John Henry Theakston

John Henry Theakston, like his brother, Christopher Edwin Theakston, was lucky enough to be the son of the well-known sculptor, Joseph Theakston and his wife, Elizabeth Theakston (nee Pearson). When he came into the world on 25 November 1809 in Middlesex, England, my fourth Great Uncle had the start in life that those less fortunate could only dream of.

On 17 December 1809, nearly a month after his birth, John was christened in St Mary’s Church in St Marylebone. Though details of his early childhood remain unknown, it can be assumed that due to the family’s comfortable circumstances he would’ve been sent to school.

St Mary’s Church, St Marylebone

He grew up with his parents and siblings in a north London area called Pentonville. Throughout this time it seems his father and the sculptures he created were of some influence to young John. It’s not hard to imagine why. As his father forged his way into becoming a well-known artist it started to attract visitors who enjoyed watching him work. Then there was his elder brother, Charles Delattre Theakston, who also took up sculpting. With both his father and his brother working as sculptors it probably came as no surprise to the family when John decided to follow in their footsteps.

His father was most likely the one who taught him his trade but being surrounded by other sculptors and artists such as Sir Francis Chantrey (his father’s employer) may have also helped.

By 1832, at the age of 23, he exhibited his work for the first time in the Royal Academy. He was listed as living at 35 Gillingham Street in Pimlico which, at the time, was a fairly new area of central London.

For the next six years John may have continued to work as a sculptor. He’s not listed as having exhibited his work but perhaps he was helping his father. By 1838 however a longing for adventure started calling out to him. Why, is anybody’s guess. Perhaps he was unhappy with the way his sculpting work was going (or not going). Perhaps he was feeling as if he was living in the shadow of his father and brother. Perhaps he simply wanted to try and make his fortune in a new place that needed craftsman such as himself. Nevertheless, on 31 July 1838 John boarded the ship ‘Rajasthan’ and sailed from Plymouth to South Australia.

At this time South Australia was a fledgling colony and desperately needed emigrants. Emigrants however wouldn’t readily come on their own accord; they needed something to entice them to make the move to a world so vastly different to their own. In this instance, they were enticed with free passage. The Rajasthan was one such ship that was a part of this scheme.

John was one of 254 passengers that made the journey to South Australia. He arrived on 16 November 1838 after more than three months at sea and though no actual passenger list exists, a vague list of passengers and their trades was published in the South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register.

Next to the trade ‘mason’ it’s indicated that one single man was proficient in this type of work. We can assume that this one man was John Henry Theakston.

Whether there was sufficient work for a mason in South Australia at this time is not known. Two years later however John decided to try something a little different and opened the Beulah Hotel. This also became known as the Theakston Tea Rooms.

His first order of business was to hold a ball for the public.

Despite having a decent education and the ability to read and write, it appears that John did not write home to his father throughout the time he was in Australia. Did they not have a good relationship? Could this be a possible reason as to why he left England? Whatever the case, when John’s father passed away in 1842 his Will (which was made five days before his death) was presented and in it he states that both his sons John Henry Theakston and George Alfred Theakston had been out of the country for some years and no one had heard from them. They were both presumed to be dead.

Incidentally it doesn’t appear John’s brother George travelled with him to South Australia. As yet, I have not found where George went or what became of him.

Back in South Australia I presume John continued on with the Beulah Hotel but by 1844 he embarked on a (once again) completely different adventure. The one time mason, one time publican became an explorer.

On 12 April 1844, John (aged 35) left Port Adelaide on-board the ship  ‘Governor Gawler’ as second in command with his team leader, John Charles Darke and two other men. They were destined for Port Lincoln with the intention of exploring and reporting on the surrounding areas and its suitability for settlement.

They left Port Lincoln on 29 August 1844 and followed a chain of salt lakes west of the Marble Ranges. Apart from seeing grassy plains, they did not find the good land they were hoping for.

By October Darke decided to turn back. It was on the return journey that disaster struck.

The native people of the area, despite having been friendly at previous times, suddenly changed. On 23 October 1844 Darke left his tent unarmed and was speared three times. John was the first on the scene and arranged for Darke to be carried back to camp. His wounds however were too grievous and the next day, at five minutes before midnight, he passed away.

John assumed command of the small group and after burying Darke’s body on a small grassy plain at the foot of Table Topped Peaks, he successfully (which was no easy task at the time) led the party back to Port Lincoln within six days. Upon his arrival he immediately made a statement of the events to the Government Resident, Charles Driver.

