Analysis: When did Mary Ann Bugg die?
Copyright Carol Baxter 2011
The woman described as “Thunderbolt’s half-caste” who died in November 1867 at the Goulburn River was not Mary Ann Bugg. Rather, it was a woman named Louisa Mason alias Yellow Long. Most Thunderbolt books claim that Louisa Mason was Mary Ann’s nickname although they provide no evidence to support the claim. Surviving records prove that Louisa Mason was a different woman entirely (see Did Mary Ann Bugg die in 1867?).
In fact, Mary Ann Bugg could not possibly have died in November 1867. Proof is found in the birth of her son Frederick Wordsworth Ward in August 1868 at Carroll. Frederick's Birth Certificate lists his mother as Mary Ann Baker (which was Mary Ann Bugg’s legal name at that time) but the certificate omits any reference to his father.[1] The corresponding Baptism Entry, however, lists both parents: Frederick Wordsworth and Mary Ann Ward.[2] These two independent primary-source records prove that the child Frederick was the son of bushranger Frederick Ward and Mary Ann Bugg.
Ever heard of a child in the 1800s being born nine months after its mother’s death? No? Exactly! Mary Ann Bugg could not possibly have died in November 1867. Yet these claims continue to be made, as shown below:[3]
Mary Ann Bugg as at 19 Jun 2011 [3]
The given-name combination Frederick Wordsworth is distinctive and the NSW online Death Register indexes record only one man with these names dying between 1868 and 1979: Frederick Wordsworth Burrows who died in 1937. A brother, Arthur, acted as the informant for Fred Burrows' Death Certificate and reported that Fred's parents were John Burrows and Mary Ann Boggs. What are the odds of two men with the rare given name combination Frederick Wordsworth both having a mother whose name was, effectively, Mary Ann Bugg.[4]
Frederick Burrows himself acted as the informant for his mother’s Death Certificate in 1905. At first glance, the information he provided suggests that Mary Ann Boggs/Burrows was not Mary Ann Bugg. Frederick reported that his mother was born in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand, was married twice – to Patrick McNally and to John Burrows - and had thirteen children to the two men.[5] Conversely, Mary Ann Bugg was born in Gloucester, NSW, was married to Edmund Baker in 1848, and had children with Frederick Ward aka Captain Thunderbolt in the 1860s.[6]
At second glance, however, the similarities between the two Mary Anns are striking. Mary Ann Burrows was the exact age that Mary Ann Bugg would have been in April 1905. Mary Ann Burrows’ son Frederick was the exact age that Mary Ann Bugg’s son Frederick would have been in April 1905. Both women had fathers named James Brigg(s) who worked as station overseers – Mary Ann Bugg’s father, of course, answered to Brigg throughout his convict servitude (see Was Mary Ann's surname Bugg or Brigg?). Both women had mothers who were named Charlotte, with no surname known for either. Mary Ann Burrows’ death certificate reported that she was born in New Zealand and came to Australia when aged about 2, while her Obituary noted that she was a “native of New Zealand and came to Port Stephens with her parents”.[7] However Mary Ann Burrows herself reported in her son George's Birth Certificate in 1876 that she was born in Gloucester[8] (which in those days was in the Port Stephens' magistrate's district), where Mary Ann Bugg was also born (see Baptism).[9]
It is important to note that in the mid-1830s Gloucester was merely a sheep station employing convict shepherds. Children born in the district tended to be the product of liaisons between convicts and Aboriginal women. New Zealand similarly had only a small white population at that time, mainly missionaries and male convict escapees from Australia, so "white" children tended also to be the product of liaisons with Maori women. This suggests that Mary Ann Burrows herself had indigenous ancestry, whatever its nature. It is also important to note that in the mid-late 1800s many Aboriginal people claimed New Zealand ancestry because Maori were treated with less contempt. Given these circumstances, it is more likely that Mary Ann Burrows was born in Gloucester, as she herself stated, rather than New Zealand, as stated by family members after her death, and that any claim to Maori ancestry was a self-protective fiction. Indeed, multiple references have survived showing that Mary Ann Bugg herself claimed Maori rather than Aboriginal ancestry, including an article published in the Empire in 1865 reporting that "the captain [Thunderbolt] has a Maori as his gin".[9a] (see Did Mary Ann Bugg claim Maori ancestry?)
