THE STORY OF ANN GROVER & WILLIAM ORGAN


INTRODUCTION.

This is my record of my great-grand mother, Ann Grover. She was born to Edward and Martha Grover at Brighton, Sussex on 3 September 1829. She had a younger brother, Edward also born in Brighton in 1833.
Little is known of her younger years in Brighton. But like many English of the time, she and her brother decided to migrate to NSW to make a better life. Her ship’s landing papers show her as a “dressmaker / milliner” and a Baptist by religion
She seems to have been a very interesting person as I have found that Ann was a strong & determined person who could handle any difficult situation easily especially in those early days in Illawarra’s establishment.
She is often mentioned in Robert Hardy's family history book :

“From Whence They Came – A Brief History of the Organ Family “.

Ann’s brother, Edward, a carpenter/joiner by trade, had married Eleanor Baldook in Brighton in 1852 and it seems that the three decided to try a new life in NSW.

They joined the barque “Meteor” at Southampton with 323 other emigrants on 17 March, 1853 to go to the new world.

ARRIVAL IN SYDNEY.

Ann, aged 24 and Edward, aged 20 and his wife, Eleanor, aged 22 arrived in Sydney Cove on the 3 July 1853. They were each “paid one pound for self” as they stepped ashore.
I am unsure of their early days in Sydney but they didn’t stay there very long. It is apparent that they split up with Ann moving to Wollongong and Edward /Eleanor going to join Eleanor’s Uncle in Glen Innes, New England.

By 1853 the Illawarra district had grown considerable from its early days in the 1820s. The region was composed basically of working class free settlers, emancipists, soldiers and convicts. It presented many opportunities to anyone who wanted to settle there. It had many beautiful beaches and a temperate climate with an expanding economy. The area had been sub-divided and Wollongong township rapidly developing.

It is unknown why Ann moved there but being a dressmaker / milliner she would have a ready market. She met William Henry Organ, son of George and Maria whose family had been in NSW since 1835. George arrived in Sydney in 1839 on the Bussorah Merchant with members of his family

They were :

Elias & Elizabeth, - aged 49
Their children
Henry, aged 17, a tailor
Ann, aged 16, a dressmaker
Eliza, aged 15, a nursemaid
George, aged 25, a tailor and his wife, Maria afed 24,
a dressmaker with theie children
William Henry, aged 5
Emily, aged 4, their daughter.

William Henry meet & wed Ann Grover in 16 years time.