Wednesday’s Child – May Francis nee Pearson

(Florence) May with her mother and a brother

17 February 1875 was a Wednesday and the birth day (in Geelong, Victoria) of my great grandmother Florence May PEARSON (1875 – 1947) known as May.

I’ve written about her parents a couple of times before, especially her father FrederickAugustus PEARSON (1848 – 1884).

May was just nine years old when her father died. She was the eldest of his six children, her youngest brother not yet one year old at the time his father died.

May, c1893-5

At age 14, her mother died and the children were then raised by their maternal grandfather, Frederick Augustus ROWDEN (1826 – 1919) and his third wife – he was widowed twice, and lived to the amazing age of 93 years.

May married relatively late for her time, at the age of 30 to William Collier FRANCIS (1864 – 1946) who was 41 years old. Coincidentally, he was also born on a Wednesday.

They had five children, my grandmother was the middle child.

May died just a little more than a year after her husband at the age of 72 in Oakleigh, Victoria.

Dad was barely 10 when she died but remembers the following:
 I remember Oakleigh had a lot of land around the house. Much later it was subdivided into 6 x ¼ acre building blocks.

They had poultry and produced eggs. She grew small plots of lucerne and oats to put through a "huge" cutting machine in the large barn for green feed. She also had large veggie garden and berries (gooseberries and never liked them) and many others. (Her daughters, my Gren and her sister were avid veggie gardeners too)

a beautiful lady

She always wore an apron and dark clothes - maybe this was after her husband died. In later years, she spent a lot of time close to the wood stove burning what looked like incense to help her breathing. (She was asthmatic - something passed on to many descendants)

At the time, Oakleigh was quite rural as I remember walking across vacant land to get fresh milk from the dairy. It was always good to drink the warm milk when bringing the billy home.

A highlight of most days was following the bakers cart , the iceman and butcher not only to get a sample but to collect the horse manure for her veggie garden. I never followed the night man!

May and William Francis in their later years,
yes, she was a tall lady! ...and not wearing 
dark clothes here, as my Dad remembers

Trove Tuesday – Fireman photos

I noticed that a few other bloggers were having a ‘photo week’, so I’ll stick to that theme too.

An unexpected find on Pictures Australia, part of Trove, and out of copyright too!

My great grandfather, Lewis Raikes GARRETT (1876 – 1939) who I have written about a number of times before.

Lewis worked for the Metropolitan Fire Brigade for 33 years, from 1906 until his death in 1939. Here is a great photo of him in his younger years as part of a larger compilation photo.

I have added a couple of photos from our family collection too.

Lewis and Constance Garrett, married in 1905

St Kilda Fire Station 1915
(from our family collection)

Sepia Saturday - Nurse Nanna

Nanna standing 2nd from right, at Beaconsfield

This post is in part inspired by the Sepia Saturday blogging prompt, and by the photos and papers shown to me by my mother earlier this year.

Nanna loved babies! 

Mum says she couldn’t get enough of us when we were little.

There weren’t many options open to unmarried country girls in their mid 20s in the mid 1920s, so Nanna and her sister trained in mothercraft nursing.

Mavis Fanshawe LONG (1906-1982) and her sister Frances Jean McVey LONG (1901-1988) moved to the city and trained at the Foundling Hospital and Infants Home in Berry Street, East Melbourne and Beaconsfield.

Berry Street was founded in 1877 by a group of Melbourne women with the help of the wife of the Governor of the time. In 1907 they implemented a formalised mothercraft nurse training program that continued until 1975. 

Nanna got her certificate in 1933 at the age of 27.

You can read more about the history of Berry Street here.

It was at Berry Street that Nanna befriended Shirley Constance GARRETT (1912-1978), a fellow nurse from nearby St Kilda. 

It was through Shirley and visiting her family that Nanna met her husband, Shirley’s brother John Raikes GARRETT (1908-1992). 

They married in 1935.

I’ve written more about Nanna, with more photos, here.

Auntie Jean (Nanna's sister) is standing third from left

Nurse Shirley Garrett

Sisters Twyford and Tulloh, and Matron H McGain

Trove Tuesday – In the line of Fire(men)

Continuing on from last week’s post about fire fighting relatives / ancestors, my Dad reminded me that his side of the family had a fire captain too.

My 3 x great grandfather, James GRENFELL (1833 – 1896) was the first captain of the Long Gully Fire Brigade (near Sandhurst / Bendigo).

