My Granny CLARKE

[mum mum]

Just updating this post to bring it up to date, I am hoping that someone will come across it when looking for Sarah or Henry, [Clark/Holmes/Lim Sue]

I have Sarah's birth certificate, Sarah Dim Sue, born 1877, father Joseph Dim Sue, Chinese Doctor who was born in Amoy Province in China. I can find no trace of Sarah after this, she is listed as living at her mothers death in 1919. She is not the Sarah who married John Taylor at Bombala or the Sarah who married a Quinnell at Gundagai.

The son listed on Jane Clarks death certificate in 1919 as 'Henry' or Harry was actually born Julius Holmes, 1883 in Grahamstown, near Adelong NSW, father unknown, mother Elizabeth Holmes, formerly Woods.

Obviously Granny Clark had a short relationship with the Chinese Doctor resulting in two children, Joseph and Sarah. She was then on her own for a while and some man, name unknown left her pregnant with Julius/ Henry. She has then possibly had another relationship with Henry Clark leaving her family believing that Clark was the father of the last three children. Maybe, perhaps it was just preferable to admitting the Chinese connection.

Jane Elizabeth Clark is at Granya in 1909, no Mr Clark with her, I can't find a likely death for a Henry Clark before then though.

I also can't find any likely records for Julius/Henry Clark/Holmes serving in WW1, I even searched under Tumut/Adelong/Grahamstown and trawled through them all, I dont think he served.

mum mum

[mum mum]

Hi,
Sorry to bore you all wth this, another possible development though.

Sarah 'Dim Sue' [Holmes/ Clarke] may have married a Davis,  found a private member tree on Ancestry and am hoping that the owner will get back to me. This tree apparently has a photo of Sarah Jane Davis, nee Holmes born 1873 in NSW with Elizabeth Hanley, [my Great Grandmother]. The photo was taken in 1930, so Sarah was still alive then.
I am not having any luck finding a marriage for Sarah Clarke/ Holmes to a Davis or a death for Sarah Davis, mother Jane Elizabeth, father? God knows which one she would have named as her father, but the tree says Holmes.

Why can't my mother remember her Auntie Sarah, after all Mum was 3 years old when this photo was taken, [joking] I just hope the Tree owner gets back to me.
mum mum

[RayWitt]

Hi there mum mum.
I came across this posting via a Google search for Jane Wood.
I have traced back our family tree as far as Jane Elizabeth Wood who married William James Holmes in Sydney 1853.  These are my 3rd-Great-Grandparents.
My branch comes from their daughter Mary Jane b:1854, who married George Quinnell (at least that is what I can gather).
I have very little information on Jane, but as regards William James Holmes, I have listed that he arrived in NSW as a convict 17 July 1837. According to the Old Bailey record his age was 29 at the time of trial, but other family tree listings show he was born Norfolk c.1819, making him 18/19 when sent to Australia (perhaps a misprint in the court records).  If he was indeed born in 1819 he was 56 year old if he died in 1875 or more like 66 if his court records are correct. 
I tried searching the Old Bailey records for "William Holmes" but there were a few other entries who were also transported, but only 7 years, not 14 year like the one I have recorded. The 1837 conviction was for 14 years, and he was given his release in NSW in 1851 (approx. 32yrs old), so this seems to fit with him being free to marry Jane 2 years later.
Thank you for the information you provided and if you have any new information about Jane I would be interested to know (especially her ancestors).

[mum mum]

Hello and thanks for the reply, I will send you a personal message with my email address so we can exchange information more easily.
I have quite a bit of information on Jane, where she was born and died, I'm still unable to find out what happened to two of her children. William Holmes is another story, we had given up on finding out how he got to Australia as we hadn't been able to positively identify a convict arrival as being him.
Do you know what ship he arrived on?
mum mum

[wendish001]

Hi I have a picture of Mary Jane Holmes that made me curious of her nationality. I just wanted to check if her father is definitely William James Holmes or if she could be the child of Joseph Lim.

Thankyou,
Wendish001

[mum mum]

Hi Wendy,
I would like to see a picture of Mary Jane, my records show that she was born in 1854 so she would have been William Holmes daughter She married a Quinnell from memory
mum mum

[RayWitt]

I have one photo of Mary Jane as an older woman, who looks very much like her mother Jane Elizabeth Wood(s) when she was a very elderly woman, as well as Her daughter Maria Quinnell when she too was elderly.
There were many more siblings of Mary Jane born to Jane and William Holmes before Joseph Lin Sue (Lim Sue), and Mary Jane and her brother John (perhaps twins as they were born the same year) were the first children born to Mary and William Holmes so it is very unlikely it could be Joseph as the father, although it is never a certainty that William was the father.
I also have a photo of Joseph son of Joseph and Mary Jane, who has definite Asian features from his father.

[brooke88]

I know this is old  but hopefully someone will get a notification.

Just something to add to this mystery, my family tree has linked me with Jane Elizabeth Wood, Swan River, death Granya, as the mother of Ellen Holmes Tumut 1867
Ellen then married George Taylor and settled in Condobolin.

No one on here has mentioned an Ellen, so could my tree hints be wrong?

[brooke88]

I found she had 3 spouses and 12 children, one of which was Ellen - solved