Mary (Keefe) Chambers (abt. 1822 - 1896)

Born about 1822 in Ireland

Descendants

Died 29 Jul 1896 at about age 74 in East Maitland, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

Mary was born about 1822. She passed away in 1896.

Marriage: Mary Keefe married James Kelly on 2 September 1838 at East(?) Maitland, New South Wales, Australia.^[1]

Marriage: Mary had a de facto marriage with Dr William Brown (1819-1859)

They had children:

• Alexander Brown 9 February 1851–1926
• William Brown abt 1853–
• John Brown abt 1855–
• Marian Brown abt 1857–
• Lilias Brown abt 1860, m. 1899 Thomas Dalton, d.1930

Her de facto husband William Brown died on 3 December 1859 in East Maitland. Mary and their oldest four children were mentioned in his will (Lilias apparently was born after the will was drawn up)

Marriage: Mary married Joseph Chambers, a solicitor in East Maitland, on 13 October 1873.^[2][3]

Death: Mary Chambers died on 29 July 1896 at East Maitland, New South Wales^[4] She was buried in East Maitland Cemetery in the same grave as her husband Joseph Chambers.^[5]

Will and Probate of Mary Chambers, widow of East Maitland: She appointed her son Alexander Brown executor and trustee. Beneficiaries were her daughters Lilias Brown and Marian Law, wife of Henry Law. Estate included land at Morpeth and East Maitland.^[6]

Research Notes

• "Mary Keefe Arrived in Aus: 1830 per Ship Forth; Born: 1822c, Died: 1896 Died at East Maitland NSW AUS" Biographical Detail Forms held by the Society of Australian Genealogists, Sydney. The first Source number refers to a file held by SAG and the numbers after the slash refer to the line entry on the Form.; Source Reference: 0526\015. (cited in BDA) TO CHECK
• Her husband was possibly James Kelly (1819-1882) HOWEVER if James Kelly died at Cootamundra in 1882, her marriage to Joseph Chambers in 1873 would then be bigamous. TO CHECK

Sources

1. ↑ Marriage: NSW Registry of BDM online index 317/1838 V1838317 123 KELLY JAMES KEEFE MARY LK (Roman Catholic East Maitland; Maitland; West Maitland)
2. ↑ Marriage: NSW Registry of BDM online index 2980/1873 CHAMBERS JOSEPH KELLY MARY MAITLAND
3. ↑ https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/members/Pages/member-details.aspx?pk=415
4. ↑ Death: NSW Registry of BDM online index CHAMBERS MARY 10415/1896 THOMAS UNKNOWN EAST MAITLAND
5. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/48628801/mary-chambers: accessed 07 August 2023), memorial page for Mary Chambers (1824–1896), Find a Grave Memorial ID 48628801, citing East Maitland Cemetery, East Maitland, Maitland City, New South Wales, Australia; Maintained by Lucas (contributor 50499237).
6. ↑ Mary Chambers, Occupation Widow, Residence East Maitland, Death date 29 Jul 1896, Will number 12168, Record set New South Wales Will Books 1800-1952, Find my past database https://www.findmypast.com.au/transcript?id=ANZ%2FNSWWILLS%2F536615