kerbent on Family Tree Circles
Journals and Posts
Martha Todman vs Walter Todman - a marital maintenance case.
Walter and Martha married on 16 Jan 1892 in All Saints Church, Saint Kilda, no address was given for Martha at the time, but Walter was living in Hawthorn according to the marriage certificate. From the time of his marriage, and for the birth of his first two children Walter worked as a blacksmith. Their eldest daughter, Martha Todman (later known as Ruby) arrived on 24th December in 1894 at the Women's hospital.
On the 14th September 1895 Walter Todman and his wife welcomed Ivy Florence Todman into the world. Life must have changed dramatically for the family by 1895, with 2 small children life must have been busy for the Todman household. The family had been living at 27 Arthur St, South Yarra, Victoria when Ruby was born. During the intervening 18 months between their first and second child the family had shifted to 3 Palmero Place, South Yarra , They may have also resided at Hancock St, South Melbourne for a short time as well.
Walter was still pursuing his inventions and continued to register new patents. In April 1894 he made an application for a patent for "an improved machine for saving gold" In October 1895 Walter was granted a patent for "An improved automatic check for venetian blinds." . He appears to have left his occupation as a Blacksmith and is working as a casual waiter perhaps to allow more time to focus on his inventions. But October 1895 saw the last of his applications for patents, earlier in that year in January he had even abandoned one.
Things appear to have hit boiling point for Martha as we next find the couple in the Prahran Police Court . Martha alleges that her husband Walter Todman left "her without any means of support at South Yarra on the 3rd inst." December, 1895. She had two children and "her husband was a job waiter and earned about 11 pound a month. Her parents were in England." The couple had a violent domestic argument, resulting in Walter being struck with a poker . It was resolved by the court an order being issued "for a I pound a week maintenance, and one surety of 25 pounds to be found for a due observance" She has been quoted as saying "her husband, who was a waiter, was in the habit of handing her his earnings each week, but on Sunday week be refused to give her any money, and since then she could not live with him on account of his temper and disgusting language."
After all this angst and excitement things appear to settle at least for the next few years until 1901.
For sources see Originally published at Link: Sandra's Ancestral Research Journal on the 4 October 2015
The process of finding Caroline Williamson's nee Munro illusive obituary
Recently I posted a request for help to find the Obituary of Caroline Williamson nee Munro.
I received response from janilye who had graciously taken the time to consult the Ryson Index (why hadn't I thought of that?). Caroline WILLIAMSON does have a notice in the Sydney Morning Herald on the 18th JULY 1968.
Having now located a reference for the obituary I am now trying to locate an actual copy of the wording from the newspaper.
The steps I have taken so far are as follows:-
1. I have consulted the Australia Online Historical Newspapers which shows where you can find free copies of digital copies of the newspapers unfortunately it shows that in TROVE The Sydney Morning Herald has only been digitized between 1842 and 1954.- no joy here
2. Next I consulted the Google News Archive site which showed that there were 38,755 issues of Sydney Morning Herald between Apr 3, 1830 - Dec 31, 1989 - I was very excited I thought I could smell victory but alas there were only 5 of the 24 issues held in the archive for July and for the 18 July the edition that has been archived is the late edition and unfortunately there is no listing for Caroline Munro which could mean one of 2 things either the Ryson Index is incorrect (possible but not likely) or more probable that the death notice appeared in an earlier edition. - so no joy here.
3. Then it struck me perhaps as State Library of Victoria member I could access the "Sydney Morning Herald" which it turns out that I can, including a lot more resources. A list of can be found here Free journals, databases and ebooks. So I rummaged around in my files and dusted off my library card only to find that it didn't work. I immediately contacted the library by email who responded and confirmed that the card had expired so that I'd need ot re-register. To register was very easy all I had to do was fill out an online form "You can tick the option to have the card posted to you. This will take between 3 and 5 business days."
