While gathering information to be indexed into www.ryersonindex.org I found the following births relating to the Hawkesbury List area in the Sydney Morning Herald. 15 December 1842 - On Sunday, the 11th instant, at Corunna Cottage, Raymond Terrace, the lady of T. Digby Miller, Esq., of a daughter. On Tuesday, the 12th instant, at the Parsonage, Newcastle, the lady of the Rev. C. Pleydell N. Wilton, M.A., of a daughter. At Neotsfield, Hunter's River, on the 10th instant, the lady of Henry Dangar, Esq., of a daughter. 16 December 1842 - At Mudgee, on Friday, the 9th instant, Mrs. N. P. Bayley, of a daughter. 22 December 1842 - At Newcastle, on the 17th instant, Mrs. Croasdill, of a daughter. Patricia

Hi Patricia, Many thanks for these births and deaths. Reading the birth notices, I've noticed that some women are termed "the lady of" or "the wife of" or just plain "Mrs." I was wondering does anyone know what was the difference of these ladies' status? I would assume that it separated the 'classes' but I could possibly be very wrong. Perhaps someone would be able to explain for us. Cheers, Maureen (Melbourne) > > 15 December 1842 - On Sunday, the 11th instant, at Corunna Cottage, Raymond > Terrace, the lady of T. Digby Miller, Esq., of a daughter. > > > 16 December 1842 - At Mudgee, on Friday, the 9th instant, Mrs. N. P. > Bayley, of a daughter. > > > > 22 December 1842 - At Newcastle, on the 17th instant, Mrs. Croasdill, of a > daughter. > Patricia > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > AUS-NSW-HILLS-HAWKESBURY-HUNTER-VALLEY-request@rootsweb.com with the word > 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

Maureen, I've wondered about the different wording in the birth notices myself and hope someone can shed light on this difference in wording. In the 1840s we were still within the time when convicts were being transported from the UK leaving a spouse and children behind who were often not in a position to follow the convict. I've often wondered if "wife of" meant legally married in an Australian church, "lady of'" meant married in the UK and plain "Mrs" meant no-one was sure where they were married or not. Just a thought. My first ancestors in Australia were not legally married because she was Roman Catholic and he was Church of England but they lived together for most of their lives and the children all had his surname. It is an interesting problem with the wording of the announcements isn't it? Patricia Hi Patricia, Many thanks for these births and deaths. Reading the birth notices, I've noticed that some women are termed "the lady of" or "the wife of" or just plain "Mrs." I was wondering does anyone know what was the difference of these ladies' status? I would assume that it separated the 'classes' but I could possibly be very wrong. Perhaps someone would be able to explain for us. Cheers, Maureen (Melbourne) > > 15 December 1842 - On Sunday, the 11th instant, at Corunna Cottage, Raymond > Terrace, the lady of T. Digby Miller, Esq., of a daughter. > > > 16 December 1842 - At Mudgee, on Friday, the 9th instant, Mrs. N. P. > Bayley, of a daughter. > > > > 22 December 1842 - At Newcastle, on the 17th instant, Mrs. Croasdill, of a > daughter. > Patricia > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > AUS-NSW-HILLS-HAWKESBURY-HUNTER-VALLEY-request@rootsweb.com with the word > 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to AUS-NSW-HILLS-HAWKESBURY-HUNTER-VALLEY-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message