John was altogether congratulated for his return to Port Lincoln and the trip as a whole for the explorers (despite Darke’s death) was still fairly successful. Apart from John’s oath made immediately after his return and the publication of Darke’s diary a few weeks later (which John ended up completing) John effectively lays low for the next few years. One hundred years later a memorial was erected in the spot where John Charles Darke was buried. The memorial states “J H Theakston assumed command of the party.”

He may have disappeared from the newspapers but it seems however he was working for John Ainsworth Horrocks on his property (Penwortham) because we next see John in 1846 when Horrocks established a party to explore the area northwest of Mount Arden. John was once again second in command and the group was accompanied (free of charge) by Samuel Thomas Gill, an artist. Several other people were also a part of the group and Horrocks was a pioneer in that he was the first person to use a camel for exploration.

The privately funded explorers left Penwortham on 29 July 1846 and after discovering the pass through the Flinders Ranges (now called Horrocks Pass) the group travelled on to Depot Creek. It was here that the main camp was established.

Depot Creek, South Australia [1846]
Painted by S.T. Gill

Unfortunately, like the Darke expedition, this one did not go according to plan. On 28 August 1846 Horrocks, Gill and another man left John in charge at Depot Creek and made their way towards Lake Dutton. Near Lake Dutton Horrocks spotted a rare bird and desiring to shoot it, went to get his gun from the camel’s back. While reloading, the camel moved which resulted in the gun being accidentally fired. The subsequent discharge took off Horrocks’s middle finger on his right hand as well as a row of teeth after entering the left side of his face.

John was immediately sent for back at the camp and the group quickly began the task of returning to Horrocks’s home at Penwortham. They arrived on the 19 September and four days later, on the 23rd, John Ainsworth Horrocks passed away as a result of his wounds.

Once again, John disappeared into obscurity. He popped up in January 1850 when he was listed as a witness to a fight but apart from this brief mention in the papers he remained frustratingly quiet. It’s believed that some time after 1850 he moved to Victoria, possibly to try his luck during the gold rush.

Sure enough, in 1869,  a major Victorian newspaper, The Argus, picked up a story from a smaller newspaper, the Daylesford Mercury in which a Mr Theakston from Avoca (a prominent gold mining town) is mentioned. He was now 60 years old. This article confirms that John did indeed study under Chantrey and even designed a case to store a pair of pistols. These pistols were a gift to John and included a note written to his father.

Given the lack of communication with his father up until his father’s death, I can’t help but wonder how in the world they managed to track him down.

One year later John applied through the Old Colonists’ Association to be accepted into one of their homes. The Association had only been set up in 1869 and was established to provide care and homes to the elderly. John was one of four accepted in this instance.

It’s assumed that he remained in the homes for seven more years. Sadly, John did not fare well in old age. On 27 December 1877 he was committed to the Ararat Asylum; his last residence being Deep Lead, Avoca. The records state “Address of friends not known”.

He received some pecuniary assistance from John Ainsworth Horrocks’s friends in England but apart from this, he lived out the remainder of his life in destitution in the asylum. John Henry Theakston died on 27 March 1878 at the age of 68. He was recorded as suffering from disease of the brain and kidneys and was buried in the Ararat Cemetery two days later. Further particulars as to where he was born and the name of his parents were recorded as unknown.

John Henry Theakston, and his life, is one of immense fascination. He emigrated from a completely different country and wound up an explorer and, assumedly, an experienced bushman. Along with Darke and Horrocks he helped explore country that was relatively unknown to Europeans at the time. These were brave men, tackling an alien world. He may have died alone in an asylum but an obituary printed in the South Australian Register shows that he was by no means forgotten.

…an early pioneer in this colony, who was liked by all who knew him during the days when the North was first settled.

Sources:

