Ellen Carne

On 13 May 1854 at 29B Granby Street, Stoke Dameral (now an inner suburb of Plymouth, England), Ellen Carne was born.  She was the fifth child of Jane (nee Baker) and William John Carne.  One of the children had recently died and Ellen was named after this child.  She didn’t spend long in Stoke Dameral.  In January 1855 the young family set sail for Australia.  William John Carne was a mason – as was his father – and had presumably been enticed to Australia for work.  The family settled in Melbourne and a further four children were born.  Next door lived William’s brother, John Carne, and the two families were close (John Carne's family had also lived next door to the family when they were in Stoke Dameral).  

On Christmas day in 1865 some of the children went to Merri Creek, Northcote.  Ellen’s older brother William and his cousin Samuel were playing in the creek when they got into difficulty.  Ellen’s eldest brother went in to help the two boys, while George, Ellen’s cousin, ran to get help.  By the time assistance arrived, the three boys had disappeared and their bodies were found later in the day.  It is not known if Ellen was at the creek with her siblings.  This must have been a very difficult time for Ellen’s family…

When Ellen was 20 years old, she married Albert Samuel Joyce.  They married at her parents' home in Bedford Street, Collingwood on 5 January 1875.  Albert was a plumber and, like Ellen, had migrated to Melbourne as a young child with his family.  Ellen and Albert had eight children, the first child was born in late 1875: two of their daughters died as young children (in 1883 and 1890); the eldest son, William Frederick died (in 1898) when he was 20 (See entry for William Frederick Joyce).

Ellen's eldest daughter, Ellen Jane, married George Henry Green in 1898.  Ellen became a grandmother in 1900.  The photo below is of Albert Clifford Green with his mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.  Quite an unusual feat in the early 1900s. 

Ellen Jane had a second son in 1904 but sadly died when she was 30 in 1905.

Her widower, George Henry Green, then married Emily Joyce – Ellen’s second daughter – in 1906, so Emily raised her sister's children plus they had one son together. 

Ellen and Albert lived in Stanley Street, Collingwood, before moving to 166 McKean Street, Collingwood and then to Beulah, George Street, Fitzroy.  Albert’s plumbing business was quite successful and they were financially comfortable.  Their youngest three children, Clarice Rose, Albert Charles and Leslie Samuel all married and had their own families.  Albert and Leslie both joined the newly formed Australian Public Service, much to the disappointment of Albert who wanted them to join his plumbing business. 

On 19 October 1927, Albert Samuel Joyce died.  Ellen continued to keep busy with visits to her family – her four children and 17 grandchildren – and she enjoyed a form of knitting called ‘tacking’.  One of her grandchildren remembers trying to help her out of the rocking chair she had on her deck.  Unfortunately Ellen then fell on top of her – over the years she had become a rather large woman - and her granddaughter felt quite squashed!

Ellen died on 7 August 1943 at the age of 89. 

Relationship to SNR = Great, great grandmother