Aldersey, Mary Ann (1825–1906)

Born in Hackney, England on 13 November 1825; arrived in Australia on the ship Dorothy in 1849; died in McLaren Vale, South Australia, on 4 May 1906.

Mary Ann Aldersey was the daughter of Richard Baker Aldersey (c.1794–1857) and his first wife, Rachel Ainsley (1800–1832). In 1849 Richard migrated with his second wife, Elizabeth Emma Wilkinson (c. 1813–1891), and seven children to South Australia. They settled first at Willunga, then afterwards at McLaren Vale. As an adult, Mary co-founded and taught at a girls' school, 'Tsong Gyiaou', at McLaren Vale. She collected specimens at McLaren Vale, 1883 (sent to Mueller at MEL via Otto Tepper). She did not marry, and died in 1906 at McLaren Vale aged 80.

Sources:
- Maroske, Sara and Vaughan, Alison (2014) 'Ferdinand Mueller's female plant collectors: a biographical register', Muelleria Vol.32 [consult for source references]
- Baptism record for Mary Ann Aldersey (1826), Registers of births, marriages and deaths surrendered to the Non-parochial Registers Commissions of 1837 and 1857 (Class number: RG4). National Archives of the United Kingdom, Kew, UK. [This record gives a different place and date of birth and mother's name to those indicated in Maroske & Vaughan (2014). Details from the primary source are used here.]
- "Shipping Intelligence", South Australian Register newspaper, Sat. 9 June 1849, p.4. Available online at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/50246245
Photo: from Maroske & Vaughan (2014), from Willunga Branch, National Trust of South Australia.