Valentine Thomas Blomfield (1793 - 1857)

Born 14 Feb 1793 in Dagworth, Suffolk, England

Husband of Christiana Jane (Brooks) Blomfield — married 1820 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Descendants

Died 19 May 1857 at age 64 in Denham Court, Ingleburn, New South Wales, Australia

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Shirley Blomfield [send private message], Gail James [send private message], and K Anonymous [send private message]

Biography

Thomas Blomfield is Notable.

Settler, Pasturalist and Magistrate; Lieutenant Valentine Thomas Blomfield , often referred to as TV Blomfield, was a prominent figure in British history and also in his new home, Manaro, New South Wales, ,Australia. ^[1]. Born on Valentine's Day, 14th February 1793, at Dagworth, Suffolk, England, he was christened as Valentine Thomas Blomfield on 18th February 1793 in Old Newton, Suffolk^[2].

He was the son of Captain Thomas Blomfield and Mary (Seaman) Manning. ^[2].

Military Career

At the tender age of 16, on 8th June 1809, Thomas enlisted as an Ensign in the 2nd Battalion of the 48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment of Foot in the British Army. His military career took him to the Peninsular War, where he displayed exceptional bravery and received honors like the Military General Service Medal, with clasps for various significant battles. He had served with the 48th Regiment of Foot (Northhamptonshire). He was promoted to Lieutenant on 17th June 1811. He served in the Peninsula War and was awarded the Military General Service Medal with clasps for Busaco (1810), Albuera (1811), Ciudad Rodrigo (1812), Badajoz (1812), Salamanca (1812), Vittoria (1813), Orthes (1814) and Toulouse (1814).

Australia, 1817

In 1817, Thomas and a detachment of his regiment were deployed to Australia and arrived aboard the ship "Dick" on 3rd August 1817. (Some sources say Sep 1817 as per Wikitree Category). He made New South Wales his new home from thereon, and on 3rd August 1820, he married Christiana Jane Brooks, the daughter of Captain Richard Brooks, a respected settler and magistrate of the region.

Marriage

In 1820 Thomas (27) married Christiana Jane Brooks in Sydney, New South Wales Christiana, born on 15th January 1802 in Surrey, England, Christiana had come to New South Wales at the age of 12 with her family. ^[3]. Christiana was the daughter of Captain Brooks of England. ^[4].

Issue

Thomas and Christiana had 12 children of which 11 survived to adulthood:^[4].

1. Thomas Edwin Blomfield (1821–1903)
2. Richard Henry Blomfield (1823–1896)
3. John Roe Blomfield (1824–1889) – an Anglican priest
4. Christiana Eliza Passmore (Blomfield) Riley (1826–1904)
5. Louisa Matilda Blomfield (1828–1858)
6. Barrington Wingfield Blomfield (1830–1835) named after his paternal Uncle Barrington Blomfield
7. Arthur Blomfield (1831–1887) – Monaro pioneer – married Ann Mackenzie, daughter of John Mackenzie (1793–1857)
8. Henry Wilson Blomfield (1833–1924)
9. Edwin Cordeaux Blomfield (1835–1913)
10. Euston Blomfield (1837)
11. Frank Allman Blomfield (1840)
12. Alfred Blomfield (1842–1901)
13. Alfred Blomfield (1842–1901)

In 1839, Christiana’s sister, Honoria Rose Riley (née Brooks) died leaving three young orphans. Honoria had been left a widow about three years before when her husband, her husband William Edward Riley (1808 – 1836) of Raby, near Camden died. ^[2]

The three children raised by Christiana and Thomas, in addition to their own 11 surviving children, were:^[2]

1. Alexander Raby Riley (1833) – Attended school conducted by the Church of England clergyman, Dr William Woolls, and was one of the first matriculants to the University of Sydney (aged 19) in 1852.
2. Christiana Sarah Riley (1836) – married William Essington King
3. Margaret Maria Riley (1837) – married Thomas Alexander Browne (best known as novelist, Rolf Boldrewood) (1826–1915), and herself published "The flower garden in Australia" - A book for Ladies and Amateurs by Boldrewood (pseudonym).

Retirement

Valentine retired in 1824 and settled on a 2,000-acre estate he named "Dagworth" on the Hunter River, a land granted to him on 21st April 1825.

On 1st November 1834, Thomas' appointment as a magistrate was officially announced in The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser: "His Excellency the Governor has appointed the following gentlemen to serve as Magistrates in the Territory: Thomas Valentine Blomfield of Dagworth, Hunter's River, and Denham Court in the County of Cumberland, Esquire; and Charles Boydell of Cam. Yr. Allyn Hunter's River, Esq."On 9th August 1848, Thomas's name appeared in the list of District Council appointments published in The Sydney Morning Herald: "For the Liverpool District, Messrs. John Brown Bossley and Thomas Valentine Blomfield have been appointed to hold office until the 1st of May, 1851."

In 1848, Thomas had applied for the lease of Run No. 8, also known as Collarnatong, which covered an extensive area of 35,000 acres. His journey with Christiana continued at "'Denham Court'" the Brooks' property near Liverpool, after the passing of her parents, Captain Richard Brooks in 1833 and mother Christiana Brooks in 1835. Thomas lived there until his death on 19th May 1857; Christiana had passed away five years earlier on 31st October 1852.

