Thomas Hawkes (MP)
[4] Abiathar Hawkes died on 17 January 1800,[5][6] leaving his glass business to two of his sons, Thomas and George Wright.
[9] On 2 April 1812, Hawkes convened a public meeting in the town of Dudley in order to petition parliament requesting free trade with the East Indies.
[15] In a commercial directory published in 1818, Thomas Hawkes & Co. is listed as a cut-glass manufacturer based at Stone Street, Dudley.
[17] On 29 December 1819, Thomas Hawkes became a captain in the Himley Troop of the Queen's Own Royal Regiment of Staffordshire Yeomanry.
[18] In 1821, he attended the festivities at Dudley to celebrate the coronation of King George IV, when "Captain Hawkes, with the Himley and Enville Troop of Yeomanry, was met with a brass band of music by the principal gentlemen and escorted to the Town Hall.
[4] In July 1826, the Himley Troop of the Staffordshire Yeomanry were called out when disturbances were expected due to the wages of Dudley and Tipton colliers being reduced.
[18] According to the records of the Staffordshire Yeomanry: "it was thought necessary to read the riot act, which was done amidst the shouts of the colliers, followed by a shower of stones, by one of which Captain Hawkes was struck on the face, and several of the Yeomen were also wounded".
Campbell had succeeded in becoming the first member of parliament for Dudley in modern history when he won the seat at the general election in 1832.
[25] According to a local chronicler: "towards the close of the poll, (4 o’clock) when it became evident that Sir John was beaten, a serious riot arose in the town and it was deemed expedient by the Justices to read the Riot Act, and send off to Birmingham for military assistance; the Dragoons arrived in hot haste, but not before much mischief and violence had been done to both property and persons".
[33] In May 1842, the partnership between Thomas Hawkes and William Greathead, which ran the glass business in Dudley, was dissolved.
[37] The marriage took place at the residence of the British Ambassador in Florence and Thomas Hawkes was stated to have given an elegant dejeuner on the occasion.
[41] According to an article in the Daily News of 1 December 1849, "the pressure of pecuniary embarrassments obliged him, in 1844, to go abroad, with a view to repair his fortunes".
[7] Thomas's second daughter, Alice Anna Catherine, married Octavius Warre Malet on 24 June 1852 at the British Consulate, Cologne.
[13][4] On the marriage of his fourth daughter, Maria Elizabeth, to John Pollard Willoughby in 1854, Thomas Hawkes was stated to be residing at Barnes in Surrey.
[13] Thomas Hawkes died on 3 December 1858 at the age of 80[46] at Brighton and was buried at Himley [7] On Wednesday 8 December 1858 shortly before the burial, the Mayor of Dudley, Mr E.Hollier, issued the following proclamation to the townspeople:[7] THE MAYOR begs to apprize his fellow-townsmen that the remains of their formerly much respected Member, THOMAS HAWKES, Esq., will be conveyed through the Town for INTERMENT AT HIMLEY, on FRIDAY Morning next, and, as he thinks it may be desirable that some mark of respect should be shewn towards his memory by the PARTIAL CLOSING of their respective Establishments on the Morning of that day, he will be happy to meet those who accord with this desire at the OLD TOWN HALL, on THURSDAY Evening next, at SEVEN o’clock, to arrange accordingly.
