Send an e-mail to: Amanda TaylorSend an e-mail to: Amanda TaylorA Story of an Early Pioneer Family, Researched and written by present-day members of the Family, themselves.
The following article was written and researched by Grace Douglass & Laurel Legge and published in their book 'Along the Windsor Richmond Road' 1985 (ISBN 0 9589831 0 0 and ISBN 0 9589831 3 5) and is subject to copyright. Written permission is held from the late author Grace Douglass for the writer to publish contents via the Internet. However, although this book is in the public domain, it still remains copyrighted material and may not be copied for any reason without permission. I do not have the right to give permission to others to reprint the book. I was only given permission to put it on line. All copyrights stay with Grace Douglass & Laurel Legge and whoever they appointed, for control of the book. Under no circumstances may it be reprinted for profit.
Extractions of parts of the information for personal use with references to the book as the source is encouraged.
Who was Thomas Hoskisson who married Sarah Pigg and fathered the three children -- Mary, Thomas and John? So many researchers ask this question. So many dedicated experienced researchers have endeavoured to answer it, and so far as I am aware no one has come up with the answer, although we do offer one suggestion, further along in this chapter. However, in the light of what we do know, we feel that no one will ever possibly know for sure. We do know when he died, where he died and how he died, but not 'who' he was, although the candidates would appear to narrow down to only two.
There were to convicts of similar name who arrived in the Colony early enough to marry Sarah Pigg in 1795 and become the Father of her three children. The first was Thomas Hodkiss/Hodgkins who arrived on the "William and Ann" in 1791 and the second was Thomas Hodgkins who arrived on the "Britannia" the same year.
One of these men married Sarah Pigg in 1795 and was later killed by the natives in August 1799 before his third child was born. As the remains were buried on the river-bank where they were found and not in consecrated ground there remains no record in a Parish Register which may have also included a record of the vessel in which he had reached the Colony, as is quite often seen with these early burials. The second was buried as Thomas Hodgkins (which could apply to either) at Parramatta on 23/7/1792. Although his burial was entered in a Register the entry does not include the vessel on which he came. So very early in the Colony's History, before we had any proper records, before the major Musters of 1806, 1811 and 1814 which are our usual main guidelines. So most present-day researchers feel that we have come to a 'dead-end' with Thomas and will be able to progess no further.
'Thomas' who arrived on the 'William and Ann" was sentenced at Maidstone on 27th July, 1787 and 'Thomas' who arrived on the "Britannia" was sentenced at Warwick on 23/3/1790. Both men received sentences of 7 years.
Thomas Hoskisson married Sarah Pigg at St. Phillip's on 30/1/1795. The couple were married with the permission of Captain William Patterson who was in charge of the Colony at that time and the witnesses were Henry Kable and his wife Susannah. None of the parties were able to sign their names. Several years before this marriage took place, Sarah Pigg was a witness at the wedding of Jesse Mulcock who was later to become Godfather to her second son, John. The other witness at the wedding was a 'Richard Hodgson'. We have been unable to find a record of a Richard Hodgson arriving in the Colony prior to the date of the wedding (27/9/1791) and wonder if this could have been Thomas Hoskisson and the name 'Richard' entered in error. If we are correct in our thoughts, then our Thomas Hoskisson came on the "William and Ann", as the "Britannia" did not reach the Colony until after the wedding had taken place.
Sarah Pigg was a convict who arrived on the "Mary Ann" in 1791. Sarah was tried at Hertford on 3rd March 1790 and given a sentence of Life. Sarah was later granted an absolute pardon on 27/6/1798.
Thomas and Sarah had a Family of three children -- Mary 20/5/1795, Thomas 20/5/1797 and John 14/9/1799. By the time the thid child was born, however, Thomas was already deceased, having been killed by the natives.
Once again we are grateful to Mr. Boughton for possibly pin-pointing the locality where Thomas Hoskisson and his companion, John Winbow were actually killed, even though he (or his informant) was in error when they stated that Thomas met his death after his son John was born. We quote -- "Speaking of the death of old Mr. Hoskisson (or rather, young Mr. Hoskisson, for he could not have been very old when he met his tragic end), I have heard his son John say he was only a boy when the sad even occured. I have seen him point to the Yellow Rock in the Grose Mountains and heard him say 'That is where my father met his death'. This rock is a conspicuous landmark, and is plainly visible from Richmond".