So it shouldn't be long before I can actually read Caroline's missing death notice/obituary!
By the way there was another alternative to accessing The Sydney Morning Herald and The Sun-Herald as they do have their own private archives covering the period between 1955-1995 however payment is required for access.
The pennies I save by waiting to use the State Library I am hoping to put towards purchasing another death certificate for my research - something that can't be found for free!
Looking for an article in the Leader Newspaper in between 9 Dec 1967 and 17 July 1968 in NSW
I have a wonderful cutting of an article that appeared in an unknown Newspaper possibly in the local Leader Newspaper for Como or Strathfield, NSW (as reference has been made to the Leader calling (see transcription of the article below)).
As Caroline Williamson's birthday was the 9th December and she is 103 years old, I am assuming that the article was published between 9 Dec 1967 and her death on the 17 July 1968. It doesn't appear that TROVE has digitized the newspapers yet; I am hoping that someone who might have access to the local newspapers of the area would be able to see if they could find the article for me. I am needing to reference where it came from, for my records. Someday I am also hoping that one day I can obtain a clearer copy of the accompanying picture if I can work out where the article came from.
"Woman, 103, asks: "Why all the fuss?"
Anyone would think nobody had been that old before chided Mrs Caroline Williamson, who at 103 is a very spry lady.
Mrs. Williamson willingly showed the photographer the birthday telegram her great-grandson sent from Beirut.
But she still could not see that her great age warranted any special fuss.
Her mother in fact was almost 105 when she died.
Mrs Williamson lives in Cremona Road, Como, with her daughter, Mrs Norma Cawse.
Newcomers to the house wonder if Mrs Williamson is unable to walk or has lost other faculties.
"One of the television men wanted to know if she was in a wheelchair" laughed Mrs Cawse.
In fact, Mrs Williamson walks about the house with just a helping had and assists her daughter with the dishes or vegetables.
She looks very much younger than her years and was distressed, when the Leader called, that her hearing seemed to have failed just in the past week.
The daughter of a British Army man, she was born in Bombay.
Her father came to Australia to buy horses for the cavalry when Caroline was nine years old.
He returned to buy the first hotel in Maryborough, Victoria.
That was the start of a new life for Mrs. Williamson - one which led her to every State in Australia.
Six Children
Her husband died 20 years ago, so she went to her daughter in Western Australia.
They returned to New South Wales in 1955.
The eldest of her six children is Monty, 82, who is still a professional dancer and choreographer in the city.
She has two sons in Gosford and one in Strathfield.
Mrs. Williamson's birthday was on December 9.
She received letters from strangers and was mentioned on several television programs.
And she giggled like a schoolgirl about all the attention:
"Why, I'll be 104 next year!" she said with an impish grin."
Looking for Caroline WILLIAMSON's nee MUNRO Obituary
I am looking for the obituary of Caroline Williamson who died in Como, NSW, Australia at the age of 103 on the 17th July 1968 and who is buried in Woronora Cemetery, which is also in NSW.
I have searched TROVE but as yet have not been able to locate any obituary which could mean 3 things that either the local paper for the area has not yet been digitized, or I have not been able "see" it in the newspapers I have searched or there was never an obituary.
Thanks to the BillonGraves site I do have a photo of the graves stone [BillionGraves, Database And Images (Http://billiongraves.com : Accessed 25/05/215), Memorial Page For Caroline Williamson, Find A Grave, Citing Woronora Cemetery, 121 Linden Street Sutherland 2232.}
If anyone is able to help I would be absolutely thrilled.
Hezekiah Bennetts
I have very little concrete evidence concerning Hezekiah Bennetts ancestors, so I read with interest your thoughts.
On Hezekiah's death certificate in 1900 his parents were stated as William Bennetts and Nancy Unknown. I'm fairly certain this is incorrect, and that the informant their daughter Rebecka who immigrated with her parents at the age of 7 may not have even remembered her grandparents names.
