====== Jemima Prior ======

Thomas Prior married (1) Jemima Dickson at [[wp>Millbrook,_Southampton|Millbrook]], Southampton, England on 28 November 1812.((QJO, Praed papers, 10/12/50; Robert M-P, The Blood Royal of the Murray-Priors, ms written 1901-05 NLA Nq929.2M984, p.12-13 and Thomas Bertram M-P, Some Australasian Families Descended from Royalty, ms, n.d., p. 5 has that they married on 27 November not the 28th.)) Jemima's father was presumably also in the military forces as he was Captain Dickson Esq. of {{http://sotonopedia.wikidot.com/page-browse:prospect-house-and-prospect-place|Prospect House, Southampton}}. She had been married for a nearly five years when, on 4 November 1817, she died.((Again, Robert M-P, //The Blood Royal of the Murray-Priors//, p.13 and Thomas Bertram M-P, //Some Australasian Families Descended from Royalty//, ms, n.d., p.5 is a day different, claiming she died on 5 November.)) She was buried in Dover.\\

Jemima and Thomas had three children: [[jemima_and_louisa|Jemima Frances Sophia]]; William Amherst born in London in 1814 or 15 and dying when still a baby; and [[jemima_and_louisa|Louisa Elizabeth Catherine]].((TLM-P, genealogical notes in John & John B. Burke, //A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland: M to Z//, London: Henry Colburn Publisher, 1846; Thomas Bertram M-P, //Some Australasian Families Descended from Royalty//, ms, n.d. p.5.))\\

As her family home Prospect House, indicates, Jemima Prior's family were comfortably off. Her brother reinforces this assumption as, when he died in the 1870s, he left bequests of several thousands of pounds.((Andrew Darbyshire, //A Fair Slice of St Lucia//))\\ 
 {{:jemima_mp_ttmp_enhanced.jpg?400|}}Jemima Prior((Provenance: Tom A. & Therese M-P)).\\
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This is a larger (920 x 640cm) version of the one above.((Provenance: From ESM-P to Geoffrey M-P who generously gave it and another to be reunited with the other family paintings.)) This one was damaged by removalists in c.1960s, and has since incurred further damage. There doesn’t seem any reason why TLM-P would ship a photo of his father’s first wife to Australia unless, as Therese M-P suggests, the family paintings were all bundled up and shipped off together.\\