THOMAS CLAWSON (1818-1879)

Thomas was born on 11 July 1815 in Bermondsey and baptised in St Mary Magdalen church a month later. His parents were Carston and Dorothy Clawson. Carston was recorded as "foreign" in the 1841 census and it seems that he may have come from Scleswig-Holstein, or the wider area between Germany and Denmark. Carston, like many Bermondsey residents was a leather dresser, working in one the many tanneries that made Bermondsey a prime centre for leather production.

Thomas' mother, Dorothy, died in May 1830 leaving Carston with a daughter Sarah, and Thomas. Sarah married in 1841 in Bermondsey to Joseph Lucas and they are Teresa's direct line of descent. Carston had two other living children named Ann and Henry, both of whom had married and started families of their own. Carston and Dorothy had had four children that died early in childhood and all were buried in the St Mary Magadelen churchyard in Bermondsey. Dorothy was buried at Chertsey in Surrey for reasons we have not been able to fully explain, other than that Carston and Dorothy married there.

The family, like most people living in Bermondsey at the time, lived a hand to mouth existence and the temptation towards theft was commonplace. In 1830 Thomas was tried in the Surrey Quarter Sessions for larceny (theft), found guilty, imprisoned for 14 days and whipped. The exact details of the crime have not been recorded. Offenders (mostly those convicted of theft, as was Thomas) were sentenced to be stripped to the waist and whipped "at a cart's tail" along a length of public street (as shown here in an earlier print), usually near the scene of the crime, "until his back be bloody". Publicity was an essential feature of this brutal punishment, serving to shame the offender and deter others from committing the crime. The public whipping of men ended in the early 1830s, shortly after Thomas' experience, although it was not formally abolished until 1862.

Less than a year later, on 5 January 1831, he was tried again for another offence which was reported in one newspaper as:

"Thomas Clawson and John Lacey were found guilty of stealing a drawer and thirty shillings, the property of Elizabeth Gordon. The boys were described as fifteen years old and diminutive in stature. John Lacey was sentenced to being publically whipped for 150 yards near where the felony occurred and imprisonment for fourteen days. Thomas Clawson was given transportation for life."

... and in another:

Thomas' transportation was comparatively swift. Many convicted offenders languished in prison hulks on the Thames for months or years awaiting their fateful voyage.

On 21 March 1831 Thomas was embarked on the ship 'Camden' for New South Wales and arrived on 25 July 1831. The journey by the sailing ship lasted 126 days having crossed through many latitudes with unbearable heat below deck before rounding The Cape of Good Hope and across the Indian Ocean. The stench from so many men, many of whom were made unwell by the journey, was horrendous. 3 prisoners had died on the journey and 6 were hospitalized upon arrival.

For a flavour of what life was like on the hulks read "A Day in the Life: Convicts on board Prison Hulks" by Anna McKay. A more detailed and highly informative study of the prison hulks can be found in "Punishment, reform or expediency? Juvenile crime and the prison hulks, 1822-1843" by Neil Davie.

The record of Thomas' arrival is recorded in "New South Wales, Australia, Convict Indents, 1788-1842, Bound Indentures, 1830-1832" and from this muster we learn:

Convict standing number 31-1044, Thomas Clawson, 39/1767, 18 years, able to read, protestant, single, native of Surrey, errand boy, convicted of robbing a till, tried at Southwark on 4 Jan 1831, sentence to be transported for life, had a former conviction which resulted in 14 days imprisonment, 5' 4¼", dark sallow complexion, brown hair, grey eyes, disposed of as "Chief Justice, Sydney". This entry is annotated CP No. 47/98 dated 30 January 1847 indicating his conditional pardon in 1847.

Newspaper report in The Sydney Herald of a list of prisoners tried during the recent court sessions: "Joseph Mindle, John Tilley and Thomas Clawson, assault and robbery; not guilty."

The above offence, regardless of the not guilty verdict, would appear to be the reason behind the next entry in the "New South Wales, Australia, Gaol Description and Entrance Books, 1818-1930" which reads "Thomas Clawson and Joseph Mindle and John Tilley were sent to Newcastle", which is 90 miles north of Sydney, presumably as some kind of punishment. By the end of 1837, however, Thomas was back in Sydney and in gaol; (New South Wales and Tasmania, Australia Convict Musters, 1806-1849).

Thomas was granted "Ticket of Leave No. 39/1767". A Tcket of Leave allowed convicts to work for themselves provided that they remained in a specified area, reported regularly to local authorities and attended divine worship every Sunday, if possible. They could not leave the colony. By this permission Thomas was required to remain in the Muswellbrook, New South Wales area.

Ticket of leave No. 41/732 was issued to replace the original 39/1767 which had been mutilated over the years and was duly cancelled; 9 March 1842 - passport 12 months; obtained a conditional pardon no. 47/198 dated 30 January 1847

Petition number 298/20, Thomas Clawson, Camden 1, recommended for a conditional pardon by Francis Forbes and J B West and W Cox Jnr JP and Thos Kerr and A G Nash(?) MD (Source - New South Wales, Australia, Convict Registers of Conditional and Absolute Pardons 1791-1867)

Thomas was awarded a conditional pardon, numbered 47/198. This did not allow him to return to the United Kingdom.

Thomas married Fanny Blackman in Muswellbrook.

Sarah Sophia Clauson was born, the daughter of Thomas and Fanny Clausen, in Muswellbrook.
Note: Sarah was raised by her mother as part of the Blenman family. Sarah married John Bryant in 1877 in Scone, New South Wales and it is believd that there are descendants in Australia today.

Thomas' relationship with his wife had broken down by now and Fanny had a child named Gregory Blackman who later took the surname of Blenman when Fanny settled down with Henry James Blenman sometime before 1864.

According to The Maitland Mercury & Hunter River General Advertiser, Thomas Clawson was in police custody having been "brought up for protection".

"George Thompson, being sworn, states: I am sergeant of police, stationed at Musclebrook(sic); on Saturday night last I received information that a man named Clawson was going about the town in a state of mental derangement, caused by drink; about eleven o'clock I took him from Jones' public House, and confined him in the lock-up. Sentenced to 48 hours imprisonment."

The Maitland Mercury & Hunter River General Advertiser

"Information was received by the police on Sunday last that the body of a man named Thomas Crawson (sic), lately in the Burburgate employ, had been found drowned. It appears the body was first observed in a snag in the Namoi, some six miles below Doubledah, by Mr. Thorney Fawcett, who sent word to tbe police. It was ascertained that the deceased was last seen alive at Doubledah, where he called on his way from Gunnedah, had a drink, and proceeded on his journey (supposed) to Burburgate, He was then sober, but appeared as if he had been drinking, as it was known the unfortunate man was addicted to intemperance; and it is believed that in some manner he fell into the river and was drowned. The body when recovered was in such a very decomposed state, that some of the witnesses, though knowing him well, could not undertake to swear to his identity. His age was described as 65 years. When taken out of the water, 12s in silver were found in his pockets. His remains were buried on the bank of the river, close to where the body was recovered."

From research by Shirley Coote:

"I have checked my records and include a map showing Doubledah, it is on the road between Gunnedah & Boggabri. Burburgate Station was over 65,000 acres in the early times. Thomas seems to have a sad life. I have found a hand written list of some employees, one had T Lawson, burr cutter in March 1879 on a salary of £52. This may be him as sometimes the name was written as one heard it. He was working on Bailey Park which was part of Burburgate Station. There would no longer be a marked grave there."