Edith Maria Dodkin

Biography

Edith Maria Dodkin, usually called Maria in the Australian records, emigrated from England with a husband and a baby. Born around 1836, she married William King at Langley, Essex, in eastern England, on April 7, 1855. Their son George was born that December, and the three travelled to New South Wales, the colony on Australia’s east coast, aboard the Sultana in 1856.

Their family subsequently grew at Millers Forest, in the Hunter River district north of Sydney. The memorial links Maria with children including George, Alfred John, Joseph, and Charles. The family compilation follows later births into the 1870s. These records place her adult life within a household that continued expanding long after the voyage.

When William died in 1880, Maria had a documented responsibility beyond her identification as his widow: he had appointed her sole executrix. The published notice announced that an application would be made for probate to be granted to her.

Maria lived until January 16, 1915. Her memorial places her death at Millers Forest and her burial with William at Pioneer Hill Cemetery in Raymond Terrace.

The family compilation places her birth at Braughing in Hertfordshire, north of London, and names her parents as William and Rebecca Dodkin. Rebecca’s maiden surname appears as Colton or Coulson. The passenger transcription calls Maria nineteen and notes that her brother William Dodkin was already at Morpeth in New South Wales.