On 27 October 1851, Thomas was included in a lengthy list of appointees as Justices of the Peace, which was published in The Sydney Morning Herald. His name had also been previously listed in "The New Commission" in The Sydney Herald on 7th January 1836, which is believed to have comprised other Justices of the Peace as well.

Death and Burial

Thomas is buried alongside his wife Christiana at St Mary the Virgin near Denham Court in Ingleburn NSW Australia. Thomas Blomfield's legacy as a soldier, pioneer settler, and pastoralist remains an essential part of British history and the development of New South Wales.

Epitaths

From the Sydney newspaper "Lieutenant T. V. BIomfield, who married Captain Brooks's eldest daughter, had " a fine estate, "Dagworth," in the Maitland district where his descendants raised some "good thoroughbred stock, the most notable horse being named after the estate", "Dagworth." Running in the name of Mr. Ettie De Mestre, he ran a dead heat with Reprieve in the A..J.C. Queen's Plate, in 1873 in the run-off he won. In the following year he won the same prize, but it was known as the A.J.C. Plate. Two years previouslv, Dagworth; running in the name of Mr. Bloomfield, won the A.J.C. Metropolitan Stakes ^[4]

Research Notes

• Captain 'Richard Brooks's eldest son (see 'Truth," 16/10/'10) married Margaret McKenzie, who lived in Wentworth House,. which stood near the site of the Parramatta railway station. ^[4]
• The second daughter married Lieutenant Wilson, of the same regiment. *The third daughter, Jane, married Mr. Edward Cox, of Fern Hill. She became the mother of that sterling sportsman, Edward King Cox, M.L.C.,
• the fourth daughter, Honoria, married William Edward Riley, of Raby, near Camden.
• The fifth daughter, Charlotte, married Nathaniel Powell, a squatter in the Goulburn district
• the sixth daughter, Maria, who was born in the Pitt-street-residence, married Lieutenant Zouch of the 4th Queen's Own, a gentleman who subsequently became connected with the New South Wales police, and held the post of superintendent at Goulburn.

• "Memoirs of the Blomfield Family" includes letters written by Thomas to his family in England throughout the war. Thomas and Christiana were both avid writers and their letters to relatives in England were later published as "Memoirs of the Blomfield family.".

• Dagworth on the outskirts of Maitland, New South Wales was purchased by Lieutenant Brooks after he settled in Australia after

1817^[4] They later moved to Christiana's family home Denham Court near Ingleburn in NSW. Thomas also obtained a run of 35,000 acres called Collamatong (Coollamatong) on the Monaro Tablelands of NSW in 1848. His son Arthur held this in 1853.

• He is also mentioned in the "Peninsular Journal of Charles Crowe of Coddenham, Suffolk, Soldier 1785-1854": “12th August [1813] Visited my poor friend Close who is again ill, and conveyed to a house in Lesaca. I was rejoiced in finding him better, and preparing to go to the seaside. Accompanied by Lieutenant Thomas Valentine Blomfield of the 48th Regiment who is also in a very precarious state of health. Most fervently do I hope that these two worthy fellows may speedily recover! Blomfield - or Old Val - as we facetiously call him - volunteered from the West

Suffolk Militia, that our intimacy almost equals the between Close and myself. Val has seen much service, and is highly esteemed by every one.”

• History in Manaro: (Monaro, NSW) :^[5]He became a brother-in-law to Richard, the son of Captain Brooks, who arrived in Manaro in 1827. In 1848, when the lease applicants were announced, Thomas Valentine Blomfield sought to acquire Run No. 8, known as Collarnatong, encompassing 35,000 acres. The Gazette described its boundaries, referencing adjacent runs belonging to Messrs. Cassels, Brooks, Brierly, and Eccleston. Mr. Brooks' run was named "Gejizrick." Arthur Blomfield, T. V. Blomfield's son, was born in 1831 at Dagworth, Maitland. He apparently assumed control of Collamatong in 1853. His sons included Arthur, who later held Collamatong (later Coolamatong); Richard, who managed Coolringdon for Mr. W. Bradley in the early 1860s and later succeeded to Denham Court; T.V., who joined the Army in India; Edwin, residing in Salusbury Court, Armidale; Alfred, a grazier of Collarenebri – all of whom have passed away; and Henry, who is still alive in Queensland.

• Liverpool District Councillor
• An image of a portrait of Captain Thomas Valentine Blomfield can be found at ^[6].

Sources

1. ↑ http://www.monaropioneers.com/blomfieldtv.htm
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thomas_Valentine_Blomfield&oldid=1093005708/ Wikipedia contributors, "Thomas Valentine Blomfield," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, (accessed July 19, 2023).
3. ↑ Marriage: "Australia, Marriage Index, 1788-1950"
   Nsw Pioneer Index - Pioneer Series 1778 - 1888; Volume Number: V
   Ancestry Record 1780 #1533557 (accessed 11 August 2022)
   Christiana J Brooks marriage to Thomas V Blomfield in 1820 in Sydney, New South Wales.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4} Trove Newspapers & Gazettes; Truth (Perth, WA : 1903 - 1931) Sat 5 Nov 1910; Page 10 , Old Sydney.(accesssed 20 Jul 2023)
5. ↑ http://www.monaropioneers.com/blomfieldtv.htm
6. ↑ https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/collection/work/61084/

See Also:

• http://monaropioneers.com/blomfieldtv.htm