| Both sides previous revision Previous revision Next revision | Previous revision |
| thomas_de_montmorenci_murray-prior [2025/05/09 22:02] – judith | thomas_de_montmorenci_murray-prior [2025/08/15 14:20] (current) – judith |
|---|
| Ledgers for //Maroon// shows that Tom was employed as manager on 1 January 1866 just before his 18th birthday. He was paid an 'allowance' of £50 pa for his first year but his allowance for first 6 months in 1867 was halved to £25 pa. He was paid £80 pa from September 1867.((MLMSS3117/box 8 & 9)) \\ | Ledgers for //Maroon// shows that Tom was employed as manager on 1 January 1866 just before his 18th birthday. He was paid an 'allowance' of £50 pa for his first year but his allowance for first 6 months in 1867 was halved to £25 pa. He was paid £80 pa from September 1867.((MLMSS3117/box 8 & 9)) \\ |
| \\ | \\ |
| The younger Tom was adventurous and by July 1874, for a short period he left working on //Maroon// to become a miner in the harsh [[wp>Palmer_River#Palmer_goldfields|Palmer River goldfields]]. It is not for nothing that an account of life on the Palmer goldfields was entitled 'shattered dreams'.((Gordon Grimwade and Christine Grimwade, 'Shattered dreams: Recollections of the Palmer Goldrush 1874-1875', //Queensland History Journal//23:7, November 2017.)) Tom's dreams were also shattered as he contacted 'gulf fever' (typhoid or malaria) and nearly died.((Jane Black (compiled), North Queensland Pioneers, Country Women's Association, Townsville, ?1932.)) His brother Morres wrote in a [[letter]] that, after Thomas returned from the Palmer in ill-health, he remained on //Maroon// while Morres had to leave, presumably because the property could not support them both. An newspaper latter claimed that when Tom returned from the goldfields he was 'about the guantest six-foot-three of skin and bones ever seen, and then went squatting our Bully Creek way.'((unidentified newspaper clipping, 31 December 1992 in Rosa Praed Papers, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, MSOM64-01, Box 23/5/1))\\ | The younger Tom was adventurous and probably irked by his father's autocratic manner. By July 1874, Tom left working on //Maroon// to become a miner in the harsh [[wp>Palmer_River#Palmer_goldfields|Palmer River goldfields]]. He did not last long. It is not for nothing that an account of life on the Palmer goldfields was entitled 'shattered dreams'.((Gordon Grimwade and Christine Grimwade, 'Shattered dreams: Recollections of the Palmer Goldrush 1874-1875', //Queensland History Journal//23:7, November 2017.)) Tom's dreams were also shattered as he contacted 'gulf fever' (typhoid or malaria) and nearly died.((Jane Black (compiled), North Queensland Pioneers, Country Women's Association, Townsville, ?1932.)) An newspaper latter claimed that when Tom returned from the goldfields he was 'about the guantest six-foot-three of skin and bones ever seen, and then went squatting our Bully Creek way.'((unidentified newspaper clipping, 31 December 1992 in Rosa Praed Papers, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, MSOM64-01, Box 23/5/1)) His brother Morres wrote in a [[letter]] that, after Thomas returned from the Palmer in ill-health, he remained on //Maroon// while Morres had to leave, presumably because the property could not support them both.\\ |
| \\ | \\ |
| In later life Tom, like his father, bought a considerable amount of property in Queensland: Darbyshire lists nine purchases between March 1877 and January 1881, at Melcombe (Maroon), Telemon((//The Brisbane Courier//, 8 October 1873, cited in Darbyshire, described it as 640 acres of second class pastoral land)) and Mogill.((Andrew Darbyshire, 'A Fair Slice of St Lucia', p.123)) At some stage Thomas de M. M-P owned, with his brother Hugh, Annie Vale station.((D. Waterson, //A Biographical Register of the Queensland Parliament 1860-1929//, Canberra: ANU Press, 1972, p.135.)) In 1880, he was listed as being at Moonbago, South Kennedy, Bully Creek.((H. Mortimer Franklyn, A glance at Australia in 1880, p. xlvii.)) //Pugh's Almanac and Queensland Directory// (1889, p.525) lists him after his father as 'Prior Thomas T. de M. M.[,] J.P. Maroon Ipswich'.\\ | In later life Tom, like his father, bought a considerable amount of property in Queensland: Darbyshire lists nine purchases between March 1877 and January 1881, at Melcombe (Maroon), Telemon((//The Brisbane Courier//, 8 October 1873, cited in Darbyshire, described it as 640 acres of second class pastoral land)) and Mogill.((Andrew Darbyshire, 'A Fair Slice of St Lucia', p.123)) At some stage Thomas de M. M-P owned, with his brother Hugh, Annie Vale station.((D. Waterson, //A Biographical Register of the Queensland Parliament 1860-1929//, Canberra: ANU Press, 1972, p.135.)) In 1880, he was listed as being at Moonbago, South Kennedy, Bully Creek.((H. Mortimer Franklyn, A glance at Australia in 1880, p. xlvii.)) //Pugh's Almanac and Queensland Directory// (1889, p.525) lists him after his father as 'Prior Thomas T. de M. M.[,] J.P. Maroon Ipswich'.\\ |
