Mary (Slade) Eyles (abt. 1788 - 1868)

Born about 1 Feb 1788 in England

Ancestors

Wife of Henry Gill — married Jan 1807 in Baltonsborough Somerset England

Wife of Peter Higgins — married 26 Dec 1826 in Baltonsborough, Somerset, England

Wife of Walter Daniel Eyles — married 3 Feb 1848 in Nelson, New Zealand

Descendants

Died 11 Mar 1868 at about age 80 in Richmond, Nelson, New Zealand

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Jeff Thomas [send private message]

Biography

Ditcheat, Somerset is a parish about 6 miles east of Baltonsborough, or 3¼ miles north west of Castle Cary. Its population in 1831 was 1,238.

This is the parish to which her son Henry GILL returned in the later 1840s after his brief visit to NZ.

He may have been returning to his mother's family. In the Ditcheat records we find: Mary SLADE was born on 1 Feb 1788 and baptised on 3 Feb 1788, the daughter of Thomas SLADE and Ann ROGERS. If this is correct:; Mary SLADE she was aged 19 when she married Henry GILL, aged 38 when she married Peter HIGGINS, aged 42 when Selina was born, aged 53 when she embarked for NZ [the list says 48], aged 60 when she married Daniel Eyles, and 80 when she died [the record says 84].

England and Wales Census, 1841- Mary (50) living in Baltonsborough, Somerset:

Peter Higgins Male 35-39 Somerset

Mary Higgins Female 50-54 Somerset

Sidney Higgins Male 15-19 Somerset

Amelia Higgins Female 13 Somerset

Rhoda Higgins Female 12 Somerset

Selina Higgins Female 5 Somerset^[1]

Mary died an 11 Mar 1868, and was buried at Richmond, her recorded age at death being 84. From this age her birth year appears to have been 1784. From her age on the passenger list for the ship Mary Ann that she migrated to NZ in 1841, it appears to have been 1793. The difficulty with the later date is that she would have been 15 when she bore her first child in 1808, the difficulty with the earlier date is that she would have been 46 when her last child was born in 1830. It is quite likely that her age on the passenger list was reduced to qualify her for a free passage to NZ. It is also quite likely that her third husband Daniel Eyles had only a vague idea of her age as there would have been no documents to prove it. [In another version, Mary's age at marriage to Peter Higgins in 1826 was recorded as 50. This is hardly credible given that she would produce 3 children of this marriage]

Footnotes

1. ↑ Name: Mary Higgins Event Type: Census Event Date: 1841 Event Place: Baltonsborough, Somerset, England Residence Note: Baltonsborough Gender: Female Age: 50-54 Age (Original): 50 Birth Year (Estimated): 1787-1791 Birthplace: Somerset Registration District: Wells Union Parish: Baltonsborough County: Somerset Page Number: 11 Registration Number: HO107 Piece/Folio: 943/19 Affiliate Record Type: Household Household Role Sex Age Birthplace Peter Higgins Male 35-39 Somerset Mary Higgins Female 50-54 Somerset Sidney Higgins Male 15-19 Somerset Amelia Higgins Female 13 Somerset Rhoda Higgins Female 12 Somerset Selina Higgins Female 5 Somerset "England and Wales Census, 1841," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MQ1X-FR1 : 13 December 2017), Mary Higgins in household of Peter Higgins, Baltonsborough, Somerset, England; from "1841 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO HO 107, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.

• Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 11 September 2021), memorial page for Mary Slade Eyles (Apr 1786–11 Mar 1868), Find A Grave: Memorial #174860509, citing Richmond Cemetery, Richmond, Tasman District, Tasman, New Zealand ; Maintained by MystikNZ (contributor 48009964) .

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Jeff Thomas for starting this profile.

Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Jeff and others.

• https://www.geni.com/people/Mary-Gill/6000000008643745310