Maria Steward

All that is known of Maria Steward comes from three official documents: her marriage certificate, the baptism certificate of her first child, and a death certificate that may or may not be hers.

Maria Steward married George Faulkner in Gundaroo on 26 January 1846. The minister was Church of England, E. Smith, the witnesses F. Timmins and M. Timmins of Gundaroo. Maria was seven and a half months pregnant. Six weeks later, on 6 March, she gave birth to their first child, George. Frederick was born in 1848, but his birth was not registered.

Maria and George gave consent to the marriage themselves. Maria was not so young she needed the consent of her parents to marry, and nor did she need the consent of the government. She wasn't a convict or a ticket-of-leave holder.

There is a death certificate for a Maria Falkner, without the "u". She died a pauper in Hyde Park Asylum for Infirm and Destitute Women (now Hyde Park museum) in 1883. Her death, on 16 February, is recorded as caused by "senile debility". She was 63. She was buried in Church of England section of Rookwood Necropolis. The death certificate leaves blank her place of marriage, age at marriage, and children. Her place of birth is listed as Gibraltar.