John Wilcox

John was born 17 July 1839 and baptised at Christ Church, Longford, along with his two younger sisters on January 2, 1847.

At 19 (although he claims 21 on his marriage certificate!), he married Sarah Rosier at Christ Church, Longford.

What happened to the marriage? Did John die early? There is a record of a John Wilcox dying in Hobart in 1912, and if this is this John, then is Sarah’s marriage in 1865 bigamous? Or did Sarah not actually marry Josiah Phillips?

Whatever happened here, Sarah died an unpleasant death. I am curious as to how an old lady with almost no movement, who had to be lifted and carried from room to room, managed to get her pipe, which was on the mantelpiece, go back to her chair in the dining room, light it, then put it down beneath her legs so it set fire to her dress…