While an incredibly strong correlation clearly existed between the births and family backgrounds of the two Mary Anns, it was still necessary to link the two women in later life.
Mary Ann Burrows’ Death Certificate recorded that she married Patrick McNally when aged 16 (therefore around 1850) and that they had three children, Patrick, Mary A. and Ellen, seemingly born in the 1850s. Her Obituary noted that she went to Bathurst in 1851 and subsequently to Mudgee, which suggests that her three McNally children were born in the Bathurst/Mudgee district.
Significantly, the Mudgee church registers record the baptisms of three children with almost identical given names (Mary Jane, Patrick Christopher and Ellen), who were born to James McNally/McAnaly and Mary Ann Baker between 1856 and March 1860.[10] Additionally, these children’s baptism entries reveal that they were illegitimate, indicating that James McNally and Mary Ann Baker were not married, and that James was a farmer at Cooyal in 1860 – where Frederick Ward was residing when he met Mary Ann Bugg later that same year.[11]
So here we have three children listed on Mary Ann Burrows’ death certificate who were clearly born to a woman named Mary Ann Baker (which was Mary Ann Bugg’s legal name at that time), a woman who was residing in the same vicinity as Mary Ann Bugg was residing when she met Fred Ward in the same year.
Confirmation that Mary Ann Baker, the mother of the McNally children, was indeed Mary Ann Bugg is found in the Baptism, Marriage and Death certificates for her daughter Mary Jane McNally. These list Mary Jane's mother’s surname respectively as Baker, Brigg and Bug.[12] As Mary Jane McNally and her two siblings were also listed on Mary Ann Burrows' death certificate, this is further confirmation that Mary Ann Burrows and Mary Ann Bugg and Mary Ann Baker were one and the same.
Mary Ann Burrows’ death certificate named ten children born to her second husband, John Burrows, although some were in fact born to Fred Ward (see Mary Ann Bugg's Children). Mary Ann registered the birth of only one of these Burrows children: George Herbert Burrows in 1876. While she listed her surname as Burgess on George’s Birth Certificate, George himself reported on his Marriage Certificate that his mother’s name was Mary Ann Buggs.[13] Evidently Mary Ann was attempting to hide her true identity in the 1870s behind the surname Burgess.
Two of the Mary Ann Burrows’ other children – James Burrows (born in 1851 during her first stint with John Burrows; see Baptism) and Ida Margaret Burrows (born c1874 during her second stint with John Burrows) – were residing together at Hillgrove near Armidale in 1896 when Ida married. Both Ida’s Marriage Certificate and Death Certificate listed her mother as Mary Ann Bugg.[14] Also, their brother John Burrows (born 1853; see Baptism) listed his mother as Mary Ann Baker on his own Marriage Certificate in 1877[15], while their youngest brother, Arthur, listed his mother as Mary Ann Buggs on his own Marriage Certificate in 1918.[16] All of these children are listed on Mary Ann Burrows' 1905 death certificate.[5]
Clearly, Mary Ann Bugg did not die in 1867 but lived on as Mary Ann Baker/Brigg/Burgess/Burrows until her death in 1905. Seemingly, she hid the truth of her initial marriage to Edmund Baker and, to some extent at least, her connection with the notorious Captain Thunderbolt.
Some Thunderbolt researchers continue to dismiss all of the above evidence showing that Mary Ann Bugg died as Mary Ann Burrows in 1905 simply because Mary Ann Burrows' death certificate stated that she was born in New Zealand and came to NSW when she was aged two.[3] But Mary Ann, of course, did not provide the information about her birthplace on her death certificate because she was dead by that time.