• “England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975,” index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NPQD-6MG : accessed 04 May 2013), John Henry Theakston, 25 Nov 1809.
• Photo of St Mary’s Church in St Marylebone obtained courtesy of Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Marylebone_Parish_Church).
• Information on Joseph Theakston from The Gentleman’s Magazine, Volume 171, page 672.
• A Biographical Dictionary of Sculptors in Britain, 1660-1851 (http://217.204.55.158/henrymoore/index.php).
• South Australian Packet Ship image and other shipping information obtained courtesy of: Pioneers and and Settlers Bound for South Australia – Rajasthan 1838 (http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/fh/passengerlists/1838Rajasthan.htm
• 1838 ‘Advertising.’, South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register (Adelaide, SA : 1836 – 1839), 24 November, p. 1, viewed 12 January, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article31750260
• 1840 ‘Advertising.’, South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 – 1900), 10 October, p. 2, viewed 12 January, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article27441905
• 1840 ‘Advertising.’, Southern Australian (Adelaide, SA : 1838 – 1844), 1 December, p. 2, viewed 12 January, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71620432
• Joseph Theakston’s Will courtesy of The National Archives (Probate reference: 11/1971).
• Information on the John Charles Darke and the expedition courtesy of the Australian Dictionary of Biography (http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/darke-john-charles-1955).
• 1844 ‘SOUTH AUSTRALIA.’, South Australian (Adelaide, SA : 1844 – 1851), 8 November, p. 2, viewed 4 May, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71613292
• 1941 ‘THE THEAKSTONE’S AND J. H. THEAKSTON.’, Port Lincoln Times (SA : 1927 – 1954), 29 May, p. 2, viewed 4 May, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article96755374
• 1844 ‘MR. DARKE’S EXPEDITION.’, South Australian (Adelaide, SA : 1844 – 1851), 15 November, p. 3, viewed 4 May, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71613354
• The photo of the memorial plaque for John Charles Darke obtained courtesy of the State Library of South Australia (Call No. B 22200 [http://images.slsa.sa.gov.au/mpcimg/22250/B22200.htm]).
• Photo of Depot Creek courtesy of the National Library of Australia (Gill, Samuel Thomas 1846, Waterplace, Depot Creek, Augst. 27th) http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an2377299
• 1846 ‘MR. J. A. HORROCKS’S EXPEDITION TO THE NORTH WEST.’, South Australian (Adelaide, SA : 1844 – 1851), 22 September, p. 5, viewed 4 May, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71605888
• Information on John Ainsworth Horrocks courtesy of the Australian Dictionary of Biography (http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/horrocks-john-ainsworth-12989).
• 1850 ‘POLICE COURT.’, South Australian (Adelaide, SA : 1844 – 1851), 4 January, p. 4, viewed 4 May, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71625400
• 1869 ‘COUNTRY NEWS.’, The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), 21 December, p. 1 Supplement: The Argus Supplement, viewed 4 May, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5809172
• 1870 ‘SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1870.’, The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), 24 December, p. 4, viewed 4 May, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5839917
• Information on the Old Colonists’ Association of Victoria (http://www.ocav.asn.au/index.htm).
• Alphabetical Lists of Patients in Asylums (Series: VPRS 7446; Consignment No. P0001; Unit No. 3; Page 69) [Public Record Office Victoria]
• 1878 ‘OBITUARY.’, South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 – 1900), 16 May, p. 6 Supplement: Supplement to the South Australian Register., viewed 4 May, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article42982925

 

Local Library Collections

In my constant quest for information, photos or documents relating to my ancestors I find that it’s easy to get ‘tunnel vision’ in thinking that the only place where such resources can be found is in the State Library. Though this is often the case there are also many gems to be found within local libraries.

The beauty about local libraries is that the information they have is specific to that particular area. They are run by local councils and most general information can be found via their websites. Quite a few libraries in particular have an online library catalogue and some even have their own historical catalogue complete with digitised images.

Ruth Faulkner Library
City of Belmont

http://www.belmont.wa.gov.au

An online library catalogue which includes online images is provided by the Ruth Faulkner Library. The Belmont Museum is located near the library and also has an onsite collection relating to the local history of Belmont and surrounding areas.

Mrs Milne’s Shop, Newsagent & Stationer (1915)

The Grove Library
Town of Cottesloe, Shire of Peppermint Grove and Town of Mosman Park

http://thegrovelibrary.net/

The Grove Library has a community history collection which provides various resources (books, photos, oral histories etc.) about people, places and events within Cottesloe, Peppermint Grove and Mosman Park. Their images are available to search online and are a wonderful resource for people researching these areas.

Osborne Hotel in Claremont

Fremantle City Library
City of Fremantle and Town of East Fremantle

http://www.fremantle.wa.gov.au/library

Fremantle City Library has an online catalogue and also has a searchable local history catalogue which includes oral histories, photos, reports and maps etc. Catalogue entries found can be viewed in the library. The also have an online local history photo collection which includes photos of people and places found within Fremantle and East Fremantle.

Fremantle Asylum (1897)

City of Greater Geraldton

http://library.cgg.wa.gov.au/

The City of Greater Geraldton has an online library catalogue which includes digitised images. They also hold a large oral history collection consisting of over 350 interviews with local residents. Some oral histories have even been digitised and are available to download.

