Thomas West (1773 - 1858)

Born 4 Jun 1773 in Hooe, Sussex, England

Ancestors

Husband of Martha (Goodwin) West — married 8 Jul 1793 in New Romney, Kent, England

Husband of Mary (Rugg) West — married about 1805 in Sydney, Colony of New South Wales, Australia

Descendants

Died 21 Sep 1858 at age 85 in Burwood, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

Thomas West was born on 4 June 1773 in Hooe, Sussex, England, the fifth of nine children to Margaret West and John West.^[1]

He was transported for life to Australia as a convict, after being found guilty of burglary at the Sussex Assizes, Horsham on 17 March 1800.^[1] His was a story of a convict made good in the colony of New South Wales.
A PIONEER HOME.
SOON TO DISAPPEAR.
EARLY MILL AND RIFLE RANGE.
Gradually the homes of the pioneers are disappearing from our suburban areas, and the latest to succumb to the necessities of city expansion is Barcom Glen, the home of the West family. The old house, built solidly of stone, cut from the once splendid quarries on the estate, stands lonely now amidst surroundings which have vastly changed since its foundations were laid scores of years ago. The march of municipal progress has sounded its doom, and one of the most historic homes of Paddington -in fact, of the eastern suburbs- is about to be effaced to make way for a modern street.
In 1804 a grant of 75 acres was made to Thomas West The estate stretched from Oxford-street to the waters of Rushcutters Bay. From the primitive beauty of the glen, which was named after a vale in Wales, the birthplace of Thomas West, to its present modernised state, is indeed a far cry. Barcom Glen was famed for its natural beauty, its tree-fern banked creek and wealth of semi-tropical vegetation being its principal natural glory. To its early beauty a few weather-beaten blackbutts- only remain to testify. ..... ^[2]

Thomas West died on 21 September 1858 at Burwood, New South Wales.^[3]
DEATHS.
On the 21st instant, at Burwood, Thomas West, of Barcom Glen, ^[4] Sydney, aged 86 years.^[5]
FUNERAL.—The Friends of the late Mr. THOMAS WEST are respectfully informed that his funeral will take place THIS DAY, at 11 o'clock a.m. The funeral will move from his late residence, at Burwood, at the hour above mentioned precisely, and proceed from thence to Ashfield cemetery. No cards or circulars will be Issued. JOHN HILL, junior, and SON, undertakers, King and Riley streets.^[6]

He was buried at St. John's Anglican Church Cemetery, Ashfield, Inner West Council, New South Wales.^[7]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Greg Curnow, 'West, Thomas (1773–1858)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/west-thomas-13245/text5287, published first in hardcopy 2005, accessed online 18 June 2020
2. ↑ Lengthy account at "Sydney Morning Herald" (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Tuesday 6 February 1912 page 12 column 4 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/15307919#
3. ↑ NSW death registration number 2246/1858  WEST THOMAS AGE 85 YEARS DIED BURWOOD District CONCORD https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au
4. ↑ Barcom Glen. Estate of convict and landowner Thomas West surrounded by Darlinghurst, Paddington and Rushcutters Bay. Owned by Thomas West 1810-1858. https://dictionaryofsydney.org/place/barcom_glen
5. ↑ "Sydney Morning Herald" (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Thursday 23 September 1858 page 1 column 1 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/13019427?searchTerm=Thomas%20West#
6. ↑ "Sydney Morning Herald" (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Saturday 25 September 1858, page 7 column 3 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/13011362?searchTerm=Thomas%20West#
7. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/88591185/thomas-west: accessed 17 December 2022), memorial page for Thomas West (4 Jun 1773–21 Sep 1858), Find a Grave Memorial ID 88591185, citing St. John's Anglican Church Cemetery, Ashfield, Inner West Council, New South Wales, Australia; Maintained by Wombat (contributor 49578814)

• Convict records, Earl Cornwallis 1801
• NSW death registration #2246/1858