#52 Ancestors Week 47 Soldier

#52 Ancestors Week 47 Soldier

I have written before (Week 21 – Military) about several family members who joined up to fight in WW1, and a little about William Johnson, Paul’s 3 x great grandfather who was a regular soldier for some years in the 19^th century.

William was born in Essex, England to Joseph Johnson and his wife Esther Monks.  According to William’s death certificate, Joseph was also a soldier although we don’t know much about him as he disappears from the records.  Perhaps he was also fighting in the Napoleonic Wars.

William enlisted in the Royal Staff Corps, probably when he was very young.  This was a messenger and orderly regiment of the Defence Services which began its military term in 1813.  After the end of the Napoleonic War in 1815, the Regiment served in different parts of the British Empire including Australia and the West Indies.

William was serving in Barbados when he met his future wife, Martha Sarsfield Donovan.  She was a young widow who had given birth to two children but by the time she met William her husband and daughter had died and her son was to die the following year.*(1) We know that Martha’s family had been in Barbados for several generations and that some of them were plantation owners so we must assume that they were also slave owners.  Martha’s death certificate states that her father was a schoolteacher, but this may not be correct as the informant made other errors.

Martha and William’s first son, William, was born in January 1821, and the couple was married the following February 1822 when Martha was 25, and William 19.

Towards the end of 1825, No 3 Company, Royal Staff Corps was posted to Australia.  The officers were either civil engineers or surveyors and the NCOs and Privates were skilled or semi-skilled tradesmen.  It was intended that the Corps would, in part, replace a number of the civilian Overseers of Convicts and thereby reduce costs but this scheme was unsuccessful.  The majority of the Staff Corps men were young and inexperienced and unable to control the convict labour.  The Company was ordered to disband and the men given the option of settling in Australia or staying in the army to be posted elsewhere.  Grants of land were given to encourage them to stay.

William was a blacksmith and a First Classman of the Royal Staff Corps.  In Sydney they had two more children (Mary Ann 1826 -28 and Mary 1828).   When the regiment disbanded, he was discharged (on 24 June 1829).  The family chose to stay but unfortunately, William’s small land grant was at the area then known as Maroota, 49kms north west of Sydney on an early road constructed by convict gangs to link Sydney with the fertile Hunter Valley. Attempts to settle this land failed as it was barren and sandy and could not support soldier settlers and their families*(2). 

William found work in the Hunter Valley and his next two children were born there *(3)on a property owned by a fellow soldier called Archibald Bell (whose name records his crossing of the Blue Mountains now known as Bell’s Line of Road). The next daughter Martha was also born in this area, then the last child, John was born at Port Macquarie in 1838.

At about this time, William petitioned the new Governor of NSW, George Gipps for another land grant, but it was refused.  Gipps noted on the petition that “Grants of land are discontinued and it it is not in my power to give..”  

Governor Gipps' note on William's petition

 By this time the eldest daughter, Mary was married to Charles McCann, a wheelwright.  The whole family seems to have packed up with them and moved south to the goldfields of Ballarat.  Family legend has it that Charles and William combined their two skills to create the large carriage vehicles known on the goldfields as McCann Wagons. 

The birth records of Charles and Mary’s children show that from the early 1850s until the late 1860s the family moved between the goldfields of central Victoria and the Northern Rivers of NSW.  On modern highways, this is a distance of 1700 kms – it is difficult to imagine how complicated and difficult it would have been by horse drawn wagon, wearing cumbersome clothing and accompanied by several small children.  There was the option of coming by boat – also a long and hazardous journey which we know other family members did in this period.

Despite the difficulties the extended family seems to have done the trip at least twice.  William and Martha finally settled with many of their children and grandchildren in the rich cedar country around Teven Creek near Ballina, where most of the men were engaged in timber cutting.

We know from the diaries of William Glascott (Week 24 – Dear Diary) that William Johnson was in the area, and that he was still plying his trade as a blacksmith, with a “shop” in Ballina.

