Hi Dave
Strictly speaking I dont have Margaret Sutton nor Peter Ward in my family tree. Margaret was my great grandfathers first wife- and I descend from the second wife.
Also my surname is Mellifont, but in various records the name is often mis-spelt, although there is a distinct different family of Mellefonts that emigrated to Queensland from Cork and they are the William Peel Mellefonts who owned newspapers.
My great-grandfather Thomas Mellifont, who married Margaret Sutton at St Finbarr's (Catholic) Church 16 Deb 1861. Margaret was baptised there 6 December 1839. I found these records at
http://churchrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/
Margaret's parents were THOS SUTTON & MARY MCCARTHY
In 1862 Thomas and Margaret emigrated to Moreton Bay on 'The Chatsworth'. If you google around there is a diary of the voyage which was made by William Kirk. This voyage was one of 3 boatloads of poor Irish who were part sponsored by the Catholic Church. Arch Bishop James Quinn in Brisbane created the Catholic Immigration Society- as free settlers were given a grant of land, Quinn got money to bring poor Irish over, their voyage was paid by their signing over the land grant to the Church, the church would then sell the land and bring another boat load over. Quinn got 3 boatloads over before the English run government shut the program down.
Margaret became pregnant on the voyage and would have been well pregnant on arrival at Moreton Bay. Thomas gained a position as shepherd at Caimkillenbar Sheep station (now Kaimkillenbun near Dalby Qld). The baby Joseph Patrick was born in 1963 and lived only 57 days. The baby is buried at Kaimkillenbar cemetery and listed on this plaque-
https://www.flickr.com/photos/81005713@N08/8295203583/in/set-72157634142389568
This is what the station looked like back in the day-
https://www.flickr.com/photos/81005713@N08/8295198783/in/set-72157634142389568
After this Thomas and Margaret seem to have gone separate ways. There was an outbreak of measles on The Chatsworth so perhaps the baby was born with some deformity such as Encephalytis. As good Catholics didn't divorce the whole story is shrouded in mystery and my parents and/or grandparents certainly didn't discuss such matters.
Margaret took out an ad in the Govt Gazette in 23 May 1865 (presumably as Thomas was away droving sheep for weeks and months at a time) which read "If Thomas Mellifont will not write and send means of support to his wife, within three months of this date, 23rd of May, she will consider herself at liberty to marry again"
Margaret hooked up with Peter Ward who worked in timber, they lived around Dalby and had several children. The story goes that he was working building the train line near Chinchilla and they were living in a tent/camp near that site and she died. I have never found an official marriage registration for the couple, I dont believe they were officially married but they certainly were a couple and had children.
She has 6 children to a Peter Ward, but 3 of the children have duplicate birth registrations listing no father and giving them the surname Millifont or Millefont, for another child Margaret registers herself as being 'Margaret Millefont Sutton'
so her children were -
1866 May Kate Ward - mother: Margaret Sutton father: Peter Ward but the birth is also registered as May Kate Millifont mother: Margaret Sutton father: nil
1867 Thomas Ward - mother: Margaret Sutton father: Peter Ward but the birth is also registered as Thomas Millifont mother: Margaret Sutton father: nil (Margaret's father was named Thomas)
1868 Robert John Ward - mother: Margaret Millefont Sutton father: Peter Ward
1869 John Peter Ward - mother: Margaret Millefont Sutton father: Peter Ward
1871 William Ward - mother: Margaret Millefont Sutton father: Peter Ward
1877 James Ward Ward (not a misprint) - mother: Margaret Millefont Sutton father: Peter Ward but the birth is also registered as James Ward Millefont mother: Margaret Sutton father: nil
Her death record in 1877 lists her as Millefont - 1877 Margaret Millefont father:Thos. Sutton - ** born Ireland aged 32 years
in 2012 I spent the year compiling a Mellifont family history book, this is the article I wrote about Margaret. If you click the page should zoom bigger.
http://rstus.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/page-020.jpg
I think the voyage to Australia was too much for Margaret. Maybe the first baby was born deformed due to the measles, and perhaps in a less scientific era she was blamed. I also imagine having sheep drover for a husband makes for a lonely sad life. I think she had a difficult time in Australia.
I dont know what happened to Peter Ward or the children.
There is a Peter Ward listed in this horse race meeting-
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/75512627
Little is know about my great-grandfather Thomas Mellifont between their arrival and until the year after Margaret's death, when he then became manager of Telavera Station at Surat and in 1879 married Marianne McWade who was my great-grand mother.
Happy to discuss anything further.
cheers
Phil