| Both sides previous revision Previous revision Next revision | Previous revision |
| back_to_england_c.1803-38 [2022/06/13 15:07] – [Thomas Murray Prior/Thomas Prior, 1 August 1790-July 1864] judith | back_to_england_c.1803-38 [2023/08/19 15:34] (current) – judith |
|---|
| ====== Back to England ====== | ====== Back to England ====== |
| |
| ==== Thomas Murray Prior/Thomas Prior, 1 August 1790-July 1864 ==== | **Thomas Murray Prior/Thomas Prior, 1 August 1790-July 1864** |
| | |
| {{:col_mp_cropped.jpg?direct&200|}} This photo is from TLM-P’s photo album and labelled by him as ‘Colonel Murray-Prior’. It was taken by Symonds Photographer who operated from the Isle of Wight and Portsmouth, near where this 2nd Thomas Murray Prior lived.((Provenance: J. Godden))\\ | {{:col_mp_cropped.jpg?direct&200|}} This photo is from TLM-P’s photo album and labelled by him as ‘Colonel Murray-Prior’. It was taken by Symonds Photographer who operated from the Isle of Wight and Portsmouth, near where this 2nd Thomas Murray Prior lived.((Provenance: J. Godden))\\ |
| \\ | \\ |
| This Thomas Murray Prior, the eldest son of Thomas and Catherine Murray Prior, called himself Thomas Prior.((to do: check to see if 'Murray" was part of his name))\\ | This Thomas Murray Prior, the eldest son of Thomas and Catherine [Murray] Prior, called himself Thomas Prior.((to do: check to see if 'Murray" was part of his name))\\ |
| |
| He was born in 1790((Bernard Burke, //A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Colonial Gentry//,Melbourne: E.A. Petherick, 1891-95, p.49 Cf Family Bible has his birth year as 1789.)) when his father was 17 years old, indicating that his parents eloped when very young. His mother's family relented enough for her to go to her parent's place at Cuffsborough (Country Laois, Ireland) for the birth.((‘Questions to be answered by T.L.M-P’, 6pp Memoranda by the Herald Office, Somerset House, London re Burke’s Colonial Gentry.)) With his father still living and drawing on the family estate to provide for his children from his first and second marriages/relationship, this Thomas had to find another way to earn his living. He did so by leaving Ireland and joining the British army. He never permanently returned, understandably given that his father appears to have lost the Rathdowney estate during bankruptcy proceedings in 1824.\\ | He was born in 1790((Bernard Burke, //A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Colonial Gentry//,Melbourne: E.A. Petherick, 1891-95, p.49 Cf Family Bible has his birth year as 1789.)) when his father was 17 years old, indicating that his parents eloped when very young. His mother's family relented enough for her to go to her parent's place at Cuffsborough (Country Laois, Ireland) for the birth.((‘Questions to be answered by T.L.M-P’, 6pp Memoranda by the Herald Office, Somerset House, London re Burke’s Colonial Gentry.)) With his father still living and drawing on the family estate to provide for his children from his first and second marriages/relationship, this Thomas had to find another way to earn his living. He did so by leaving Ireland and joining the British army. He never permanently returned, understandably given that his father appears to have lost the Rathdowney estate during bankruptcy proceedings in 1824.\\ |
| As seen in the above link, Thomas Prior took part in the Battle of Waterloo which marked Napoleon's defeat. That battle also marked the decline in his career prospects. The army was reduced by a staggering 232,000 men; the navy by 124,000 men. They were put on half-pay but that pay was low, fixed at 1794 levels. Many seized the opportunity to emigrate to NSW and Van Dieman's Land, enticed by offers of land grants, a freer life and warmer climate.((Wright, //Wellington's Men in Australia//, pp.18-29.)) While not all were successful, ex-officers who had fought in the Peninsula War formed an influential and prosperous network in Australia.((Wright, //Wellington's Men in Australia//, p.177.)) Perhaps because he had a wife and children, Thomas Prior did not join his fellow officers and emigrate. Did he regret staying in Britain? Was an awareness of lost opportunities behind his teenage son's decision to migrate? | As seen in the above link, Thomas Prior took part in the Battle of Waterloo which marked Napoleon's defeat. That battle also marked the decline in his career prospects. The army was reduced by a staggering 232,000 men; the navy by 124,000 men. They were put on half-pay but that pay was low, fixed at 1794 levels. Many seized the opportunity to emigrate to NSW and Van Dieman's Land, enticed by offers of land grants, a freer life and warmer climate.((Wright, //Wellington's Men in Australia//, pp.18-29.)) While not all were successful, ex-officers who had fought in the Peninsula War formed an influential and prosperous network in Australia.((Wright, //Wellington's Men in Australia//, p.177.)) Perhaps because he had a wife and children, Thomas Prior did not join his fellow officers and emigrate. Did he regret staying in Britain? Was an awareness of lost opportunities behind his teenage son's decision to migrate? |
