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WILSON – Alexander Royal Marines Chatham Division 59th 81st and 37th Company

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Royal Marines 1854 Britains Sea Soldiers Vol 1 by Cyril Field
Name WILSON – Alexander
Regiment (s)Royal Marines Chatham Division 59th 81st and 37 Company
Regiment Number (s) 5346 / 5829
Date/Age/Place/Trade or
Profession at Attestation
28th May 1832 /26 Years 9 months/Chatham Kent England
Brushmaker
Description – Height
Complexion/Eyes/Hair/Scars
5 Ft 9½ in
Dark / Hazel / Black / None
Overseas Service/DurationServed onboard HM ships –
1832-1832 – Ocean
1835 -1839 – Russell
1840-1843 – Caledonia
1844-1845 – Eagle
1845-1846 – Vanguard
1846-1849 – Mutine
1849-1850 – Poictiers (This was a Depot ship at Chatham)
At sea: 11 years 8 months 11 days
On Shore: 9 years 4 months and 2 days
Length of Service21 Years 13 days- includes 2 years 11 days from his 1st enlistment 20 August 1827-19 July 1830
Rank/Date/Place of DischargePrivate / 12th July 1850 / Not yet known
Campaign MedalsNot yet known
Intended Residence at
Discharge
Not yet known
Pension Districts1850 2nd Plymouth
1851 1st Edinburgh
1851 Western Australia
Pension Paid £15.4.0 per annum
Date of Departure and Place
England or Ireland
 16th July 1851 Plymouth England
Ship and Date of Arrival
Western Australia
MINDEN 14th October 1851
Date/Place of Birthc1805 St. Cuthbert’s Edinburgh Scotland
Date/Place of BaptismNot yet known
Father
Date/Place of Birth
Not yet known
Mother
Date/Place of Birth
Marriage
Not yet known
SiblingsNot yet known
1st Wife
Date of Birth or Baptism
RONALD Janet
1801 Edinburgh Scotland
Date/Place of Marriage28 November 1826 Saint Cuthbert’s Edinburgh Midlothian Scotland
Children by 1st WifeJean/Jane B c1828 England
Bp 10 August 1828 Chatham Kent England (Mother Jessie)
M EPG CLARK George 16 February 1853 Fremantle WA
M BROWN John 1857 Fremantle WA
Mary Ann B c1834 England
Bp 20 August 1834 Chatham Kent England
M1 ENSOR Thomas (convict no. 76) marriage not registered Western Australia
M2 ADAMS Thomas Richard Adams 9th Feb 1863 South Hackney England
M3 HARPER Edward 1873 Fort William, Bengal India
D 31 August 1902, Massachusetts, USA
See further information regarding Mary Ann
Father of 1st wife
Date/Place of Birth
RONALD William
Mother of 1st wife
Date/Place of Birth
Marriage
Not yet known
Land Grants Western
Australia
None
Occupation after
Arrival
Not yet known
Newspaper ArticlesPerth Gazette and Independent Journal Friday 5 January 1855 page 3 Theft of money from Mrs Wilson
Departure from Western
Australia
Not applicable
Date/Place of Death/Burial1857 aged 52 years Western Australia
Date/Place of Death/Burial
Wife
24 November 1870 Western Australia
Bur East Perth Cemetery
Will or ProbateNone known
Further InformationPreviously served in Royal Marines between 20th August 1827 and 19th July 1830 2 years 334 days. Paying £20 to obtain discharge.
1851 Census 175 Canongate Midlothian Scotland
Alexander Wilson/head/married/45/ Pensioner Royal Marines and brushmaker/ born Edinburgh
Janet Wilson/ wife/married/50/ born Edinburgh Scotland
Jane Wilson/daughter/22/ unmarried/ Dressmaker/ born England
John Gorman in his Journal made the following observations regarding the Wilson family:
“An investigation took place this morning to find out the man who entered the young women’s room. Wood, one of the sailors, confessed to it, he was then made a prisoner of; it appears that Mary Ann Wilson made the engagement with him; the man was handcuffed and placed in charge of the sentry this morning. The family of the Wilsons ever since they have been on board have caused more disturbance than all the rest put together and from personal observation the daughters are very light in their conduct, one is already enceinte [pregnant] and the other wished to bid face for it and yet the parents cannot or will not see their glaring faults, one of the married women sent to sleep in their room.”
In 1852 both Alexander and Mary Ann were advised that there was unclaimed mail at the post office, in Mary Ann case there were 3 letters.
24 February 1863 the resident Magistrate Fremantle applied to the Colonial Secretary for out-door relief for the widow Wilson and her daughter also a widow. He stated she was 70 years of age and both her and her daughter were in poor health but did not want to go to the Poor House. Advised them to make an application for entry into the Poor House and then if they needed hospital treatment they would receive it. (SROWA CSR Cons 36 Vol 524/16)
Mary Ann Wilson had 3 children by convict Thomas Ensor convict 76 per Hashemy 1850. Mary Ann returned to England without Thomas Ensor and baptised the three children Thomas, Harriet and Richard in Stoke Newington, London on 29 Aug 1858, Thomas described as a Clerk by Mary Ann.
In February 1863 “spinster” Mary Ann Wilson married gunsmith Thomas Richard Adams in Hackney England, their first child Ernest was born 1864.
They move to Queensland 1865 where two more children are born, Pauline 1868 and son Frederick (of uncertain parentage) 1870 as Richard Adams dies 1868.
In August 1873 widowed Mary Ann Adams marries soldier Edward Harper at Fort William, Bengal, India.
In 1881 Edward Harper a Chelsea Pensioner and wife Mary Ann live in Sheffield, England with her children Pauline and Ernest.
Mary Ann emigrated to Massachusetts in 1892 with her daughter, Pauline.
According to EPG John Gorman’s journal on the Minden, Mary Ann was pregnant when she left the Minden. In the 1901 USA census she records herself as having had 7 children but only 6 still alive.
Thanks to descendant Sharon Davage for the above family history information.