Z - Zero, Zilch, Zip, Nada

There are a number of people who could fit in this category.

Great-great-grandfather Julius Fuller for one, who after 50+ years research still only appears on two official records in England before he emigrated to New Zealand in 1859.

But instead I thought I’d choose someone I really don’t know much about at all.

Ann Blackman.

She is my daughter’s 4 x great-grandmother. I haven’t been able to find her baptism in England, arrival in Australia, marriage or the birth/baptisms of the three children her death certificate says she had. That death certificate is only one of two documents I have found for her in 30 or so years of looking. The second is her daughter’s marriage certificate where she is recorded as a parent.

Ann was 64 when she died 3 May 1870 in Queanbeyan, New South Wales. The informant on the death certificate was her adult daughter. The only child I know for sure. But did Sarah REALLY know the details ? Here is what she supplied.

Name and occupation of Father:

____ Blackman, Blacksmith

Name and maiden surname of Mother:

Not Known

Where born & how long in the Australian Colonies or States:

Hastings, Kent, England; 33 years in New South Wales

Place of marriage, age and to whom:

Sydney, Not Known, Joseph Dickinson

Children of marriage:

Living 1 male, 2 females

Eight years later when Joseph Dickinson died, his 2^nd wife was the informant on the certificate and she stated 2 children to a former wife. Very helpful – not. 

The information provided by her Sarah suggests that Ann arrived in New South Wales about 1837. Sarah was born about 1845/1846, deduced from information on her marriage certificate. In 1862 she was 17, her father’s consent was given to the marriage and noted on the certificate. She may have been younger though since at the birth of her 2^nd child in 1864 her husband gave her age as 18. Therefore Ann & Joseph's marriage must have taken place between 1837 and 1846. Joseph Dickinson was a convict, there should be an Application to Marry for him; unless the marriage didn’t take place until after he received his Certificate of Freedom in 1841. There doesn’t appear to be an application – although there is something in that dataset which could do with a bit more investigation. The only Ann Blackman marriage I can find on the NSW indexes is around the right time - but not to Joseph. 

In 1850 Joseph Dickinson was charged with grossly abusing his wife, and later in the year jailed for breaching the conditions set in court. No children were mentioned in the newspaper coverage of the court case.

So far no DNA matches are clearly aligned to this little piece of the tree either. So there you go. 

Zero, Zilch, Zip, Nada.

This brings to a close my A-Z blog challenge for Family History Month 2020. I hope you have enjoyed it, maybe discovered something you didn’t know or maybe even been inspired to give it a go yourself.