BLAKESLEY Thomas

Name Thomas BLAKESLEY
Country Of Origin England
Born 1784
Died 1829
Birth/ Baptism Approx. November 1784

Bapt. 26 December 1784, Marylebone, Westminster, London, England

Parents Benjamin and Rebecca Blakesley
Apprenticeship unknown
Skills Clockmaker, Watchmaker, Jeweller, Chronometer Maker
Work Locations Hobart
Street Address
Murray Street, Hobart
Elizabeth Street, Hobart
Marriage/Spouse 15 November 1817, London, England, to Elizabeth Rutland
(daughter of London silversmith Jonathan Rutland and Elizabeth Rutland senior).
Arrival February 1827, Hobart, on the ship Admiral Cockburn
Other Other skills: Carpenter, Builder, Plumber, Glazier, Painter.

July 1826: Thomas wrote to Earl Bathurst, Secretary of State, expressing he and his wife’s intention to settle in Van Diemen’s Land, and requesting a land grant. He doesn’t seem to have received the grant despite claiming his property’s value to be £600.

March 1827: Advertised watch, clock, jewellery, sextant and quadrant repairs, carpentry, building, plumbing, glazing, and painting, Murray Street, Hobart.

August 1827: Moved the business to Elizabeth Street, next door to Mr Dunn’s.

The Hobart Town Courier 26 July 1828:
‘NOTICE. Parties are hereby requested not to give credit to any Person on my account without an order in writing from me to that effect, as I will not be answerable for debts so contracted.
THOMAS BLAKESLEY, Watchmaker,
Elizabeth Street, Hobart Town, July 24, 1828’

September 1828: Departed Hobart on the ship Bengal Merchant for Sydney, New South Wales.

The Australian 21 October 1828:
‘CHRONOMETER AND WATCHMAKER.
Thomas Blakesley, 104 Pitt Street, in announcing that he has commenced business, most respectfully solicits a portion of the public patronage.
Watches or Clocks carefully cleaned or repaired with the utmost expedition; Watch glasses fitted; Jewellery repaired, &c.’

December 1829: Thomas embarked on a voyage with a Hawaiian chief named Boki. He and a silversmith named Cox made a sextant to measure the exact location of an island in the Pacific to facilitate searching for an abundance of valuable sandalwood. Thomas entered an agreement with Chief Boki who agreed to pay him four thousand five hundred dollars if the venture was successful or nothing if it failed. Unfortunately, the trip on the vessel Kamehameha was futile. The actual fate of the ship and its passengers remains a mystery.

Widow Elizabeth resided in Hobart until her death on 17 July 1873 at her then-residence, Secheron Road, at the age of 90. The death record stated she was a jeweller’s widow. Elizabeth had taught music and operated a successful business selling hats, clothing, and other goods in her lifetime. Occasionally, she advertised watch parts and tools for sale.

SEE January 2024 blog:
https://handsoftime.com.au/a-van-diemens-land-watchmaker-and-the-hawaiian-chief/

Death Likely around December 1829
References
Boki, The Challenges of a Ruling Chief, M. Nogelmeier, 1989.
TAHO: CUS33/1/1 Departure 1828, Index CSO3/1/1B 1835 & CSO1/1/792 File No. 16953 1835; CEN1/1/88 Census 1848; RGD35/1/8 no1565 Death 1873.
Web: Ancestry: London, England, Church of England Baptism 1784; United Kingdom Directory 1790; Select Marriages England 1817; London, England, City Directory 1900. The National Archives, UK, Ref. CO 201/180/22 1826.
Englishman (London) 10 December 1826, 24 December 1826; Hobart Town Gazette 24 March 1827, 31 March 1827, 5 May 1827, 11 August 1827, 18 July 1829; Colonial Times & Tasmanian Advertiser 10 August 1827; The Tasmanian 21 December 1827, 25 July 1828, 8 August 1828, 12 September 1828, 15 September 1828; Australian 21 October 1828; Sydney Gazette & New South Wales Advertiser 17 December 1828; Hobart Town Courier 20 December 1828, 14 February 1829, 14 March 1829, 30 May 1829, 18 July 1829; Hobart Town Chronicle 26 March 1833