Dowdy / Mcartney / Thurston in Victoria / South Australia

[sparrett]

Hi,
I wonder if you will be sharing the contents of the kind lady's documents. I 'm sure all here will be most curious to know what caused the change of name for Mary.
The kind person who emailed you must have some amazing knowledge we have not found in our efforts here.
Sue

[judb]

I'm seconding Sue's request - please can you give us an idea as to why the name was changed?  Did she know Hester MCCARTNEY? 

If you do not feel comfortable publicly commenting on something which happened so long ago I would appreciate a PM.

It's great to hear that you have an explanation and, I guess, some extra information found over the course of this thread through R'chat.

Cheers, Judith 

[majm]

I am pleased to read that you now know why the name was changed, and I too would like to support Sue's request. 

Cheers,  JM
(I have several Bill Brown chaps in my own 19thC Aussie tree, one has a wife by name of Mary Ann and she was illiterate and had been widowed several times over before she married Bill)

[tickford]

Well this was an interesting read. Just happened to stumble upon it.  Mary Ann Thurston is my hubby's 2nd grt grandmother and her daughter Mary Ann Dowdy his grt grandmother.
I think the major problem with all of this is illiteracy and incorrect transcriptions.
This part of the family has taken me and helpers some time to sort out in the past, think I have it pretty much sorted, I am in Cando's camp re pretty much everything.

mhetfield, if you don't mind, where do you fit in this family please?

Now if someone can tell me what happened to William Brown that would be good.

[mhetfield]

Hi tickford,

I am the great X2 grandson of John Dowdy who was born in the Beechworth area.

I have got some information about William Brown not much but I will have to find it give me some time and ill get back to you.

The thing I wanted to know was it Mary Ann Thurston/Dowdy/McCartney what one is it.

I know now and the reason why she used the different names.  You can not just say a person can not read and write because she put down different names, if its in her hand writing I like to think she knew what she was doing.

[tickford]

Mary Ann Thurston was her name, daughter of Charles Deeks Thurston and Mary Ann Knights. 
There was/is a theory that she gave conflicting names because she was contracted for 3 yrs to the parsonage at Richmond but got married 12 months after arriving and being that she was paid for 3 yrs it was/is felt that she was trying to dodge the authorities, however, that is something we will not really ever be able to confirm.
Although it is said she was able to read and write I wonder how good that really was because her signature doesn't really look like someone that is confident in writing.
Oh and yes if you have anything you can tell me about William Brown that would be appreciated as I have nothing but the marriage for them.