1881 Census for Smyllum Orphanage question

[mickcee]

Hi, I am seeking information on Maria Hughes, born c1863 in Glasgow, died 1st March 1882 at Willunga, South Australia. Maria was a nurse at the Magill Orphanage in Willunga. she was the sister of my great Grandmother, Emma bella Hughes, father James.  I cannot find any information on their births, or immigration records of their arrival in Australia. There is a Maria Hughes of the right age, listed as a sewing maid at Smyllum Orphanage in the 1881 Census. Is this my Maria? If so, she only lasted less than a year after the Census, before dying of TB on the other side of the World. Coincidental, the Orphanage connection.

[wivenhoe]

Is this your family? You are researching the origins of Maria and sister Bella before their arrival in South Australia?

SA BDM

marriage
PEARSALL   John      marr.  Emmabella   Adelaide   130/223   1882

death
HUGHES   Maria   F   Willunga   117/288   1882

The Express and Telegraph 4 Mar 1882  p2
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/208256069?
HUGHES.—On the 1st March, at Willunga, of consumption, Maria HUGHES, aged 19 years, late
nurse at Magill Orphanage, and sister of Bella PEARSALL, late HUGHES.

What do you know about Bella's life 1882+....died in South Australia?

[wivenhoe]

Is this your Bella?

NSW BDM
1892/1915 PEARSALL    Emma B     marr. LEE   William H    @ Hurstville

8142/1937    LEE Emma Bella  age 73 yrs   Rockdale        @ Paddington
father James

Can you list all the information on the marriage and death certificates please.

[mickcee]

Yes, that is my Bella. She married Joseph/John Pearsall in Adelaide in 1882, and later, after Joseph's death, she married William Lee. On my grandmother, Ethel May Lamrock Pearsall's Birth Certificate, Bella was said to have been born in Glasgow. When she died, Bella was listed as having been born in Edinburgh. This often happens when the person registering the death is unsure of details. I think the Birth Certificate, filled out by Bella is the true one ie, born in Glasgow.
Unfortunately, I know nothing of Bella and Maria's history before their mention in Adelaide. Joseph Pearsall arrived in Sydney aboard the Nineveh on 10 November 1876, but I am unable to find how he got to Adelaide. A mystery!

[middlesbrough]

There are several reports on Smyllum Orphanage in the newspapers. It was an orphanage for Roman Catholic children. They were sent there from several counties. In 1882, all children over the age of 13 were to be removed from the orphanage and placed with their relatives. Perhaps that's why they went to Australia at that time. I can find no record of their births or baptisms on Scotlandspeople either. Have you considered the possibility of them being born in Ireland? I also can't find them on any immigration records or passenger lists.

[wivenhoe]

"This often happens when the person registering the death is unsure of details"

That is why you need to see the NSW marriage certificate. Emma is the author of information recorded about Emma.....age, place of birth, father's name and occupation, mother's name.

NSW BDM
1892/1915 PEARSALL    Emma B     marr. LEE   William H    @ Hurstville


Death certificate, NSW, would record ....years in the colony.  What do you see on the death certificate?

[wivenhoe]

Deleted

[mickcee]

Hi, the Informant on Emma Bella's Death Certificate was her son-in-law. So, he may not have known much about her. The time in Colony states about 60 years in Australian states, so that gets back to 1877 approximately.
Enma Bella was the Informant on my grandmother's Birth Certificate, so Glasgow is her Birthplace.