THOMAS Powell, of the Gaer, in Newport, had made a large fortune with his 16 collieries and gained notoriety for his heavy-handedness and ruthless approach to business.
He was involved in a land dispute across the 1840s with Lord Tredegar but despite this, exported more coal than any other firm in the world.
Thomas Powell
But there is an intriguing tale about the theft of his will in an edition of The Welshman on July 24, 1863.
The article details that the executors of the will were Mr Powell’s two sons, Henry and Walter, and a family friend Mr Williams.
It reported that following his death in March of that year, the original copy of the will had been “suddenly lost, or, in other words, had been stolen, along with other papers, from a safe at the family mansion, the Gaer, near Newport”.
At first the report was believed to be a hoax, but then it was realised that it was true, and the will had been stolen.
The executors of the will offered a £60 reward for the recovery of the documents and conviction of the thief.
However, this was increased to £100 after there were no results.
It was stated that the thieves gained entry through a window at the back of the house on May 16, and forced the safe open, taking the will and documents, but nothing else.
It took a further six weeks before the people of Newport learnt that the thieves were in the custody of the police and the will and documents had been recovered.
The recovery of the documents started around two weeks before the publication when Mr Powell’s widow received a letter offering to return the documents if £125 was paid in gold.
The letter was later published in The Aberdare Times and read: “Rendezvous, Mon., June 29, 1863. Respected Madam, We perhaps merit the utmost possible contempt you or the world may throw upon us, but we trust you will overcome your repugnance sufficient to peruse and comply with the ensuing, our only possible stipulation for the restoration of the late Mr, Powell’s original will, and other documents of more or less intrinsic value.
“It is thus should you think fit to negotiate with us, we will restore to you the above-mentioned documents for the sum of £125, in gold. If you consent to this you may let us know by inserting in the STAR OF GWENT for July 4th, the following advertisement: ‘John Anderson may apply to his late employers’. Should this appear you will soon hear from us and will please hold the money in readiness. – We remain, yours respectfully, BROTHERS LAVERNA.”
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There was also a post scriptum asking Mrs Powell to not communicate with the police.
It ends with “But should you allow treachery to be attempted, so surely you will never more see or hear tell of the missing documents, and if blood be spilt it will rest upon your head ever to wither and make wretched the woman who caused untimely death to a Laverna or civilian.”
Mrs Powell complied with the instructions and received another letter from the Brothers Laverna dated Monday, July 9, 1863 with thanks and instructions on what to do.
On the day that the Lavernas stated, Mr Williams dressed in women’s clothes and met at the agreed time and location with Laverna, who was wearing a mask.
Laverna was prepared to give the papers as long as the money was placed on the closed gate between them, but Mr Williams was hesitant and requested confirmation it was genuine.
It was agreed that Laverna would send some of the papers to Mrs Powell by post and have a second meeting after this.
When some of the papers arrived by post, it was agreed to be genuine.
On the following Monday night, police were waiting around the spot where the meeting was to take place, however, Laverna did not show up.
It was feared that he had realised it was a trap, but then a letter was received on the Wednesday morning by Mrs Powell, requesting a meeting that evening at the same location.
Five or six officers were stationed around the spot and one of them, P B Hale, saw a man standing in front of him wearing a mask.
Suspicious that this was the person involved, the officer seized the masked man and the two struggled with each other. Once a whistle was sounded, the remaining officers attended and helped to secure the man – who turned out to be Edwin Truscott Gill, the son of carver and gilder Mr Gill, of Commercial Street, Newport.
Edwin T. Gill
On his arrest, he pleaded innocence and stated he knew nothing of the papers and then also said that the documents were actually with a man called William Matthews in the same field they were in.
Police officers stayed in the field all night, and on Thursday morning, a parcel – which contained the remaining documents – was found about two yards away from where Gill was stood.
In late July, Gill was brought to the County Police Court in Newport where he stood before Rev T Pope, Capt. Phillips, RN, and Mr John Jones. The court was full of people wanting to have a look at the prisoner and hear the details of the case.
On August 6, Gill was charged with burglary and felony receiving. After a brief deliberation, the jury found him “guilty of receiving, knowing it to have been stolen”.
He was sentenced to 12 years penal servitude.
Gill’s father was also arrested but released – although he was then set to appear in Brecon on another robbery charge.
Gill Jr served time in Chatham Prison and was sent to Western Australia in 1865 as convict No. 8279 on the Racehorse as part of a 12-year transportation sentence.
He worked in Western Australia under the convict system using his carpentry skills. He fell foul of the law again in January 1866 after being found with stolen books and was given seven days hard labour along with a whipping.
He absconded in August that year and was given one year of labour and six months in irons.
In 1870, he was given his Ticket of Leave which would allow him to work in the colony under a specific set of restrictions as his overall conduct was considered ‘good’.
A charge in February 1871 of neglecting to report himself to the police in line with his Ticket of Leave was dismissed and the following year he married Matilda Lucy MacGuire – going on to have 12 children.
Thomas Powell's grave. Picture: from findagrave
In October of 1873, he became an assistant to Perth photographer Alfred Chopin and began his foray into photography.
On July 27, 1876, Gill received his Certificate of Freedom and left Australia to live in California.
He returned to Sydney where his brother was said to live and he began living life under the name Edwin Truscott.
He split with his wife in 1901 and began a relationship with Eliza Coghlan and has two more children. He married Ms Coghlan in 1914 and died on May 29, 1927.
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