William died on 29 May 1873.  The cause of death was given as chronic gout, from which he had suffered for 26 years.  Martha outlived him by 8 years, and they were both buried in the East Ballina cemetery.

 *(1)William Clement (husband) died 17 February 1817.  Sarah (daughter) died 15 July 1818.  Daniel (son) died 6 Oct 1821.

*(2)Later this land proved ideal for a variety of crops including orchards and it is now known as the Hills District, a wealthy residential area of Sydney

*(3) Jane 1831 and Esther 1833

#52 Ancestors Week 46 Poor Man

#52 Ancestors Week 46 Poor Man

There was never any doubt about my subject for this week’s prompt – my 6 x great grandfather who is described in one record as “William the Pauper”

William Titford was born in Wylye, Wiltshire in 1725, to William Titford and his wife Elizabeth (nee Taylor).  His father, grandfather, great grandfather and two of his sons were also called William, which perhaps explains why one record saw the designation “the Pauper” an important way to distinguish him from the others.

An illiterate peasant from a long line of such, William left very little paper trail for the genealogist, but we do know a few facts of his life. 

In 1748 he was employed as an Under Shepherd at Wylye Manor.

On 22 April, 1751 he married Christian Duke in the parish of Tefont Evias (near Wylye).  The following year, Christian gave birth to a son, William, who died soon after birth.  In 1755, they had a son (another William) then in 1758 my 5 x great grandmother, Jane, was born.

By 1761, William was Shepherd of the East End flock of Wylye Manor.  The records tell us that a Head Shepherd in 1860 would earn 7 shillings per week.  The staple diet was bread and beer – if William and his family ate a loaf of bread every day then the cost for a week was about 15% of his wages.  We can imagine that life was a constant struggle. 

Perhaps this might explain why, in 1763, William was charged with An Infringement of Customs of the Manor. I don’t know what crime or misdemeanour William committed and it’s difficult to find out, but a common “crime” was trespass and this could have included grazing his sheep in the wrong place.

Here is an explanation of the system from a history of the small town of Bovey Tracey, in Devon.

 What we do know is that certain customs were confirmed in the records from as early as 1614. In his study of one hundred and thirteen English manors, Waddell (2012, p. 278) analysed their customs and found variations, which was understandable given that coastal, rural and town areas had different needs. Certain customs, however, seem to have been fairly general, because everywhere needed to ensure law and order and that rents were collected. Courtenay’s Steward summed it up in 1747 by saying that:

THE CUSTOMS The customs covered the process of administration and regulation, and the appointment of officers to carry out various duties. The court leet and court baron were held twice yearly within one month of both Lady Day and Michaelmas, and at other occasions as needed. The Lord of the Manor, who was also Lord of the Borough, appointed a steward to hold the courts leet and courts baron for both the manor and borough on his behalf. Annually the Michaelmas Court appointed a jury of local freemen to deal with its duties. A foreman was sworn in, followed by eleven or twelve homagers. The minutes of the borough court 1665 described it as a law court and it appointed a jury of eleven men plus the portreeve as foreman. The freeman requirement for office, rather than just being a tenant, meant that eligibility as a juror was kept within a more elite group of residents. These were the local merchants, businessmen and farmers. As with courts throughout the country the jury appointed various officers, who were freemen, to carry out certain tasks for the smooth running of the manor and borough (Pollock and Maitland, 1968, p. 43). They were sworn in annually at each borough and manor Michaelmas Court from at least 1665. As only freemen could serve, the courts were not representative of all in the area and poorer tenants and sub tenants could not be office holders. It was possible to hold two offices at the same time as shown by the pound keeper also being the crier in 1750. Officers were appointed by the jury and sworn in annually at each borough and manor Michaelmas Court from at least 1665.

The Infringement of 1763 seems to have been William’s only brush with the law.

In 1788, as the first white settlers were arriving to colonise NSW, Christian died. 

By 1800, William was living on Parish Relief, perhaps in the poorhouse.  His son William and daughter Jane were both married and he had four grandchildren, Charles, James and Elizabeth Titford and George Dowdell. 