She did, however, provide information about her own birthplace when she registered the birth of her son George Herbert Burrows in 1876. Significantly, she reported that she was born in Gloucester, NSW (as was Mary Ann Bugg), not New Zealand.[13] This produces the response that Mary Ann Burrows could not be Mary Ann Bugg because Burrows listed her maiden surname as Burgess on the above-mentioned George's birth certificate. However this argument ignores the fact that George himself listed his mother's maiden surname as Buggs on his own marriage certificate.[13]
Ultimately, we need only one piece of evidence to prove that Mary Ann Burrows was indeed Mary Ann Bugg: namely, one reference to one child listed on Mary Ann Burrows' death certificate showing that the child's mother carried the rare maiden surname Bugg instead of one of the tens of thousands of other possible surnames she could bear. As it turns out, we have many such references, and George's marriage certificate is merely one of them (see also Searching for Mary Ann Bugg's children). But the clincher lies in the references to Mary Ann's son Frederick. For purposes of clarity, this evidence is repeated below:
- Frederick Wordsworth Ward aka Captain Thunderbolt and his lover Mary Ann Bugg had a child named Frederick Wordsworth Ward born in August 1868;[1 & 2]
- No further references to this child are found under the name Frederick Wordsworth Ward in the aftermath; however references have been found to a Frederick Wordsworth Burrows, who was the same age as Frederick Wordsworth Ward junior;
- A Frederick Burrows acted as the informant for the death certificate of his mother Mary Ann Burrows in April 1905 and reported that he was aged 36 at that time. This was the exact age that Thunderbolt and Mary Ann's son Fred junior would have been if he was still alive in April 1905 – to turn 37 in August 1905;[5]
- This Frederick Burrows, a horse trainer, died in 1937. At that time his brother, Arthur (who was also listed on Mary Ann Burrows' death certificate), reported that Fred's full name was Frederick Wordsworth Burrows;[4]
- This Frederick Wordsworth Burrows was the only person listed in the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages Online Death Indexes for the two centuries from 1787 to 1980 with the rare given name combination Frederick Wordsworth;
- Frederick Wordsworth Burrows' brother Arthur reported that Fred's parents were named John Burrows and Mary Ann Boggs (the latter being her maiden name, according to Arthur);[4]
- Arthur Burrows himself, when providing the information for his own marriage certificate, reported that his parents were named John Burrows and Mary Ann Buggs (the latter her maiden name, according to Arthur);[16]
- Clearly Fred and Arthur's mother carried the married surname Burrows and the maiden surname Boggs or Buggs;[4 & 16]
- Clearly Frederick Wordsworth Burrows was the same person as Frederick Wordsworth Ward, son of Fred Ward aka Captain Thunderbolt and Mary Ann Bugg, but instead of calling himself Ward, he used his stepfather's surname Burrows;
- Clearly Frederick Wordsworth Burrows' mother, Mary Ann Burrows, was the same person as Captain Thunderbolt's lover, Mary Ann Bugg;
- Clearly Frederick Wordsworth Burrows' mother, Mary Ann Bugg, was the woman who died as Mary Ann Burrows in 1905.
Frederick Burrows himself acted as the informant for his mother’s Death Certificate in 1905. At first glance, the information he provided suggests that Mary Ann Boggs/Burrows was not Mary Ann Bugg. Frederick reported that his mother was born in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand, was married twice – to Patrick McNally and to John Burrows - and had thirteen children to the two men.[5] Conversely, Mary Ann Bugg was born in Gloucester, NSW, was married to Edmund Baker in 1848, and had children with Frederick Ward aka Captain Thunderbolt in the 1860s.[6]
At second glance, however, the similarities between the two Mary Anns are striking. Mary Ann Burrows was the exact age that Mary Ann Bugg would have been in April 1905. Mary Ann Burrows’ son Frederick was the exact age that Mary Ann Bugg’s son Frederick would have been in April 1905. Both women had fathers named James Brigg(s) who worked as station overseers – Mary Ann Bugg’s father, of course, answered to Brigg throughout his convict servitude (see Was Mary Ann's surname Bugg or Brigg?). Both women had mothers who were named Charlotte, with no surname known for either. Mary Ann Burrows’ death certificate reported that she was born in New Zealand and came to Australia when aged about 2, while her Obituary noted that she was a “native of New Zealand and came to Port Stephens with her parents”.[7] However Mary Ann Burrows herself reported in her son George's Birth Certificate in 1876 that she was born in Gloucester[8] (which in those days was in the Port Stephens' magistrate's district), where Mary Ann Bugg was also born (see Baptism).[9]
