Thomas Henry Pyke or "Gentleman"
Pyke, as he was commonly known, was born the eldest son and child
of Thomas Pyke and Catherine Anne (nee Goodman), at the Manor Farm House
in Wootton Rivers, Wiltshire, on the 27th April 1808.
Thomas Henry was followed by eight
siblings : John born 30th June 1809; William born 25th November 1810 but sadly
dying 2 days later on the 27th November 1810; Catherine Anne born 21st February
1812; Robert born 20th July 1813; William born 13th September 1815; Frances
born 4th September 1817; George born 17th September 1819; and Oliver born
23rd December 1822.
The Pyke's line goes back to the mid
1500's, when Henry Pyke bought Rainscombe House from the Earl of Pembroke.
Nothing much is known of the family until approximately the late 1700's when
the Pyke family had two main homes - West Wick House, near Pewsey and the
Manor House Farm at Wootton Rivers, although there were quite a few tracts
of land and dwellings mentioned in wills, in Buckinghamshire, Essex,
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire counties.
Nevertheless, Thomas Henry being the
eldest son, grew up anticipating to inherit all properties from his unmarried
Uncle, Henry Pyke. His Uncle, Henry Pyke died in 1827, leaving
his said property to his teenage nephew in trust. His Father, Thomas
Pyke died in 1832, and by the time that Thomas Henry came of age, he found
that his inheritance consisted of a large number of debts and obligations.
Thomas Henry Pyke decided to emigrate
to the Port Phillip District of New South Wales in Australia.
Glowing reports had been received in
England, as to the golden opportunities which were available there.
All Thomas Henry's surviving siblings emigrated over time starting with his
brothers, George and William, who arrived possibly together in 1839.
George and William took up land jointly at Penny Royal Creek (now called Melton);
being the first to emigrate.
Not a lot is known about Thomas Henry's
whereabouts from the late 1830's until 1842. In May 1837, he signed
a document giving his cousins Timothy and John Goodman, power to administer
his affairs - prior to his leaving the country - it is possible that he travelled
out to Port Phillip to explore the opportunities that might be awaiting him,
before returning to England to settle his affairs.
On the 13th of January 1842, Thomas
Henry Pyke married Sarah Millsom at St. Katherine
Cree Church, in Leadenhall Street London. The following day they set
sail, aboard the "Seppings" a Barque of 343 tons with Captain Rawlings
the master, sailing via the Cape of Good Hope for Australia with Sarah's 18
month old daughter "Elizabeth Sarah". They arrived in Port Phillip,
on the 1st June 1842. They brought with them two servants; a thoroughbred
horses; pure Durham cattle; and prized Berkshire pigs,
In July 1842 Thomas Henry took up
the lease on a run near Ballan, called Morockdong or Gray's Old Run or Upper
Weiriby. This run was approximately 6,500 acres where he grazed some
300 head of cattle and 600 sheep. In 1846 he took up the lease of another
150,000 acres called Simmon's Old Run, adding a further 142,720 acres in
1850 with Morton's Plains Station, and another 16,000 acres when he acquired
Ballanee in 1852.
Thomas Henry became involved in the
life of the new colony. Becoming a Territorial magistrate in 1851. He
was instrumental in establishing and building quarters on his property for
Police Cadets, he also helped to bring out to the settlement a doctor from
Wiltshire Dr. Capewell. In October 1842 his stallion "Young
Necromancer" was judged the best blood stallion in the Pastoral and
Agricultural Societies show and he also became interested in racing.
His stallion stood at stud at Pyke's Station, Penny Royal Creek, where the
cost was Ten Guineas each mare and Five shillings each groom.
On the 2nd September, Thomas Henry announced that he would offer a purse of
Fifty Sovereigns to the owner of the winner of a race for two and three year
olds to be held in 1846 and 1847, for the offspring of Young Necromancer.
However Thomas Henry was a true English
Gentleman. In the old country he kept his hunter and his hounds,
and pursued the fox for recreation. After settling in Port Phillip,
he pinned for his hounds, and so imported a pack. By the early 1840's,
Thomas Henry could be seen in the conventional pink coat and black cap, happily
pursuing kangaroos and dingo's over the plains. By 1845 Thomas Henry
imported "Foxes" into Australia and these quickly became the quarry.