William died in 1806 and was buried in a pauper’s grave in Wylye on 25 March of that year.

#52 Ancestors Week 45 Rich Man

#52 Ancestors Week 45 - Rich Man

My great grandfather Robert White was not a rich man in any material sense of the word.  But he had a rich life and was deeply mourned by his family and community on his death.

Robert was the youngest child of Charles and Eliza White (nee Andrews).  His 3 older brothers and sister were all born in England and travelled to Australia with their parents when they were small children.  The family paid 6 pounds for their voyage on the “Blundell”, arriving on 7 May 1853.  Charles was described as a gardener, and both he and Eliza could read and write.

They appear to have gone to Lismore, NSW almost immediately so perhaps they had connections there, although we know that all of their many siblings remained in England.  Charles became the first foreman of works for the Lismore Municipal Council and also kept a market garden in South Lismore all his life.  He was a popular exhibitor of his produce at local shows.

Robert was born in 1867, when his parents were both in their 40s and his next sibling, John, was 15.  He had the limited education afforded country children of the time – he probably left school at 12 – but he was an autodidact who never stopped reading and being curious and interested in the world.  My father remembered that he was an avid reader of “The Bulletin”, “Smith’s Weekly” and the Sydney Mail (a paper Dad recalled as being like the “London Illustrated News”.)  He was an early member of the Labor Party, although he became more conservative as he got older.  Most significantly, he was interested in local politics.

Robert’s sister, Jane, who was 20 years older than her brother, was married the year before he was born, to Robert McKenzie.  Their son Charles was only two years younger than Robert and the two men were friends who became fellow Councillors on the Lismore Municipal Council.  Robert was first elected in February 1901 as an advocate of sewerage for Lismore and after this term he served with only two short breaks until his death in 1932.  Charles was elected in 1906 and served 17 terms as Mayor during his long career.

Robert fought for Municipal services and for equality all his life.  As well as the campaign for sewerage, he wanted better educational facilities and was largely responsible for the South Lismore Public School being expanded to full Primary school status just in time for my father to attend it (1921).  He had given not only his time; some of the land on which the school stands had been donated by him, and he became the first President of the P & C Association.  For five years he was Honorary Secretary of the Lismore Hospital (until 1908) and he remained a Board member for many years after that.  He was the strongest voice for another crossing of the Wilson River to connect North Lismore more easily to the centre of the city.  Fittingly, the bridge was named the Robert White Bridge (1926). He was also an environmentalist before his time – he was concerned about the health of the Richmond River as early as the beginning of the 20^th century when it was still navigable, but gradually being choked by water hyacinth and his supervision of work by the Richmond County Council resulted in better weed control.

Three of Robert White's descendants at the unveiling of the new sign - 2017

His concerns for a more equitable society were behind his involvement in the Friendly Society movement.  He joined the Manchester Unity Oddfellows as a young man, and subsequently held leadership positions including that of Grand Master of the local Lodge (elected 1905) and then Grand Master of NSW (1912-14). 

Robert White the Grand Master

He was interested in the work of the local agricultural and horticultural associations too.  He was the first President of the Lismore Show Society and of the Lismore Horticultural Society and a judge at many shows up until the time of his death.  The love of flowers was fostered within the family – his daughters Nellie and Sis (Mabel) were successful exhibitors at many Lismore Shows, and two of Nellie’s daughters became florists.  Robert himself was responsible for the first plantings of street trees in Lismore.

Robert White the gardener

One could be forgiven for thinking that all of this public service must have come at a cost to his family.  That doesn’t seem to have been the case.  He was loved and respected as a husband, father and grandfather.  Although he died long before I was born, I and my siblings and cousins all heard stories about him from our parents and grandparents.  He was a towering figure in their lives.

Lismore gave Robert White a huge funeral and people lined the streets as his hearse drove by.  The NSW Grand Master of the Manchester Unity wrote a lengthy obituary which concluded:

Not "How did he die? ' but "How did he live?'

Not "What did he gain? " but "What did he give? "

These are the units to measure the worth

Of a man as a man, regardless of birth.