City of Joondalup

http://www.joondalup.wa.gov.au/Homepage.aspx

The City of Joondalup has a local history collection consisting of photos, oral histories, maps (coming soon), family history events, resources and local history films. Their website ‘Picture Joondalup’ is a fine example of a digitised historic photo collection with photos in a variety of formats showing Joondalup’s early settlement to the present day.

City of Stirling

http://www.stirling.wa.gov.au/Pages/Home.aspx

The City of Stirling’s library catalogue is available to search online. They also have a local history online catalogue (currently under development) which allows you to search through their books, photos and CDs relating to the local history of the area.

City of Vincent

http://www.vincent.wa.gov.au/library/Home

The City of Vincent’s Library and Local History Centre has an online catalogue as well as an amazing image library filled with photos of people and places from North Perth, Perth, Mt Lawley, Highgate, Mt Hawthorn, Leederville, West Perth and East Perth. With my family having spent many years living within Vincent; this library and collection definitely holds a soft spot for me.

City of Wanneroo

http://www.wanneroo.wa.gov.au/Home

The City of Wanneroo has an online library catalogue and also has an online images catalogue called ‘Picture Wanneroo’ which is run by the Community History Centre. Along with the digitised photo collection, the Community History Centre  also has onsite resources including maps, books, newspapers and oral histories. This catalogue was one of the earliest local history photo collections that I used and was a great help to me when I discovered quite a few photos of my first cousins four times removed, Eli and Charles Ashby.

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Of course not every council library has a digitised photo collection online but this does not mean that they don’t actually have a local history collection. If you’re searching for information about ancestors or even a particular area I strongly advise you to visit the local library. Most generally have local history collections even if this is not stated online. A full list of all the Local Councils for Western Australia can be found on the WA Local Government Association website:

http://www.walga.asn.au/AboutLocalGovernment/CouncilWebsites.aspx

Another important fact to note is that while quite a lot of the collections come from the library or council itself many particular photos of individuals who lived in these areas are donated in some way by their descendants. Without the donations of these people many of the amazing photos on these sites probably wouldn’t be available to view in a public manner.

Sources:

• Photo of Mrs Milne’s Shop obtained courtesy of the Ruth Faulkner Library (Image: M0095-01).
• Photo of Osborne Hotel obtained courtesy of The Grove Library (Image: CPM00683).
• Photo of Fremantle Asylum obtained courtesy of Fremantle City Library (Image: 494).

 

In Memory of Pop

It’s been 14 years since you passed away and though I was only a teenager at the time I still remember the little things…

Your cluttered shed and the way it used to smell like garlic.

The boat that all the cousins used to play in but funnily enough I never actually saw it being used.

A Stephen King (or any horror) book resting on the kitchen bench where you always sat. The covers scared me back then but damn, now that my brother is buying up every Stephen King book available I wish we’d kept them.

A newspaper also lying somewhere nearby often open at the horse racing pages.

The pong of chook poo when you were preparing it to fertilise your veggie garden.

Going home with great big bunches of silverbeet from your garden.

The way you laughed at me when I decided that my reflection may make a good conversationalist.

Your false teeth and the stories you told about scaring kids with them.

The way you made your rollies (with Tally Ho papers) inside ready for smoking outside.

The tattoos on your arm which, if my memory is correct, were done by Nanna.

The little ditty you used to sing: “Jesus loves me yes I know. Jessica Barratt told me so.”

The sound your spoon made in your mug as you briskly stirred sugar through your tea.

Sitting down to dinner and being fascinated by the amount of salt you sprinkled over all your food.

Your delicious pumpkin scones.

How much you loved your dog Cassie and how you always took her for walks; bringing along a tennis ball for her to fetch.

Your afternoon naps which meant children had to be quiet.

Your fondness for port and lemon.

But most of all I remember going out the front with you whenever you had a smoke and staring up at the stars as you pointed out the different constellations.

You told me that all the stars up in the sky were windows to heaven and all the people who had passed away were sitting up there and were looking down on us. I’m sure you’re up there too and I like to think you’re looking down on me and somehow guiding me in the right direction. Especially with the Nicholsons. Though you’re no longer around I’ll always have the stars and every time I look at them I will always think of you; for it was you who inspired me to look up and marvel.

 

Who was Edward Nicholson?