| |
| | ==== Military items ==== |
| | A number of swords most likely belonging to this Thomas Prior or his immediate family have survived, along with other items. They were used in combat, at least up until the end of the Napoleonic Wars. **For more on these click [[**army gear**]]**.\\ |
| | {{:m-p_swords_1_.jpeg?400|}} Some Murray-Prior swords.((Provenance:T.A. & M.T. M-P; they were restored by Hayden Vesty on behalf of T.A. M-P))\\ |
| | \\ |
| ==== Portraits ==== | ==== Portraits ==== |
| {{:mp6.jpg?300|}} The family has a number of paintings of this Thomas Prior. The one shown here is the most gorgeous of them all!((Provenance: T.A. & M.T. M-P)) It shows him in dress uniform. It presumably is the painting described in TLM-P's will as 'one portrait of my Father in regimentals of the Eighteenth Hussars'.((TLM-P, Last Will and Testament, QJO, donated by T.A. & M.T. M-P.)) One of the medals is the {{http://dorchesters.com/waterloo-medal-miniature|Waterloo medal}} for those who fought in that momentous battle.\\ | {{:mp6.jpg?300|}} The family has a number of paintings of this Thomas Prior. The one shown here is the most gorgeous of them all!((Provenance: T.A. & M.T. M-P)) It shows him in dress uniform. It presumably is the painting described in TLM-P's will as 'one portrait of my Father in regimentals of the Eighteenth Hussars'.((TLM-P, Last Will and Testament, QJO, donated by T.A. & M.T. M-P.)) One of the medals is the {{http://dorchesters.com/waterloo-medal-miniature|Waterloo medal}} for those who fought in that momentous battle.\\ |
| Two unidentified images - click on [[Mystery Images]]\\ | Two unidentified images - click on [[Mystery Images]]\\ |
| |
| ==== Military items ==== | |
| A number of swords most likely belonging to this Thomas Prior or his immediate family have survived, along with other items. They were used in combat, at least up until the end of the Napoleonic Wars. **For more on these click [[**army gear**]]**.\\ | |
| |
| {{:m-p_swords_1_.jpeg?400|}} Some Murray-Prior swords.((Provenance:T.A. & M.T. M-P; they were restored by Hayden Vesty on behalf of T.A. M-P))\\ | |
| \\ | |
| ==== Books ==== | ==== Books ==== |
| It can be a matter of serendipity what books survive - and some of those the owner most treasured may well be deemed too battered to keep by his or her heirs. The books the family owns that belonged to this Thomas Murray-Prior were mainly those required in the army or for the expected church attendance. F**or more, click on [[**books**]]**.\\ | It can be a matter of serendipity what books survive - and some of those the owner most treasured may well be deemed too battered to keep by his or her heirs. The books the family owns that belonged to this Thomas Murray-Prior were mainly those required in the army or for the expected church attendance. F**or more, click on [[**books**]]**.\\ |
| |
| ==== Thomas Prior in Australia ==== | ==== Thomas Prior in Australia ==== |
| According to his son TLM-P, Thomas Prior visited Queensland for two years.((‘Questions to be answered by T.L.M-P’, 6pp Memoranda by the College of Heralds, Somerset House, London re Burke’s Colonial Gentry)) His land purchases suggest that he came out, not just to see his son, but to buy land in the up-an-coming settlement. Kerry Heckenberg(('A taste for art in colonial Queensland: The Queensland Art Gallery Foundational Bequest of Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior', //Queensland Review//, 25:1, June 2018, pp.119-136)) detailed that Thomas and his wife arrived in Sydney on 16 November 1852 on board the //Vimeira//, departing four days later for Moreton Bay on the steamer //Eagle//. The passenger list shows 'Major and Mrs Prior' arriving as indicated by Heckenberg.((note that Ancestry.com incorrectly transcribes their names as 'Price'.)) They apparently lived in Brisbane during 1852–54. Heckenberg references a list of those eligible to vote in August 1854 which includes Thomas Prior of Eagle Street, Brisbane.