I have decided to write about my paternal great-grandmother, Mary Cameron and the information surrounding her marriage. Mary, the daughter of Dugald & Christian Cameron, was married to William Connor on the 19th day of July 1853. They were married by the Hinton Presbyterian minister, Robert Blain, at Bartie's Farm near Hinton. Hinton is outside Maitland in the Hunter Valley of NSW.
Mary had arrived in Australia with her Scottish parents in around 1842 after travelling to New Zealand from Scotland in 1839. It is uncertain when the Cameron's actually arrived in Australia but their eldest daughter married at Williams River in 1845.
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| Marriage of Mary Cameron & William Connor |
Thinking about Mary's marriage I try and imagine what her wedding day would be like. Firstly, Mary could not read or write so only put her mark on the marriage register. Secondly, both families were staunch Presbyterians so would not have had a lot of celebration. I imagine that they would have had a celebration meal and perhaps roasted meats such as beef or mutton.
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| Map showing area between Hunter & Williams River 1830-1889 NLA map 1436 e-v |
Both the Connor & Cameron families were faming in the Hunter region and two of the Connor brothers were working on Thomas Bartie's farm at the time of the marriage. Bartie's Farm, called Rosebank, is situated in the centre of the map directly across from here.
I hope Mary's wedding day dawned bright and sunny. July was wintertime and may have been grey but I choose to think of a bright fresh day for Mary to start her married life as she had many long and hard years ahead of her.
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