James had arrived in Australia with his wife Nanny HATTAM (1836 – 1915) and four children in July 1866 on the FitzJames and settled in the Sandhurst area.

James was mine manager of the Old Chum Mine, Long Gully – more about that another post – this one is about fire fighters.

In August 1875, Captain James Grenfell received “a very handsome tea and coffee service…in appreciation of his services as captain for the past two years”. (I wonder where that went!)

I found a number of articles about his ‘great work’ but no photo yet. I’ll keep searching.

I have included a couple of photos (not from Trove): my brother and his son (just qualified this year) in their fire fighting gear - scroll right down.

They are 3 x great grandson and 4 x great grandson of Fire Captain James Grenfell – a long line of firemen.

 

Trove Tuesday – History repeating itself

My brother was recently caught up in the middle of an unseasonal bushfire in the Adelaide Hills. Thanks to his many years (about 20 years) of fire brigade volunteering and training, and that of his son, they had taken many measures to ensure the safety of their house and themselves. (Their neighbour’s house was sadly lost).

Our grandfather John Raikes GARRETT (1908-1992) and his father Lewis Raikes GARRETT (1876-1939) were also involved in fire brigades, at Eastern Hill in Melbourne and at St Kilda. I’ve written a little on this previously and there is a photo of father and son fire fighting together in that post.

Lewis married the beautiful lady in my last blog post, Constance Edith TERRY (1871-1925).

What I hadn’t known was that Lewis’ father in law, Alfred TERRY (1823-1881) was also an avid fire fighter.

Alfred was a prominent brewer and so I was sure there must be an obituary somewhere for him. I didn’t expect to find this:

…In his last hours he was very anxious about one thing…he hoped his men would maintain the honor of their corps and run for the Britannia Fire Associations Challenge Cup, which they hold and still keep. To the late Mr Alfred Terry’s exertions the efficiency of the Carlton Brewery V. F. Brigade was mainly due…

…“If a fire was any where near his place he was the first to be there, and the last to leave.”

The Britannia Cup was again won by the Carlton Brigade.

Searching further, I found Alfred had invented a “jumping sheet” or fire escape to prevent injuries in those who had to jump from burning buildings.

Sepia Saturday - My great grandmother's face

A 'study across the years' of my great grandmother's face for Sepia Saturday

Constance Edith TERRY was born Jun 1871 in Melbourne to Alfred TERRY and Emma Augusta FARMILO nee HODGES.

She married Frederic Arthur FITTS (1864-1902) in South Yarra on 23 Nov 1892 - the approximate timing of the first photograph - and one that I am lucky enough to have the beautiful large framed version of.

After Frederic's death by drowning, she married my great grandfather Lewis Raikes GARRETT in Surrey Hills (Vic) on 30 Apr 1905. Possibly the timing of the second photograph.

She died in St Kilda in Feb 1925 at the age of 53 years, and leaving 8 children between the ages of 12 and 31. The third photo is taken much later in her life.

I'll write more about her another time but I haven't been well and just wanted to get something up to get back in the habit of blogging.

Trove Tuesday – Don’t believe all you read

The Thomas Brooks in this death notice was my great great grandmother’s younger brother. I mentioned their parents in my last blog post: Thomas BROOKE and Jane CUNDELL.

Thomas wasn’t 80, he was closer to 82 – his birth reg shows 1858 in Mortlake, so yes he was one of the oldest native-born residents.

His elder sister was Sarah Jane Holmes nee Brooks and had died on 22 July 1940.

Their parents did not arrive in the area as early as 1838.

Thomas Brooke (senior) married Jane Cundell at St Matthews, New Norfolk in 1844 and their first daughter, Mary Anne, was born in Tasmania seven months later. Thomas had arrived in Tasmania in 1831 on the Lord Lyndoch (1).

In 1845, Thomas was granted his conditional pardon and was required to leave Tasmania. He was employed at Mt Shadwell and arrived in Victoria in October 1845.

Jane, pregnant with my great great grandmother (Frances Eliza), remained in Tasmania until after the birth in Feb 1846. She had joined Thomas by 1848 when the next daughter, Isabella was born (in Mt Shadwell).

Jane had arrived in Australia in 1840, as a free 18 year old nursery maid. Her parents were already here, but that is a whole other story.

The second article is something amusing I saw in the course of searching for the death notice: children raising funds for the war by catching rabbits!