Thomas Headington (abt. 1763 - 1798)

Born about 1763 in Bray, Berkshire, England

Descendants

Died 13 Jan 1798 at about age 35 in Norfolk Island, Australia

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Biography

Thomas Headington was a convict on the First Fleet.

Thomas Headington/Eddington was probably born in 1763 at Bray, Berkshire, England: there was a child Thomas who was baptized on 30 October 1763 at Bray, recorded as the son of Richard and Elizabeth Heddington.^[1]

"Thomas Heddington (sic) late of the parish of Bray in the county of Berkshire Labourer" was tried at the Berkshire Summer Assizes which began at Abington on 4 July 1785. He appeared before the court on Tuesday 5 July or on Wednesday 6 July, charged with stealing goods and monies of Isaac Sewell.^[2] He was tried for "having ... broke open a Berureau (sic) ... at Bray ... and stealing thereout about six or seven Pounds in Cash in a Bag ... and also a Wooden Dish with a great many Halfpence and Farthings; amongst which was a remarkable crooked Farthing, and two large Silver Spoons ...".^[1]

He was sentenced to seven years transportation, and was sent to the Ceres hulk by mid 1786, age given as 18 years, (however he was more likely 23 years of age) and delivered to the Alexander on 6th January 1787. The Alexander arrived at Sydney Cove, New South Wales, on 26 January 1788 as part of the First Fleet.^[1]

He was sent to Norfolk Island on 4th March 1790: the Norfolk Island Victualling Book, 1792-1796 has Thomas Eddington arriving on Norfolk Island aboard HMS Sirius, but the shipping musters show that Thomas actually arrived on Norfolk Island aboard HMS Supply.^[3]

At Norfolk Island, in February 1791, he was recorded as sharing a sow with Susannah Milledge (Miller) (Lady Juliana 1790). In July 1791, he was supporting three persons on a Sydney Town one acre lot, having cleared 52 rods and felled 26 rods of timber.^[1]

• Note a rod is an old English measure of distance equal to 16.5 feet (5.029 metres), with variations from 9 to 28 feet (2.743 to 8.534 metres) also being used. It was also called a perch or pole.

Marriage: Thomas married convict Elizabeth Thompson (Lady Juliana 1790) ; they were probably one of the many couples married by Reverend Richard Johnson in November 1791 on Norfolk Island. The records for the marriages have not survived. Thomas was 28 years old and Elizabeth 43 years old.

By 13 July 1792 Thomas, now a ex-convict, and Elizabeth were settled on Lot 59 with a lease of 12 acres (eleven ploughable), of which more than five were cultivated by October 1793.^[1]

In June 1794 Elizabeth Thompson was recorded as a convict, married, off stores with one child (Margaret born 16th November 1792) supported by Thomas Eddington, settler.

Death: Thomas died on 13 January 1798 at Norfolk Island, survived by his wife Elizabeth and two children Margaret (1792) and John (c1796).

His headstone is in the Norfolk Island Cemetery at Kingston. It is inscribed with his age "40 years", although he was more likely about 35. The inscription reads:

“In Memory of Thos. Headington who died 13 January 1798

aged 40 years

Dear wife do not grieve nor children shed a tear

for I am gone to heaven above to meet sweet angels there.”

His wife Elizabeth Eddington left Norfolk Island for Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania), on the Estramina in May 1808, with children Margaret aged 15 and John aged 10 years. Elizabeth died at Hobart on 10th April 1839 aged 92 years.^[4]

What happened to Thomas Headington/Eddington's children, Margaret and John?

• Margaret had a child John (father unknown) about 1808. She became the mistress to Lieutenant Governor David Collins and had a child Eliza in 1809. Both were baptised at Hobart on 14th January 1810. Then Margaret married George Watts and had a child Mary. After George's death, Margaret married Charles Connelly and had a child Anne. Margaret died in Hobart on 19th January 1822. Some biographers say that she was also the mistress of Captain Piper, but there is no evidence of this and appears to be a family story.

• John died in Hobart in 1869

Research Notes

Need to confirm the existence of son John.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} Mollie Gillen, The Founders of Australia: A Biographical Dictionary of the First Fleet (1989), p. 170.
2. ↑ Cobley, John, The Crimes of the First Fleet Convicts (first published 1970), 1982 edition p.128.
3. ↑ Cathy Dunn, "Thomas Eddington – Heddington – Headington, Convict Alexander 1788," in HMS Sirius, https://hmssirius.com.au/thomas-eddington-heddington-headington-convict-alexander-1788/, cited April 24, 2021.
4. ↑ Michael Flynn, The Second Fleet: Britain’s Grim Convict Armada of 1790 (1993), pp 567-68.

See also:

• 'Headington, Thomas (c. 1763–1798)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/headington-thomas-31253/text38641, accessed 2 February 2024
• John Boyd, THOMAS HEADINGTON Convict ‘Alexander’ (c1763?-1798), Fellowship of First Fleeters, 2020 http://www.fellowshipfirstfleeters.org.au/thomasheadington.htm
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/78088611/thomas-headington: accessed 03 December 2023), memorial page for Thomas Headington (1757–13 Jan 1798), Find a Grave Memorial ID 78088611, citing Norfolk Island Cemetery, Kingston, Norfolk Island; Maintained by Beensker (contributor 47625231).