Nimbin NSW

[Anne W]

I have the birth certificate of my GGrandfather Ambrose Richard Collier, born 11/1/1861 in Surry Hills, Sydney. His parents were Richard Collier and Elizabeth Martin. In the date and place of marriage is written ( in very bad hand writing ) 1852, Nindem. I can't find any town or place anywhere of that name. The closest is Nimbin. I haven't been able to discover for sure if there was a town called Nimbin in 1852. Could Nindem be a property or farm? Has anyone else come across this problem?

[ChristineR]

I cannot see that town name anywhere either, and it should be a town name given, not a property.

You might be wanting to get the marriage certificate anyway - it will say where it is. The NSW BDM site is down at the moment so I cannot check for the marriage.

Are you able to scan and post a section of the certificate so we can have a look at the handwriting?

ChristineR :0

[ChristineR]

It appears that Nimbin was first settled by Europeans in the 1840s, at first clearing the cedar forests, then farming and growing bananas. It was not subdivided and gazetted until 1906, so I think that is when it became an official townland. They could have been married by an intinerant minister, the records should show up in the NSW register.

The registrar would write whatever he thought that they had said, especially if he was unfamiliar with the place.

ChristineR :)

[Lenore]

Hi Anne,

I wouldn't get too hooked up on Nimbin or Ninden at this stage, it is probably a wild red herring. I notice on the NSW BDM there are a number of Collier children with the father Richard and mother Elizabeth born in Sydney between 1859 and 1864.

There is also the marriage of a Richard Collier and Elizabeth Cook in 1863. If, for instance, there was an irregularity in the marital status of Ambrose's parents, say that they weren't married at all, it would be quite common for the parents to just make something up.

Or they might have been married overseas, and you will find them in the shipping lists. It is going to be difficult for you to tell without investing in some more certificates, I suspect.

If you think that John, Louisa, Mary, and the George without a birthplace might conceivably be siblings of Ambrose, it would be worth investing in a certificate (or get a transcription agent to look at all of them) to see what other clues can be picked up.

It turns out that the Mary and George died in 1863 and 1860 in Sydney.

You know the family was in Sydney when Ambrose was born, so concentrate on finding out everything you can about them in Sydney. Directories, Wills, burials, electoral registers.

What was Richard's occupation?

I had an ancestral couple, who claimed a particular date for a marriage that I couldn't find. I ended up getting every birth certificate for every child, and every one had a different date and place. Conclusion - no marriage - or one of them was married to someone else. It happened.

Good luck with it.

Lenore

[Anne W]

Hi,
I think Lenore is dead right about there never having been a marriage. We know a lot about Ambrose Richard, who died in 1942 and was very close to my mother and Aunt's. Ambrose Richard only ever refered to his father, Richard, as "the old coot" and it seems he was right! I have Richards rap sheet between 1867 and 1873 and he seems to have spent most of that time in Darlinghurst Goal! Mostly for drunkeness and he did 12 months for abandoning his children. John and Louisa are Ambrose's siblings and there was also two other girls, Ann born c1853 and Sarah born c1855. All the children were in and out of the Randwick Asylum, where according to Ambrose they spent a lot of time mucking about with boats and where he learnt to tie every sort of knot imaginable.
Richard Collier was an Irish convict who arrived on the Royal Admiral in 1835. He was 34 years old. Elizabeth Martin was born in 1836 in Hobart, so as you can see there was a huge age difference. Elizabeth was the daughter of Ann Burnside and George Martin, both ex convicts. Elizabeth Martin is such a common name it has been hard to establish exactly when she travelled to the mainland, but my Aunt traced the family in Tasmania up till 1848 when they all disappear. I'd really like to find out what happened to Ann Martin nee Burnside, who is my kids favourite ancestor. Mainly because she was convicted of being a highway women at the age of 15. Ann was born in Windsor NSW and held up a man on the Parramatta rd in 1834.
I think there is a good chance that ALL the Martin family came to the mainland from Tasmania, and IF Richard did marry Elizabeth and IF I can find out where, then that might give me some clue as to where the Martin family ended up.
Thanks all for your help
Anne