William Thomas is said to have
been
born in St
Keverne, Cornwall on July 1, 1804 [1].
Little is known of his family or early life [2].
On October 25, 1825 in St Keverne, Cornwall he married Mary
Coplin. Mary Coplin was born in St Keverne, Cornwall in 1803, the first-born daughter of Henry Coplin and Mary (nee Rule). She was baptized at St Keverne on 17 Apr 1803.
The William and Mary had ten children (William (1825), Mary Ann (1828), Henry (1830), Eliza (1832), Jane (1834), Elizabeth (1834 - died as infant), John Rule (1837), Elizabeth (1843), Thomasine (1844) and Francis (1848)). All were baptized in St Keverne. Prior to immigration the family were living at Roskillygate (Skillegate), near St Keverne, Cornwall. William's occupation is given as farm labourer in the 1841 Census [2] and in the immigration records (1853) [1].
In 1853, William, Mary and their seven of their children (Mary Ann, Eliza, Jane, John Rule, Elizabeth, Thomasine and Francis) travelled to Australia aboard the Blundell. The ship departed from Plymouth on January 17, 1853 and arrived in Sydney on May 5, 1853. William and Mary's two eldest sons (William and Henry) had arrived in NSW some four years previous aboard the Harbinger.
