DEASON - January 2021 - Person Sheet
DEASON - January 2021 - Person Sheet
NameThomas DEASON , GG Grandson, M
Birth14 September 1859, Golden Square, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, (21496)
Death2 February 1928, Sunshine, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, (3816)
Burial4 February 1928, Footscray, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
FatherJohn (John Jenkins) DEASON , M (1829-1915)
MotherCatherine McANDREW , F (1836-1921)
Spouses
Birth6 April 1856, St Just In Penwith, Cornwall, England
Burial24 January 1910, Creswick Cemetery, Creswick, Victoria, Australia
DeathJanuary 1910, Smeaton, Victoria, Australia, (3383)
FatherJohn POLLARD , M (~1827-1890)
Marriage15 August 1878, Residence Of John Pollard, Moliagul, Victoria, Australia, (3145)
 Esther Amelia , F (1881-1950)
 Lillian Emily (Lil) , F (1884-1973)
 Thomas , M (~1884-1884)
 John , M (1888-1963)
 Mary Beatrice (Trix) , F (1890-1982)
 Thomas (Tom) , M (1892-1957)
 Hugh , M (1894-1905)
 James (Jack) (Jim) , M (1900-1981)
Birth1878, Smeaton, Victoria, Australia, (19173)
BurialDecember 1937, Footscray Cemetery, Footscray, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Death4 December 1937, Sunshine, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, (10746)
FatherLaughlin BYRNS , M (1829-1896)
MotherSarah FOLEY , F
Marriage17 April 1915, St Patrick’s Cathedral, Catholic, Ballarat, Victoria, Australia
ChildrenEdward Thomas , M (1918-1973)
Notes for Thomas DEASON
Probate:
226/805 usual residence Sunshine, occupation pither, (could be either fitter or pitter), died 2nd February 1928, P 15th Apr 1929.

Notes for Thomas DEASON:3
Thomas was born in 1859; on the Bendigo goldfields at Golden Square. He probably followed his father, John as he moved from gold prospecting to farming; from Golden Square, Bendigo west to Woodstock, where John had a farm, around 1861,, back again to Bendigo in 1862, to Welshman’s Reef, 1862, back to Woodstock in 1863, and finally to Moliagul, possibly temporarily around 1862, but certainly permanently by 1864.

From 1864 to 1869 the Deason family lived at Bulldog Gully, Moliagul where Thomas’s father prospected for gold and farmed land in partnership with Richard Oates. At some stage soon after the discovery of the Welcome Stranger nugget in 1869 the family moved to the farm called The Springs, just outside Moliagul. Thomas probably stayed here until he married in 1878.

Thomas and Esther married 15 August 1878, at the “residence of Mr John Pollard” (Esther’s father); Thomas was noted as: age: 18 years; “bachelor”; “miner”; born Sandhurst [Bendigo], residence: Moliagul; parents: John Deason, a “farmer” and, incorrectly, Elizabeth McAndrew (should be Catherine McAndrew). Esther was noted as: age: 22 years; “spinster”; born: St Just, Cornwall; residence: Moliagul, parents: John Pollard, a “miner” and Elizabeth Williams. They were married by Rev Charles Dubourg, Wesleyan Minister, witnesses: Ellen Hedger and Richard Pollard. Note: Richard Pollard was Esther’s brother.
Esther was born 1856, St Just, Cornwall. Her parents, John Pollard and Elizabeth Williams and their 11 children (including Esther) arrived in Melbourne, 12 September 1868, on the SS Great Britain. John and Elizabeth had one more child born at Creswick in 1871.

Esther’s grandparents, John Pollard (senior) and Esther Eddy Grenfell, had already come to Victoria in 1855 on the ship Caldera with four of their children. They appear to have lived in Madron until around 1835 when they are recorded as living in St Just. In 1841 and 1842 they were in Cararack and in 1845, back at St Just. Note: John Deason (born 1829) was living in Cararack in 1841 and was of similar age to John and Esther’s oldest sons – John Pollard, born 1827 and William Pollard, born 1831. (For more information see entry for John Deason 445).

John Pollard (junior) joined with John Deason, Thomas’s father, and 5 other shareholders in 1878 to form a mining company:
Aurora Quartz Mining Company Limited: formed 10 September 1878; mining at Wayman’s Reef, Moliagul; 7 shareholders holding a total of 15,000 shares at 10/- per share; total paid up capital £7,500. Shareholders included: John Deason, Quartz Crusher of Moliagul; 7,500 shares (£3,250); John Pollard, miner of Moliagul; 1,500 shares (£750) and his brother, Richard Pollard, miner of Moliagul; 1,500 shares (£750).

