Sunday 31 August 2014

Ethel Tallent / Leskovych (1908 - 1973)

Ethel Audrey Tallent is one of the “outlayers:” not a direct ancestor.  Her mother was a Watson – which is why she is included.  I was going to write a story about her mother, but seeing that my mother actually met Ethel, I’ve decided to write instead about Ethel.

Ethel Audrey Tallent, was born 15 April 1908, with the birth being registered in Hendon, Middlesex.  Hendon is 11 km northeast of London, and has been part of Greater London since 1965.  She had one sibling: an older brother named Robert Alfred Watson Tallent, who was born on 14 May 1903 in Lowestoft.  Her parents were Ellen (nee Watson) and Robert Tallent.

Ethel’s mother Ellen, or Nellie as she was known, was born on 13 July 1868.  She
married Robert Tallent in 1902 in Lowestoft, when she was 34 (and he was 35). Ellen had her first child the following year.  It may be common to have children in your late 30s at the beginning of the 21st Century but was unusual a century before.  Ellen was about to turn 40 when Ethel was born!  Robert Tallent, Ethel’s father died in late 1912, when Ethel was four years old. 

Ethel and her brother, Robert, grew up in London with their mother, Ellen; Ethel spent her whole life in the London district. Ellen Tallent died when Ethel was 33.  At that time Ellen was living in Ipswich, Suffolk.  Ipswich is about 70 km from Lowestoft, and was where Ethel’s brother, Robert Tallent, lived with his wife and three children. 

Ethel corresponded with the Australian branch of the Watson family: exchanging letters with her cousin’s daughter, Clara Woolley, who was two years older than her.  They had a lot in common – well, they had two main things in common – they both married at about the age of 42 and they both had no children!  Ethel married Fidor Leskovych in 1950.  Fidor Leskovych, a Ukranian, had been forcibly moved to Germany as a farm labourer during World War II, and had sought refuge in Britain immediately after the war.

In 1965 Helen and Gary Hilton visited Ethel and Fidor at their home in Carbone Hill, Hatfield, Herforshire: about 30 km north of London. Fortunately they took a photo of the event!

Ethel Audrey Leskovych died in 1973, she was 64. 

Relationship to SNR = cousin of Great-great-grandmother


Mary Jane Robinson / White (1849 - 1934)

Mary Jane Robinson was born on 21 October 1849, at Stalybridge, Lancastershire, England.  She was the eldest child of John Robinson and Elizabeth White who had married in Ashton, Lancashire in 1846. Elizabeth, John and their families had recently moved to Lancashire from Leitrim, Ireland: a fairly common occurrence at this time.  John worked at one of the many Cotton Factories and the Robinson family lived at a number of different residences in the Stalybridge / Ashton-under-Lynne area: 1 Peason House; Bond Street; and Spring Bank. Mary Jane had a number of younger siblings.
On Monday 30 December 1872, when Mary Jane was 23, she married her (slightly younger) cousin, Robert White at St James, Millbrook, Chestershire. Mary and Robert would have known each other well, as they were double cousins: Mary’s father was a brother of Robert’s mother, and Mary’s mother was a sister of Robert’s father (four shared grandparents, which is why some people would argue that marriage between double cousins is effectively the same as marrying a sibling).  In modern western society, marrying your cousin is not well accepted and marrying a double cousin would be considered ‘creepy’.  Up until the mid-19th Century, first cousins commonly married.  A good example was Charles Darwin, who married his first cousin Emma Wedgwood.  Such marriages fell out of fashion but were never legislated against in the UK, possibly because a number of the aristocracy and royalty engaged in the practice.  Interestingly, many states in the USA have never allowed marriage between first cousins.  Research into genetic abnormalities indicates that a child born of cousins is up to two times more likely to have genetic disorders, but the risk is still very low (the child has about the same risk of genetic abnormality as that of a child born to a woman over 40 years). It is not known whether Mary and Robert’s family were happy or otherwise with the union.
Mary’s first child was born in 1875, a daughter, Elizabeth Ellen. In 1878 Robert left England bound for Brisbane, Australia.  Presumably they had discussed going to Australia as a family!  Mary was pregnant at the time, so perhaps she wanted to delay her move until the birth of her second child.  Mary’s son, John William, was born on 17 June 1878 at Heyrod: one month after Robert had arrived in Brisbane.  Early in 1879 Mary left England with her two children and cousin (and sister-in-law) Ann Jane White. They arrived in Moreton Bay, Queensland on Friday 20 June 1879. By this stage Robert had obtained a job with the NSW Railway, so Mary Jane, Elizabeth, John and Ann Jane travelled onto Sydney.  Ann Jane had met a young man called William (Elwood) White – no relation – on the trip to Australia and he possibly accompanied them to Sydney.  Ann Jane and William married in October 1879 and the two couples kept in touch with each other.  Mary Jane and Robert settled in Burwood, near Strathfield.
Mary Jane had her third child, Robert Charles, in October 1880. Sadly, baby Robert contracted Pneumonia and died in January 1881.
On 30 July 1881 Mary Jane took her two children into the city with Ann.  It was the day before Elizabeth's 6th birthday.  The four were walking along George Street and needed to cross the street.  Mary was holding John, and Ann was with Elizabeth.  Elizabeth saw her mother crossing the street ahead of her and she ran to her.  George Street has always been busy, and this day was no exception.  A horse drawn omnibus was coming down the street and was unable to stop in time. Elizabeth was trampled by one of the horses and was killed instantly.  It must have been a horrible shock for Mary Jane. I know were expectations that not all children would survive: and, just like today, the roads can be dangerous.