(('Electoral List',//Moreton Bay Courier//, 26 August 1854, p.4)) Thomas Prior purchased land in July 1853 and February 1854 at Cleveland, spending over £215. Residency for a period of time visit was presumably necessary to qualify him to do so using a remission order allowed him as an army officer.((Andrew Darbyshire, //A Fair Slice of St Lucia. Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior//, St Lucia History Group research paper no. 8, p.119. It appears from Darbyshire's table that Thomas Prior bought over 57 acres of land.)) These orders were designed to encourage the numerous British army officers who had no active role since the defeat of Napoleon, to settle in the Australian colonies.\\ | According to his son TLM-P, Thomas Prior visited Queensland for two years. TLM-P added '- at Elliott Place' and on the next line starts with Gosforth. It is unclear where Elliott Place was: it doesn't seem to be in Gosforth (UK) and there is only an Elliott Street (not Place) in Brisbane.((‘Questions to be answered by T.L.M-P’, 6pp Memoranda by the College of Heralds, Somerset House, London re Burke’s Colonial Gentry)) Heckenberg references a list of those eligible to vote in August 1854 which includes Thomas Prior of Eagle Street, Brisbane.(('Electoral List',//Moreton Bay Courier//, 26 August 1854, p.4)) Isobel Hannah states that, when in Brisbane, Colonel Prior 'lived in a pleasant spot on the river, where is now [1953] situated [St Joseph's] Junior Nudgee College.'((Isobel Hannah, 'The Royal Descent of the First Postmaster-General of Queensland', Queensland Geographical Journal, vol. LV, 1953-54, p.16. For more on this location, see Martin Kerby, //Nudgee: A History of St Joseph's Nudgee College: a Life//, ed. Coral Campbell, Brisbane: Martin Kerby, 2014))\\ |
| | \\ |
| | His land purchases suggest that he came out, not just to see his son, but to buy land in the up-an-coming settlement. Kerry Heckenberg(('A taste for art in colonial Queensland: The Queensland Art Gallery Foundational Bequest of Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior', //Queensland Review//, 25:1, June 2018, pp.119-136)) detailed that Thomas and his wife arrived in Sydney on 16 November 1852 on board the //Vimeira//, departing four days later for Moreton Bay on the steamer //Eagle//. The passenger list confirms 'Major and Mrs Prior' arrival.((note that Ancestry.com incorrectly transcribes their names as 'Price'.))\\ |
| | \\ |
| | Thomas Prior purchased land in July 1853 and February 1854 at Cleveland, spending over £215. Residency for a period of time visit was presumably necessary to qualify him to do so using a remission order allowed him as an army officer.((Andrew Darbyshire, //A Fair Slice of St Lucia. Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior//, St Lucia History Group research paper no. 8, p.119. It appears from Darbyshire's table that Thomas Prior bought over 57 acres of land.)) These orders were designed to encourage the numerous British army officers who had no active role since the defeat of Napoleon, to settle in the Australian colonies.\\ |
| \\ | \\ |
| Heckenberg argues that, based on Rosa Praed's recollections, that they probably bought their art collection with them to give to TLM-P. He in turn gave a number of them to be the founding collection of the new [[brisbane_art_gallery|Queensland Art Gallery]] while keeping the family portraits. It makes sense that his parents did this, especially given that TLM-P's only brother had died and neither of his sisters married, and that transport was relatively cheap as sailing ships needed [[wp>Ballast|ballast]] for stability. If Rosa's memory is correct, then at least some of the paintings were transported without frames.\\ | Heckenberg argues that, based on Rosa Praed's recollections, that they probably bought their art collection with them to give to TLM-P. He in turn gave a number of them to be the founding collection of the new [[brisbane_art_gallery|Queensland Art Gallery]] while keeping the family portraits. It makes sense that his parents did this, especially given that TLM-P's only brother had died and neither of his sisters married, and that transport was relatively cheap as sailing ships needed [[wp>Ballast|ballast]] for stability. If Rosa's memory is correct, then at least some of the paintings were transported without frames.\\ |
| \\ | \\ |