Today foxes are considered vermin in Australia.
Thomas Henry and Sarah's family grew,
with the addition of his first son "Thomas Henry" 27th January 1843.
On this day Thomas Henry planted an Oak Tree on his property - a tree that
still stands today. Catherine Anne born 18th July 1845, Robert
born 26th April 1847, Fanny born April 1849, William Collyer born 1851, Werribee
Robert born 1854, and Eliza Adelaide born 1858.
Tragedy struck the family in 1854,
when fire destroyed the homestead, and Robert then aged 6 died from burns
received. The family moved to Bacchus Marsh, where Werribee Robert
was born, then later that year Thomas Henry moved his family back to England,
where they lived at Purley Lodge, Purley, Berkshire, whilst their home was
being rebuilt in Port Phillip. Here their last child Eliza was born.
Thomas Henry returned to Australia
in 1859, with Sarah and the children returning in 1960. According to
reports of the time, he was very disappointed with the home that had been
rebuilt for his family.
Thomas Henry died on the 12th September
1861 of "Paralysis and afflictions of the brain" (A stroke). Leaving behind
his widow Sarah, and 7 surviving children.
A church probably of the 15th century, St
Andrews was restored in the year 1861 under the direction of and according
to the plans of the eminent Architect G.E. Street, at a cost of approx £1100.
The church was to be re roofed, the bell
turret was added in which are hung 5 bells, al the internal fittings, the
pulpit, prayer dest, lecturn (hand stalls) and sittings in the nave were new.
The stone wall marks the division between the Chancel and the nave.
The cost was in great part defrayed by the
daughter of the late Dr. Stone, Rector of the Parish from 1813-1859, who
contributed £600, St Johns College Cambridge, the Lords of the Manor
contributed £200 each, the Marquise of Alisbury, a landowner in the
Parish £100, the Rev. W. Bradribb who succeeded Dr. Stone as rector,
£100 and the remainder was provided by a rate made by the Parish.
Better known these days, is Jack Spratt's
clock. The genius, who when plans for the new church clock being
built to commemorate George V's coronation, were found to be too expensive,
volunteered to make a church clock from odds and ends. This he
did. With a broom handle for its pendulum, a cattle trough for its
face, and a blacksmith's hammer for its striker. On the face of one side
of the clock, he placed Letters instead of numbers, these spell "Glory be
to God". It took Jack Spratt 4 months to complete and achieved
national fame for the village when it was unveiled in 1911. It still
works, having undergone restoration in 1977.
Born I don't know where......Sarah is my mystery
lady.
The first known recorded fact is in Pewsey,
Wiltshire, where in 1840 she gave birth to a daughter, baptised Sarah Millsom
and then registered Elizabeth Millsom. Nothing else is known of her
until, on the 13th January 1842, at St Katherine Cree Church, in Leadenhall
Street London, Sarah married Thomas Henry Pyke. The following
day they set sail for Australia with Elizabeth.
Mr and Mrs Pyke and
Sarah's daughter Elizabeth Sarah arrived in Melbourne on the 1st of June
1842.
Sarah records on her
marriage certificate, that her father is "Stephen Millsom, Gentleman of
Wiltshire".
However no trace of Stephen or Sarah has been
found to date.
All records in Australia
either mention her Father or just Wiltshire. There is no mention of
her Mother in any records that I have found.
The only other reference
I can find is in the 1841 census for Pewsey. There, a family of Millsom’s
are listed, with a Stephen Millsom as head, his wife Charlotte, son Stephen,
daughters & an Elizabeth who is aged 9 months. This would
be approximately the right age. In the 1851 census they are again
listed, but no mention of the young Elizabeth. I have searched
the parish records, and there doesn’t seem to be any death recorded for Elizabeth.
So I am assuming that the child listed in the 1841 census was not their daughter,
but instead their Granddaughter, and that she travelled to Australia when
her mother Sarah married Thomas Henry Pyke, and then became Elizabeth Sarah
Pyke. [confusing isn’t it]. If she was their Granddaughter - then we
assume Sarah is their daughter, however I can not find any proof of this.
Anyone who can help
unravel this mystery please contact me.
December 1998