Ann Jane’s first child was born later in 1881. Mary Jane fell pregnant again quickly and in 1882 Jane Clegg White was born.  Two years later Robert Henry was born, but he died in 1885.  Mary Jane’s last child, James Julian, was born in 1887 when John William was 9 and Jane Clegg was 5. Mary Jane remained in Sydney, and she and Robert lived separate lives.  Robert left the railway and travelled around NSW working as a Phreuologist, with a female assistant.
The only known photo of Mary Jane...
In 1903 Jane Clegg married John James Kegg (becoming Jane Clegg Kegg), and John William returned to Stalybridge and married Harriet Dyson in 1906.  Mary Jane became a grandmother in 1906 with the birth of Jane’s daughter, Eileen Gwendoline, and John’s daughter Irene.  Jane had a son, Cyril James, and John returned to Australia and had a further 4 children.  James Julian married Isabel Sargent in 1914 and had a son. 

Notwithstanding their separation, when Robert White died on 29 April 1917 in Parkes, New South Wales, Mary Jane insert a funeral notice in the paper inviting “relatives and friends to attend the Funeral of her dearly beloved husband”. It is possible that their separation was amicable! 

Mary Jane died at 14 Darcy Avenue, Lidcombe on 12 July 1934, she was 84. 

Relationship to SNR = Great-great-great grandmother


Saturday 30 August 2014

Sophia Kensey / Hollebone / Dowswell (1849 - 1929)

When I first looked at Sophia Kensey’s life, I thought that she had a sad life. But then again, who knows what she was like other than the bare facts. And I have no idea about the type of person that Sophia was.  I’ve decided that I like to focus on the positives in her life, and I hope that she did as well.

Sophia Kensey (or Kensie) was born in 1849 in Albury, Hertford, England and baptised in the parish church on 4 November 1849.  Her parents were James and Ann.  At some point during her teenage years, Sophia came to Australia with her family. 

In 1871 she married Henry Walpole Hollebone in Sydney, NSW. They were both 22 years old.  The following year her first son was born, Albert Henry, but he died soon after birth.  In November 1873 her second son was born, George James.  By this time Henry was ill and he died on 26 November at their house in Gippe Street, off Elizabeth Street, in Sydney. It can’t have been particularly easy for Sophia at this point.  I’d like to think that both her own family, and Henry’s family helped Sophia. I don’t know much about Sophia’s family, but Henry had an older brother and five sisters, who were all close.  Two years after Henry’s death, his sister Charlotte, named her newborn child Henry.

For the next seven years Sophia raised her son in Sydney.  She married for the second time on Saturday 9 November 1878 at St Mary’s, Balmain, Sydney when she was 29. A notice of the wedding was placed in the newspaper. The groom was John Dowswell. A 36 year old widower with five children aged from seven to 16, one can understand why he was keen to marry. The ‘hows and whys’ of their union is not known, but it is possible that some within their family may have been bemused, as John’s first wife was Charlotte, the older sister of Henry Hollebone.  This meant that Sophia’s son and John’s children were cousins. I would like to think that Sophia and Charlotte had become friends and that she knew the children well: that it was a good arrangement.