Although the Family Folk Lore of the Hoskisson Family claims that Hoskisson and Winbow were searching for new pasture land or a way across the mountain range, Historical Records of New South Wales state that they were hunting for game, which is not only the Official reason but the more plausible one at that time. John Winbow was also a convict who had arrived on the "Scarborough 2" in 1790.
From information given at a later murder trial of five white men which took place after two natives were killed as a reprisal for the killing of the two white men, we find reference to the effect that at the time of his death, Thomas was a 'settler' at the Hawkesbury, although there appears to be no record of his receiving a Grant of land. There was also references to his 'home' at the Hawkesbury. One of the prisoners on trial for the murder refers to Thomas as 'his master', so had evidently been employed by him, this was the prisoner William Timms.
It would appear that about the last week in August, 1799 thomas Hoskisson and John Winbow had gone to the Grose Mountains hunting. Although Thomas had nothing to fear from the natives and he would appear to have been on good terms with them and constantly gave them handouts of food and showed them other kindnesses, Winbow was not a favourite of them as he was said to have been living with a native girl and this had caused hostility between himself and other members of the girl's tribe. Whilst the two white men were searching unsuccessfully for game they met up with a party of natives who had offered to help them in their hunt the following day. The men camped that night together and had hunted the following day as promised. At the end of the day they had eaten an evening meal together and then after the two white men had rolled themselves in their blankets and settled down to sleep the natives had jumped them and killed them with a type of spear called a 'dowell'. When the two men did not return to their homes in the Hawkesbury within a reasonable time a party was sent out to search for them and later a member of the search party, Jonas Archer, describing the discovery of the two bodies stated == "I did go out and saw said bodies naked -- there was wood over them -- both were speared in the bodies and mangled, their clothes, provisions, arms and blankets were taken from them".
About three weeks later a group of three natives came to the farm of a settler named Forrester at Cornwallis, supposedly to return Thomas Hoskisson's gun, which they claimed they had found. A number of settlers detained the three men, or rather three boys as the youngest was later said to have been no more than 13 years of age. They tied their hands behind their backs and put ropes around their necks and had then set about questioning them about the events of the evening or evenings three weeks previously when their two companions had been slain. The three natives alleged that although they had slept with the party the first evening and hunted with them the next day, they had not been present when the murders had been committed, but had later found Thomas' musket and were now returning it. Later that night under cover of darkness, the eldest of the three natives escaped, but the two younger ones were shot and run through with a cutlass.
Five men were taken into custody for the crime -- Edward Powell, Simon Freebody, James Metcalfe, William Timms and William Butler.
The killings took place on 18th September 1799 and the five men were brought to trial on 14th October 1799. The trial lasted for four days and in the course of given evidence Edward Powell stated that the natives had been killed at the request of Sarah Hoskisson the widow of the deceased Thomas Hoskisson who had been killed by natives some three weeks previously.
The men were found guilt of killing the natives, and although their crimewas strongly condemned, they were not punished. The trial of these five men is recorded in both "Historical Records of New South Wales" and "Historical Records of Australia" and in these accounts other variations have been used for the spelling of the names 'Hoskisson' and 'Winbow'. To make the story easier for present-day members of the Family to understand I have used the spelling of the name as used by the next generation of the Hoskisson Family and have adopted the name under which John Winbow appears to have been transported. (In the Historical Records they are referred to as 'Hodgkinson' and 'Wimbow'.
In November 1799, possibly as a compensation for the loss of her husband, Sarah Hoskisson was granted 60 acres of land at Petersham Hill, by Governor Hunter.
On the 4th July 1803 Sarah Hoskisson remarried, her second husband being Thomas Upton, to whom she already had one, or possibly two children. (For details of this marriage and the remainder of the life of Sarah Pigg, see the section relating to Thomas Upton).
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