In 1879 Thomas took out a lease on a small portion of land:
Application for Licences … Approved
Licence no. 1457 D: Thomas Deason; area: 0 acres 1 rood 0 perches; Parish: Moliagul; Allotment 5; Section 5; dated 1 July 1879, payment: £0/5/0; survey charge: £1/0/0; licence fee: £0/2/6, total: £1/7/6, payable: Dunolly.

In 1879 Thomas joined with three of his brothers-in-law and 12 other shareholders to form another mining company:
She Oak Gold Mining Company Limited: formed 25 June 1879; mining at She Oak Reef, Moliagul; 16 shareholders holding a total of 24,000 shares at 10/- per share; total paid up capital £12,000. Shareholders included: Thomas Deason, miner of Moliagul, 900 shares (£450); John Pollard, miner of Moliagul, 1,200 shares (£600); his brother, James Pollard, miner of Moliagul; 1,200 shares (£600) and their brother, Richard Pollard, miner of Moliagul; 1,200 shares (£600).
Note: other shareholders included Thomas Flynn, schoolmaster of Moliagul and his father, John Flynn, schoolmaster of Macedon. They were, respectively, the father and grandfather of Rev. John Flynn, born Moliagul 1880, founder of the Australian Inland Mission and Royal Flying Doctor Service. The Flynn house was across the road from John and Catherine Deason’s home and shop in Moliagul. Thomas James Deason (1909-2004) was born in the Flynn house.

This mining venture was officially gazetted in June 1879:
Mining Notices
Application to Register ‘She Oak Gold Mining Co’
Place of Operations: She Oak Reef, Moliagul
Registered Office: Broadway, Dunolly
Nominal capital: £12,000
Manager: William Henry Langler
Dated: 25 June 1879
Note: Gazette also included a list of shareholders – same as listed above.

In 1879 the family was probably living in Moliagul where their first child, Elizabeth was born. By 1881, they may have moved to Burke’s Flat, a gold mining town approximately 12 kilometres North-west of Moliagul on the Burke’s Flat-Wehla Rd, where daughter, Esther, was born.
Again, in 1883 Thomas Deason and John Pollard invested in another mine:
Inkerman Quartz Company Limited: formed 14 August 1883; mining at Inkerman; 64 shareholders holding a total of 20,000 shares at 5/- per share; total paid up capital £5,000. Shareholders included: Thomas Deason, engine driver of Goldsborough, 300 shares (£75); and John Pollard, miner of Goldsborough, 300 shares (£75).

The Government Mining Register of 1884 notes Thomas as a licensed engine driver at Goldsborough (approximately half-way between Moliagul and Dunolly). Thomas’s Certificate of Service as Engine-Driver was issued 30 October 1884. And, in the same year, a son, Thomas, was born and died in Dunolly and later that year another daughter, Lillian, was also recorded as born in Dunolly.

By 1886 Thomas was working in the gold mines of Walhalla in eastern Victoria and where their next child, Helen was born,. They were still in Walhalla in 1888 at the time their next child, John, was born and in 1890, when Mary Beatrice (Trix) was born.

In July 1890 Thomas was recorded as a shareholder in a new gold mining venture:
Mining Notices
Homeward Bound Gold Mining Company Limited
Place of Operations: Walhalla
Registered Office: 74 Ferrars St, South Melbourne
Nominal capital: £3000
Manager: John Keam jnr
Dated: 17 July 1890.
Thomas was recorded as holding 125 (of the 6000) shares, his occupation: engine-driver and residence: Walhalla.

Again, the family moved to another gold mining site. This time, to Foster where their son, Tom, was born in 1892. And by 1899 they may have been in Ballarat where son Hugh was born.

By 1900 the family had moved to the gold mining town of Creswick where son, James, was born that year. The 1903 Commonwealth Electoral Roll noted Thomas’s occupation as: engine-driver; Esther’s as: home duties and their residence: Clunes Road [North Creswick].