Not "What was his station? but "Had he a heart? "

And "How did he play his God-given part? '

"Was he ever ready with word of good cheer, to bring back a smile, to banish a tear?

Not "What was his Church? nor ' 'What was his creed?

But "Had he befriended those really in need?

Not "What did the sketch in the newspaper say?"

But "How many were sorry when he passed away?"

 A rich life indeed.

#52 Ancestors Week 44 Trick or Treat

#52  Ancestors Week 44 - Trick or Treat

Celebrating Halloween is a very recent phenomenon in Australia so I have chosen to write about some of the treats in my 35 years of ancestor research – and a couple of people who have proved to be quite tricky.

Amongst the treats: 

•        Having the scraps of memoir that both of my parents wrote.  Dad’s was truncated by his increasing dementia, but his reminiscences about his early life, particularly his school and University days, are very detailed and evocative.
•        Visiting Mum daily in her nursing home after she had a stroke (July 2018), I was grateful for her unimpaired speech and memory.  She was a wonderful storyteller.
•      Receiving from my cousin Mark, his mother’s family memorabilia, which mostly comprised postcards sent to and from her mother, my grandmother, by family and friends.  Most date from the first twenty years of the 20^th century.
•      The box of McCann and Keogh memorabilia and photographs that came to us from my mother-in-law, Kathleen McCann.  I had actually been through the photos with her when we created an album for her 65^th birthday (1979) so most were identified.
•      My mother-in-law also gave me some family silver from Ireland and the travelling writing desk that belonged to her great uncle, the priest Father Kieran Kilroe of Athlone, Ireland.
•      The amateur historians on Facebook pages like “Good Old Days in Lismore” who have come to my rescue with information about faces and places when I have been unable to identify photos.

 One of my trickiest ancestors is my maternal 2x great grandfather, William George Morgan.  On his marriage papers (Marriage to Bridget Mary “Bedelia” Power on Sydney, 1853), he stated he was born in New Zealand in 1831.  Ten years later, he is shown living in Liverpool St, Sydney, working as a wood turner.  He and Bedelia had ten children together in 16 years and he died in Surry Hills in 1880 aged only 49.

I know nothing more.  There were no New Zealand birth records in the 1830s, and we don’t know when he came to Australia.  There was a ship’s carpenter called John Morgan who might have been his father - he worked for a wealthy ship owner called Thomas Street, of Sussex St, who had a few New Zealanders working for him.  William’s death certificate names his father as John, and calls him a master mariner – this could be a conflation of his real position.

The other really tricky one is my paternal 3x great grandfather William Barry.  William’s daughter Mary married three times, the first to my ancestor, William Crummy, a man many years her senior.  When this marriage took place (1859) they were living on or near the goldfields around Bathurst/Orange.  Mary’s death certificate states that she was born in Bathurst in 1842 and her father was called William.  The informant didn’t know the mother’s name. 

Perhaps one day I will tackle the long list of convicts and others named William Barry in the colony in 1842.  It seems like a daunting task.

#52 Ancestors Week 43 Transportation

#52 Ancestors Week 43 - Transportation

Dad really hated trains.  Given the chance to try, he might actually have enjoyed the Japanese Bullet trains, or the European TGVs, but the NSW Railway trains of the 20^th century were slow, dirty and often crowded.  Until cars and roads improved his travelling life from the mid-1950s, he was forced to travel by rail and every trip was a horror.

I have earlier recounted his trips by bus to University in Sydney from Lismore in the 1930s. (#52 Ancestors – Week 18).  The trip by train was equally unpleasant, as he describes here

“The train was not particularly comfortable, consisting often of what we used to call “dog-box” carriages long overdue for retirement, but at least offered some interest, provided, of course, that you kept the windows shut to avoid being showered with tiny particles of coal blown from the tender as the train hurtled (or more likely crawled) down the coast.

