In my last blog post I discussed the lives of Sarah Wells and Elijah Brown.
While I am still not convinced on a personal level that Elijah would have left his young children to move back to the UK with Sarah, further document review has only confirmed that it is still possible.
A closer look at the 1881 census indicates that these two were living on Ferry Drove, where Elijah was living in 1841. While that does not confirm they are the same people, it certainly leans in that direction.
Both Elijah and Sarah died in the same place – at East End in Isleham in 1885. That only tells us that these two were most likely the same pair that were in Isleham on the 1881 census.
Elijah’s died on 13 February and the death informant was a lady named Martha Webber who lived in East End in Isleham. So that really doesn’t give us any information either for or against.
However, Sarah’s death information was her daughter Eliza. So we do know that we have the right Sarah. Sarah died on 18 April and was listed as the widow of Elijah Brown, a farm labourer.
I am unable to find information on Elijah’s third wife Esther Hawkins (nee Summerfield) after they married in Tasmania in 1875. His surviving Australian children all lived long lives.
A marriage notice for Elijah’s daughter Lillah Brenda in 1883 indicates that Elijah was in England, and formerly from Franklin, Tasmania. This definitely leads us toward thinking that, in fact, Elijah did return to England and joined again with Sarah.
So, on the weight of probabilities, Elijah and Sarah do appear to have gotten back together in their later lives.