It is important to note that in the mid-1830s Gloucester was merely a sheep station employing convict shepherds. Children born in the district tended to be the product of liaisons between convicts and Aboriginal women. New Zealand similarly had only a small white population at that time, mainly missionaries and male convict escapees from Australia, so "white" children tended also to be the product of liaisons with Maori women. This suggests that Mary Ann Burrows herself had indigenous ancestry, whatever its nature. It is also important to note that in the mid-late 1800s many Aboriginal people claimed New Zealand ancestry because Maori were treated with less contempt. Given these circumstances, it is more likely that Mary Ann Burrows was born in Gloucester, as she herself stated, rather than New Zealand, as stated by family members after her death, and that any claim to Maori ancestry was a self-protective fiction. Indeed, multiple references have survived showing that Mary Ann Bugg herself claimed Maori rather than Aboriginal ancestry, including an article published in the Empire in 1865 reporting that "the captain [Thunderbolt] has a Maori as his gin".[9a] (see Did Mary Ann Bugg claim Maori ancestry?)
While an incredibly strong correlation clearly existed between the births and family backgrounds of the two Mary Anns, it was still necessary to link the two women in later life.
Mary Ann Burrows’ Death Certificate recorded that she married Patrick McNally when aged 16 (therefore around 1850) and that they had three children, Patrick, Mary A. and Ellen, seemingly born in the 1850s. Her Obituary noted that she went to Bathurst in 1851 and subsequently to Mudgee, which suggests that her three McNally children were born in the Bathurst/Mudgee district.
Significantly, the Mudgee church registers record the baptisms of three children with almost identical given names (Mary Jane, Patrick Christopher and Ellen), who were born to James McNally/McAnaly and Mary Ann Baker between 1856 and March 1860.[10] Additionally, these children’s baptism entries reveal that they were illegitimate, indicating that James McNally and Mary Ann Baker were not married, and that James was a farmer at Cooyal in 1860 – where Frederick Ward was residing when he met Mary Ann Bugg later that same year.[11]
So here we have three children listed on Mary Ann Burrows’ death certificate who were clearly born to a woman named Mary Ann Baker (which was Mary Ann Bugg’s legal name at that time), a woman who was residing in the same vicinity as Mary Ann Bugg was residing when she met Fred Ward in the same year.
Confirmation that Mary Ann Baker, the mother of the McNally children, was indeed Mary Ann Bugg is found in the Baptism, Marriage and Death certificates for her daughter Mary Jane McNally. These list Mary Jane's mother’s surname respectively as Baker, Brigg and Bug.[12] As Mary Jane McNally and her two siblings were also listed on Mary Ann Burrows' death certificate, this is further confirmation that Mary Ann Burrows and Mary Ann Bugg and Mary Ann Baker were one and the same.
Mary Ann Burrows’ death certificate named ten children born to her second husband, John Burrows, although some were in fact born to Fred Ward (see Mary Ann Bugg's Children). Mary Ann registered the birth of only one of these Burrows children: George Herbert Burrows in 1876. While she listed her surname as Burgess on George’s Birth Certificate, George himself reported on his Marriage Certificate that his mother’s name was Mary Ann Buggs.[13] Evidently Mary Ann was attempting to hide her true identity in the 1870s behind the surname Burgess.
Two of the Mary Ann Burrows’ other children – James Burrows (born in 1851 during her first stint with John Burrows; see Baptism) and Ida Margaret Burrows (born c1874 during her second stint with John Burrows) – were residing together at Hillgrove near Armidale in 1896 when Ida married. Both Ida’s Marriage Certificate and Death Certificate listed her mother as Mary Ann Bugg.[14] Also, their brother John Burrows (born 1853; see Baptism) listed his mother as Mary Ann Baker on his own Marriage Certificate in 1877[15], while their youngest brother, Arthur, listed his mother as Mary Ann Buggs on his own Marriage Certificate in 1918.[16] All of these children are listed on Mary Ann Burrows' 1905 death certificate.[5]
Clearly, Mary Ann Bugg did not die in 1867 but lived on as Mary Ann Baker/Brigg/Burgess/Burrows until her death in 1905. Seemingly, she hid the truth of her initial marriage to Edmund Baker and, to some extent at least, her connection with the notorious Captain Thunderbolt.
