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