Thomas Walker, Convict freed 1843. What happened next?

[majm]

Anyone looked up 1837 Muster?

I will phone my ancient rellies to see what they have found.   Will post again, but not before tomorrow.  It is 7 pm 14 Dec 2020 at the moment

ADD .... in 1841 Thomas was still subject to the Ticket of Leave system,  so he was still in the Queanbeyan district where he had been back when ToL issued # 36/702.

JM.

[majm]

And there's a Ronald Campbell  ......

And also check for a Peter BEST ... the Thomas WALKER per Lord Melville was assigned to him via a Ticket of Leave arrangement in the mid 1830s... 
......

      

[caroline_forster]

Hello again,

sorry for my absence but I'm now working offshore and have been limited on internet access and free time since my last post. Thanks for the suggestions and research you've done in the interim.

I managed to have a look for Peter Best who was the last name listed on Thomas Walkers ToL in October 1841 (15 months before his Certificate of Freedom was granted).

Peter Best was a landowner in the Gunning, King area of NSW around this time.

I hope to find time in the next few days to collate all the information and leads you've so kindly provided and try and make a strategy about how to proceed in finding out the answer to my original question of "what happened next?".

Thank you all again for your generous help,

Best Wishes

Caroline

[judb]

It's an interesting and challenging search, Caroline.

I wasn't able to access any of Campbell's Duntroon staff records so no help there.

Peter BEST - you have possibly accessed these but thought I'd post them anyway.
Gunning is a village north of Canberra, about halfway between Goulburn and Yass.  It services quite a large farming area. King County, as shown in some of the records, was one of the administrative counties set up in the 1830s.  The County system is largely unused now, superseded by shires - local government areas.

Death Notice, 1878
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/100877063
DIED,
On February 13th, at his residence Albert Vale,, Gunning, PETER BEST Esq., aged 63 years.

Obituary:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/100876590
--Yass Courier.
DEATH of MR PETER BEST OF ALBERT VALE.—
We announce with much regret the death of Mr. Peter Best of Albert Vale, near Gunning, which sad event took place at his residence on last Wednesday. The deceased was sixty-three years of age. The following obituary notice appears in the Gunning Leader:—" This gentleman, whose death it is our painful duty this week to record, was born at Seven Hills, near Parramatta, and came to this district about forty years ago. For some time he, in conjunction with his brothers, occupied the station on the Murrumbidgee called Nangus; but the blacks becoming too troublesome, they relinquished it, and Mr. Peter Best then bought the estate at Gunning on which he died. He named the estate Albert Vale. He had previously occupied Oolong, now the residence of his eldest son, Mr. P. Best junior.
Deceased was, as is shown, one of the oldest residents in this district, and we can safely say one of the most respected members of our community- for if an honest and upright life entitles a man to the respect of his fellow men, surely he deserved that respect, for in all his dealings he acted the
honest man. As a husband and father he was all that could be desired, being affectionate and indulgent to his wife and children to a degree seldom equalled and never excelled. His whole life was devoted to their comfort and happiness, never mixing himself up in public matters. He was always to be found attending to this business or at his home. The deceased gentleman was married in 1842 to Eliza daughter of the late Francis Lawliss Esq. of Oolong; and leaves his widow, three sons, and one daughter to mourn him. Deceased had been ailing a long time, but it was only within the last few weeks that he kept to his bed. Being of an active and determined character, he combatted as long as he could the disease to which he had at last to succumb (dropsy), and died peacefully on Wednesday night, surrounded by his family. His remains were interred in the Church of England cemetery at three o'clock on Saturday afternoon; and his funeral was one of the largest that that has ever taken place in the district."

Bushrangers at Albert Vale in 1865
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/60567569

Photo of the house at Albert Vale
https://www.theland.com.au/story/5056457/tree-change-appeal-for-colonial-gem-within-city-limits/

And, of course, Thomas WALKER may have well moved on/died by the time of these mentions.  It was not unusual for burials to take place on private land, although Albert Vale seems to be close enough to Gunning for an interment to be at the village cemetery. As has already been searched, there doesn't seem to be a suitable death in the area for Thomas.

Judith

[caroline_forster]

Hello Judith (and all RootsChatters), Happy New Year!

thanks for the information on Peter Best, it's very interesting to learn of the people Thomas would have been linked with / working for.

I have managed to find another reference to Thomas Walker via "the Trove". It's an article from the Goulburn Herald dated 10 May 1851:

"If Thomas Walker, who twenty years ago was in the service of the late Robert Campbell Esq , at Limestone Plains, will apply to Mr C Campbell, Duntroon, near Queanbeyan, he will hear of something to his advantage"

I am assuming C Campbell is Roberts son Charles who took charge at Duntroon after his fathers death. Of course this has further piqued my interest even though I can't be sure that Thomas was even still alive to read the notice in 1851. I tried to find the significance of 1851 with respect to the Campbell family in order to speculate what this may have been about but nothing jumped out at me.

Do you know of anywhere that would hold Duntroon / Campbell family records? I know you mentioned you weren't able to access the Duntroon records via the ACT Heritage Library. Do you know if this is because they don't hold any records or they weren't available to contact at that time?

While free time and internet access remain restricted I'm still chipping away at this when I can and am hoping that step by step I can get closer to answering my question about Thomas' fate.

Thanks again,

Caroline

[Neale1961]

From my notes on the Campbell family ....

The Mitchell Library at the State Library of New South Wales has Robert Campbell Snr’s business papers and letters, and also copies of Frederick Campbell’s letter books on 4 microfilm reels.

The National Library holds the financial papers of Robert (Tertius) Campbell and a diary belonging to Marianne Campbell, wife of George Campbell.

[majm]

Here's the live link to the newspaper cutting

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/101736470 Goulburn Herald, 10 May 1851

ADD
http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/campbell-charles-1871

JM

[majm]

Principal Superintendent of Convicts Office, Sydney 24 Sept 1832.
The undermentioned Prisoners having absconded from the individuals and employments set against their names …..
Any person harbouring or employing any of the said Absentees will be prosecuted as the Law directs ….
Walker Thomas, No. 29-1088, Lord Melville, 43, Farmer’s Man, Northampton, 5 feet 6, light hazel eyes, brown hair, ruddy freckled comp, scar of cut inside left hand, dark moles inside right arm, from No. 44 Road Gang…
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/230389090/12475495   NSW Govt Gazette pages 314 and 315.

NSW State Library e-resources lists the following:

 

BOOK
Index to convicts in Iron Gangs and various trades 1788-1855, including 1821 victualling list / compiled by Kathryn Lucas.
Springwood, Qld. : K. Lucas, c1999.
c1999 NQ929.3944/27 , Q929.3944/30

I can see its ISBN is
ISBN : 0957738900

I can see its available in the reading rooms in the NLA in Canberra too.

JM

[majm]

So I think Thomas Walker was only with the Campbell assignment for a short time, then in the road gang and then with Peter Best ... of course none of that gives where he was after his CF was issued in 1843...  He may well have gone to the Port Phillip district or to New Zealand or ...      .

JM