Some Thunderbolt researchers continue to dismiss all of the above evidence showing that Mary Ann Bugg died as Mary Ann Burrows in 1905 simply because Mary Ann Burrows' death certificate stated that she was born in New Zealand and came to NSW when she was aged two.[3] But Mary Ann, of course, did not provide the information about her birthplace on her death certificate because she was dead by that time.
She did, however, provide information about her own birthplace when she registered the birth of her son George Herbert Burrows in 1876. Significantly, she reported that she was born in Gloucester, NSW (as was Mary Ann Bugg), not New Zealand.[13] This produces the response that Mary Ann Burrows could not be Mary Ann Bugg because Burrows listed her maiden surname as Burgess on the above-mentioned George's birth certificate. However this argument ignores the fact that George himself listed his mother's maiden surname as Buggs on his own marriage certificate.[13]
Ultimately, we need only one piece of evidence to prove that Mary Ann Burrows was indeed Mary Ann Bugg: namely, one reference to one child listed on Mary Ann Burrows' death certificate showing that the child's mother carried the rare maiden surname Bugg instead of one of the tens of thousands of other possible surnames she could bear. As it turns out, we have many such references, and George's marriage certificate is merely one of them (see also Searching for Mary Ann Bugg's children). But the clincher lies in the references to Mary Ann's son Frederick. For purposes of clarity, this evidence is repeated below:
- Frederick Wordsworth Ward aka Captain Thunderbolt and his lover Mary Ann Bugg had a child named Frederick Wordsworth Ward born in August 1868;[1 & 2]
- No further references to this child are found under the name Frederick Wordsworth Ward in the aftermath; however references have been found to a Frederick Wordsworth Burrows, who was the same age as Frederick Wordsworth Ward junior;
- A Frederick Burrows acted as the informant for the death certificate of his mother Mary Ann Burrows in April 1905 and reported that he was aged 36 at that time. This was the exact age that Thunderbolt and Mary Ann's son Fred junior would have been if he was still alive in April 1905 – to turn 37 in August 1905;[5]
- This Frederick Burrows, a horse trainer, died in 1937. At that time his brother, Arthur (who was also listed on Mary Ann Burrows' death certificate), reported that Fred's full name was Frederick Wordsworth Burrows;[4]
- This Frederick Wordsworth Burrows was the only person listed in the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages Online Death Indexes for the two centuries from 1787 to 1980 with the rare given name combination Frederick Wordsworth;
- Frederick Wordsworth Burrows' brother Arthur reported that Fred's parents were named John Burrows and Mary Ann Boggs (the latter being her maiden name, according to Arthur);[4]
- Arthur Burrows himself, when providing the information for his own marriage certificate, reported that his parents were named John Burrows and Mary Ann Buggs (the latter her maiden name, according to Arthur);[16]
- Clearly Fred and Arthur's mother carried the married surname Burrows and the maiden surname Boggs or Buggs;[4 & 16]
- Clearly Frederick Wordsworth Burrows was the same person as Frederick Wordsworth Ward, son of Fred Ward aka Captain Thunderbolt and Mary Ann Bugg, but instead of calling himself Ward, he used his stepfather's surname Burrows;
- Clearly Frederick Wordsworth Burrows' mother, Mary Ann Burrows, was the same person as Captain Thunderbolt's lover, Mary Ann Bugg;
- Clearly Frederick Wordsworth Burrows' mother, Mary Ann Bugg, was the woman who died as Mary Ann Burrows in 1905.