The family was still living in Creswick in 1905, when son Hugh died, and in 1907 when daughter, Esther, left for Western Australia.
By 1909 Thomas and Esther had moved to Ullina, a small locality about 10 kilometres east of Clunes. The 1909 Commonwealth Electoral Roll noted Thomas’s occupation as: “engine-driver”; Esther’s as: “home duties” and their residence: Ullina. It was probably during their time at Ullina that Esther died in 1910 at nearby Smeaton. At the time of Esther’s burial, 24 January 1910, at Creswick, she was noted as age: 53 years, residence: Ullina, occupation “engineer’s wife”, buried: Methodist section 7, #1236.

By 1914, Thomas, now a widower, had moved to Newbridge. The 1914 Commonwealth Electoral Roll noted Thomas’s occupation as: “engineer” and residence: Newbridge.

Thomas was noted as an “engineer” at the time of the marriages of his daughter Mary Beatrice (Trix) in 1911 and again in 1928 and son Thomas (Tom) in 1913.

In 1915 Thomas married Anna Agatha Byrns. At the time of their marriage Thomas was noted as a “widower”, age: 55 years, birthplace: Bendigo, occupation: “engineer”, residence: Castlemaine, parents: John Deason, “farmer”, and Catherine McAndrew. Anna was noted as a “spinster”, age: 37 years, birthplace: Ullina, occupation: “domestic”, residence: Pyramid Hill, parents: Loughlin Byrns, “farmer”, and Sarah Foley. They were married by Rev. Patrick Kennelly, witnesses, Timothy Byrns and Rosetta Newton.

Thomas and Anna then moved to Sunshine, Melbourne where their son, Edward was born in 1918. Both the 1919 and 1924 Commonwealth Electoral Rolls noted Thomas’s occupation as: “engine fitter” and Anna’s as: “home duties” and their residence: Anderson St, Sunshine,.

At the time of Thomas’s death in 1928 he was noted as a labourer of Sunshine, Melbourne. His grave is at Footscray cemetery, Melbourne – # 261(1), in the Catholic section. Thomas’s probate record notes his residence as Sunshine and occupation “pither” [sic – could be “pitcher” or “fitter” or “pitter”].

After Thomas’s death Anna continued to live in Sunshine. The 1931 and 1937 Commonwealth Electoral Rolls noted Anna’s occupation as: “home duties” and residence: Anderson St, Sunshine, .

Anna died in 1937 and was buried in the Footscray Cemetery, Melbourne: grave # 230, Catholic section.


Acknowledgements:
• Rick Smith, Launceston Tasmania, Australia
• Shirlee Pollard, Greensborough, Melbourne, Victoria
• Joyce Tuohey, Quambatook, Victoria, Australia
• Billy Warburton, Melbourne, Australia
• Mavis Coghlan, Upper Swan, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
• Leonie Ackley, Como, Perth, Western Australia
• Iolanthe Cock, Denham, Western Australia, Australia
• Janet & Bill Storer, Charlestown, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
• Linley Hooper, Victoria, Australia
• Jean Harvey, Floreat, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
• Linley Scott, Busselton, Western Australia, Australia
• Margaret Deason, Daisy Hill, Victoria, Australia