I have however located his marriage details on the parish registers as detailed below:-
Perranzabuloe, Cornwall
Marriage banns, 1823-1844
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-12430-16283-50?cc=1769414&wc=MMVH-V3F:n678186433
Image 93
Page 180
I PUBLISH the banns of Marriage between Hezekiah Benne(unable to read in the crease of the page, so I am assuming when I cross reference the entry on the CORNWALL ONLINE PARISH CLERKS (Genealogy) website that is the entry for Hezekiah Bennetts) of this parish Bachelor and Mary George Sojourner in the Parish Widow.
If any of you know cause of just impediment why these two Persons should not be joined together in Holy Matrimony, ye are to declare it.
This is the first time of asking --- Dated 10th day of March 182
This is the second time of asking --- Dated the 17th day of March 1839
This is the third time of asking --- Dated 24th day of March 182
Perranzabuloe, Cornwall
Marriage entry parish records 1837-1860
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-12430-16645-44?cc=1769414&wc=MMVH-VQC:n897893257
1839. Marriage Solemnized in the Church in the Parish of Perranaluloe in the County of Cornwall.
No. 47
When Married March 28
Name and Surname Hezekiah Bennetts, age 21, Condition Bachelor, Rank or Profession Miner, Residence at the time of the marriage Chiverton, Father's Name and Surname Philip Bennetts, Rank or Profession of Father ?
Name and Surname Mary George, age 26, Condition Widow, Rank or Profession ---, Residence at the time of the marriage ????, Father's Name and Surname Thomas Nance, Rank or Profession of Father ?
Married in the Church of Perran according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Established Church after Banns by me. George Bellamy.
This marriage was solemnized between us Hezekiah Bennetts sign Mary George's sign in the Presence of us, Edward Searle Symons, & Francis Veall
So at least I am able to confirm that Hezekiah's father is most likely Philip.
His parents were Philip Bennetts (?born 1779? ) and Anne/Nancy Rickard(Richards) married on the 13 Nov 1800 in Perranzabuloe, Cornwall, England where Philip was listed as being from Perranzabulo
I have managed to identify the following siblings for Hezekiah as follows:-
1. Jenefer christened 03 Jan 1802
2. Ann christened 03 Jan 1804
3. Philip christened 26 Dec 1808
4. Sally christened 29 Sep 1811
5. Richard christened 03 Dec 1813 the family were living in Churchtown, St Allen and Philip was working as a Farm Labourer
6. John christened 19 Nov 1815 the family were living in Churchtown, St Allen and Philip was working as a Farm Labourer
7. Hezekial christened 22 Oct 1818 the family were living in Churchtown, St Allen and Philip was working as a Farm Labourer
8. Edward christened 26 Dec 1820 the family were living in Churchtown, St Allen and Philip was working as a Farm Labourer
dOES ANYONE RECOGNISE THIS FAMILY?
Has anyone used the new release of Clooz 3?
I'd be interested to hear of peoples experiences, I have just brought a copy of the program and as with all new programs it's taking a bit to get my head around it.
Cheers
Sandra
Comparing signatures to establish links ? Abraham JACKA
When researching the children of Jacka & Elizabeth Gilbert I found 3 marriages for Abraham. When trying to sort out which one belonged to my couple resorted to comparing signatures to help identify the different Abrahams. It?s been a long time since I have worked with signatures and I had overlooked how valuable a tool it can be when trying to nut out a mystery. After a fair amount of research with assistance from others I came to the conclusion that each different Abraham couple represented a different cluster of Jacka descendants, which may or may not be related further back in time. Unfortunately none of them conveniently come from Sithney, where my Abraham Jacka had originally been baptised. (I have bolded the names of the signatures that I used for comparison purposes.)