When I first started researching my Mum’s side of the family tree, I literally had nothing. While my Dad’s side was well-known and readily available to me, my Mum’s side was constantly veiled in mystery. Breathing some life into those branches took a lot of time, patience, persistence and, as usual, money.

The Nicholson side was no exception. My journey into the story of Edward’s life began with absolutely nothing; not even a name. Despite everyone knowing the name of my Pop’s parents, no one seemed to know who his grandparents were. I got on with my research and ordered a certificate. I obtained his name (Edward Nicholson) and I subsequently ordered a few more certificates. From these, a few scanty birth details came to light.

According to the certificates, Edward was born around the year 1859 in Auckland, New Zealand. His father’s occupation was listed as a sailor but in one certificate the name given was stated as John while in the other he was named William. His mother on the other hand was unknown in one certificate and Alice McCarthy in the other. Despite having these tiny clues I have so far been unable to find a birth record match in New Zealand’s historical Births, Deaths and Marriages (BDM) register (https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/home/).

His marriage certificate provides some more clues. Edward married my Great Great Grandmother, Agnes Elizabeth McCarthy on 31 May 1897 in Denmark, Western Australia. Both were listed as being widowed and though I’ve easily discovered Agnes’s first husband, I have yet to discover Edward’s first wife. Given his age at the time of his second marriage (38) it’s likely that his first marriage took place in New Zealand.

I’ve searched high and low through the NZ register and there’s only one possibility that comes to light. An Edward Nicholson married Catherine Flood in 1875. This however would mean he was only 16 years old when he married her. Further adding to the mystery, the very kind people at Rootschat searched for the ‘Intention to Marry’ record where it was found that the Edward in this instance listed his age as 23. Is this my Edward? Did he simply lie about his age?

Catherine Flood it seems was a very interesting character all on her own. Not only was she Catherine Nicholson (after 1875) she was also Catherine Griffin at one point and at times was even referred to as being Catherine Fitzgerald (Fitzgerald being the surname of her employer). Of course the latter may simply be a mistake in the newspapers but the snippet below (from when she was Catherine Griffin) is making me wonder just what was going on. ¹

Catherine Nicholson (nee Flood) died in 1897 – the same year that Edward married Agnes. It was reported in the inquest into her death that her husband Edward was “not in Auckland at the present time” and much to my surprise, she was buried in Waikumete Cemetery in a plot that later, would also become the burial plot of her employer. ² Perhaps he was simply saving money with having one plot but to me it seems a little odd.

Questions, endless questions. Is this my Edward? Did he marry Catherine Flood/Griffin? Was she having an affair with her employer which Edward eventually discovered? Did he leave her because of the said affair and then travelled to Western Australia? Was it in fact Edward who abandoned Catherine for an entirely different reason?

So what about Edward’s parents? Knowing that the names on the death certificate would’ve been provided by whoever was informing the registrar of Edward’s death I decided to discount this evidence. Going off the marriage certificate however I’m left with the names William Nicholson and Alice McCarthy.

Once again New Zealand’s Historic BDM website (no matter how many different spellings I used) yielded no results. I began to question the fact that his mother’s maiden name just happened to be the same as Agnes’s maiden name.

I left the mystery of his parents alone and tried a different angle. Back in Western Australia, Edward and Agnes had four children: John Edward Nicholson in 1898, William Nicholson (my Great Grandfather) on 13 May 1902, Patrick Rees in 1904 and Thomas Edward in 1906. It was the name Rees that stood out the most.

Having never seen this spelling before, on a whim, I entered it into Ancestry’s family tree database with the birth place being New Zealand. I got one hit. Someone had a Rees Nicholson on their family tree but even more interesting, they also had an Edward Nicholson. The birth listed was 1859 in Auckland – the same year and place my Edward was born.

I turned my attention to the parents listed. Their names were William Thomas Nicholson (which matched my marriage certificate) and, much to my surprise, Ellen Te Hemopo Deacon; a Maori lady.

This, I admit, threw me. At no time have I ever heard of the Nicholsons being of part Maori descent. I suppose it could’ve been something that at the time would’ve been kept hidden but still, I wondered if perhaps I was barking up the wrong tree. That was until I was contacted by a direct descendant of William and Ellen.

After many emails back and forth and reading of the posts on Rootschat she provided several bits of information that ignited my curiosity.

