Thomas Harper
M| Type | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Thomas Harper |
| Born | |
| Gender | M |
| Died | |
| Buried |
| Type | Value |
|---|---|
| Father | Thomas Giblett Harper |
| Mother | Margaret Tapper d. (1839, Sydney, Australia) |
| Type | Value |
|---|---|
| Family | Frances Holland Hopkins |
| Married | 1834-07-31, Sydney, Australia |
| Children | 1 Anna Maria Harper b. (1838-03-15) d. (1923-05-08, Bathurst, N.S.W., Australia) 2 Fanny Harper d. (1835) 3 George Harper b. (1839) d. (1841) 4 George Walter Harper b. (1841) d. (1844) |
| Type | Value |
|---|---|
| Family | Mary Ann d. (1833, Sydney, Australia) |
| Children | 1 Thomas Hedges Harper b. (1829, Sydney, Australia) 2 John Harper b. (1831, Sydney, Australia) |
Notes
13 Nov 2010
Thomas, was eaten by the cannibals in the Myree (Marree or Mare) Island Massacre about 17 Dec 1843. This island is part of the Loyalty Islands, now New Caledonia. This group of islands were renown for cannibalism. This death is recorded in many ways, including a notice in the Sydney Morning Herald on 22 March 1844, and a letter held by Dorothy Hyden in Colorado Springs written many years later by John Beer Paddison to his sister, Julia Curtis.
28 Oct 2010
Hi Roger
Good to hear from you.
The Dorothy I referred to was Dorothy Hydott in Colorado Springs, CO.). Apparently that was where Julia and her husband went to. Julia came out to Australia with the Paddisons, married here, then went back to Wales and from there to Colorado.
The Mare Island (also called Myree Island) is part of the Loyalty Islands in the South Seas. It had large sandalwood plantations and Thomas Harper went there to load Sandalwood to take it to China. It’s reported in the Sydney Morning Herald and other papers.
That particular area was well known for cannibalism and the British Navy warned boats to stay away. Cannibalism was fairly rife in the South Seas areas, also in parts of Australia.
Cheers,
Jill Colwell New South Wales, Australia
I1211