Three years after their marriage, Sophia had another son, named Ernest Walpole, whose birth was registered in Canterbury, Sydney, NSW, Australia. 

On Tuesday 8 July 1890 Sophia’s elder son George James Hollebone died.  He had suffered from ‘fits’ for the previous ten years, which can’t have been easy for him, or for Sophia.  The funeral notice in the Sydney ‘Evening News’ perhaps shows the extent of family support (well, I’d like to think it does):

“The Friends of Mr John Dowswell are respectfully invited to attend the Funeral of his late beloved Step-son, George James Hollebone, aged 16 years; to move from the residence of his grandfather, Mr James Kensey, No. 1, Adolphus Lane, Balmain, tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon, at 3 o’clock, for Balmain Cemetery.”

By this stage, the first of John’s children had married, and over the following two decades sixteen grandchildren were born (including two daughters of Ernest).  Sadly, John’s youngest daughter died in 1894 when she was 23 years old: she was unmarried.  Then on 20 February 1909 John’s eldest son died aged 47: he was married with two adult sons and a fourteen year old daughter.

John Dowswell died at their home in Concord, Sydney on Friday 20 June 1913 age 77.  A year later, Sophia inserted a notice in the Sydney Morning Herald:

"DOWSWELL – In loving memory of my dear husband John Dowswell, who died June 20 1913.Your kindly face and your vacant chairIs the lonely widow’s only share.Inserted by his loving wife and little Violet"

Little Violet was one of John’s great grandchildren and it is not known why she was specifically mentioned. I like to think that she was a good mother, grandmother and great grandmother to her step family.

Sophia died in 1929 and is buried with John Dowswell at the St Thomas’ Church Cemetery, Enfield, Sydney.  She was 79 years old.


Relationship to SNR – Great, great, great grandfather’s sister-in-law

Friday 22 August 2014

Ruth Whingates / Dixson (1844 - 1924)

It is difficult to write about family conflict.  You want to present both sides and carefully put actions into perspective.  I found some very detailed information about Robert Dixson, the brother of Isabella Dixson, which painted him in a terrible light (in my view). I put the information together and decided I wouldn’t post the story onto the blog because I felt that I didn’t really know everything about him: for example, he may have had a brain tumour, or mental illness which dictated his actions. I decided to post the story: I wasn’t being wholly negative about Robert, and he wasn’t all bad, just as the rest of the family wasn’t all good!  So I posted and almost immediately took the story down. Not because it was terrible, but because I realized that the story I’d told would be much more positive if written from the point of view of his wife, Ruth. SHE survived!  And I like to think that she survived well (not that I really know!). So this is the story of Ruth Whingates / Dixson.

Ruth Whingates was born New South Wales, Australia in 1844. Her parents were Rosannah and James. Her childhood is quite difficult to determine. You would think that Whingates would be easy to trace, but there are quite a number of variations and not all events appear to be registered. It seems that potentially very soon after her birth, perhaps even just before, her father died, and her mother remarried James Gregg in 1846. Her mother then died in 1856 at the age of 32. 

On 2 February 1865 she married Robert Dixson in Parramatta, Sydney, after an engagement of two years. They married at James Gregg's house by Robert's brother-in-law. Robert was 21 and had known Ruth since he was about twelve years old.  Robert was the son of Helen and Hugh Dixson, a tobacco manufacturer, and he worked in the family business.  

At first the marriage was happy and around 1869 Ruth, Robert and their two young sons, Hugh Robert, born 1865 and Robert Frederick, born 1867, moved to Melbourne.  It was Robert’s intention to build up the family company in Victoria.  Apparently, once in Melbourne, Robert started drinking alcohol heavily and his behavior changed.  He particularly argued with his father and brother about progress of the company in Victoria and a decision was made to split the company; with Robert working alone in Victoria.  The split was exceedingly bitter. Robert believed that his father had treated him unfairly and told the Sydney based family that they were not welcome to visit his house.  During this time Ruth and Robert had a further three children; Lillian Helen born 1870; Walter Herbert born 1871; and Frank Ernest born 1873 – Frank died in 1874. In around 1875 Robert started being violent towards Ruth – including threatening her with a carving knife, hitting her and verbally abusing her.

