William Thomas and Mary Coplin
last modified 18 August 2020

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Biography

William
        Thomas Mary Thomas     William Thomas is said to have been born in St Keverne, Cornwall on July 1, 1804 [1].  Little is known of his family or early life [2].  On  October 25, 1825 in St Keverne, Cornwall he married Mary Coplin. 
    Mary Coplin was born in St Keverne, Cornwall  in 1803, the first-born daughter of Henry Coplin and Mary (nee Rule).  She was baptized at St Keverne on 17 Apr 1803.  
    The William and Mary had ten children (William (1825), Mary Ann (1828), Henry (1830), Eliza (1832), Jane (1834), Elizabeth (1834 - died as infant), John  Rule (1837), Elizabeth (1843), Thomasine (1844) and Francis (1848)).   All were baptized in St Keverne.  Prior to immigration the family were living at Roskillygate (Skillegate), near St Keverne, Cornwall.  William's occupation is given as farm labourer in the 1841 Census [2] and in the immigration records (1853) [1].
    In 1853, William, Mary and their seven of their children (Mary Ann, Eliza, Jane, John Rule, Elizabeth, Thomasine and Francis) travelled to Australia aboard the Blundell.  The ship departed from Plymouth on January 17, 1853 and arrived in Sydney on May 5, 1853.  William and Mary's two eldest sons (William and Henry) had arrived in NSW some four years previous aboard the Harbinger.
    The Thomas family did not stay long in Sydney.  They travelled to Cornish Settlement and stayed initially at 'Pendarves' as guests of George Hawke.  They then leased land at Guyong from John Nicholson, part of the property which later became Richard Glasson's 'Godolphin', where they built a home and began farming.   In 1860, William Thomas purchased land at Guyong which he named 'Hill View' [1].  William was a staunchly religious man and a devout Wesleyan.

Hill View ca 1928

'Hill View' homestead ca 1928 [1].  Mary Thomas, Belle Dean and Eric Thomas in doorway.

William Thomas
William Thomas Mary Thomas (nee
              Coplin) William Thomas ca.
              1868
William Thomas
William Thomas
Mary Thomas (nee Coplin) William Thomas ca 1868 (Albert Nichol & Co)
Photographs of William and Mary Thomas [1]

    Mary Thomas died at 'Hill View' on January 17, 1862.  William died ar Guyong, NSW on August 14, 1881.  Both are buried in the Methodist cemetery at Byng, NSW [1].  The tombstone inscription reads "In memory of Mary, the beloved wife of William Thomas who died 17 January, 1862, aged 59 years.  Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord."  William is not recorded on the tombstone.

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Descendants

Descendants of William
            Thomas and Mary Coplin

Descendants of William Thomas and Mary Coplin
(Click on image to expand)



William Thomas and Emma nee Lane
William Thomas and
                          Emma Lane Family
                    of William Thomas and Emm Lane
William Thomas and Emma (nee Lane) ca 1868 [1, p 81]
William Thomas, Emma (nee Lane) and family.  Golden Wedding Anniversary 1903 [1, p 82]
Back row (standing): Stanley, Alfred William, Ada Charlotte,  Gordon, Henry Coplin, Emmy, William, Francis John
Middle row (seated): Norman Samuel, Elsie, Sarah Emma, Emma, Lydia
Front row: Winnie, Myra Ray, Ruby Jane, Dorothy Ada, Connie, Francis

Thomas Richards and Mary Ann nee Thomas
Francis Thomas and Thomasine Thomas
Thomas Richards & Mary Ann Thomas
Francis Thomas
                    & Thomasine Thomas
Thomas Richards and Mary Ann (nee Thomas) with Elizabeth Jane [1, p 92]
Francis Thomas and Thomasine Thomas [1, p 115]


Henry Thomas and Loanna nee Sweetnam
Henry Thomas & Loanna Sweetnam
Henry Thomas
                    & Loanna Sweetnam *
Henry Thomas and Loanna (nee Sweetnam) [1, p 98]
Henry Thomas and Loanna (nee Sweetnam) with Mary Ann Wood and William Henry ca 1868 [1, p 98]

William Oates and Eliza nee Thomas
Thomas Oates and Elizabeth nee Thomas
William Oates & Eliza Thomas
Thomas Oates
                    & Elizabeth Thomas
William Oates and Eliza (nee Thomas) [1, p 106] Thomas Oates and Elizabeth (nee Thomas) [1, p 106]
Francis Thomas and Margaret Spicer nee Starr

Francis and Margaret
Francis, Margaret and Family
Francis Thomas and Margaret Spicer (nee Starr) [1, p 120]
Francis Thomas and Margaret Spicer (nee Starr) and Family ca 1893 [1, p 120]
Back row: Francis John (Jack), Francis, George Edmond, Arthur Cecil
Middle row: Edgar Norman, Mary Emmeline, Leslie Alexander, Margaret Spicer
Front row: Alfred Hedley, William Charles



Pedigree

Little is currently known about the ancestors of William Thomas [ 2 ]

Pedigree of May Coplin

Pedigree of Mary Coplin

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References

[1] Bruce W. Thomas William Thomas (1805-1881) and the Thomas Family of Guyong Bruce W. Thomas: Millthorpe, NSW, 1974 (pp 14-15,  72)
[2]  William's parents appear as 'Thomas and Ann' in the  immigration records [1].  No baptismal record has been found.  A William Thomas son of Thomasin Thomas was christened at St.Keverne on 15 Jul 1804.  The 1841 Census shows the Thomas household of Roskilly Gate as consisting of:

Roskilly Gate,1,William Thomas,35,,Ag Lab,In county
,,Mary Thomas,,35,,In county
,,Mary Thomas,,13,,In county
,,Henry Thomas,11,,,In county
,,Jane Thomas,,7,,In county
,,John Thomas,3,,,In county
,,Tamson Thomas,,70,,In county (presumably Thomasine)

Burial records available on-line show that a Thomasine Thomas of Roskilly Gate, aged 77, was buried at St Keverne on 3 Mar 1849.

William's eldest son, also named William, has a position with the Smith family.  It is of interest that John, Robert and Francis Smith, sons of John and Elizabeth Smith of Trelanvean, St Keverne, Cornwall were claimed as uncles already in the colony by William and Henry Thomas when they arrived in NSW aboard the Harbinger on 12 February 1849 [1].  However, the precise nature of the relationship between the Smiths and the Thomas family has not been established.

Trelanvean,1,Elizabeth Smith,,55,Farmer,In county
,,Richard Smith,25,,,In county
,,Francis Smith,20,,,In county
,,George Smith,15,,,In county
,,Sydney Smith,15,,,In county
,,Jane Smith,,20,,In county
,,William Thomas,15,,Male Servant,In county
,,Matilda Peters,,20,Female Servant,In county

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Links

St. Keverne
St Keverne burials
St Keverne Local History Society
GENUKI

St Keverne Parish Council

Harbinger (1848-9 voyage)
NSW State Archives & Records

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