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Mary Ann Brooker (1775–1859)

We this day record the death, at the ripe age of 87, of one of the founders of one of the largest families, without doubt, in this colony, if not in the world– Mrs. Mary Brooker, mother of Messrs. James and John Brooker, and of Mr. Edward Harrigan, of this district. The deceased lady arrived in this colony shortly after its foundation, was subsequently married twice, and gave birth to no less than twenty-one children, the majority of whom grew up and were married–and of these seven are now alive, one of them being upwards of sixty years of age. Without taking account of the number of immediate relatives who have died, or of the numbers collaterally connected by marriage, and only reckoning the children born of some of the immediate relatives up to five years back, the number of descendants now living number 148! These are distributed as follows:-

Children.                                               7
Grandchildren.                                  43
Great-grandchildren.                       84
Great-great-grandchildren .            14
                                                            148

It is roughly calculated that, counting those of her immediate relatives who are dead, and those alive collaterally connected, this family would number upwards of 300.-Illawarra Mercury of Thursday.

Original publication

Additional Resources and Scholarship

  • death notice, Illawarra Mercury (Wollongong, NSW) 22 December 1859, p 2
  • funeral notice, Illawarra Mercury (Wollongong, NSW), 19 December 1859, p 3, column 3

Citation details

'Brooker, Mary Ann (1775–1859)', Obituaries Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/brooker-mary-ann-25817/text33996, accessed 10 December 2024.

© Copyright Obituaries Australia, 2010-2024

Life Summary [details]

Alternative Names
  • Wade, Mary Ann
Birth

17 December, 1775
London, Middlesex, England

Death

17 December, 1859 (aged 84)
Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia

Cause of Death

unknown

Cultural Heritage

Includes subject's nationality; their parents' nationality; the countries in which they spent a significant part of their childhood, and their self-identity.

Religious Influence

Includes the religion in which subjects were raised, have chosen themselves, attendance at religious schools and/or religious funeral rites; Atheism and Agnosticism have been included.

Passenger Ship
Occupation or Descriptor
Key Events
Legacies
Key Places
Convict Record

Crime: assault and robbery
Sentence: life