Caroline Frances (Husband) Thomas (1832 - 1903)

Born 25 Nov 1832 in Devonport, Devon, England, United Kingdom

Wife of Henry Arding Thomas — married 1856 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Descendants

Died 11 Jan 1903 at age 70 in Neutral Bay, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

Caroline (Husband) Thomas is Notable.

Caroline (Husband) Thomas came free to the Colony of New South Wales (1788-1900)

Caroline Frances Thomas nee Husband is notable for her diary which provides an insight into the joys and sorrows of family life in London and colonial New South Wales

Caroline Frances Husband was born on 25 November 1832. She was baptised on 13 February 1834 at Stoke Damerel, Devon, her parents recorded as James and Caroline Jane Husband, their abode recorded as Stoke and her father's occupation Solicitor.^[1] The parish of Stoke Damerel includes Devonport (formerly named Plymouth Dock) and adjoins the borough of Plymouth.^[2] Devonport ("Davenport") was given as Caroline's birth place in the 1851 census.

Caroline was visiting John Reeves, merchant, and his family at Kings Norton, Worcestershire at the time of the 1841 census.^[3] Her father James Husband, attorney, age 35-39, was at St Clement Danes Middlesex.^[4] Her mother, her siblings and servants, were at Stoke Damerel in the 1841 census.^[5]

In the 1851 census, Caroline, age 18, was living with her parents, siblings and 3 servants at Oak Lodge, Haverstock Hill, Hampstead, Middlesex, England^[6]

Caroline's diary begins with the 1851 Great Exhibition in London. The nineteen year old Caroline had a constant round of outings accompanied by her younger sister, Cordy, in and around London. However her father, lawyer James Husband, fell on hard times and fled his Hampstead Hill house in England with debt-collectors in pursuit.^[7] He came to Sydney on the Bank of England under the assumed name of Holland.^[8]

Not long afterwards, in December 1852 Caroline arrived in Sydney, New South Wales with her mother and siblings on the General Hewett.^[9]

Because of her family’s poor financial standing on arrival in Sydney in 1852, Caroline had a short engagement as a governess for Reverend WM Cowper at Stroud, the settlement for the Australian Agricultural Company in New South Wales.^[7] While there, she wrote, "Want someone to love who will love me. Feel lonely".

Her unhappiness at Stroud was short-lived because her father successfully resumed his career in law in Sydney, and the "Husband girls, Caroline, Cordy and Fanny, attracted the cream of Sydney’s eligible bachelors as a string of would-be suitors. Sydney’s shortage of suitable women made the family’s modest lodgings at Woolloomooloo a honey pot, a coterie of potential wives. The sisters had a busy schedule of excursions, opera, theatre, balls, parties and social callings in Sydney, topped off with regular church attendances. ... regular excursions with young men to Bondi, Coogee, Parramatta, and Manly Beach and frequent mentions of boating and yachting excursions on Sydney Harbour, cricket matches and Regattas on Port Jackson".^[7]

Caroline married Henry Arding Thomas on 14 May 1856 at St. James's Church, Sydney. Their marriage announcement was in the Sydney Morning Herald on Friday 16 May 1856:

On the 14th instant, at St. James's Church, by the Rev. Thomas Hayden, B.A., Henry Arding Thomas, Esq., son of Colonel Thomas, of Slough, Buckinghamshire, to Caroline Frances, eldest daughter of James Husband Esq., of Sydney, solicitor, and formerly of Devonport, Devonshire.^[10]

They had children:^[11]

• William Gilbert Arding Thomas 1857–1929
• Caroline Frances May Thomas 1859–1948
• Henry Charles Sumarez Thomas 1861–1875
• Ida Cordelia Hope Thomas 1863–1946
• Ethel Mary Home Thomas 1864–1943
• Bertha Lancilla Dorothea Thomas 1867–1872
• Florence Henrietta Arding Thomas 1870–1871
• Reginald Walter Raleigh Thomas 1872–1950
• Power Robert Arding Thomas 1874–1884
• Leslie Henry Villiers Thomas 1876–1890
• Elsie Winifred Arding Thomas 1878–1909

Her husband Henry purchased three rural properties, Buckingbah near Wellington in central NSW, Saumarez near Armidale, and finally Wivenhoe at Camden, and Caroline's diary describes the family's move to each of them.

Five of Caroline's eleven children died in infancy or childhood: Harry at 14, Bertha at 5, Leslie at 14, Power at 10, and Florence at 6 months. There are five diary entries, mentioning seven funerals. Caroline did not attend any of them, but visited the graves of her two children, Bertha and Florence some days afterwards. Caroline was devastated at the loss of her beloved younger sister Cordy from smallpox early in the Siege of Lucknow in India in 1857.^[12]

Death: Caroline passed away on 11 January 1903 at Neutral Bay, New South Wales, Australia. She was buried in Cobbitty Anglican Church Cemetery, Cobbitty.^[13]

Obituary, Camden News (NSW), Thursday 15 January 1903:

Obituary.