Couple 1
Abraham JACKA(St Buryan) & Eliz. GEORGE(St Buryan) married 1795 St Buryan Witness - William MATHEWS
Elizabeth JACKA (St Buryan) & William MATHEWS (St Buryan) married 1800 St Buryan witness ? Mary JACKA
Mary Jacka(St Buryan) and William Maddern(Paul)married 1800 St Buryan, witness Abraham Jacka
These 3 Jackas appear to be related they are all from St Buryan, and the signatures of those highlighted appear to match.
Couple 2
Abraham JACKA(St Erth) & Ann MILLDRUM(St Hilary) married 1796 St Hilary. Unfortunately I have not been able to find this Abraham signing a second document to help me confirm his signature
I have looked up the following sibling marriages and compared the signatures from
1. Thomas Jacka(Sithney) & Anna Moyses married 1790 Wendron (Abraham?s older brother who signed as groom
2. William Jacka(Germoe) & Margaret Wood(Germoe)(Abraham?s second eldest brother), witness - Thomas Jacka also signed but as witness
3. Elizabeth Jacka(St Erth) & William Jelbart(St Levan)(Abraham?s oldest sister) married 1800 St Erth witness Thomas Jacka(Thomas? signature does appear to be slightly different to those of the two previous marriages but still looks the same even excluding the missing jnr suffix? I have not worried about the suffix as I am assuming it was no longer used after his father died.)
All of the above Thomas Jackas? appear to be the same person, unfortunately Abraham does not appear in any of them.
4. Abraham JACKA marries Ann the witness for his marriage is John JACKA, see next marriage listed for more detail
5. John Jacka(St Erth) & Mary Limbrick( Helston) married 1800 in Helston (possibly Abraham?s second eldest brother) witness - Peter HAMMILL
(John Hammill may have been Mary?s first husband as there marriage on the OPC site for a John Hammill and a Mary on 28-Mar 1793 with a Peter Hammill as a witness however when I compared the two Peter Hammill signatures in the Parish Registers the didn?t look very similar but this could be for a number reasons including the type of nib on the pen. )
6. Joseph Jacka (St Erth) & Charity BERRYMAN (St Erth) married 1898 St Erth (Abraham?s younger brother) there doesn't appear to any Jacka relatives listed, there is an Edwd Rawlings but he seems to have signed a lot of marriages so may be someone tied with the church rather than the families, including his younger brother James Jacka.
7. James Jacka(St Erth) and Eleanor Hammel(St Erth) married 1800 St Srth (Abraham?s youngest brother)as well as Edwd Rawlings signing as witness Peter HAMMILL.
8. Anne Jacka ? I haven?t yet been able to establish if she married
Abraham?s father?s will in 1796 ? as a tool to establish relationships
In Thomas JACKA?S (senior) will that there was no mention of a daughter either married or single with a forename Mary, see below.
Transcription of the probate for Thomas Jacka father of Abraham Jacka
(Abstract of Will of Thomas Jacka, Yeoman of St Erth, Cornwall. Proved in the Court of Exeter. Reference:IR 26/339/13)
Date of the Probate or Admin & Sum Sworn - 1796, May 4th, Under ?300
Name and description of Testator or Intestate - Thomas Jacka of St Erth, Yeoman
Names & places of Abode of the Executors or Administrators - John, Joseph & James Jacka, Residuary Legatees, sons of John Jacka, The remainder of his goods
Auxiliary Legatees -
- Abraham Jacka, son, One hundred Pounds
- Elizabeth Jacka, Daughter, Fifty Pounds
- Ann Jacka, Daughter, Fifty Pounds
The Will helps to establish the following relationships:-
son - Abraham
daughters - Elizth, Ann Jacka
3 sons - John, Joseph, James
witnesses - Thomas Ellis, James Otey
This further supports the notion that Abraham JACKA from couple 1 who had a sister named Mary is probably not a descendant of Thomas JACKA & Elizabeth GILBERT.