References:
Births, baptisms, marriages, deaths & burials:
• Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages (Vic), 1878, Marriage Certificate, Thomas Deason & Esther Eddy Pollard (ref – D_Doc_#045)
• Digger, 2005, Death Index Victoria 1921-1985, extract for Deason (ref – D_Doc_#104)
• Digger, 2005, Marriage Index, Victoria 1921-1942, extract for Deason (ref – D_Doc_#105)
• Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Vic), 2001, Historical Index (1855-1920), extract for Deason (ref – D_Doc_#106)
• Genealogical Society of Victoria, 1988, Victorian Cemetery indexes, for Deason (transcript, Greg Campbell 1988) (ref – D_Doc_#131)
• Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Vic), 1859, Birth certificate, Thomas Deason (ref – D_Doc_#133)
• Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (WA), 1911, Marriage certificate, Mary Beatrice Deason & Malcolm McLeod (ref – D_Doc_#169)
• Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (WA), 1928, Marriage certificate, Mary Beatrice McLeod & Henry Thomas Belcher (ref – D_Doc_#170)
• Annette Donohue, 2003, Bendigo Independent 1862-1865, Inquests, book 1, p 29 (ref – D_Doc_#175)
• Australian Institute of Genealogical Studies, 2002, AIGS Cemetery Records, extract for Deason, 12 August 2008 (ref – D_Doc_#245)
• Linley Hooper, 2010, Genealogical Society of Victoria – Vic Families (member's) record, extract for Merlyn Robertson (ref – D_Doc_#366)
• Cornwall On-line Parish Clerks, 2011, Marriage – details of record, extract for John Pollard & Elizabeth Williams, 1848 (ref – D_Doc_#517)
• Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages (Vic), 1915, Marriage Certificate, Thomas Deason & Anna Agatha Byrns (ref – D_Doc_#663)
• Public Records Office (Vic), 1840-1985, Victorian Inquest Indexes, checked for Deason
• Marjory Knight, 2000, Inquest Index: Victoria 1840-1985, index for Hugh Deason, 1905
• Annette O’Conner & Bev Hanson, c1993, Where they lie: early Burials on the Bendigo Goldfields 1852 – 1870, p 97
• Linley Hooper, 2010, Correspondence
• Creswick Cemetery Trust (Wendy Ohlsen), 2012, Correspondence regarding burial of Hugh Deason 1905 & Esther Eddy Deason 1910
Family trees & history:
• Billy Warburton, 1969, Deason Family Tree (ref – D_Doc_#014 & 015)
• probably Venus Free (nee Deason), c1967, Deason Family Tree (ref – D_Doc_#016)
• Venus Free (nee Deason), c1940, Deason Family Tree (ref – D_Doc_#017)
• Shirlee Pollard, c2005, Pollard Family Tree (ref – D_Doc_#083)
• Rick Smith, 2005, Deason Family Tree (ref – D_Doc_#136)
• Rick Smith, 2011, Deason Family Tree (ref – D_Doc_#408)
• Linley Scott, 2011, Correspondence
• Jean Harvey, 2012, Correspondence
Other information:
• John Tully, 1990, Map of gold finds & mines – Dunolly, Tarnagulla & Moliagul (ref – D_Doc_#060)
• Greg Campbell, 2005, Victorian Electoral Roll 1856, extract for Pollard (ref – D_Doc_#092)
• Dunolly Historical & Arts Society, 19??, The Welcome Stranger Nugget, What do we know? (ref – D_Doc_#165)
• John Edward Deason, 1938, Correspondence, to George Wilfred Deason (ref – D_Doc_#190)
• Government Gazette (Vic) 21 January 1861, p 124; 21 October 1862, p 2050; 13 June 1879, p 1510; 27 June 1879, p 1679; 25 July 1890, p 3030 (ref – D_Doc_#244)
• Marion R McAdie, 2006, Mining Shareholders Listing 1857-1886 (Vic), extract for Deason (ref – D_Doc_#255)
• Author unknown, 1869, Largest Nugget in the World, The Welcome Stranger, published in Dunolly & Betbetshire Express, 12 February, 1869 (ref – D_Doc_#269)
• Commonwealth Electoral Office, 1903, Electoral Roll for North Creswick, 1909, Clunes, Vic, 1914, Marong & Dunolly, Vic, 1919 & 1924, Footscray North, Vic, 1931 & 1937, Sunshine, Vic (ref – D_Doc_#290)
• Newspaper unknown, 1907, Central State School No 122 (ref – D_Doc_#653)
• Board of Examiners for Engine-Drivers (Vic), 1884, Certificate of Service as Engine-Driver, for Thomas Deason (ref – D_Doc_#666)
• Joyce Tuohey, 2005, Correspondence
Mavis Coghlan, 2007, Discussions, including sighting of Marriage certificate – Thomas Deason and
Notes for Esther Eddy (Spouse 1)
The POLLARD information came from:

Shirlee Pollard
22 Mine Street,
Greensborough, Victoria, 3088.

Phone: 039 435 6167
email: [email protected]

More About Esther Eddy POLLARD:
Burial: 24 Jan 1910, Creswick cemetery, Victoria, Australia. (Source: Aigs Cemetery records.)


Esther Eddy POLLARD arrived in Melbourne, Victoria on board the “SS Great Britain” 12th September 1868 with her parents and 10 siblings.3 The ship left Liverpool, England on 8th July with 542 passengers.
Notes for Anna Agatha (Agatha) (Spouse 2)
More About Anna Agatha BYRNS:
Probate: Has Probate (Source: Probate indexes.)

Her grave records the date of death as 4 December 1937, however, Victorian Death Indexes indicate it to be 3 December 1937.3

Buried Footscray, Melbourne, Victoria, grave #1261(2) in Catholic section.3
Last Modified 7 December 2013Created 3 January 2021 using Reunion for Macintosh
Created on 3 January 2021.
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