Sources:
[1] Birth Certificate: Frederick Wordsworth Baker [RBMD 1868/0016881]
[2] Baptism: Frederick Wordsworth Ward [RBMD Vol.161 No.1400]
[3] Mary Ann Bugg by Barry Sinclair - sighted 19 Jun 2011 [http://users.tpg.com.au/users/barrymor/Mary%20Ann%20Bugg.html]
[4] Death Certificate: Frederick Wordsworth Burrows [RBDM 1937/0011514]
[5] Death Certificate: Mary Ann Burrows [RBDM 1905/5831]
[6] See Timelines: Mary Ann Bugg
[7] Obituary: Mary Ann Burrows in Mudgee Guardian 27 Apr 1905 p.13
[8] Birth Certificate: George Herbert Burrows [RBDM ref: 1876/0015712]
[9] Baptism: Mary Ann Bugg [RBDM ref: Vol. 23 No. 1494]
[9a] Empire 3 July 1865 p.5
[10] Baptisms: Mary Jane & Patrick Christopher McNally from Mudgee RC Register & Ellen McNally from Mudgee CE Register (details provided by Lynne Robinson)
[11] See Mary Ann Bugg and James McNally
[12] Baptism: Mary Jane McAnaly from Mudgee RC Register (provided by Mudgee historian Lynne Robinson); Marriage Certificate: Mary Jane McNally [RBDM QLD ref: 1882/7584]; Death Certificate: Jane McNally [RBDM QLD ref: 1897/3522]
[13] Birth Certificate: George Herbert Burrows [RBDM ref: 1876/0015712] & Marriage Certificate [RBDM ref: 1900/9103]
[14] Marriage Certificate: Ida Margaret Burrows [RBDM 1896/1179] & Death Certificate: Ida Margaret White [RBMD 1952/0011461]
[15] Gulgong Church of England Marriage Register: Marriage of John Burrows and Sarah Ann Lucas, 1877 [information provided by Mudgee historian, Lynne Robinson] backed up by Marriage Certificate [RBDM ref: 1877/3617]
[16] Marriage Certificate: Arthur Burrows [RBDM ref: 1918/9882]
[1] Birth Certificate: Frederick Wordsworth Baker [RBMD 1868/0016881]
[2] Baptism: Frederick Wordsworth Ward [RBMD Vol.161 No.1400]
[3] Mary Ann Bugg by Barry Sinclair - sighted 19 Jun 2011 [http://users.tpg.com.au/users/barrymor/Mary%20Ann%20Bugg.html]
[4] Death Certificate: Frederick Wordsworth Burrows [RBDM 1937/0011514]
[5] Death Certificate: Mary Ann Burrows [RBDM 1905/5831]
[6] See Timelines: Mary Ann Bugg
[7] Obituary: Mary Ann Burrows in Mudgee Guardian 27 Apr 1905 p.13
[8] Birth Certificate: George Herbert Burrows [RBDM ref: 1876/0015712]
[9] Baptism: Mary Ann Bugg [RBDM ref: Vol. 23 No. 1494]
[9a] Empire 3 July 1865 p.5
[10] Baptisms: Mary Jane & Patrick Christopher McNally from Mudgee RC Register & Ellen McNally from Mudgee CE Register (details provided by Lynne Robinson)
[11] See Mary Ann Bugg and James McNally
[12] Baptism: Mary Jane McAnaly from Mudgee RC Register (provided by Mudgee historian Lynne Robinson); Marriage Certificate: Mary Jane McNally [RBDM QLD ref: 1882/7584]; Death Certificate: Jane McNally [RBDM QLD ref: 1897/3522]
[13] Birth Certificate: George Herbert Burrows [RBDM ref: 1876/0015712] & Marriage Certificate [RBDM ref: 1900/9103]
[14] Marriage Certificate: Ida Margaret Burrows [RBDM 1896/1179] & Death Certificate: Ida Margaret White [RBMD 1952/0011461]
[15] Gulgong Church of England Marriage Register: Marriage of John Burrows and Sarah Ann Lucas, 1877 [information provided by Mudgee historian, Lynne Robinson] backed up by Marriage Certificate [RBDM ref: 1877/3617]
[16] Marriage Certificate: Arthur Burrows [RBDM ref: 1918/9882]