It was the part of the journey covered at night that was really hard to take.  After having already travelled for ten or eleven hours, you had to face, when night fell, another twelve hours of extreme discomfort that had to be experienced to be believed.  If you were affluent enough to afford a “sleeper”, you might not sleep very much but at least you could get your head down and might even doze fitfully, enough, at least, to give you the illusion of having slept a little.  Or, if you were fortunate enough to have only one other traveller in your compartment, you could both stretch out on a seat and sleep in a sort of a way, interrupted only by the visits during the night of a ticket examiner, or by the frequent stops of the train when it stood stationary for what seemed like hours, or backed up for half a mile or so to clear the line for a train travelling in the opposite direction.  The worst misfortune would be for a belated traveller to join the train and claim his right to a seat, thereby forcing you to sit up.

If, however, as generally happened, every seat in the compartment was occupied, then the night was really rugged, as you squirmed first this way then that way, trying to get your head in a comfortable position so that you could sleep sitting up.  The upholstery on the seats was not even comfortable for a passenger in a sitting position for whom it had been designed.  For trying to lie down or sleep sitting up, it was excruciating.

All sorts of expedients were tried.  If there were not too many people in the compartment, you could stretch out on the floor between the seats – that is if you did not mind someone’s foot in your mouth, or if you were prepared to seek cover as one of the occupants of the compartment decided to go to the toilet.  You could climb into the luggage rack – if you were small enough and if it wasn’t already full of luggage, as it usually was.  If you were in what was known as a “corridor carriage”, you could go out and lie down in the corridor – except that there was usually a constant stream of passers-by to the toilet, so that, in the end, you gave up and went back to your seat resigned to putting up with the discomfort and praying for the morning to come soon.”

Train travel became even more difficult during the war as troops crowded every train on the line.  And then even more difficult once we children came along.

For some crazy reason, Mum and Dad travelled by train from Young (in SouthWest NSW) to Brunswick Heads (far north NSW) to spend the long summer holidays.  I don’t know how often they did this, but they definitely did it in the summer of 1951/52, with three children (aged 6,2 and 1) and Mum six months pregnant. 

Even today this is a 21 hour trip requiring several changes of vehicle.  In those days there would have been at least two train changes – probably at Cootamundra and Werris Creek – and almost certainly one would have been in the middle of the night.

They did it, and I hope it was a good holiday, because the return trip was a nightmare.  One by one, the children became fretful and hot.  By the time they were nearly home, all three had spots. 

Chickenpox.

Small wonder then that when my youngest brother, born in 1965, announced at the age of about 8 that he had never been on a train, and it just wasn’t fair that he should miss out, it was Mum who boarded the XPT with him in Dubbo and travelled overnight in a sleeper all the way to Sydney.

#52 Ancestors Week 42 - Adventure.

#52 Ancestors Week 42 - Adventure

My husband’s family history has been fortunate to have been enhanced by two published accounts, both mentioned before in my #52 Ancestors blog.

In Week 26 (Legend), I debunked some of the myths perpetuated in the booklet written by Peter McCann, the grandson of the first Peter who was Paul’s 3 x great grandfather.

“History of descendants

Of

Peter McCann, Who Landed in Australia in 1799

And

the Establishment of the Cement Industry

and its

Development in Victoria.”

Peter’s fanciful retelling of his grandfather’s story continues with the story of his father, Nicholas, and here he is on firmer ground.  Born when Nicholas was only 24, Peter was actually involved in many adventures with him.

But first he had to survive the death of his mother, Catherine, in 1832, when he was only 4 years old.  His baby sister Anne was adopted by a kind and wealthy couple who loved her; Peter was sent, at the age of 5, to a school that sounds like something out of Charles Dickens.  He described it as “the most antediluvian scholastic establishment that has come within my knowledge”, a place of “starvation and neglect”, run by a couple called Howard who were drunken bullies.  He seems to have existed that year on stale bread, tea and boiled nettles and became filthy and itchy with lice.  The boys were caned for the smallest of transgressions and were all miserable and unhappy.

After about a year, Peter was rescued by his father, who was making a good living as a stonemason and builder and who planning to marry again.  Peter’s stepmother was Catherine Nelson, eleven years younger than Nicholas and working as a nursery governess.