We regret to Announce the death of Mrs. Arding Thomas, which took place at Neutral Bay, Sydney, on the 11th instant. The deceased lady was the widow of the late Mr. Henry Arding Thomas, of Wivenhoe, Narellan. The funeral took place on Tuesday at the Cobbitty Cemetery and was largely attended by all local residents. The wreaths were many and beautiful. The loss of such a good lady will be keenly felt for her many acts to relieve the sufferings and in the cause of charity. Mrs. Thomas always took a warm interest in church work in the parish of Cobbitty, and even on New Year's Day provided the material for a stall at the bazaar in aid of church funds. The Funeral was conducted by the Rev. G. H. Allnutt, rector of Cobbitty, assisted by the Rev. Septimus Hungerford, a very, old friend of the family and the Rev. A. C. Thomas a half brother of the late Mr. Thomas. The coffin was carried to the grave by the sons and sons-in-law of the deceased lady. The late Mr. H. A. Thomas with his wife and family came to this district some twenty-six years ago, and the family has resided at Wivenhoe ever since. Mr. Thomas formerly owned Saumrez station in the Armidale district, where he and Mrs. Thomas were very highly respected. The eldest daughter married Mr. F. W. A. Downes, of Brownlow Hill, and the second married Mr. H. F. T. Bode, railway engineer at present in charge of construction of new line from Dubbo to Coonamble. The eldest son, Mr. G. A. Thomas, is an officer of the Bank of N.S.W., and the second son is Mr. R. W. R. Thomas of Nelgowrie; there are two unmarried daughters, the Misses. Ethel and Elsie Thomas.

Research Notes

Some of the personal diaries kept by Caroline Thomas (née Husband) are in the manuscript collection of the Society of Australian Genealogists. "These are part of a larger series still in private hands. Caroline Husband began keeping a diary in 1851 when she was a 19 year old enjoying a whirl of London social events against the backdrop of the Great Exhibition. Her accounts follow her family’s journey on the General Hewitt to Sydney, her time as a governess in Stroud, then her courtship and marriage to Henry Arding Thomas in 1855. As she follows Henry and their growing family to Wellington, Armidale and finally Camden her diaries give us a valuable and personal insight into daily life for a woman in late 19th century NSW."^[14]

Sources

1. ↑ Birth and baptism of Caroline Frances Husband, Plymouth & West Devon Record Office, Archive reference 166/15, Birth date 25 Nov 1832, Baptism year 1834, Record set Devon Baptisms, Find my Past database https://www.findmypast.com.au/transcript?id=GBPRS%2FB%2F31013473%2F1
2. ↑ https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Stoke_Damerel,_Devon_Genealogy
3. ↑ 1841 England Census, Worcestershire, Kings Norton Ancestry.com sharing link
4. ↑ 1841 England Census for James Husband Middlesex, St Clement Danes Ancestry.com sharing link
5. ↑ Stoke Damerel, 1841 census, Ancestry.com sharing link
6. ↑ 1851 England Census for Caroline F Husband, Middlesex Hampstead Ancestry.com sharing link
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2} Book Review, Anne Philp, Caroline’s Diary, A Woman’s World in Colonial Australia, Camden History Notes blog, https://camdenhistorynotes.com/2016/05/11/book-review-carolines-diary/
8. ↑ 1854 'LAW INTELLIGENCE.', Empire (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1875), 3 April, p. 4. , viewed 16 Oct 2023, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article60150752
9. ↑ New South Wales, Australia, Unassisted Immigrant Passenger Lists, 1826-1922: 1852 December, General Hewitt Ancestry.com sharing link
10. ↑ 1856 'Family Notices', The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), 16 May, p. 1. , viewed 16 Oct 2023, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12977051
11. ↑ List of children from Ancestry tree https://www.ancestry.com.au/family-tree/person/tree/48291308/person/302076759166/facts not checked
12. ↑ Journal of Australian Colonial History, Volume 18 Jan 2016 https://search-informit-org.ezproxy.sl.nsw.gov.au/doi/epdf/10.3316/ielapa.341764403043501
13. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/184280888/caroline-frances-thomas: accessed 16 October 2023), memorial page for Caroline Frances Husband Thomas (25 Nov 1833–11 Jan 1903), Find a Grave Memorial ID 184280888, citing Cobbitty Anglican Church Cemetery, Cobbitty, Camden Council, New South Wales, Australia; Maintained by Stombell (contributor 48335209).
14. ↑ Introduction to lecture "Caroline's Diary: A Hidden Gem of the SAG Collection" by Heather Garnsey, Society of Australian Genealogists, October 2023.

• Philp, Anne. Caroline's Diary : a Woman's World in Colonial Australia. Spit Junction, N.S.W. Anchor Books Australia, 2015.