Mary Garwood Fisher (1843, England - possibly 1885, New Zealand) was the second daughter of Mary Ann Warland (1812 - 1847) and John Fisher (1812 - 1843) who married by 1839 in Middlesex. Click this link for the details of Mary Ann Warland's family. Mary Anne's older sister Eliza Harris (nee Warland) migrated to Sydney, Australia in 1844, while her younger brother Henry Warland and his wife Sarah (nee Watts) migrated to Melbourne, Australia by 1855.
Joseph Mandell Waite would marry or have a long-term relationship with Mary Fisher in New Zealand. Joseph was the son of John Waite and Ann Mandale. He was born in Bromley, Cumberland, England in 1834 and christened at Broomfield on 12 January 1834. Joseph was living at Crookdake (Crookdale?) Hall, Bromley in the 1841 and 1851 census.
At an unknown date, Joseph travelled to Victoria, Australia where he would marry Mary Thomlinson - see below.
Mary Ann Warland married John Fisher (21 September 1812, London - 1843) by 1839 in England. They had two children:
John Fisher died in 1843 (likely the death of a person with the same name recorded at St Martin-In-The-Fields). Mary Ann Fisher then married William Nunn; this could be the William Nunn and Mary Ann Fisher whose marriage was recorded at St Martin-In-The-Fields in 1843.
Unfortunately for William, Mary Ann Nunn (nee Warland, previously Fisher) died in 1847; this is probably the Mary Ann Nunn born 1812 whose death is recorded at St Martin-In-The-Fields in 1847. Her two daughters were now only 8 and 4.
Ann Sophia and Mary Garwood Fisher's uncle Edward Warland and his wife Mary (nee Cutler) cared for the two children after the death of both parents, as recorded in the 1851 census records. Edward and Mary Warland had two children of their own, Alfred Warland (born 1849) and Sarah Ann Warland (born 1856, died in South Africa).
There are various stories about how Ann Sophie Fisher ended up in New Zealand.
One story states that Ann Sophia Fisher travelled to New Zealand in 1851 at the age of 12 as a nurse maid for a wealthy family, possibly Dr Baker or Mr Godley. (Source: Joy Wilson, from Nancy Gray). John Robert Godley, a wealthy man, named his first home in New Zealand 'Stickland', which may be a reference to the Stickland family that is linked with the Warland family from Dorset.
Another story states that Ann Fisher may have arrived in 1851 on board the same ship, the Charlotte Jane, as a Dr Baker, a doctor and photographer. The problem with this version of her story is that Ann Sophia Fisher was recorded at her uncle Edward's house in the 1851 UK census; the census was taken after the Charlotte Jane had left England. There were, however, other people on the ship with the surname of Fisher and these may be related or be a coincidence.
Either way, Ann Sophia Fisher was in Christchurch, New Zealand by June 1861 and married William Gray at the home of Mr Smithson in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 13 June 1861 (NZ BDM Ref 1861/3217).
William and Ann Sophia Gray (nee Fisher) had eleven children from 1862 to 1880, who were all born in the Canterbury District of New Zealand.
Mary Thomlinson was born in Cumberland, England in 1822. She was the daughter of John Thomlinson and Mary Carmichael. She was christened at Broomfield on 24 June 1822. The census of 1841 shows Mary, aged 19 living with her family at Crookdake Hall, Bromley. She emigrated on her own to Australia, departing Liverpool on 20 June 1856 and arriving in Melbourne aboard the mail ship Golden Era on 9 September 1856.
Joseph Mandale Waite married Mary Thomlinson in 1859 in Victoria.
Joseph Mandale and Mary Waite (nee Thomlinson) were recorded in Vaughan, a small gold mining town south of Castlemaine, Victoria where some of the richest shallow alluvial goldfields were found in 1851. Joseph and Mary had three children:
A Mary G Fisher arrived in Lyttelton (south of Christchurch), New Zealand on 1 July 1864 on board the Amoor, an American ship that departed London on 5 April 1864 and was reported to have had a 'splendid passage of 85 days' direct from Lands End.
Mary was recorded in the passenger list as a 21-year-old Domestic Servant. Given her age, the 'G' second letter and the fact that the ship travelled directly to Lyttelton, she may have been Mary Garwood Fisher, born in 1843, the younger sister of Ann Sophia Gray (nee Fisher) who was living in Christchurch.
The Mount Alexander Mail of 23 February 1864 carried a notice of 'New Insolvents'. It reported that 'Joseph Mandall Waite, of Tarilta, late a storekeeper, but now out of business. Debts, £452 10s; assets 72 2s 8d; deficiency £380 7s 4d. Causes of insolvency: Bad debts, pressure of creditors, adverse judgment, and fear of arrest'.
