Sarah Ann McLean
According to the International Genealogical Index (http://www.familysearch.org/)Sarah Ann Maclean was born on 5 October 1827 and christened on 8 June 1828 in the church of St Mary, in Rotherhithe, London, England. Rotherhithe is a suburban area of London, in the Southwark area, near the Thames River.
According to her death certificate, her father's name is recorded as Richard McLean and her mother's name is recorded as unknown. As noted below, her mother's name was Sarah but the mother's surname is unknown. A reference, previously published here, to the identity of Sarah's mother is withdrawn as it is now confirmed not to be correct.
It is known that Sarah's mother died at some time in Sarah's childhood and her father re-married.
The family has been identified in the 1841 census of Rotherhithe, but Sarah is not recorded - possibly she was visiting elsewhere on the day of the census.
Sarah Ann Endacott (former name McLean);
(thanks to Eric and Nancy Endacott for the photograph)
The Immigration and Agents' Immigration Lists held by the State Library of New South Wales (microfilm 2135) shows Sarah McLean listed as number 30 among the "single females, not being members of families" on the General Hewitt which arrived in Sydney on 13 November 1848. Her occupation is described as "housemaid", native of London, Surry, Church of England religion, and able both to read and write (as were the majority of young single women on that ship). The ship brought to New South Wales 49 single females, 50 single males, 2 widows and 50 family groups.
In the Archives Authority of New South Wales' Assisted Immigrants document (which can be found on microfilm reel 2458 at the State Library of NSW), records can be found of Sarah's arrival. In addition to the above, is the information that Sarah's parents' names were Richard and Sarah and that only her father was still living at the time of her arrival in Sydney. Under the heading "relatives in colony" it is recorded "none"; under the heading "state of bodily health, strength & probably usefulness" is recorded "good" and under "any complaints regarding treatment on board the ship" is recorded "none" as it is for all the other travellers.
Sarah married James Hooper Endacott on 10 November 1851 in St James Church, in Sydney. According to the marriage certificate, both Sarah and her groom resided at the time in the parish of St. James in inner Sydney. (At the start of the 21st century, St.James Church still stands at the north end of Sydney's Hyde Park and the nearby underground railway station is named "St James").
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The children of the marriage are recorded on the death certificate (with ages in January 1905 at mother's death) : Daniel 53 years |
A different family source of uncertain origin stated the children of the marriage were: Sarah (married Richard Prior, 1886)
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some documents with the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages for New South Wales have the surname spelled "Endecott", for example Daniel (born 1852) and Edward (born 1863) are recorded as Endecott.
- some of the above is also inconsistent with other information; the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages for New South Wales records James as born in 1857 so that he would have been approx 47 yrs
old in 1905, Richard (b. 1859), Edward (b. 1863), Esther (b. 1865), William (b.1867), George & Albert (b.1871), indicating a consistent error in calculating ages, and yet Daniel is recorded as born 1852, making his recorded age correct.
Nancy Endacott writes that she traced fourteen children for James Hooper Endacott and Sarah : Daniel, Mary Ann, Sarah, James Hooper II (the first of the children to be born at Merrendee), Richard Henry and his twin Alice Emma who died in infancy, Maria, Edward, Esther and unnamed twin sister who died, William, John, George and Albert (twins).
Sarah died on 2 January 1905 at Merrendee and was buried the following day on the "Devonshire" property where, to this day, her grave is maintained in good order. The death certificate records that, while there was an undertaker, there was no minister of religion at the funeral. The cause of death is listed as "(a) heat (b) heart failure", suggesting it may have been a very hot January. The witnesses of burial include her nephew, James R. McLean.
