Mary Williams and her husbands Thomas Brown and Edward Carrigan

Mary Williams

(1817 - 1884)

and her husbands Thomas Brown and Edward Carrigan

Innkeepers of Bargo, Wingello and Marulan NSW

Mary Williams was born in 1817 at Castlereagh NSW to John Williams and Sarah Nash. She relocated with her family to West Bargo in 1823 and remained there after her family’s departure to marry Thomas Brown (c1805-1851) in 1833. Thomas Brown's family background is unknown. He was a native of London and a pick-pocket when sentenced to life transportation in 1819 at the age of 14, arriving later that year as a convict per Recovery.

The Brown family settled at nearby Stonequarry where Thomas was employed as a constable and later as a jailer. After receiving his conditional pardon in 1838 Thomas left government employ to become an innkeeper, holding a publican's licence at Bargo between 1840 and 1843, and at Wingello from 1844 onwards. He also dealt in land during the 1840's, buying and selling properties in different country towns. He died in an accidental shooting in 1851 on his way home from the Bathurst Diggings.

In 1852 Mary married Edward Carrigan (1818-1871) at Marulan parish. Edward was a native of Enniskillen in County Fermanagh, Ireland, and had arrived as a free immigrant per United Kingdom in 1844. Edward and Mary continued to run the Wingello inn until the early 1860’s before establishing another inn at Marulan. Edward also dealt in land during these years however he overextended himself financially and was declared insolvent in 1870. He managed to extricate himself from his financial difficulties a few months later however he died the following year.

Mary relocated to the newly-established town of Mooroowoollen/Marulan where she continued to work as an innkeeper. After selling her properties, she died in 1884 at Picton.

This is a brief summary of the chapter relating to Mary Williams and her two husbands published in Nash: First Fleeters and Founding Families - A Three Generational Biographical History.

The family of Thomas Brown and Mary Williams*

1. Mary Brown (1835 - 1870) md Henry Kilpatrick in 1853.

2. Eliza Brown (1837 - 1917) md James Kilpatrick in 1855.

3. Thomas Brown (1840 - >1884) md Eliza Brennan.

4. Caroline Brown (1842 - 1931) md 1. her cousin Joseph John Connors in 1865 [see Sarah Williams and Joseph Connors]; and 2. Robert Stewart in 1876.

5. Celia Brown (1846 - 1889) md George Armstrong in 1871.

6. Sarah (Mary Josephine) Brown (1848 - ) md Hugo Alpen in 1868.

7. John Brown (1850 - >1884)

The family of Edward Carrigan and Mary Williams*

1. Ann Carrigan (1853 - 1916) md John Kelly in 1873.

2. Margaret Carrigan (1855 - >1884)

3. Mary Carrigan (1857 – 1884) md John Hourn in 1877.

4. Maria (Josephine) Carrigan (1859 - >1904) md Walter Richard Levinge in 1883.

* Many of these dates come from registrations of births, deaths and marriages. In some cases the event itself will have occurred late in the previous year.

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