Thomas TABER was born 10 May 1763 St.Sepulchre, London came to Australia as a reprieved convict on a conditional pardon. He was a teacher and parish clerk, was born on 10 May 1763 in London, he married Frances Sarah MEDHURST 1767-1849 in Hackney on the 12 January 1786.
He arrived in Sydney on 2 June 1797 on the ship 'Ganges' with his wife and three children, Deborah b: 2 May 1786. Frances Sarah b:21 September 1789 and Thomas b: 6 February 1792.
Two other children, James 1798-1872 and George 1800-1885, were born in the colony. There were 10 children in total but only these 5 survived.
Thomas was granted an absolute pardon in 1803.
Although a watch-finisher by trade he was immediately employed as a teacher at the school established in his church by Richard JOHNSON, and was an instant success. His consistent and satisfactory work won the appreciation of Johnson and an award of ?10 a year from the Society for Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. After the church was burned down in October 1798, the school was conducted under very unsatisfactory conditions, first in the Court House and then in 'an old Store House, very cold and damp'. Taber carried on steadfastly and was rewarded with the additional position of parish clerk in 1800.
In 1802 he was transferred to Parramatta, but was back in Sydney in 1805. Taber reopened the school in rented premises; it was given some government assistance, but in every other way was a private school.
Governor Lachlan Macquarie gave the full status of government employees to teachers so this enabled Governor Sir Thomas Brisbane to grant Taber's request in 1824 to retire and to fix a pension for "your unremitting attention to your duty as schoolmaster in this colony upwards of twenty-five years" at ?50 with an additional ?20 for services as a parish clerk. Soon after, schools passed out of government control.
Taber was one of the very few teachers to draw a pension and did till he died on the 1 May 1842.
Thomas junior assisted his father and then was in charge of St Philip's Infant School for many years. Thomas senior and his sons James and George received grants of land near Liverpool and successfully pioneered the Menangle district.