Ann Jane was the second child, and the only daughter, of William and Jane Clark. She was born on May 28, 1852, in the small Northern Yorkshire village of Melmerby, about three miles from Ripon. Thus, at the time that the family arrived in Port Natal, Jane was a young girl of just ten years old.
Ann married George William Wade on May 28, 1872 – her twentieth birthday. George, who was born on April 29, 1850, was from Umhlali.1 It is not known what George’s background was. He may, however, have been the son of farm labourer and Yorkshireman John Wade and his wife Elizabeth – who came to Natal as servants in 1849, on the “Washington”, with John Moreland of Byrne Scheme “fame”.2 The wedding took place at the home of Ann’s parents, William and Jane Clark, at the corner of Clark and Brand Roads. This home can be seen in the background of the photographs of William and Jane which appear in this booklet.
The Wade’s established their home on the Bluff. They had a large family – ten children were born of the marriage. The children were Leonard George Wade (born 1873, died November 6, 1880, aged seven years);3Ernest Clark Wade; Alfred Addison Wade (of Jacobs); Gladys Ann Sweeney (of Jacobs – died August 14,1954 at age 63); Daisy May Ridgway (of Jacobs); Percy Clifford Wade (of Merebank); E. E. Wade (who moved to Australia, and settled in Victoria); and two others whose particulars are unknown.
Ann Wade died at the age of 89 years, on May 20, 1941.4 Her brother Joseph Clark was one of the executors of the estate. Ann was apparently a devout Christian, as on her death she left a property off Donnelly Avenue to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. George Wade predeceased Ann by some thirty three years, on September 3, 1908.
1 The Natal Mercury of Saturday May 28, 1932 - article entitled "Early Romance and Adventure - Old Colonists 80th Birthday".2 Dr. John Clark, Natal Settler-Agent: The Career of John Moreland pp.16, 212-214 (A.A.Balkema, Cape Town, 1972).3 Per headstone in West Street Cemetary, Durban.4 Estate No. 32698, Natal Archives.