| Nehemiah Bartley in his //Australian Pioneers and Reminiscences 1849-1894: together with portraits of some of the founders of Australia//((J.J. Knight (ed.)) stated that TLM-P's 'father, Colonel Prior, was a genial Irishman, and the inevitable returning officer and chairman of hospital((there is no mention of him in Ross Patrick, //A History of Health & Medicine in Queensland, 1824-1960//, St Lucia: University of Queensland Press, 1987, nor in John Tyrer, //History of the Brisbane Hospital and its affiliates. A pilgrim's progress//, Brisbane: Boolarong Publications, 1993.)) and similar election meetings in the infant days of Brisbane' due to his 'tact and good temper'.((pp.216-17)) Bartley's reminiscences was published in 1896 and he knew TLM-P, so his information has some authority. The description of TLM-P's father as a 'genial Irishman', fits in with TLM-P's description of his somewhat spendthrift and irresponsible father. The army rank indicates that he used his highest Brevet rank, that of Major, rather than his subsequent rank of Captain on half-pay. The 'Colonel' is explained by his having been promoted to Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel in June 1854.((see back to Thomas Prior's army career))\\ | Nehemiah Bartley in his //Australian Pioneers and Reminiscences 1849-1894: together with portraits of some of the founders of Australia//((J.J. Knight (ed.)) stated that TLM-P's 'father, Colonel Prior, was a genial Irishman, and the inevitable returning officer and chairman of hospital((there is no mention of him in Ross Patrick, //A History of Health & Medicine in Queensland, 1824-1960//, St Lucia: University of Queensland Press, 1987, nor in John Tyrer, //History of the Brisbane Hospital and its affiliates. A pilgrim's progress//, Brisbane: Boolarong Publications, 1993.)) and similar election meetings in the infant days of Brisbane' due to his 'tact and good temper'.((pp.216-17)) Bartley's reminiscences was published in 1896 and he knew TLM-P, so his information has some authority. The description of TLM-P's father as a 'genial Irishman', fits in with TLM-P's description of his somewhat spendthrift and irresponsible father. The army rank indicates that he used his highest Brevet rank, that of Major, rather than his subsequent rank of Captain on half-pay. The 'Colonel' is explained by his having been promoted to Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel in June 1854.((see back to Thomas Prior's army career))\\ |
| \\ | |
| Isobel Hannah states that, when in Brisbane, Colonel Prior 'lived in a pleasant spot on the river, where is now [1953] situated [St Joseph's] Junior Nudgee College.'((Isobel Hannah, 'The Royal Descent of the First Postmaster-General of Queensland', Queensland Geographical Journal, vol. LV, 1953-54, p.16. For more on this location, see Martin Kerby, //Nudgee: A History of St Joseph's Nudgee College: a Life//, ed. Coral Campbell, Brisbane: Martin Kerby, 2014))\\ | |
| \\ | \\ |
| Thomas Prior's visit was a private one, and not as part of the army. In the 1850s, he was in the 5th Regiment of Foot: it was never posted to Australia. Two companies of the Regiment went to India, but not until 1857, so it was not the case of Thomas Prior taking leave from India to visit his son in Queensland in 1854.((Basil Peacock, //The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers (the 5th Regiment of Foot)//, B. Peacock, 1970; Walter Wood, //The Northumberland Fusiliers//)) \\ | Thomas Prior's visit was a private one, and not as part of the army. In the 1850s, he was in the 5th Regiment of Foot: it was never posted to Australia. Two companies of the Regiment went to India, but not until 1857, so it was not the case of Thomas Prior taking leave from India to visit his son in Queensland in 1854.((Basil Peacock, //The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers (the 5th Regiment of Foot)//, B. Peacock, 1970; Walter Wood, //The Northumberland Fusiliers//)) \\ |
| Thomas and his second wife Eliza were buried at Southsea cemetery.((‘Questions to be answered by T.L.M-P’, 6pp Memoranda by the Herald Office, Somerset House, London re Burke’s Colonial Gentry.)) Their son visited their lately refurbished grave in 1882 and described it as 'a plain but very neat stone sarcophagus of good grained sandstone'((TLM-P, Diary, 7 August 1882, ML.)) The family's claim to gentry status rested on their Irish estates, so he was described on the grave as of Rathdowney. Thomas died on 16 July 1864. His death notice, presumably sent by his family, was published in several newspapers, most of which give the 16th as his date of death, e.g. //Sheffield Daily Telegraph//, 20 July 1864, p.3 and the //London Evening Standard//, 20 July 1864, p.7. On the other hand, The //Hampshire Telegraph//, 23 July 1864 gives his date of death as the 12th; other sources give 17th. To add to the confusion, his grandson Thomas Bertram M-P recorded that he died on 19 July.