In April 1837, Nicholas, Catherine and 9 year old Peter set off from Tasmania on board the “Thistle” bound for Port Fairy where Nicholas was to work for John Griffith.  The ship was a small schooner but it was packed with 50 people and several sheep.  The crossing which should have taken about 6 days, took 6 weeks!  A south-westerly blew them two hundred miles off course, and as the Captain struggled to deal with the conditions, Nicholas was thrown overboard.

Peter wrote: “I remember running to the stern of the boat, from where I saw the well-known head of my Father bob up like a cork.  I saw too that he had immediately turned on his back, so as to keep his face away from the waves and towards the ship.  Although he had heavy clothes on, including his boots, he seemed to be able to float breast high out of the water.  Fortunately he was a most expert and fearless swimmer and was able to keep afloat….we had on board some of the most expert boatmen in Tasmania and in less time than you could believe to be possible , they had one of the best whale boats down and launched…to our delight we began to have good hope that the small whale boat would be able to stand up to the violence of the sea.  But then the crisis.  I distinctly saw the stern of the whale boat approaching him, and when it came within a touch, a wave struck the boat and it went right over the top of my Father.  We were now afraid the keel had struck him and were afraid that he would be stunned.  But here his cool courage seems to have come to his aid.  He said, subsequently, that he saw the whale boat coming over him and shot down feet first.  This must have been the case, for to our great delight he shot up again near the stern of the whale boat and was at once pulled aboard by strong arms.  The boatmen lavished praise on Father for his bravery, without making any reference to the bravery of their own deed.”

Peter and his father lived for about a year at Griffith Island (now the site of the Port Fairy lighthouse) and Nicholas worked for a time as a whaler.

Peter’s adventures continued when his father selected a parcel of land between Port Fairy and Cape Otway and established a sheep station with a small flock of 1000 sheep.  Of course, this was a part of the country thickly populated with natives so it wasn’t long before there were confrontations.  Peter describes an initially friendly encounter with a large group who camped near their hut.

“There was a very large Lightwood Tree just facing the hut and my father said,” Peter it will not do for us to all go inside the hut so I shall watch outside under the tree.  Will you be afraid to stay outside”.  I said, “No, if you stay outside I will stay with you.”  My father was reconciled to this night in the open, but was prepared for War as well as for Peace.  He said, “Peter, don’t be afraid.  If anything happens there is nothing else to do but to attack them.  Of course, they are afraid of guns and of us.  If they turn ugly we must have a big turn up with the.  I have arranged with the other men (a bullock driver and another young squatter) what to do if anything happens”. We had not been down under the tree very long when we saw the shadow of something by the light of the camp fire, which proved to  be a black fellow.  He or another paid many visits of this kind during the night. However the night passed without any harm”

It was not long before relations became more hostile.

“My father was cutting some wattles, and not far from the house, when without warning, a large kangaroo spear landed and stuck in the ground near his foot.  Had it not been for his courage he would have lost his life.  The moment he saw the spear he seized his double barrelled gun and rushed in the direction from which the spear was thrown.  At the same time, he made the loudest and most unearthly noise that he could and ran holding the gun in one hand and swinging the axe in the other.  A blackfellow popped out from behind a tree, followed by several more.  My father pursued them but took care that his first steps in the chase were in the direction that put him between the Blacks and the hut.  Having achieved this he ran for the hut and arrived safely”

Nicholas decided to return to Geelong and the building trade.  By this time he had two more children to feed and educate, so the family returned in 1841, and settled there permanently.    Peter became a stonemason too – he and his father were responsible for many of Geelong’s early buildings, and when they purchased land containing sandstone quarried in the Barrabool Hills outside Geelong, they established the basis of the family fortune.   In 1850, the now prosperous Nicholas sent Peter to England to bring back his sister Annie who had been taken there by the Hopkins family when she was a small child.  In England, Peter met and married Elizabeth Begley and they returned to Geelong to establish a large family.  In the portrait below, Peter is celebrated as a pioneer of the Australian Cement Industry and one of the first directors of the Australian Portland Cement Company Ltd.