1. William Thomas Nicholson was a sailor when he arrived in New Zealand and later established a ferry business. This matches the occupation of sailor listed on my marriage certificate.
2. William Thomas Nicholson originally came from Wales where he worked as a sawyer. His New Zealand descendants worked in sawmills as did my Edward Nicholson and Great Grandfather, William.
3. A lady named Mrs Latch who was doing research into the families of Auckland (including the Nicholson family) stated amongst her research papers that Edward Nicholson, the son of William and Ellen was no longer in New Zealand. This also somewhat matches Catherine Nicholson (nee Flood’s) inquest records which stated he was not in Auckland at the time.
4. My contact’s Edward Nicholson was known to everyone as Ned. My Edward Nicholson’s son John Edward Nicholson was also known to everyone as Ned.
5. Thomas Edward Fitzgerald (the employer of Catherine Flood/Griffin/Nicholson) at one point helped out Edward Nicholson’s father, William. I further found that Thomas employed Rees (Reece) Nicholson, another one of William’s children. ³

Everything appears to match up to my Edward. It’s also reasonable to assume that if Edward had married Catherine Flood (who worked for Thomas Fitzgerald) that the families would’ve come into contact with each other and further explains why Thomas would’ve helped William and also employed Rees.

The similarity of the names and the similarity of the occupations is uncanny. The fact that the Edward who married Catherine and my contact’s Edward were both known to no longer be in Auckland/New Zealand also fits in with the fact that my Edward eventually left New Zealand. There is no hard evidence as yet but it’s incredibly hard to discount the mounting coincidences. I find myself left with one question; the one I most want the answer to:

Is my contact’s Edward Nicholson, the Edward Nicholson that married Catherine Flood and my Edward Nicholson all one and the same person?

If anyone searching for information on William Thomas Nicholson or Ellen Te Hemopo Deacon happens to come across this blog, please leave a comment. Whatever the outcome, one day, I would love this mystery to be solved.

Sources:

• Much of my information on the Nicholsons was obtained courtesy of my New Zealand contact who, for now, shall remain nameless.
• Many thanks to the people of Rootschat for their help with solving the mystery of Edward’s parents.
• Western Australian Death Certificate (1945 / 424).
• Western Australian Marriage Certificate (1897 / 1413).
• Western Australian Death Certificate (1942 / 82).
• ¹ Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIII, Issue 3117, 13 July 1867, Page 7 (http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=DSC18670713.2.33&e=——-10–1—-0—).
• ² Auckland Star, Volume XXVIII, Issue 13, 16 January 1897, Page 4 (http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=AS18970116.2.21&srpos=10&e=01-01-1875-31-12-1897–10–1—-2edward+nicholson—).
• ³ Auckland Star, Volume XXVII, Issue 216, 12 September 1896, Page 2 (http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=AS18960912.2.8&srpos=6&e=——-10–1—-2thomas+edward+fitzgerald—).
• The Chapman-Osbiston Family Tree on Ancestry.

Related articles

• The Boy Next Door (ancestrysearch.wordpress.com)

 

The Boy Next Door

Written in honour of Valentine’s Day.

The early death of William Nicholson on 17 February 1945 suddenly left the Nicholson family without their principal breadwinner. Perhaps concerned about their situation and needing a place to live, his wife Jessie and her four young children (including my Pop, Reece) eventually moved to William’s Aunty’s house in Subiaco.

Aunty Mary Kate Cochrane (nee McCarthy) lived on 134 Hay Street with several of her sons. She was in her early 80s and probably at the age where she needed a little help around the house. The situation would’ve suited both families and in no time at all the Nicholsons made themselves at home living with the Cochranes.

Across the road and a little further east at 111 Hay Street lived the Harwood family. They had already been in Subiaco for a few years so it’s likely that a new family with children to play with was a source of interest. My Nan, Gwen was a teenager when she met Reece who was three years older than her. Though details of how they actually met are unknown, it’s possible that they came in contact through their siblings. Being of similar ages they all knew each other and grew up together.

Regardless of how they met, Gwen became smitten with the boy next door. In one instance, to express her admiration, she employed her little brother, Kevan as her makeshift postman where she would write a note and give it to him to take the short distance down the road to pass to Reece.

Sadly, apart from the above, most of the stories concerning the intricate details of the early years of their relationship haven’t survived. Of the few precious things that did survive were photos of the couple. The body language speaks volumes. It’s clear just from looking at them that they were very much in love and equally smitten with each other. To me, they appear inseparable.

