Thomas Stubbs (1802 - 1878)

Born 18 May 1802 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Husband of Ann Elizabeth (Fitz) Stubbs — married 3 Jun 1826 in St Matthew's Anglican, Windsor, New South Wales, Australia

Descendants

Died 2 Mar 1878 at age 75 in Saint Kilda, Victoria, Australia

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Acknowledgment: The text below was substantially derived from the excellent biography of Thomas Stubbs at https://www.sydney.edu.au/paradisec/australharmony/stubbs-thomas-and-descendents.php

Biography

Thomas Stubbs was a professor of music, flautist, composer, cricketer, "currency lad" and auctioneer.

Born Sydney, NSW, 18 May 1802 Departed, c.1812 (for India, England, and Ireland) Arrived Sydney, NSW, 4 September 1825 (free per Lonach) Married Ann Elizabeth FITZ, St. Matthew's (Anglican), Windsor, NSW, June 1826 Died St. Kilda, VIC, 2 March 1878, aged 75

https://trove.nla.gov.au/search?l-publictag=Thomas+Stubbs+1802-1878 (TROVE tagged by Australharmony)

Thomas' Story

Thomas Stubbs, the son of convict Thomas Stubbs (d.1815) and his wife Esther, was the first widely noted native-born European-Australian musician.

At about age 10, Thomas jun. left Australia and joined the British army, serving in India in the 24th Regiment until 1823. Back in Britain, he was stationed at Gosport in December 1823, and Davenport in 1825, where he was also listed as being on duty in the regimental band. He was discharged at Cork, Ireland, in February 1825. Thomas jun. arrived back in Sydney as a free settler on the Lonach on 4 September 1825.

In June 1826 he married Ann Elizabeth Fitz (b.1809) at St. Matthew's Church, Windsor, where he was variously a farmer and publican.^[1]

He moved his family to Sydney in 1832, where in June he advertised from his mother's address (17 Phillip-street), as a Professor of the Royal Patent Kent Bugle and Teacher of the Flute, Violin, and French Horn . . . Square Pianofortes Tuned.

Shortly afterwards he moved to Rose Cottage, Druitt-street, as a "Commission Agent", beginning his path to becoming by the early 1840s Sydney's leading auctioneer.

Having returned from a brief visit to London, he appeared in a public concert on 31 October 1833, and in 1837 was honorary secretary of the so-called Philharmonic Society, an apparently fairly loose association of the town's leading amateur and professional instrumentalists active c.1833-38.

In the mid 1830s, Stubbs also performed of an evening in the band of the Theatre Royal, apparently in a semi-professional basis, like several other of its members also otherwise engaged in the commercial sector. He continued public musical activities on an amateur basis into the early 1840s, and, though not positively documented as such, was probably a member of the Cecilian Society.

Stubbs was also a leading member of the cricket team of the Australian Club; Richard Cashman has identified him as cricketer-author of 2 letters signed "Tom the Native" in the Herald on 12 March and 16 March 1835.

Early in 1850, following financial difficulties in Sydney, Thomas moved to Melbourne. He died at St. Kilda in 1878.^[2] He was buried in St Kilda Cemetery.^[3]

From The Telegraph, St Kilda, Prahran and South Yarra Guardian 9 March 1878:

DEATHS.

STUBBS.—On the 2nd inst., at Acland-street, St. Kilda, Thomas Stubbs, senior, aged 75 years.^[4]

Thomas and Annie had eight children:

• Robert Fitz Stubbs (1828-1887)
• Thomas Fitz Stubbs (1830-1867)
• Ann E. Stubbs (1832-)
• Napoleon Fitz Stubbs (1834-1903)
• Alexander H. Fitz Stubbs (1836-)
• William J. Fitz Stubbs (1839-)
• Henry W. Fitz Stubbs (1841-)
• Ellen M. Stubbs (1843-)
• Eliza C. Stubbs (1845-)
• Frederick D Fitz Stubbs (1850-bef.1878)

All of the male children had 'Fitz' as a given name, as can be seen, for instance, in a published list of donations made by the family in January 1847.

By May 1855 Robert, in business with his father in Sydney and Melbourne, was assuming the dual surname, Fitz Stubbs, which in practice was often hyphenated Fitz-Stubbs, and occasionally elided Fitzstubbs.

Sources

1. ↑ NSW marriage registration #208/1826 V1826208 10
2. ↑ VIC death registration #3601/1878
3. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/137296784/thomas-stubbs: accessed 15 February 2023), memorial page for Thomas Stubbs (18 May 1802–2 Mar 1878), Find a Grave Memorial ID 137296784, citing St. Kilda Cemetery, St Kilda, Port Phillip City, Victoria, Australia; Maintained by Reid Matheson (contributor 50524112).
4. ↑ Family Notices (1878, March 9). The Telegraph, St Kilda, Prahran and South Yarra Guardian (Vic. : 1864 - 1888), p. 2. Retrieved January 12, 2023, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article114579821

• Graeme Skinner (University of Sydney), "Thomas Stubbs and his descendents", Australharmony (an online resource toward the early history of music in colonial Australia) https://www.sydney.edu.au/paradisec/australharmony/stubbs-thomas-and-descendents.php
• Marion Purnell, "Thomas Stubbs, 1802–1878", Australian Royalty database https://australianroyalty.net.au/tree/purnellmccord.ged/individual/I52490/Thomas-Stubbs