Sarah was the twelfth and youngest child of John Nichols and Ann Pugh. Sarah was born about April 1822. He father died eight months later. Sarah was baptised at Christ Church, Newcastle, on 4 January 1829, two days before the marriage of her sister Martha to William Windley at Newcastle.
Richard Johns was born about 1811 in Phillack, Cornwall. He was the son of Richard Johns and Elizabeth Curnow. Phillack is now part of the town of Hayle, near Lands End. Richard decided to emigrate to New South Wales as a bounty emigrant. Richard Johns, a carpenter, aged 27 and his wife Margaret (nee Nancarrow), aged 25, with their children Elizabeth aged five, Richard aged three, and Mary, born April 1838 arrived in Sydney on 31 January 1839 on the ship Andromache. It appears they settled in Liverpool where their son James was born on 8 February 1841. Margaret Johns died aged 32 on 25 November 1844 and was buried at St. Luke's Church of England, Liverpool. At that time Elizabeth was eleven years old, Richard was nine, Mary was six and James was three.
On 29 April 1845 Richard Johns, widower, married Sarah Nichols, spinster, at Scots Church, Sydney. Richard was twelve years older than Sarah. On 7 January 1846 the family set sail from Sydney on the ship Dorset for the colony of South Australia. Richard and Sarah's first child Phillipa Dorset was born on 16 January 1846 on the voyage to Adelaide.
Their second child, Thomas, was born on 14 November 1847. Their third child, John, was born on 22 June 1849 at Nairne, a pastoral and copper mining community. Elizabeth was born in 1851, Esther in 1853, William in 1855, Emma in 1858 and Henry in 1860. Prior to the birth of their ninth child, Sarah Johns on 25 October 1863 the family moved to Hamilton, Victoria, settling on a farm near the township of Bochara.
At the age of 54 Richard Johns died at Bochara on 5 September 1866. He was buried in Hamilton Cemetery. Sarah, aged 44, was now a widow with nine children. She continued to run the farm at Bochara. Many of her children had moved to Dimboola so she bought a property there in 1866. Sarah Johns died on 12 September 1907 at Dimboola at the age of 85. She was buried in Dimboola Cemetery.
SARAH AND RICHARD JOHNS' CHILDREN
Phillipa Dorset (1846-1931) married William Dellar in 1863
Thomas (1847-1930) married (1) Sarah Dellar in 1869
and (2) Elizabeth Jane Kennett in 1865
John (1849-1929) married Ann Graham in 1871
Elizabeth (1851-1934) married John Shemeld in 1871
Esther (1853-1930) married James Bond in 1880
William (1855-1931) married Ellen Edgar in 1881
Emma (1858-1900) married John Byrne in 1874
Henry (1860-1936) married Anne McMahon (nee Dalgleish) in 1891
Sarah (1863-1951) married Ben Holland in 1890