The Tree - Person Sheet
The Tree - Person Sheet
NameWilliam Newsham
Birth30 Jan 1815, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, England
Death1 Jan 1854, Munyi Bundi, Big River, New South Wales, Australia
FatherJoseph Newsham (1796-1842)
Mother Susannah Jecks (1790-1853)
Misc. Notes
Name, date and place of birth and death, name of wife, Louisa Singleton, (already in The Tree), date and place of marriage, found in December 2023 from:
https://winsomegriffin.com/Newsham/Newshams_Wisbech.html

Also, notes about William on same webpage:
William Newsham was born 30 Jan 1815 in Wisbech, Cambridge County (Birth registered in the Parish of Wisbech St. Peters in the Isle of Ely on 3rd Jun 1815 by Richard Wright, Protestant Dissenting Minister and at Dr Williams Library Dec 9 1919) and he died 01 Jan 1854 and was bur: at Munyi Bundi, Big River.
William was married to Louisa Singleton on 08 Jul 1850 at Maitland, NSW, Australia. She was born 28 Sep 1827 in Patricks Plains, NSW, Australia - her parents were Benjamin SINGLETON b: 7 Aug 1788 in St Giles, Cripplegate, London, England and mother was Mary Lane SHARLING b: 28 Dec 1796 in Bay Of Biscay. Louisa was bapt. 3 Feb 1828 at Christchurch, Newcastle. Their son Claude was b. 10 Nov. 1851 bp. 11 FEB 1852 West Maitland, NSW and died 28 Oct 1856 at his grandmother's residence, Singleton, on the 28th October, of scarletina, aged three years.

It appears from this, William may have returned to England:
The Australian (Sydney): 4 April 1844 - SHIPPING CLEARANCES: The 'General Hewitt' Hart, master, for London, with colonial produce. Among Passengers - William Newsham.

Meeting, 27th May 1852 - "Northumberland Hotel," West Maitland: (Among those present - William Newsham) RESOLUTION PASSED:
(a) To establish a STEAM COMPANY, to be called the "Steam Navigation Company" to consist of 5,000 Shares, of £10 each, to be raised in the following manner, On Shares not exceeding five in number, a deposit of £5 per share, and the re- mainder by a bill at six months date. On Shares exceeding five_in number, by a deposit of £3 per share, and the remainder by equal instalments by bills at four, eight, and twelve months date.
(b) That Three Boats, of proper capacity and power to navigate the River Hunter, be obtained by the Company. That an Act of Council be applied for, limiting the liability of the Shareholders to double the amount of their respective shares.
(c) That as soon as three-fourths of the number of Shares shall be subscribed for, immediate steps be taken for the accomplishment of the objects of B That a PUBLIC MEETING be called for WEDNESDAY, the 16th June, at the " Northumberland Hotel," at Three o'clock precisely.
(d) That Mr. Faircloth be requested to act as Secretary pro tem.
(Signed) BOURN RUSSELL, Chairman.

The Maitland Mercury & Hunter River General Advertiser" 11 January 1854
Deaths: On the 1st January, after a few days' illness at Munyi Bundi, Big River, William Newsham, Esq., aged 38 years.

New South Wales Government Gazette 1848 Page 182 Newsham William, Big River Office, Sydney, 28th January, 1854.
In the Supreme Court of New South Wales. - Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction.
In the Goods of William Newsham, late of Maitland, in the Colony of New South Wales, Grazier, deceased.
NOTICE is hereby given that after the expiration of fourteen days from the publication hereof application will be made to the Honourable the Supreme Court of New South Wales in its Ecclesiastiaal Jurisdiction, that administration of all and singular the goods, chattels, rights, credits, and effects of the above-named William Newsham, deceased, be granted to Louisa Newsham, the widow of the above-named William Newsham, deceased. Dated the twenty-fourth day of January, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-four. ARCHIBALD LITTLE, Proctor for the said Louisa Newsham.

- - - -
Date and place of birth confirmed from the England & Wales Christening records found in January 2024:
Name: William Newsham
Birth Date: 30 January 1813[15]
Birth Place: Wisbeach St. Peters, Cambridge, England
Christening Place: Wisbeach St. Peters, Cambridge, England
Father: Joseph Newsham
Mother: Susanna Newsham

As at January 2024, Brian of nzolivers needs to verify whether this William Newsham, (son of Joseph and Susannah Jerks of Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, England), was the one that married Louisa Singleton in 1850, as per Winsome Griffin’s website.