#52 Ancestors Week 40 - Harvest

#52 Ancestors Week 40 - Harvest.

I have been on the road for two weeks, so in the absence of any literal interpretations of this week’s prompt “Harvest”, I am detailing the harvest of information I gleaned from a visit to Whittingham cemetery, near Singleton during my trip away.

I knew that Joseph Whitten was buried there in a grave shared with his 6 year old son, Percival and his 16 year old daughter, Matilda, known in the family as Barney.

Joseph was one of the four Whitten brothers who came to Australia in the 1860s (see #52 Ancestors Week 31 – Brother).  Unlike the others, he did not take up farming land, but worked first on the team surveying the Great North Road (from Sydney to the north) before he became the proprietor of the Chain of Ponds Inn, in the Hunter Valley.

Two years after his arrival in the colony, in July 1865, he married Johanna Mary Devitt.  She was also born in Ireland, in Tipperary, and was 18 years old at the time of the marriage.  (We have always known in the family that Joseph became estranged from his brothers because he sold alcohol  - they were very strict Methodist teetotallers).

When Joseph died in 1895, he was only 56 and he left Mary with 10 children, the youngest of them only 9 years old.  His six year old son, Percival had died in 1890 and his daughter Barney was already suffering from the disease (consumption or TB) which was to kill her the following year.

Maitland Daily Mercury (NSW : 1894 - 1939), Saturday 22 February 1896,

page 4

CAMBERWELL.

OBITUARY. — It becomes my painful duty to have to announce the death of Miss Matilda Whitten, which took place at her mother's residence, Liddell, at four o'clock on Wednesday afternoon last. The deceased, had been suffering from consumption for some short time past, of which complaint she succumbed. Everything was done in the form of medical attendance and kind nursing to arrest the terrible insidious malady, but all in vain. The deceased young lady was scarcely seventeen years of age, hence we have "another rose nipped in the bud." The deepest sympathy is felt for the afflicted mother and relatives in their sad bereave-ment. The remains will be conveyed by train to-morrow to Singleton, and buried in the Church of England cemetery at that place

I arrived at the cemetery expecting to  see this grave, but I found a collection of Whitten graves enclosed within a fence.

Whitten graves at Whittinghma cemetery, Singleton

The grave to the left of Joseph’s is that of his eldest son, William Liddell Whitten, born in 1866.  William was married and had two small children when he died of pneumonia at the age of 30.  His headstone reads “In Loving Memory of William Whitten who died 16 June 1896 aged 30 Years.  What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter.”

William and his wife Annie, had had three sons but the eldest (another Percy) died at the age of 2 in 1894.  Their other two sons were Halwyn Richard (known as Dick) and Liddell (known as Dell).  Both served in the military in WW1.

On the right of the main grave is that of Edward Whitten, who also died at 30.  Edward was Joseph and Mary’s third son, and he too was married at the time of his death, although there were no children.

His headstone reads (on the left side) “In Loving Memory of my Beloved Husband Edward Whitten died 15^th June 1904 aged 30 years.  And on the right side, “Resting till the Resurrection Morn”.

In front of the graves is a small headstone for Mary, Joseph’s wife and the mother of his children.

It reads, “In Loving Memory of my Dear Mother, Mary, wife of the above died 16 June 1906. Erected by her loving daughter Minnie”

Minnie was Joseph and Mary’s youngest child (1886-1967).  She, John (1869-1914) and Henry (1878-1938) were the only three of the ten children to live past the age of 30, which gives credence to the family story that one of the reasons the brothers left Ireland was to escape from the scourge of TB.  Sadly it seemed that Joseph brought it to Australia with him.

Mary Whitten actually married again after Joseph’s death, to George Cruikshank in 1902, but she lived only another 4 years before her death at 59.  I don’t know if she is buried in this family plot, or if the stone is simply Minnie’s recognition of her in relation to the rest of the family.  

After so many tragedies, the family rests in a peaceful corner of the Hunter Valley under gum trees and blue skies.