Thomas Wilson Marshall (1871 - 1940)

Born 7 Jul 1871 in George Town, Tasmania, Australia

Ancestors

Died Sep 1940 at age 69 in Paddington, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

Thomas Marshall was born in the Colony of Tasmania (1856-1900)

Thomas Wilson Marshall was born about 1870 according to his age on his death registration.^[1]

Given his birth year and the prevalence of the forenames "Thomas Wilson" in the family (both father and son), it is very likely that this is the Thomas Wilson Marshall born on the 7th July 1871 in Georgetown, Tasmania. His parents would be Thomas Wilson Marshall (1835-1926) and Mary Emma (Hodges) Marshall (abt.1840-1917) if this is true.^[2]

Thomas was arrested and charged with perjury in 1891 at the age of 21:

A warrant was issued for the arrest of Thomas Wilson Marshall, jun., who failed to appear to answer a charge of perjury in connection with a recent case, when a soldier of the Salvation Army was assaulted by one Hugh M'Clutchey, for whom Marshall gave testimony alleged to be false.^[3]

Although no marriage has yet been found, Thomas and Johanne Louise (Gregurke) Marshall (1864-1911) had at least five children together in Broken Hill, New South Wales. The first birth record of these was in 1899 (though no record of the birth of their son Thomas Wilson has yet been found).

His partner (as Hannah Louisa Marshall) died in April 1911 as a result of a trap accident. She was buried with their infant son (Thomas Wilson Marshall) at Broken Hill Cemetery.

Thomas Wilson Marshall, timber foreman at the North mine, stated that deceased was 44 years of age, and had nine children; five by her first husband; deceased was a native of Dutton, South Australia, her father being John Godlieb Gregurke, now deceased, and her mother's maiden name Foley: deceased's first husband was Augustus Gebhardt, to whom she was married at Pekina, at the age of 16 years;^[4]

A newspaper report in 1913 suggests that Thomas was living with Catherine (PELCHER) BROWN from about that time ^[5]

His house burnt to the ground on the 27th January 1915:

TWO FIRES.

HOUSES ABLAZE.

Two fires occurred in rapid succession last night. At 8.57 o'clock the brigade received a call over the telephone to an outbreak in Wyman-street, near M'Culloch-street, and 15 minutes later a message was received stating that there was a fire in Sulphide-street, off Chapple-lane. The double reel turned out in response to the first call, which was to a fire in a four-roomed wood, iron, and stone house, owned and occupied by Mr. Thomas W. Marshall. The house was outside the reticulation area, and as no water was available, and there was no property close enough to be affected by the fire spreading, the reel returned to the station, and then proceeded to the other fire. Mr. Marshall's house, and the contents, were destroyed. The house was prettily situated amongst a clump of pepper trees, which, fortunately, were not destroyed, as the wind blew the flames away from them. The walls of the building were constructed mainly of wood, lined with canvas and paper. Mrs. Marshall had left a candle in the bedroom while she went out to the stable. She believes that the candle bent over owing to the heat of the day, and that this started the fire. When she was called by one of the children the bedroom was hopelessly ablaze. The four children were in bed, and were only removed in their night clothes, the family saving nothing of their personal effects except what they stood up in - so far as the children were concerned it was only what they lay down in. Although the scene of the fire was so far out, hundreds of people found their way there, mostly on foot, but also in vehicles of all descriptions, from motor-cars to push bicycles.^[6]

It appears from this that his four children with Louise are still with him, and that he is still with his new partner, Catherine (PELCHER) BROWN. The attestation papers of Catherine's son (Arthur Clarence BROWN) in May 1916 give his next of kin as Mrs. Catherine MARSHALL — supporting this conclusion. She subsequently left Thomas MARSHALL and married Peter JOHNSON in 1917.

Thomas and his daughter, Audrey Eileen MARSHALL (1906-), lived at 18 Albion Street, Paddington, from at latest 1830 onwards ^[7]. He died there in September 1940:

MARSHALL.—The Relatives and Friends of the late THOMAS WILSON MARSHALL of 18 Albion Street, Paddington, are invited to attend his Funeral; to leave our Private Chapel, 240 Oxford Street, Paddington, THIS AFTERNOON at 1:30 o'clock, for Botany Crematorium^[8]

Research Notes

Other web genealogies have Thomas passing away in 1915 at Launceston, but given:

• that I have no evidence for this,
• he is still in Broken Hill in that year when his house burns down,
• he registers his children for school in Adelaide in 1916,
• he is living with his daughter until the late 1930s, and
• the only 1915 death in Launceston is of a 66 year-old^[9] in the home for invalids in Launceston ^[10].

I am not inclined to believe them. He passed away in 1940.

The FindAGrave entry at Find A Grave: Memorial #233095357 is also suspect. I believe it was an advance purchase, and not a burial, as no corresponding burial is registered at that time.

Sources

1. ↑ NSW Death: MARSHALL, THOMAS WILSON, 13491/1940, 70 YRS, SYDNEY, SYDNEY
2. ↑ https://stors.tas.gov.au/NI/930228
3. ↑ CURRENT TOPICS. (1889, October 23). Launceston Examiner (Tas. : 1842 - 1899), p. 2. Retrieved August 5, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article38356516
4. ↑ THE TRAP FATALITY. (1911, April 7). Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW : 1888 - 1954), p. 4. Retrieved April 9, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article45120258
5. ↑ A BROKEN HILL DIVORCE CASE. (1913, November 8). Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW : 1888 - 1954), p. 6. Retrieved December 15, 2023, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article45218226)
6. ↑ TWO FIRES. HOUSES ABLAZE. (1915, January 28). Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW : 1888 - 1954), p. 2. Retrieved August 4, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article45312945
7. ↑ NSW Electoral Rolls for years 1930, 1934, 1935, 1936, and 1937 available at Ancestry
8. ↑ Family Notices (1940, September 21). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 13. Retrieved August 4, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17704513
9. ↑ Family Notices (1915, April 14). Examiner (Launceston, Tas. : 1900 - 1954), p. 1 (DAILY). Retrieved August 6, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article50810428
10. ↑ https://libraries.tas.gov.au/Record/NamesIndex/2006283