((//Some Australasian Families Descended from Royalty//, ms, n.d. p.5.)) The inscription on the grave confirms that it was the 16th. Thomas Prior's death was registered in the Portsea district in September 1864.((online Death Register; TLM-P, genealogical notes in John & John B. Burke, A// Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland: M to Z//, London: Henry Colburn Publisher, 1846)) TLM-P, the focus of this history, was his elder son. His step-sister wrote to him informing him of his father's death but it took (as was usual) two months to reach him.((TLM-P diary, 13 September 1864)).\\ | Thomas and his second wife Eliza were buried at Southsea cemetery.((‘Questions to be answered by T.L.M-P’, 6pp Memoranda by the Herald Office, Somerset House, London re Burke’s Colonial Gentry.)) Their son visited their lately refurbished grave in 1882 and described it as 'a plain but very neat stone sarcophagus of good grained sandstone'((TLM-P, Diary, 7 August 1882, ML.)) The family's claim to gentry status rested on their Irish estates, so he was described on the grave as of Rathdowney. Thomas died on 16 July 1864. His death notice, presumably sent by his family, was published in several newspapers, most of which give the 16th as his date of death, e.g. //Sheffield Daily Telegraph//, 20 July 1864, p.3 and the //London Evening Standard//, 20 July 1864, p.7. On the other hand, The //Hampshire Telegraph//, 23 July 1864 gives his date of death as the 12th; other sources give 17th. To add to the confusion, his grandson Thomas Bertram M-P recorded that he died on 19 July.((//Some Australasian Families Descended from Royalty//, ms, n.d. p.5.)) The inscription on the grave confirms that it was the 16th. Thomas Prior's death was registered in the Portsea district in September 1864.((online Death Register; TLM-P, genealogical notes in John & John B. Burke, A// Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland: M to Z//, London: Henry Colburn Publisher, 1846)) TLM-P, the focus of this history, was his elder son. His step-sister wrote to him informing him of his father's death but it took (as was usual) two months to reach him.((TLM-P diary, 13 September 1864)).\\ |
| \\ | \\ |
| {{:t_prior_grave_resize_again.jpg?250|}} A contemporary sketch of Thomas Prior's grave((M-P papers NLA Ms 7801, Box 20/1.)) Click twice to realign. Inscription reads: Sacred to the Memory of Colonel Thomas Murray Prior of Rathdowney Queens County Dublin who died July 16th 1864 aged 73 years. On the reverse side: Sacred to the Memory of Elizabeth Catherine second wife of Colonel Thomas Murray Prior who died Nov 18th Aged 60 years. On one small side is engraved Waterloo; on the other side Peninsula. | {{:t_prior_grave_resize_again.jpg?200|}} A contemporary sketch of Thomas Prior's grave((M-P papers NLA Ms 7801, Box 20/1.)) Click twice to realign. Inscription reads: Sacred to the Memory of Colonel Thomas Murray Prior of Rathdowney Queens County Dublin who died July 16th 1864 aged 73 years. On the reverse side: Sacred to the Memory of Elizabeth Catherine second wife of Colonel Thomas Murray Prior who died Nov 18th Aged 60 years. On one small side is engraved Waterloo; on the other side Peninsula. |
| |
| ===== Two Wives, Two Daughters and Two (surviving) Sons ===== | ===== Two Wives, Two Daughters and Two (surviving) Sons ===== |
| |
| **Summary:** \\ | **Summary:** \\ |
| |Thomas Prior|m (1) [[Jemima Dickson]]| [[Jemima and Louisa]]|and William Amhurst| | |Thomas Prior|m (1) [[Jemima Dickson]]| [[Jemima, William Amhurst, Louisa]]| |
| | |m (2) [[Eliza Skynner]]|and had two sons: TLM-P (the focus of this history) and (another) [[William]].|\\ | | |m (2) [[Eliza Skynner]]|and had two sons: TLM-P (the focus of this history) and (another) [[William]].|\\ |
| \\ | \\ |
| {{:img_1170_enhanced.jpg?300|}}This faded painting((Provenance:T.A. & M.T. M-P)) shows - who? Perhaps Eliza and her two sons? | {{:img_1170_enhanced.jpg?300|}}This faded painting((Provenance:T.A. & M.T. M-P)) shows - who? Perhaps Eliza and her two sons? |
| |
| Is this too a painting of Eliza? {{:jemima_mp_ttmp_enhanced.jpg?300|}}((Provenance: T.A. & M.T. M-P))\\ | Is this too a painting of Eliza? {{:jemima_mp_ttmp_enhanced.jpg?200|}}((Provenance: T.A. & M.T. M-P))\\ |
| \\ | \\ |
| The last portrait is a larger (920 x 640cm) version of the one above.((Provenance: Geoffrey M-P to T.A. M-P.)) This one was damaged by removalists in c.1960s, and has since incurred further damage. {{:jemima_try.jpg?300|}} | The last portrait is a larger (920 x 640cm) version of the one above.((Provenance: Geoffrey M-P to T.A. M-P.)) This one was damaged by removalists in c.1960s, and has since incurred further damage. {{:jemima_try.jpg?200|}} |
| |
| |