| Thomas de Montmorenci M-P and Florence Claudia Moore((or Moor)) (c.1861-1901)((Queensland death certificate, 1901/C1766)) married on 18 March 1878 at the Holy Trinity Church of England in the far north Queensland town of [[wp>Bowen,_Queensland|Bowen]].((‘Questions to be answered by T.L.M-P’, 6pp Memoranda by the Herald Office, Somerset House, London re Burke’s Colonial Gentry.)) Like her father Henry ((Florence's Queensland death certificate, 1901/C1766 probably incorrectly gives his name as John)) Moore (or Moor), Florence was born in London. Her mother, with the wonderful name of Georgiana Boadicea Maria Leathant, was the daughter of Charles Leathant; she and Henry married at St Pancras Church on 22 July 1857. They lived in the London suburb of [[wp>Highgate|Highgate]]. Henry died on 11 February 1861 and was buried in the famous {{https://highgatecemetery.org/|Highgate cemetery}}.((‘Questions to be answered by T.L.M-P’, 6pp Memoranda by the Herald Office, Somerset House, London re Burke’s Colonial Gentry.)) \\ | Thomas de Montmorenci M-P and Florence Claudia Moore((or Moor)) (c.1861-1901)((Queensland death certificate, 1901/C1766)) married on 18 March 1878 at the Holy Trinity Church of England in the far north Queensland town of [[wp>Bowen,_Queensland|Bowen]].((‘Questions to be answered by T.L.M-P’, 6pp Memoranda by the Herald Office, Somerset House, London re Burke’s Colonial Gentry.)) Like her father Henry ((Florence's Queensland death certificate, 1901/C1766 probably incorrectly gives his name as John)) Moore (or Moor), Florence was born in London. Her mother, with the wonderful name of Georgiana Boadicea Maria Leathant, was the daughter of Charles Leathant; she and Henry married at St Pancras Church on 22 July 1857. They lived in the London suburb of [[wp>Highgate|Highgate]]. Henry died on 11 February 1861 and was buried in the famous {{https://highgatecemetery.org/|Highgate cemetery}}.((‘Questions to be answered by T.L.M-P’, 6pp Memoranda by the Herald Office, Somerset House, London re Burke’s Colonial Gentry.)) \\ |
| \\ | \\ |
| Florence and her mother appear to have emigrated to Australia in 1862, the year after Florence's father died.((Queensland death certificate, 1901/C1766)) It is probable that Florence's mother had already re-married, to Henry J. Jones who, at the time of Florence's marriage, worked for a bank in Bowen, Queensland.((//Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser//, 27 April 1878, p.2.)) For that reason, Florence is sometimes referred to as Florence Jones.((Robert M-P, //The Blood Royal of the Murray-Priors//, 1901-05, p.14, NLA; Thomas Bertram M-P, //Some Australasian Families Descended from Royalty//, ms, n.d.,p.7, NLA; Bernard Burke, //A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Colonial Gentry//, Melbourne: E.A. Petherick, 1891-95, pp.49-50.)) TLM-P and Nora both found Florence difficult. Nora was always discerning about people, and she wrote to Rosa that Florence easily took offence, imagining that people were slighting her and referring to her mother having been a forewoman in a shop. While Brisbane society was snobbish, the colonies were a place where people could rapidly ascend the social scale and Nora was probably correct in saying that no-one else cared. Nevertheless, Nora told Rosa, Florence was haunted by her mother's unladylike past. She had also snubbed anyone she thought of an inferior class, so consequently had few friends. Florence's saving grace, in Nora's eyes, was that she was a devoted wife and mother. ((Nora to Rosa, 3 December 1883))\\ | Florence and her mother appear to have emigrated to Australia in 1862, the year after Florence's father died.((Queensland death certificate, 1901/C1766)) It is probable that Florence's mother had already re-married, to Henry J. Jones who, at the time of Florence's marriage, worked for a bank in Bowen, Queensland.((//Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser//, 27 April 1878, p.2.)) For that reason, Florence is sometimes referred to as Florence Jones.((Robert M-P, //The Blood Royal of the Murray-Priors//, 1901-05, p.14, NLA; Thomas Bertram M-P, //Some Australasian Families Descended from Royalty//, ms, n.d.,p.7, NLA; Bernard Burke, //A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Colonial Gentry//, Melbourne: E.A. Petherick, 1891-95, pp.49-50.)) TLM-P and Nora both found Florence difficult. Nora was always discerning about people, and she wrote to Rosa that Florence easily took offence, imagining that people were slighting her and referring to her mother having been a forewoman in a shop. While Brisbane society was snobbish, the colonies were a place where people could rapidly ascend the social scale and Nora was probably correct in saying that no-one else cared. Nevertheless, Nora told Rosa, Florence was haunted by her mother's unladylike past. She had also snubbed anyone she thought of an inferior class, so consequently had few friends. Florence's saving grace, in Nora's eyes, was that she was a devoted wife and mother:'she is devoted to Tom & the children & makes a good & sensible wife & mother – thrifty & careful.'((Nora to Rosa, 3 December 1883))\\ |
