Ann Geary Cromey Collins

Sister to Maria Geary Cromey Rebbeck

After The "Marion"

The story of Ann's Daughter Louisa Dickett Collins

Kerry Collins wrote this in July 2003 for John Keynes' magazine.
(Permission to reproduce this was freely granted)

My great-great-great grandparents were James and Louisa Collins. They were married on 25th September 1849 at the Cathedral of Salisbury. Both were of full age and residing at Clarendon at the time. James, his father John and Louisa's father William Dickett are recorded on the marriage certificate as being labourers. Other sources quote their residents as Barnch, Milford; this name is possibly a misspelling of "Branch", and the name of a Hundred stretching from the western boundary of Salisbury to Wylye to the N-N-E. James was quoted as being born Petersfinger, a village a short distance southeast of Milford.

After the "Marion" grounding, Louisa and Sophia were separated from James and were taken by a long boat to Cape Jarvis and then overland to Adelaide, taking some five days to reach their. In the meantime, James was taken by ship to Port Adelaide. The family was later reunited in Adelaide.

Records show that James spent in one year in Adelaide before moving with family to Victoria. It is possible that he was attracted to the Victorian Goldfields at the time, as in 1869 he was that the gold mining town of Barkly.

By that year his family had grown considerably. Sophia was now 18 years old and had seven brothers and sisters, including Harriet who was little James's great great great grandmother. Tragically, during the family's time in Victoria, an additional five children had died at tender ages.

It was in that year that further tragedy struck the family and James was found drowned at Wattles Creek, near Barkers Station, Navarre. With eight living children it was not long before Louisa remarried. On the 1st January at St John's Parsonage in Avoca, Louisa married to John Jones another miner. Both were living at Barkly. The Western witnesses were Louisa's son-in-law and eldest daughter David Carey and Sophia Carey, the infant they emigrated with. Louisa died 28th June at 1908 and is buried at St Arnaud. She was survived by Sophia Carey, now 58, and four other of her children. Her daughter Harriet, little James's great-great-great grandmother had died in 1902. There were no children by the second marriage.

I suspect the original James Collins, should he be able to look in on us, would be very proud of his great-great-great granddaughter and his small namesake.

Kerry Collins, July 2002

Part Of The Inquest Proceedings Into The Death Of James Collins