By 1878 he was a physical and mental wreck from excessive use of alcohol, including suffering from hallucinations.  He sought medical help because he was worried about his mental state.  Ruth would try to ensure there was no alcohol in the house! The family moved to Adelaide in about 1880 and in 1881 Robert was a member of the South Australian Parliament. 

In January 1882 Ruth went to England to look after the education of their sons Hugh Robert and Walter. Walter was blind and the family though there would be more options for him in England. When she returned, Robert met her at the dock drunk.  On the way to their house, Ruth discovered that Robert had been living with a woman named Alice.  After a argument, Robert paid for Alice to go to England and then wrote a letter to her saying that she couldn’t impersonate as his wife any longer and that he had ensured that his Will would assist his true wife (this letter was not sent to Alice, but found in Robert’s possessions later).  Robert’s behavior continued to be erratic and he was known as “Old Mad Dixson”.  On Hugh Robert’s return to Australia, Robert became aggressive towards him, for reasons that were not clear. Robert’s brother, Hugh Dixson, gave support to his nephew and this also made Robert very angry.  As a result Hugh Robert went to work for his uncle’s tobacco company in Perth, Western Australia.

On 29 March 1889 Ruth’s second son, Robert Frederick, was found dead at the Palace Hotel, Bourke Street, Melbourne.  He had a gunshot wound to the head; with an inquest determining that he had committed suicide.  The family argued for a finding of ‘death by misadventure’ – saying he had accidentally shot himself in the head while attempting to put his revolver under his pillow.  It is not known what they really felt; perhaps they wanted to avoid the stigma of suicide.

Soon after this Robert left Australia for England.  On his death on 27 November 1891, at the age of 48, in Hull England, his family was surprised to discover that he had recently changed his will and bequeathed all his assets, worth between £30,000 and £40,000 to the University of Melbourne for scholarships. 

Ruth and three surviving children made a decision to contest the will on the basis that he was not fully in control of his mind.  This must have been a difficult decision, because in effect the family was exposing all of Robert’s erratic behavior in the years leading to his death.  A number of newspapers included reports of the case, as the family were well known in NSW, Victoria and South Australia.  Indeed, most of the above information was taken from an article in the South Australian Register on Saturday 26 November 1892 that reported on Ruth’s testimony.  It should be noted that even reports sympathetic to Robert include many of the same ‘facts’ but with statements that these activities did not indicate madness!

The case was brought to the courts in Melbourne in November 1892.  On 21 November, the solicitor who drew up the Will for Robert was on the witness stand to say that Robert was of sound mind – notwithstanding that he could be drunk and cruel (what a charming solicitor).  Ruth provided letters that had been sent to her from Robert.  The Adelaide Advertiser reported on the contents of the letters on 22 November 1892.  He wrote that his two older sons Hugh and Robert were ‘disgraceful’; that Hugh ‘was a sneak and a cur’ (not sure if this was a reference to his son or his brother); and that Ruth had: ‘disjointed my life in your vain attempt to lead me to your ways;’ treated him as a machine for making money and that he regarded her ‘not as a woman but as a devil.’  The Horsham Times reported on 22 November 1892 the view that Robert had a wit and was a cynic, and that if he was mad it was ‘conditioned by considerable method’. It was also reported that Robert was fined in England for not completing his Census paper correctly and had greeted his brother-in-law, a Baptist Minister, wearing just a dressing gown! These examples were given to show that Robert was not mad, but simply a very cynical person!  The case concluded on Monday 28 November when the University and the family reached a compromise position.  Ruth received £9000; the University received half of the remainder and the family received the other half. 

Hugh Robert legally changed his surname to Denison on the basis that it was confusing to work with his uncle when they had the same name.  One could hardly fault Hugh for this decision, whatever the reason!

Ruth and her two other children, Lillian and Walter, moved to England permanently: although she returned to visit on a number of occasions.  Lillian married John Terry Little on 15 August 1896 in Chelsea, England, and had five children. Walter, despite his blindness, earned a Masters Degree from Oxford and worked tirelessly for the blind, in translations of books into Braille, speaking engagements and establishing education units. Walter married Lorna Lucinda Adams on 27 December 1823 at the age of 52.

Ruth died on 19 March 1924, age 80.  She did not remarry!


Relationship to SNR = sister in law of great-great-great grandmother