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Thomas Headington (c. 1763–1798)

Thomas Heddington (c.1763-1798), a labourer, was found guilty on 4 July 1785 at Abingdon, Berkshire, of breaking open a bureaux and stealing six or seven pounds in cash, a wooden dish containing a great many halfpence and farthings, and two large silver spoons. Sentenced to 7 years transportation, he had been sent to the Ceres hulk by mid 1786 and was discharged to the Alexander in January 1787. He arrived at Sydney in January 1788 as part of the First Fleet.

Headington (as Thomas Eddington) was sent to Norfolk Island on the Supply in March 1790. He married Elizabeth Thompson in November 1791 in a mass wedding ceremony on the island conducted by Reverend Richard Johnson. In 1792 (as Thomas Addington) he was granted 12 acres; in 1794 the couple were recorded as having one child.

Thomas Headington died on 13 January 1798 at Norfolk Island, survived by his wife and two children.

information from

  • Mollie Gillen, The Founders of Australia: A Biographical Dictionary of the First Fleet (1989), p 170
  • Cathy Dunn, 'Thomas Eddington – Heddington – Headington, Convict Alexander 1788,' in HMS Sirius, https://hmssirius.com.au/thomas-eddington-heddington-headington-convict-alexander-1788/, — accessed 13 November 2020
  • John Boyd, 'Thomas Headington Convict ''Alexander" (c1763?-1798)', Fellowship of First Fleeters website, http://www.fellowshipfirstfleeters.org.au/thomasheadington.htm — accessed 13 November 2020

Citation details

'Headington, Thomas (c. 1763–1798)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/headington-thomas-31253/text38641, accessed 29 March 2024.

© Copyright People Australia, 2012

Life Summary [details]

Alternative Names
  • Eddington, Thomas
  • Heddington, Thomas
  • Haddington, Thomas
  • Addington, Thomas
Birth

c. 1763
Bray, Berkshire, England

Death

13 January, 1798 (aged ~ 35)
Norfolk Island, Australia

Cause of Death

unknown

Cultural Heritage

Includes subject's nationality; their parents' nationality; the countries in which they spent a significant part of their childhood, and their self-identity.

Passenger Ship
Occupation
Key Events
Key Places
Convict Record

Crime: theft
Sentence: 7 years