| Name: | Thomas Bates |
| Aliases: | none |
| Gender: | m |
| Date of Birth: | 1772 |
| Occupation: | Carter |
| Date of Death: | 17th December, 1836 |
| Age: | 64 years |
Life Span
Male median life span was 54 years*
* Median life span based on contributions
Sentence Severity
Sentenced to 7 years
| Crime: | Theft of boots |
| Convicted at: | Old Bailey |
| Sentence term: | 7 years |
| Ship: | Neptune, Scarborough and Surprize |
| Departure date: | December, 1789 |
| Arrival date: | 26th June, 1790 |
| Place of arrival | New South Wales |
| Passenger manifest | Travelled with 1071 other convicts |
| Primary source: | Australian Joint Copying Project. Microfilm Roll 87, Class and Piece Number HO11/1, Page Number 50 |
| Source description: | This record is one of the entries in the British convict transportation registers 1787-1867 database compiled by State Library of Queensland from British Home Office (HO) records which are available on microfilm as part of the Australian Joint Copying Project. |
Phil Hands on 2nd May, 2018 wrote:
Tried and convicted at the Old Bailey on 7th May 1788 for stealing two men’s leather boots, value 10 s. the property of Edward Bell, sentenced to transportation for 7 years, he was 15 years old.
Left England on 1st January 1790.
Ship:- the ‘Neptune’ sailed with 424 male and 78 female convits on board of which 147 males and 11 females died during the voyage, by far the worst death rate of all the vessels during the transportation period, earning it the nickname of the ‘death ship’.
Arrived on 28th June 1790.
Thomas was unlucky to be embarked on the ‘Neptune’, in 1790, under the command of the notorious Captain Traill. The convicts on this ship were treated so badly that 147 men and 11 women died during the voyage and many more died after they arrived having suffered from malnutrition and fevers. Captain Traill was charged with neglect and cruelty but was acquitted at a farcical trial at the Old Bailey lasting only three hours.
Married free settler Ann Griffin, (daughter of soldier Michael Griffin & his wife Mary Amos) on 12th May 1800 at St Philips Church Sydney, they had 8 children between 1806-1826.
Thomas enlisted in the NSW Corp on 23rd August 1800.
Their first child Lydia was born in 1806 in Sydney, Maria was born 1808 at Port Dalrymple in Tasmania and baptised in 1810 in Sydney. Thomas and Ann spent two to four years in Tasmania. He was granted land at Back Row off Sussex St, Sydney in 1810.
In 1817 Thomas retired from the army as his regiment was being sent to India and he wanted to remain in Australia.
In 1828 Census Thomas & Ann were living in Bates Lane, Sussex St, they had six children living with them Maria, William, Ann, Nathaniel, Martha and Sarah. Lydia was married and James was apprenticed to a carpenter. Thomas was now a boat builder and maybe fairly well off as he not only had six children living at home but also Mary Kelly was a lodger. He also had a horse and seven cattle.
He died on 17th December 1836 at Sydney NSW aged 64.
Ann carried on the boat building business with son William. Lydia married John Stewart, Maria married George Green a boat builder, William (a boat builder) married Mary Ann Green (George’s sister), Nathaniel went to the South Island of New Zealand and had three partners and many children, Ann married Jonathon Piper (a boat builder), Martha and Sarah married brothers Joseph and George Clayton.
Ann died 1864 at Sydney aged 74.
Alan M Gaines on 27th January, 2013 made the following changes:
date of birth 1773, date of death 17th December, 1836, gender, occupation, crime
Phil Hands on 2nd May, 2018 made the following changes:
convicted at, date of birth: 1772 (prev. 1773)
This record was discovered and printed on ConvictRecords.com.au