On 6 January 2024, Brian ordered a transcript of the Marriage Certificate that hopefully shows names of parents. Online info from the Australia Marriage records, found in January 2024:
Groom: William Newsham
Bride: Louisa Singleton
Marriage Year: 1850
Marriage Place: Black Creek, Bulwarra, Cloden, East Maitland, Hinton, Hunter District, Maitland, Morpeth, West Maitland
Volume Number: V B

The transcript was received. However, there are no names of William’s parent’s. Therefore, we still don’t know if this William Newsham, (son of Joseph and Susannah Jerks of Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, England), was the one that married Louisa Singleton in 1850:

Early Church Records
Register: Church of England Marriages solemnized [sic] in the Parish of West Maitland in the County of Northumberland NSW in the year 1850
Date of Marriage: 8 Jul 1850
Place of Marriage: Church, Parish of West Maitland. Married by license with consent of friends
Groom: William Newsham
Status: Bachelor
Occupation:
Usual Residence: The Gwyder (sic) River
Bride: Louisa Singleton
Status: Spinster
Usual Residence: This Parish
Witnesses: J Solomon, of West Maitland; Emma Solomon, of West Maitland; E Yomans
Minister: Robt Chapman

Please also see PDF of marriage transcript in William’s media file.

UPDATE: We now have confirmation that this William Newsham is indeed the one that married Louisa Singleton in 1850.
On the 4 March 2024, Brian of nzolivers received a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read-Only Memory) from Winsome Griffin that contained PDFs of two books: Jecks Family Book 1 and 2 Second Editions, by John E. Barrett and Murray G. Johnston.
In Book 2, page 134 was the transcript of the Will of his mother, Susannah (Susan) Newsham (nee Jecks). The place of Williams “usual residence” is the same as the marriage certificate transcribed above. I quote the relevant paragraph here:
“To my sons William Newsham now or late of Gwyder River Warialda in New South Wales, Jecks Newsham now or late of Adelaide in South Australia and, Bloomar Newsham now or late of Calefornia [sic] in North America, the sum of One hundred pounds each provided always that if anyone or more of my said sons shall not be found and forthcoming within seven years next after my decease then I direct and appoint that his or their legacy or Legacies respectively shall lapse into the Residue of my personal Estate …”
Please Note: A transcript of the full Will is copied into a PDF document and placed in the media-page of William’s mother, Susannah Jecks.

Winsome Griffin's (nee Guilford) late husband was Neville Griffin. Neville's maternal grandfather, was George Newsham. George’s father, Tom Newsham was a younger brother of this William Newsham.

It is also interesting to note that George Newsham’s sister, Emma Eliza Newsham, married Albert George Bayly. Albert had a sister, Emma Bayly, and she was the mother of Elinor May Gower, the maternal step-grandmother of Brian of nzolivers.

Now, one of Brian’s daughters married a descendant of the Singleton family. Therefore, Brian’s daughter and husband are related through marriages-!!

Getting back to, Winsome Griffin (nee Guilford), she is related through marriages to the Oliver family. Winsome is the granddaughter of Francis Charles Guilford (1876-1961) whose second wife, Laura Elizabeth Wood, was first married to Charles Ernest Oliver, grandson of James (1805-1886) and Ruth (nee Batten) Oliver.

Place of burial, photo of headstone, from Find a Grave website found in September 2024:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/123803445/william_newsham
William Newsham
Birth: 1815
Death: 1 Jan 1854 (aged 38–39)
Burial: Whittingham Cemetery, Singleton, Singleton Council, New South Wales, Australia
Map GPS-Latitude: -32.5896556, Longitude: 151.1810444
Plot: Row 8, Plot 20a
Spouses
Birth28 Sep 1827, Patricks Plains, New South Wales, Australia
Baptism3 Feb 1828, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Death15 Apr 1908, Singleton, New South Wales, Australia
BurialWhittington, Singleton, New South Wales, Australia
FatherBenjamin Singleton (1788-1853)
MotherMary Lane Sharling (1796-1877)
Marriage8 Jul 1850, Maitland, New South Wales, Australia
Last Modified 16 Oct 2024Created 6 Aug 2025 using Reunion for Macintosh