Maria Ann (Dowling) Whittaker (abt. 1813 - 1905)

Born about 7 Apr 1813 in Chew Magna, Somerset, England

Wife of William Whittaker — married 24 Jul 1847 in Parish Chapel, St Pancras Camden, England

Descendants

Died 29 Jun 1905 at about age 92 in Dowlingville, South Australia, Australia

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Biography

Maria Ann Dowling was born in Chew Magna, Somerset on 7 April 1813. She was the daughter of the rector, George Pyke Dowling. She was baptised at Puckington on 18 August 1820. She eloped with and married her father's coachman, William Whittaker. They initially went to Bristol (England), then to the United States, settling in Brooklyn, Green County, Wisconsin. They had four children there.^[1] They then moved to Kansas Territory before hearing of William's cousin James' untimely death and migrating to South Australia to attempt to claim an inheritance. This took far longer than expected, and much of it was consumed by legal fees, however the three sons eventually took up land on Yorke Peninsula in the district which they named Dowlingville in respect of their mother.

Following William's death, Maria lived with her son John Thomas Whittaker's family at Hillside, Dowlingville, until she died on 29 June 1905, aged 92 years.^[1]

WHITTAKER.—On the 27th June, at Dowlingville, Marie Ann, relict of Wm. Whittaker, late of Kapunda, and daughter of the late Rev. G. P. D. Dowling, Pluckington, England, aged 92 years. Home papers please copy.

The Advertiser, 3 July 1905, page 6^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Beard, Mary, The Whittaker Saga, 1981, ISBN 0 9593675, especially page 33
2. ↑ Family Notices (1905, July 3). The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931), p. 6. Retrieved September 29, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4937556