Seeking parish for Thomas NASH and Margaret FITZGERALD

Thomas Nash and his wife, Margaret (nee Fitzgerald), natives of Dublin, departed Liverpool on 3rd August 1841 and after a voyage of 116 days arrived in Sydney on 28th November 1841 aboard the Joseph Cunard.

Thomas Nash wasborn in either 1806 or 1795 depending on whether shipping or death certificate records are used. He married Margaret Fitzgerald, probably in 1839 in Dublin. Margaret’s date of birth is also unknown but probably either 1816 or 1810. She was the daughter of John Fitzgeraldand Mary McDonald.

The shipping records show that both Thomas and Margaret were Roman Catholics, in good health when they arrived and that Thomas "reads but not write" whilst Margaret "does not read or write". Thomas' parents were both listed as dead; Margaret's parents were John and Mary Fitzgerald. Thomas, an agricultural labourer, was 35 years and Margaret, a housemaid, 25 years of age at disembarkation. A character reference was given by Andrew Rogers of Dublin. The motivation to migrate can probably be evinced from Thomas' occupation.

The date and place of their marriage is also uncertain. Margaret's grandson stated on her death certificate that Margaret's mother Mary's maiden name was McDonald, a fact not noted on shipping data, and that Margaret had been married in Ireland firstly to a Mr. Rogers, possibly a brother of Andrew, who vouched for their character. There were no children of this marriage, and Margaret's age at the time of either marriage was unknown. As a widow, Margaret would probably have been married to Thomas as Margaret "Rogers" but she gave her maiden name, Fitzgerald, on Thomas' death certificate. A granddaughter of Thomas and Margaret’s youngest daughter, Bridget, told the anecdote “I remember my mother telling me a story about her grandparents who met at an Immigration Office in the U.K. somewhere (Dublin? Liverpool?), and were told that she, as a widow, and he, as a bachelor, were ineligible to migrate, but the clerk called them together and said that they both seemed like nice people and that they should have a discussion about it and if they found they were compatible and acceptable to each other, they should marry, then reapply and the application would be accepted.”