Gwendoline Joyce Harwood and Reece Thomas Nicholson were married on 13 October 1950 in Perth. Over the next 10 years they had five children, including my Mum. As they grew older they stood together and watched their own children get married (including one of their daughters continuing the trend of marrying the boy next door) and then subsequently have children of their own. They revelled in caring for their grandchildren and lived out their retirement in Safety Bay. They were in their 49th year of marriage when Pop passed away in 1999. Devastated by the loss of her soul mate, Nan lived on for a few more years until she too passed away in 2001.

Throughout the years they certainly didn’t have it easy but whatever life threw at them, together, they survived. Despite the commercialism of Valentine’s Day, sometimes love stories aren’t always akin to a Hallmark greeting card. Covered in hearts and a sea of red they don’t really reflect the troubles and difficulties a couple could go through during their life. True love stories, in my opinion, are those where the couple stay together in spite of the difficulties that arise; working together side by side throughout the good and the bad. Just like Nan and Pop did.

 

Finding Records in a Round-About Way

There are times when I’ve researched and the records and results were discovered one after the other. Birth record; marriage record; death record. This usually occurs when I already know the details of the person I’m searching for and from these building blocks I can then begin to give their story more substance through the use of other records and information available to me. On the other hand, there are times when I just can’t find anything “easily”.

So what do you do when you don’t have any information about the people you’re searching for? What if you only have names? And common ones at that. For me, this is when I usually make discoveries in a ‘round-about’ way.

The discoveries themselves usually happen over time. As I search in one direction a piece of the puzzle is obtained. Then I might try a different route and another piece is found. As the puzzle begins to take shape more and more pieces are discovered. Eventually, with persistence, the puzzle comes together and everything starts to make sense.

One such round-about discovery occurred recently with the McCarthy side of my family. Some of you may remember my post entitled ‘A Great Find’ which was mostly about the wonderful article I discovered on Trove. In this post I also mentioned that I already knew the names of my Great x 2 Grandmother’s parents (Patrick McCarthy and Elizabeth Kennedy) from certificates that I’d ordered. For a long time these names  and a few sketchy details of their births and marriage were all I had.

By chance one day I ordered a death certificate which I really, really hoped was Elizabeth McCarthy (nee Kennedy’s). When it arrived there were whoops of delight! The names of her husband and her children matched my Elizabeth. This was indeed her and I now also had her parents’ names: John Kennedy and Margaret Barry.

Patrick was more elusive. I knew from Elizabeth’s death certificate (she was listed as a widow) that he’d obviously died before she did but I had no idea when. Then there was the fact that sometimes they used McCarthy, sometimes they used Carty and sometimes they used Carthy and coupled with the name Patrick meant that there were far too many records for me to risk buying.

It all seemed pretty hopeless so I let the McCarthy family lie. Yesterday, I once again took up the search and started with Roots Ireland. Expensive as it was, I decided to put my money where my mouth is so that I could troll through their records. I soon came across a marriage record that simply had to be theirs.

On 13 November 1853, Patrick Carty married Eliza Kennedy in Cloughjordan, County Tipperary, Ireland. Their marriage was witnessed by Pat Connors and Mary Barry.

Yes! The details (date and place) matched the details I’d already obtained from the Victorian certificates and the witness, Mary Barry added further weight seeing as though I now knew that Elizabeth’s mother’s maiden name was Barry.

I added the details to my tree and continued searching but didn’t have much more luck with the McCarthys on Roots Ireland. I went back to Ancestry, clicked on Patrick’s profile and noticed the ‘hints’ at the top of the page which had been there a while. I already knew they related to death records but seeing as though I had no idea whether they belonged to him I had for some time completely ignored them.

This time I clicked on the hint relating to the Australia Death Index. I gasped in surprise. The parents listed on the record were John McCarthy and Mary Connors. The same surname as the witness at Patrick’s marriage! This had to be it! Hardly able to contain my excitement, I jumped on Victorian BDM and ordered a copy of the uncertified image. I once again have to praise Victorian BDM for such an innovative, helpful feature because after only a few minutes the certificate was downloaded. Eureka! It belonged to my Patrick.

The excitement however was slightly marred by the details of the record. A miner and labourer in Victoria, Patrick McCarthy was accidentally killed on 27 April 1885. At the time he was working on the Kensington-hill cutting when the face cutting fell on top of him and smothered him. An inquest was held the next day stating this as the cause of death and on 29 April he was buried in Melbourne General Cemetery.

He left behind his wife Elizabeth and five young children aged between 11 and 28.

The works he was involved in which ultimately brought about his untimely death can be best summed up in the following snippet from a larger article.

