Thomas Cox
Contents
Background
Thomas Cox was born in 1832 at Chelsea London the son of William Cox and Jane Hatmoore. He came to Australia as a sailor and jumped ship in Melbourne in the early 1850s. He headed straight for the goldfields.
Goldfields Involvement, 1854
Was a miner at Eureka and managed to escape arrest by hiding in a deserted mineshaft after the battle, along with Sandy, Alexander McLaren. Catherine McLaren brought food to the group after the battle and when they were in hiding.
Post 1854 Experiences
Thomas married Catherine McLaren on 2 January 1855 at the Presbyterian Church which was then in a tent on Bakery Hill. Family oral tradition stated that there were so many people attending the wedding that a hole had to be cut in the tent for the young couple to leave. After living in Colac for a period the family moved to Woods Point with James and Jessie Rae (James was a baker in Ballarat at the time of the Eureka uprising but took no part in the rebellion). They were later joined by Catherine's father, Duncan McLaren. The couple had 10 children, a daughter born 1856 Colac in 1856, Jane, born in 1858 at Larpent St (married John James Raymond in 1883) and died in 1924 at Ascot Vale; Ellen, born in 1862 at Colac (married Francis Carland in 1888 and died on 10 June 1936 at Coburg, buried at Fawkner Cemetery in Church of England ground M 3782; Elizabeth born in 1865 at Woods Point (married Charles Babham in 1888, married secondly Gerald Victor McMillan in 1919 and died in 1949 at Mansfield; Catherine born in 1867 at Woods Point (married Edwin Mills in 1889 and died in 1941 at Bright; Thomas born in 1869 at woods Point and died in 1930 at East Melbourne; Jessie born in 1872 at woods Point died in 1873 aged 17 months; Jessie born in 1874 at Woods Point (married Alf Macmillan Ralph in 1894 and die din 1898 at Woods Point; William born in 1876 at Woods Point and died in 1937 at Melbourne and Edward born in 1876 at woods Point died in 1908 at Woods Point.
Thomas Cox worked at the Little Comet mine owned by his son-in-law. In an accident in 1891 he slipped and fell into th main shaft and died later in the Woods Point Hospital.[1]
See also
Further Reading
Corfield, J.,Wickham, D., & Gervasoni, C. The Eureka Encyclopaedia, Ballarat Heritage Services, 2004.
References
- ↑ Wickham, Gervasoni & Corfield, The Eureka Encyclopaedia, BHSPublishing, 2004, pp128-129; Notes from Zena Hafner
External links