It would appear that according to the OPC site they had the following children:-
Child 1 ? 1800 in St. Hilary, Anne JACKA to Abraham & Mary Anne
Child 2 ? 1805 in St. Hilary, Mary Elizabeth JACKA to Abraham & Mary Anne
Child 3 ? 1807 in St. Hilary, Mary Elizabeth JACKA to Abraham & Anne
There was an Abraham Jacka & Ann Jacka who both resided in Relubbas who were buried in St Hilary according to the OPC site and were buried as follows:-
? Abraham buried 26 Jan 1825 in St Hilary aged 55 (this would give him a d.o.b. of about 1770, which would fit well with the 1769 baptism at Sithney for Abraham son of Thomas & Elizabeth.)
? Ann buried 19 Aug 1820 in St Hilary aged 49
Couple 3
Abraham Jacka(Paul) & Margery Blewett(St Levan) married 1810 St Levan
It would appear that Margery Jacka, wife of Abraham jnr, was buried at St Levan, 17 July 1812 [the implication of the 'jnr' is that there was also an Abraham Jacka senior in the same area. He isn't necessarily the father of Abraham junior, though.]
As this Abraham Jacka was from Paul, according to the marriage entry, perhaps he was the Mousehole man whose burial I mentioned above. Another older Abraham Jacka, also from Mousehole, was buried at St Buryan in 1820 (see the OPC site).
Note I was not able to find any offspring and therefore descendants for this couple
Conclusion
Couple two has the Abraham Jacka that is related to my Thomas Jacka & Elizabeth Jacka.
Following up on the signatures has also led me other areas for further investigation including a Mary Lambicks first husband and the need to try and find out what happened to Ann Jacka and whether she got married.
Cheers, Sandra
Following up post for Who married Abraham Jacka?
Hi Pat,
thanks for the feedback to my original journal - Who married Abraham Jacka?, I'm responding in a new journal as my reply to your feedback is quite detailed and without formatting would be quite difficult to read.
I did look for all the children including a birth/christening after 1769 discovered that Thomas Jacka and Elizabeth Gilbert had the following children
1. Thomas JACKA the Younger. chr: 29 Dec 1760, St. Buryan, Cornwall married Anna Moyse in Wendron, Cornwall 1790, and died 13 Nov 1833, Lannor, Cornwall
2. William JACKA chr: 2 Jan 1763, St Sithney, Cornwall, married Margaret Wood in Germoe 1790, and died: 1820 Germoe, Cornwall
3. John JACKA chr: 7 Oct 1764, St Sithney, Cornwall, married Mary Lambrick in Helston 1800, and died 1854
4. Elizabeth JACKKA chr: 30 Nov 1766, St Sithney, Cornwall, married William Jelbart in St Erth and died: 11 Apr 1849, St. Buryan, Cornwall
5. Abraham JACKA chr: 4 May 1769, St Sithney, Cornwall, died: After 1796 (married ??)
6. Joseph JACKA chr: 29 Sep 1771, St Sithney, Cornwall, married Charity Berryman in St Erth, and died Jun 1852
7. James JACCKA chr: 12 Oct 1774, St Sithney, Cornwall, married Eleanor Hammill in St Erth 1800 and died ???
8. Ann JACKA 26 Oct 1777, St Sithney, Cornwall, married ??? (married ??) died: After 1796
Unfortunately as you can see there are still many gaps in my knowledge.
How did I arrive at marriage dates of 1795/96?
