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Orphan Number: 4134
Orphan: Mary NICHOLSON
Mother:NICHOLSON, Mary
Father:NICHOLSON, William
Mother's ship:Aurora 2
Father's ship:
Age when admitted:11yrs
Date admitted:14 Aug 1851
Date discharged:7 Feb 1854
Institution(s):Queens Orphan School
Discharged to: John Foster, Hobart
Remarks:
References: SWD28

This orphan has been claimed by: Lyn Kirkwood

Mary Nicholson came to Tasmania with her brother Patrick, accompanying her mother Mary Nicholson (convict). They arrived in August 1851 on the ship  Aurora 2 and the children were immediately put into the Queen's Orphanage. Mary Nicholson the mother married John Carrier and later gave birth to a son, Edward. Edward was plainly of Maori descent and could not have been John Carrier's child.  Mary Nicholson, the child of Mary the convict, married William Clarke in 1857 and lived for many years in Richmond Tasmania. Her children were baptised at St Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in Hobart. Mary Carrier (Mary's mother) was the witness at Eliza Clarke's (daughter of Mary Clarke nee Nicholson) baptism. At this stage, I have not been able to find any trace of Patrick Nicholson after he left the Queen's Orphan School.
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This orphan has been claimed by: Vicki Burns

The orphan Mary Nicholson & her husband William Clarke are my mother in laws, great grandparents. Their son James Benjamin, married Amy Clara Ward, who's daughter, Leita Amy Clarke was my mother in laws mum. James was a fisherman, as was his father and brothers, in Hobart. Leita moved to Melbourne in the early 1920's and married, she died when my mother in law was 13. ......

 Mary Nicholson has been a mystery, so to find this information is fantastic.  I havent been able to find William Clarke's parents yet! Some of the Clarke children, dropped the E in their surname. The information that I have discovered can be found on Ancestry.com.au


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 Site last updated June 2021