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Thomas Chaseling (c. 1772–1847)

Thomas Chaseling (c.1772-1847) was found guilty (as Thomas Chaseland) on 13 April 1791 at the Old Bailey, London, of the theft of 230 handkerchiefs valued at over 40 shillings. His death sentence was commuted to life transportation. Aged 20, he arrived in Sydney in October 1792 aboard the Royal Admiral. 

Chaseling received a conditional pardon in 1801 and was made an overseer of convicts at Toongabbie. By 1806 he had a grant of 30 acres of land at Windsor which he was farming. In 1806 he was appointed a constable for the area below Little 'Cateye' Creek.

Chaseling had a son Tommy with an Aboriginal woman (perhaps Goomeereewah (Gooreedeeana), an Eora woman) in the late 1790s or early 1800s. He married his partner Margaret McMahon on 29 November 1812 at St Matthew's Windsor; the couple already had five children, a sixth was born in 1815. William Douglas, Mary Doran and Mathew Hughes were witnesses to the marriage.

Thomas Chaseling died on 22 November 1847 at Pitt Town, New South Wales.

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Citation details

'Chaseling, Thomas (c. 1772–1847)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/chaseling-thomas-17198/text36665, accessed 11 October 2024.

© Copyright People Australia, 2012

Life Summary [details]

Alternative Names
  • Chaseland, Thomas
  • Choseland, Thomas
  • Chesland, Thomas
  • Chasling, Thomas
  • Choseland, Thomas
Birth

c. 1772
London, Middlesex, England

Death

22 November, 1847 (aged ~ 75)
Pitt Town, Sydney, New South Wales, 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
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Social Issues
Convict Record

Crime: theft (house)
Sentence: death
Commuted To: life
Court: Old Bailey, London
Trial Date: 1791

Post-transportation

Children: Yes (7)