| \\ | \\ |
| Florence was 18 years old when she married, her husband 30, and she conceived almost immediately, going on to have five children in 8 years. Their roving life (and possibly a reason for Florence's few friends) is indicated by their five children having four different birth places.((‘Questions to be answered by T.L.M-P’, 6pp Memoranda to the Herald Office, Somerset House, London re Burke’s Colonial Gentry.)) Florence died aged 40 in 1901 suffering from the endocrine disorder, [[wp>Addison%27s_disease|Addison's disease]].((Queensland death certificate 1901/C1766.)) She was buried at Maroon but in 1920, after the property was sold, was re-interred in the family plot at [[family_burial_site_toowong_cemetery_brisbane|Toowong cemetery]].\\ | Florence was 18 years old when she married, her husband 30, and she conceived almost immediately, going on to have five children in 8 years. Their roving life (possibly another reason for Florence's few friends) is indicated by their five children having four different birth places.((‘Questions to be answered by T.L.M-P’, 6pp Memoranda to the Herald Office, Somerset House, London re Burke’s Colonial Gentry.)) Her life was cushioned by middle-class comforts including the help of servants, but constant childbirth and life in outback Queensland took their toll. In 1883 when Florence was 22 years old and with just three of her eventual five children, her stepmother-in-law was shocked by her appearance. In photographs, Florence appears beautiful but in December 1883 when she went to Maroon, she looked, Nora wrote, 'ghastly' and wrung out, having 'entirely lost all her good looks ... & has grown brown, thin as a skeleton & very querulous looking ... looking so thin & worn'. Nora applied her usual bush remedies, drinks of porter (a type of beer believed to be sustaining) and cream, along with doses of cod liver oil and thought Florence was looking better under that regime (perhaps better accounted for by having family and servants to help look after the children who Nora described as 'nice little things', a compliment she certainly did not extend to all children, even her own.((Nora to Rosa, 3 December 1883)) |
| | |
| | Florence died aged 40 in 1901 suffering from the endocrine disorder, [[wp>Addison%27s_disease|Addison's disease]].((Queensland death certificate 1901/C1766.)) She was buried at Maroon but in 1920, after the property was sold, was re-interred in the family plot at [[family_burial_site_toowong_cemetery_brisbane|Toowong cemetery]].\\ |
| \\ | \\ |
| {{:florence_enhanced.jpg?300|}} **For other photos of the beautiful Florence and her possessions, click [[painting, photos Florence]]**\\ | {{:florence_enhanced.jpg?300|}} **For other photos of Florence and her possessions, click [[painting, photos Florence]]**\\ |
| \\ | \\ |
| Thomas and Florence had four daughters and one son as shown in the next generation of this website.((Bernard Burke, //A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Colonial Gentry//, Melbourne: E.A. Petherick, 1891-95, pp.49-50; Robert M-P, //The Blood Royal of the Murray-Priors//, p.14, NLA; [Thomas A. M-P], Murray-Prior Family, booklet, October 2014; Thomas Bertram M-P, //Some Australasian Families Descended from Royalty//, ms, n.d.,p.7, NLA.)) See the sidebar entry for **Thomas Bertram M-P** and his sisters **Florette, Mabel, Ethel and Phyllis M-P**.((Queensland Death certificate 1902/C1918.))\\ | Thomas and Florence had four daughters and one son as shown in the next generation of this website.((Bernard Burke, //A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Colonial Gentry//, Melbourne: E.A. Petherick, 1891-95, pp.49-50; Robert M-P, //The Blood Royal of the Murray-Priors//, p.14, NLA; [Thomas A. M-P], Murray-Prior Family, booklet, October 2014; Thomas Bertram M-P, //Some Australasian Families Descended from Royalty//, ms, n.d.,p.7, NLA.)) See the sidebar entry for **Thomas Bertram M-P** and his sisters **Florette, Mabel, Ethel and Phyllis M-P**.((Queensland Death certificate 1902/C1918.))\\ |