There are of course more records that need to be accessed (i.e. inquest documents) but for now it’s nice to finally be able to give Patrick an ending, albeit a sad one. It always amazes me though when I do get to an “end” point during difficult parts of my research and then think back as to how I got there. The path taken is never easy and it’s often full of twists and turns but with persistence and lots of thinking outside the box I eventually find what I’m looking for.

I know I’m not the only one out there who sometimes researches in a round-about way. My boyfriend for one is another. What about you? Have you ever made family history discoveries via an indirect route?

Sources:

• Roots Ireland Church Marriage Records for Co. Tipperary.
• Victorian Death Certificate for Elizabeth McCarthy (Year: 1897 / Number: 5703).
• Victorian Death Certificate for Patrick McCarthy (Year: 1885 / Number: 6173).
• 1885 ‘COLONIAL TELEGRAMS.’, The South Australian Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1858 – 1889), 29 April, p. 5, viewed 6 February, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article36305366
• 1888 ‘THE KENSINGTON HILL AFFAIR.’, Bendigo Advertiser (Vic. : 1855 – 1918), 6 April, p. 3, viewed 6 February, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article88547264

Related articles

• Discovering an artwork of the Melbourne General Cemetery (lizziethinks.wordpress.com)

 

The Woman Behind the Mantel

I have of course been meaning to write this post for some time, but when I finally got around to digging in all my photo tins I simply could not find the photo I was looking for. Surrendering to the hopelessness of trying to find one photo in a sea of photos I put it to the back of my mind for another day. It wasn’t until last night when I was at my Mum and Dad’s house that I spotted a large envelope which I knew contained information about my Barratt ancestors. Revelling in the task of rummaging it didn’t take long before I spied it; a nondescript envelope with a description of its contents written by my Grandpa. Inside, just where it had always been, was the photo of the woman behind the mantel.

As you can see the photo itself isn’t actually of a woman standing behind a mantel but it’s the name I’ve given the photo simply because it was found behind the mantelpiece at 62 Wasley Street in North Perth.  My family has had a very long-standing association with this house. It was bought in the 1920s by my Great Grandfather when my Grandpa was only a baby and remained in the family until it was sold early last year after my Grandpa’s death in 2011. Unfortunately Grandpa provided no date of when the photograph was discovered and only stated that it was found behind the mantelpiece during renovations.

Unable to resist a good mystery, I decided to do some digging.

The photo itself provides few clues. The woman looks to be in her 20s. The photo is labelled ‘Stewart & Co. Melbourne’ so we can assume the woman is perhaps from Victoria or at least lived there at some point in her life. After searching through the State Library of Victoria’s catalogue I found similarly labelled photos and can conclude that the photo may have been taken in the 1870s or 1880s. This time period also fits with the woman’s style of dress and the way she’s wearing her hair.

First question: why was the photo behind the mantelpiece? My overactive imagination immediately jumped to the conclusion that perhaps the photo was hidden by the original owner for some secretive reason. The more logical part of my mind however theorised that the photo may have been simply sitting on the mantel and somehow fell behind it.

I then turned my attention to the next question: who was living at 62 Wasley Street before my family came to live there? After consulting the WA Post Office Directories I’ve found that Wasley Street does not show up until 1917. From 1917 to 1919, a Mr Henry Peisley lived in the house. Afterwards, from 1920 to 1921, a Mr Harold E Daw lived there. My Great Grandfather, Charles Victor Barratt isn’t listed in the directory until 1922.

These dates fit the following advertisement placed in The West Australian in 1918.

One can assume that it was Henry Peisley who was selling everything and moving. The fact that he’s moving to the East also makes me wonder if perhaps he had relatives over there. Could this woman be someone that he or one his family members knew?

Despite the few bits and pieces associated with both the photo and the house I don’t actually have any idea whether the photo belonged to one of the above gentlemen or their family or to someone completely different. Unfortunately the chance of me ever finding out the name of the woman, her story and how or why her photo came to be behind the mantelpiece is extremely low. For now she’s nameless but I send her image out into the world in the hope that there’ll be a bit of luck and someone who knows her will come across the photo and recognise her. If you’re reading this and that person is you, please leave a comment. There’s nothing I love more than a photo with a name.

Sources:

• 1918 ‘Advertising.’, The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 – 1954), 2 November, p. 2, viewed 18 January, 2013, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article27494464
• The State Library of Victoria’s pictorial catalogue (http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/).
• The State Library of Western Australia’s WA Post Office Directories (http://www.slwa.wa.gov.au/find/wa_resources/post_office_directories).