Thomas Clarke, Gentleman

From Beth Smith: Thomas Clarke moved his family- at least most of them- to Australia via England. We know they were in England by 7th June 1841 as we find them in the 1841 Census for no 7 Mortimer St, Cavendish Square, London, along with Mary’s brother, Daniel.

No 7: Daniel Gordon, age 40, Independent Thomas Clarke, age 37, His Majesty’s Customs. Mary “ 36 Mary “ 12 Thomas “ 10 Clementina 8 William 7 Sarah 6 ( plus one male and one female servant)

Notice, however, that the two older girls, Anna and Elizabeth are not with them. They may well have died as infants, especially as only 5 children are listed for Mary’s death notice in 1842.

DEAT H OF THOMAS CLARKE

Thomas died in 1864, at ‘Yassa’ Macleay River, of apoplexy, sounds like a stroke. He may have moved to live with Mary, his daughter, or just been visiting. The only child not accounted for is Thomas Bispham Clarke, and I feel that he returned to the islands as snippets from letters written by Thomas Clarke’s sister, Elizabeth Bispham, from Barbados to her family in Australia seem to indicate. She mentions in a letter dated 15th March ( no year) Tom’s 18th birthday and Robert Gordon’s 17th. (Thomas was christened 28th March 1831 and Robert Gordon, his cousin, was christened 23 May 1832.) I do know that Robert Gordon Jr did return to the islands.

From Bill Conolly, posted 24 March, 2002:

"I have a Thomas Clarke who with his wife Mary Gordon, and children (Mary Boucher Clarke, Thomas Clarke, Clementina Jones Clarke, Sarah Pile Clarke and William Gordon Clarke) arrived in Australia in 1841. They were known to be on St Lucia in 1837 for the birth of their youngest child, were recorded in London for the 1841 census, and arrived in Sydney NSW at the end of that year. I have 5 generations of Thomas Clarke's ancestral line on Barbados back to the marriage in 1684 of John Clarke to Mary Glascock in the parish of St Philip." Source: http://boards.ancestry.com/localities.oceania.australia.general/327...