The Melbourne Herald of 26 February 1864 published 'Insolvency Notices' on page 4. The notice stated that:
In the insolvent estate of Joseph Mandall Waite of Tarilta in the Colony of Victoria, storekeeper - whereas the estate of Joseph Mandall Waite of Tarilta in the Colony of Victoria, storekeeper was, on the 19th day of February AD 1864 placed under sequestration in my hands [... details of the official assignee of insolvent estates ...] I hereby appoint a public meeting of the creditors of the said insolvent to be holden before me at the Insolvent Courthouse, Lonsdale Street, Melbourne on Tuesday the 8th day of March next at the hour of eleven o'clock in the forenoon, for proof of debts and for the election of an assignee, if necessary, to act with the official assignee, and unless it shall be shown at such meeting that the goods and effects of the said insolvent shall exceed the sum of one hundred pounds, I shall summarily proceed to rank the debts which shall then be provided against the said estate and direct the proceeds to be distributed accordingly.
Perhaps as a result of this insolvency, Mary Waite (recorded as Mary Wait, aged 36) and her two surviving children Joseph (recorded as 'TJ Wait', aged 4) and Mary Ellen (recorded as 'Infant Wait', aged 1), but without her husband, returned to England in 1865 aboard the 'Great Britain'. The ship departed Melbourne on 16 March 1865, arriving in Liverpool on 20 May 1865. It was reported in Melbourne that the ship had been lost, having struck icebergs, but that proved to be false - see The SS Great Britain Amongst Icebergs.
A drawing of the SS Great Britain among icebergs near Cape Horn from the website above, which likely gave rise to the suggestion that the ship had hit the icebergs
The details are unknown but Joseph Mandall Waite appears to have travelled to New Zealand sometime between 1865 and 1871. Perhaps he travelled under an assumed name to escape his insolvency problems.
Mary was recorded in the 1871 census living in Aspatria, Cumberland, England with Joseph and Mary.
About 1897 she traveled to Montreal, Quebec, Canada to visit Joseph, who was living there. It is suggested in Ancestry that she died on the return journey. She was buried on 8 June 1897 in Philips Park Cemetery, Manchester.
Mary Fisher is believed to have married Joseph Mandell Waite (abt 1832, England - ) sometime around 1871. However, no record of this marriage has yet been found in NZ BDM records online. Four other Mary Fishers married in New Zealand from 1865 to 1884. None had a husband named Joseph.
Mary and Joseph Waite had the following children.
In February 1880, Joseph M Waite was recorded as being the owner of number 3 of Block 6 in the new suburb of Sandridge, Borough of Sydenham, Christchurch, New Zealand. (Press, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4535, 12 February 1880, Page 4).
In March 1881, Joseph M Waite was noted in the Star (Christchurch) seeking an interview regarding the meaning of a 'private street'. (Issue 4025, 15 March 1881, Page 3)
Some time before 1885, the Waite family moved to Auckland. It has been suggested that they moved there because the government was handing out plots of land to men of eligible age.
Mary Waite died on 20 November 1885 in Auckland, New Zealand (NZ BDM Ref 4360). She was buried with her son John, who had died aged 10 months old about a month earlier, at Symonds Street Cemetery, Auckland. The BDM sequence of numbers shows that she died (reference 4360) about a month after John died (reference 4177). See this Findagrave record.
Family history recalls that, after moving to Auckland or further north, members of the family met up with the Thompson family that had arrived in Mongonui in 1859. The original Thompson (Charles Thompson) had moved to Australia after the death of his second wife. He took his youngest daughter with him to Kiama and there connected with the Tory family (Tory Hotel)(and later also connected with the Bullen Circus).
See below in 1900 for the marriage of Sarah Ann Waite to William George Thompson.
Joseph Mandell Waite may have returned to England by 1899 when his son Edward married, the notice states 'JM Waite of Cumberland, England and MJ Shackleton late of Wakefield, Yorkshire'.
One family story suggests that Joseph had a wealthy family back in England and, as his money had run out he was going back to retrieve it. He may have stopped in Australia on the way to see if there was still gold to collect.
The name 'Mandell' is remembered in the family history. This is why there several people with Mandell as their middle name.
Sarah Ann Waite (1876 - 1950) married William George Thompson on 8 January 1900 (NZ BDM Ref 2009/21169). Her father Joseph was not in New Zealand at the time.
Sarah Ann Thompson (nee Waite) divorced from William Thompson and re-married James Fulton in 1930 (NZ BDM Ref 1930/800).
Page created 20 March 2025, last updated 20 March 2025. Copyright © Andrew Warland