Maria (Mills) Sawyer (1830 - 1910)

Born 1830 in Egham, Surrey, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Wife of William John Sawyer — married 10 Oct 1850 in Egham, Surrey, England

Descendants

Died 1 Feb 1910 at about age 80 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Biography

Maria (Mills) Sawyer was born in Surrey, England.

Maria Mills was born about 1830 and was baptised at Egham St John the Baptist, Surrey, England on 10 October 1830. She was the daughter of Henry Mills and Mary Harris. Her father was a Builder of Egham.

Familysearch.org has two marriage records for Maria Mills to William John Sawyer. The first gives the date as 8 October 1850 and the location Egham Parish, Surrey, England^[1]. The second (the correct date) is from the same source; Egham, Surrey, England as the location; has the date as 10 October 1850, and includes Henry Mills and George Sawyer as the respective fathers^[2]. They were married by Licence in the Parish Church in Egham. William was a farmer of Clewer, Berkshire; Maria, a minor, was a spinster of Egham. The witnesses were Henry Mills, Mary Elizabeth Mills, Sophia Mills, Elizabeth Fell, James Fell, and Sophia Lumby. (The well sourced Ancestry.com "Mills Family Tree" has the following comment on the marriage details:- "Married first cousin. Maria is daughter of Henry Mills who is William John Sawyer's mother Maria Mills' brother".)

They went on to have 13 children:

1. Mary Maria Sawyer (b. 1851, d. 12 Oct 1934)
2. William Henry Sawyer (b. 1852, d. 14 Apr 1863)
3. Louis Sawyer (b. 1855, d. 20 Jun 1900)
4. Henry (Harry) Sawyer (b. 1855, d. 14 Dec 1920)
5. Maria Ada Sawyer (b. 1 Nov 1857, d. 26 Apr 1863 unm)
6. Clara Elizabeth Sawyer (b. abt. 1860, m. 1892 Andrew Grant, d. 18 Apr 1944)
7. Eliza Sawyer (b. 1861, m. 1886 Jacob Julius Micheli, d. 28 Dec 1934)
8. Jessie Sawyer (b. 1864, m. 1890 Octavius Myers Watson, d. 8 Aug 1947)
9. Amy Sawyer (b. 19 Sept 1865, d. 5 Oct 1955 unm)
10. Alice Ruth Sawyer (b. 14 Nov 1866, d. 18 Jun 1929 unm)
11. Rosa Sawyer (b. 22 Nov 1869, d. 30 Jul 1950 unm)
12. Caroline Phyllis Sawyer (b. 25 Feb 1871, m. 1912 Henry Lilley, d. 26 Jan 1939)
13. William Anthony Ernest Sawyer (b. 2 Nov 1873)

After her marriage, the 1851 England Census has Maria Sawyer (aged 20) living in Hatch Lane, Clewer, Berkshire with her husband William John Sawyer (aged 24 a Farmer) and her sister Amy Mills (aged 6). Also in the household was domestic servant Mary Jemmett (19).

In the 1861 England Census, Maria Sawyer gave her age as 30 but she and her husband William John Sawyer (33 and of no occupation) had moved to Isleworth, Middlesex and were living in a Private House, with their six children Mary Maria Sawyer (9), William Henry Sawyer (8), Henry Sawyer (6), Louis Sawyer (5), Maria Ada Sawyer (3) and Clara Elizabeth Sawyer (1). Also in the household was one Servant.

Maria (Mills) Sawyer migrated from England to Queensland.

Maria, her husband and their first six children emigrated from England to the Colony of Queensland, Australia on the 550 tons barque "George Kidd" that departed from London, England on 18 August 1861, and arrived in Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia on 24 December 1861^[3]. Also on the ship was her unmarried brother Robert Harris Mills. They may have had one child born on board the ship. They had six children after their arrival in the Colony of Queensland.

It is noted that the family were living in Merton Road, Woolloongabba (Brisbane) in 1884. Between 4 August 1866 and 13 October 1866 they lived in Logan Road.

In 1903, Maria Sawyer was recorded on the Electoral Rolls doing Domestic Duties, living with her husband William John Sawyer, a Squatter; Alice Ruth Sawyer, a Music Teacher; Caroline Phyllis Sawyer, a Governess; Amy Sawyer and Rosa Sawyer, also doing Domestic Duties. All were at 'Burley', Merton Road, in Brisbane South.

In 1908, Maria Sawyer and her daughters Alice Ruth Sawyer, Caroline Phyllis Sawyer, Amy Sawyer and Rose Sawyer were still at 'Burley' in Merton Road, South Brisbane. Her husband was not on that Electoral Roll, having died earlier that year, on 11 February 1908.

Maria Sawyer passed away on 1 February 1910, with her death registered in Queensland, the record confirming her parents' names as Henry Mills and Mary Harris. She was buried on 2 February 1910 in the same grave as her late husband, William John Sawyer, in South Brisbane Cemetery (as known as Dutton Park Cemetery) in Brisbane, Queensland^[4].

Death Notices

The Brisbane Courier, Friday 11 February 1910, page 4:

DEATHS.

SAWYER.- On February 1, 1910, at " Burley," Merton-road, South Brisbane, Maria, widow of the late W J Sawyer. Aged 79 years.^[5]

The Queenslander, Brisbane, Saturday 19 February 1910:

There passed away suddenly on February 1, at Burley, Merton Road, South Brisbane, Mrs. W. J. Sawyer, another of Queensland's old colonists, in her 80th year. In company with her husband, who predeceased her by two years, Mrs. Sawyer arrived in Brisbane by the ship “George Kidd” on Christmas Eve, 1861. She had a family of 13 children, nine of whom are living. Her grandchildren number 30, and there are also two great grand children. The late Mrs. Sawyer was a native of (Egham Hill, Surrey, England.)^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NJWP-NWL
2. ↑ https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N2Z6-7J9
3. ↑ https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/4602953
4. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/48731790/maria-sawyer: accessed 27 January 2023), memorial page for Maria Sawyer (unknown–1910), Find A Grave: Memorial #48731790, citing South Brisbane Cemetery, Brisbane, Brisbane City, Queensland, Australia; Maintained by ! woowoo (contributor 49949980)
5. ↑ https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/1565428
6. ↑ https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/2492885

• Baptism: Ancestry.com. London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1917 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; Reference Number: DW/T/4342. Register Type: Bishop's Transcript.
• Marriage: England Marriages, 1538–1973, Familysearch.
• Residence: Ancestry.com. 1851 England Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Class: HO107; Piece: 1695; Folio: 602; Page: 7; GSU roll: 193603.
• Residence: Ancestry.com. 1861 England Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Class: RG 9; Piece: 771; Folio: 47; Page: 5; GSU roll: 542698.
• Residence: Ancestry.com. Australia, Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. 1903, 1908.
• Death: Ancestry.com. Australia, Death Index, 1787-1985 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Registration Number: B012090, Page Number: 23121.
• Queensland, Australia BDM Death Records Online: Registration No: 1910/B/12090 | Name: Maria Sawyer | Event date: 01/02/1910 | Mother: Mary Harris | Father/parent: Henry Mills | https://www.familyhistory.bdm.qld.gov.au/