I did a search for all the marriages on the OPC site http://cornwall-opc.org/ and got the following results:-
1718 Buryan, St. Abraham JACKA Grace RICHARDS
1770 Buryan, St. Abraham JACKA Alice SHETFAR(Shutford?)
1795 Buryan, St. Abraham JACKA Eliz. GEORGE
1796 Hilary, St. Abraham JACKA Ann MILLDRUM
1796 Hilary, St. Abraham JACKA Ann MILLDRUM
1827 Paul Abraham JACKA Phillis PENTREATH
I choose the Eliza George in St. Buryan & the Anne Mildrum in St. Hillary marriages as I thought these the most likely of all those listed. However after looking at the original reigsers the marriage on
?19 Dec 1795 in St Buryan have both parities being of the St Buryan parish
?20 Nov. 1796, St Hilary has Abraham coming from St Erth and Ann coming from St Hiliary
I was unable to find a marriage between for Abraham Jacka & Margery Blewett in Paul but I did find one for them in St Leven
?21 Jul 1810 by Licence, Abraham Jacka of Paul & Margery Blewett
Unfortunately none of them conveniently come from Sithney. I think I need to do a little more research and see if I can track down all of the parents for all three Abrahams to see if I can eliminate some of them.
Thank once again Pat, it helps to have another pair of eyes look at everything.
Cheers, Sandra
Who married Abraham Jacka?
Abraham Jacka was baptised 4 May 1769, St Sithney, Cornwall, England son of Thomas Jacka and Elizabeth Gilbert.
I have assumed that Abraham didn't die as either a child or a bachelor (my direct ancestor is Abraham?s older brother, Thomas). Abraham was also listed as one of the legatees in his father?s will in 1796
There are two possible marriages for Abraham:-
? 1795 to Eliza George in St. Buryan
? 1796 to Anne Mildrum in St. Hillary
Initially I favoured Eliza George as Abraham?s parents had come from St. Buryan which would possible allow a connection for the young people to happen between the parishes allowing an opportunity for the couple to meet.
I am hoping that someone recognises one or more of the above marriages so that I can narrow down the possibilities to one marriage or discount them both.
Fingers crossed
Sandra
What became of the children of William Bassett & Jane Matthews
William Bassett and Jane Mathews were married on the 13 September 1783 in the Madron parish church, and had the following children christened in the same church:-
1. ?4 Jan 1784 Anne d/o William Basset at Madron? ? I am not sure what happened to Anne
2. ?11 Sep 1785 Francis s/o William Bassett, pauper at Madron? was working as a farmer until he became convicted of stealing and was transport to Australia. He was married to Ann Carbis who did not emigrate to Australia. Her husband along with her brother William and father were convicted of stealing and transported to Australia
3. ?20 Jan 1788 William s/o William Bassett, pauper at Madron? ? may have been buried on 27 October 1799 in Gulval, Cornwall the entry in the Gulval Church register reads:- ?October William Bassett of Penzance .. .. .. 27th?
4. ?5 Sep 1790 John s/o William Bassett, pauper at Madron? migrated to Australia in 1852, who married Martha Carbis in in 1812, along with his wife and most of his married children
5. ?8 Mar 1792 Mary d/o William Basset, pauper at Madron private baptism" was buried as an infant on 18 February 1793 as a pauper in Madron
6. ?9 Mar 1794 Mary d/o William Basset, pauper at Madron?
7. ?13 Mar 1796 James s/o William Bassett, pauper at Madron? was buried as an infant on 16 September 1797 as a pauper in Madron
8. ?17 Feb 1798 Hanna d/o William Basset, pauper at Madron private baptism?
9. ?23 Mar 1800 Jane d/o William Basset at Madron private baptism? was buried as a 12 year old on 12 Aug 1810 as a pauper in Madron
The male descendants have been a lot easier to follow up. In 1812 when Francis Bassett with others committed a crime and the scandal went on for about three years, off and on in the newspapers, I know my direct ancestor, John Bassett b.1790 moved out of the area with his wife which is what his surviving sisters may have done.
So at present I would like to discover what happened to
1. Anne Basset christened 1784
2. Mary Basset christened 1792
3. Hanna Bassett christened 1798
I also haven?t been able to trace the burials and/or deaths of either William Bassett or Jane Bassett nee Matthews who could have both possibly been born around 1762.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Sandra
