgement also came into question when Horne v. Gilles went before the Supreme Court, a probate case regarding the validity of a second and questionable will he was instrumental in creating and which his own children would suddenly receive inheritance from. ^[2]

Thomas died on 23 September 1870 at his home in Collins-street, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia and was buried at St Davids Anglican Cathedral Churchyard in Hobart. ^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ Westminster, London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1935 for Thomas Horne, Gender: Male, Marriage Date: 5 Apr 1827, Marriage Place: St James, Piccadilly (St James, Westminster), London, Westminster, England, Spouse: Maria Hyriott (Ancestry.com [on-line database w/ image]) Ancestry Record 61867 #1964650
2. ↑ "Judgment In Suit Of Horne V. Gilles." The Mercury (Hobart, Tas.) Saturday, 1 Sep 1860, Page 2. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/8792761
3. ↑ Australia Cemetery Index, 1808-2007 for Judge Thomas Horne, Death Age: 70, Birth Date: abt 1800, Death Date: 23 Sep 1870, Cemetery: Hobart St Davids Anglican, Cemetery Location: Hobart, Tasmania (Ancestry.com [on-line database w/ image]) Ancestry Record 1266 #317830

See also:

• Wikipedia: Thomas Horne (politician)

Additional Data

DEATH OF THOMAS HORNE, ESQ.

We regret to announce the decease last night, at his residence in Collins-street, of Thomas Horne, Esq., late Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court of Tasmania. The late Mr Horne, who was a nephew of Sir William Horne, Attorney-General of England in 1832, was educated at Harrow and Oxford, where he entered as a student of Christ Church and graduated M. A. He was a member of Lincoln's Inn, and was called to the bar in 1827, and was at one time a leading article writer on the staff of the Times. Mr Horne came to this Colony, we believe, from New Zealand, and was admitted as a practitioner on the rolls of the Supreme Court of Tasmania in 1830 and was for a time a partner with the late Mr Robert Wynne, in the legal firm of Horne and Wynne. He held at different periods the offices of Solicitor General, Attorney-General, and Puisne Judge, retiring from the Bench under a special act of parliament (24 Vict., No. 40) in 1860, on a pension of £800 a year. Mr Horne, being then on the Bench, was returned as one of the three members for Hobart in the Legislative Council, at the first election under the Constitutional Act in 1856, when he was elected first President of that Chamber. He was re-elected for Hobart on his resignation of his seat in 1859, and was again chosen President, but again resigned his seat on the enactment of a law excluding Judges from Parliament. After quitting the Bench Mr Horne was elected member for Hobart Town in 1861: was reflected when Mr Chapman dissolved Parliament in 1863; but failed to secure his return for the same constituency at the last General Election in 1866. Since then, Mr Horne has taken no part in politics or public affairs. As a Colonist Mr Horne was a staunch advocate of popular rights; his politics were of the old Whig School; on the Bench he was clear and prompt in civil matters, and he was at all times a humane and merciful Judge in criminal cases. He was a keen politician, but an upwright and impartial judge; a kindhearted man in all his dealings with the humbler classes, generous and unselfish in every domestic relation; a warm friend; a genial companion; and a ripe scholar. His health has long been feeble, for nine months past he had been confined to his chamber, and we believe he had reached his 78th year.

The Tasmanian Times (Hobart Town, Tas.)

Saturday, 24 Sep 1870, Page 2.