Person:Thomas Chapman (23)

1844 - Very little is known about Thomas CHAPMAN. His age is given as 22 on his marriage certificate to widow Elizabeth ROBINSON nee PRESNELL in 1844 and his occupation is given as ship's carpenter. When he married Elizabeth, she had had 8 children from her first marriage, although one had died and some were working by this time. Her last daughter, Sarah CHAPMAN, may or may not have already been born. No record has been found of her birth or baptism, but her surname indicates that she was Thomas' daughter. Given his young age and his occupation, it is possible that Thomas met Elizabeth through meeting Elizabeth's son James ROBINSON, or one of the other Robinson boys, on one of ships on which they were working.

1852 - Thomas possibly came to Victoria on the "Free Trader" in February 1852. His wife and her daughter also came to Victoria about the same time but on another boat.

1862 - When Sarah CHAPMAN married in 1862, her father was named as Thomas CHAPMAN. However, according to her age, Sarah had been born before Thomas and Elizabeth married, although the age on her marriage certificate may not have been correct. Sarah was given permission to marry by a JP rather than Thomas. This indicates that he was not, for whatever reason, living with his wife and daughter at this time. Being a shipwright, Thomas' disappearance is possibly due to him returning to the sea. His place and time of death are not known for certain.

1877-1885 - According to his wife's death certificate, Thomas died before her death in 1885. However, it may have just been more expedient to say that he was dead, rather than trying to explain his absence. There is a Thomas CHAPMAN of the appropriate age who died at Coleraine, Victoria on 4 January 1877. However, his death certificate indicates that his parents, place of birth, spouse and issue are all unknown. It is therefore impossible to determine at this stage if this is him (Vic Death Reg. No. 863/1877).

1. ↑ Marriage Certificate.