Up to this point my blog posts have told the stories of many of my direct ancestors, but I've now hit brick walls along several of the family tree branches that reach back to the late 1700s. I've found little information beyond names and possible dates of birth/death for particular direct ancestors as very few records have survived from those time periods, especially for my distant ancestors were not born into wealthy or privileged families!
As a result, I feel it's time to move on from my direct lineage to those in my extended family line. It's a new beginning for my blog as I delve deeper into my family's history and explore the lives of others such as my grand and great aunts and uncles.
This particular post tells the story of my paternal Grandaunt, Mary Ellen Connors (1874 - 1947). She was my paternal grandfather's eldest sister.
Our Common Ancestors are: Thomas Edgar Connors and Susannah Fullagar Hukins - my great grandparents and Mary Ellen's parents.
Mary Ellen was born in Gerringong, New South Wales (near Kiama) on the 24th of July 1874.
When Mary Ellen was born, her father Thomas Edgar Connors was aged 24 and her mother Susannah (known as Susan) Fullagar Hukins was aged 23.
Mary Ellen was the first of ten children, eight boys and two girls, born to Thomas and Susannah.
- John Edgar was born in 1876, when Mary Ellen was one year old.
- William Adolphus came along in 1878.
- George Thomas (my paternal grandfather) was born in 1880. Mary Ellen would have been 5 years old by this time.
- Mary Ellen's one and only sister, Alice Adelaide, was born in 1882 when Mary Ellen was 8.
- James Alfred came along in 1884.
- Percy was born in 1886.
- Cyril Ernest came along in 1888.
- Frederick Augustus was born in 1890.
- Erice Sylvester was born in 1892 and Mary Ellen was 17 years old by this time.
The early years of Mary Ellen's life were spent on her parent's farm, in the area known as Far Meadow, near Berry in New South Wales. Life for Mary Ellen on the family farm, as the eldest child and a female, would likely have been filled with endless hours of household duties and assisting her mother in the care-taking of all the younger children. I imagine her day would have started quite early and there wouldn't have been much time for herself.
In the same year as her father bought a larger holding of around 94 acres, a dairy farm named 'Boughton Villa', close to the township of Berry, Mary Ellen gave birth to a daughter.
Margaret Adelaide was born in December of 1897, when Mary Ellen was 23 years old. At the time, Mary Ellen was unmarried and there was no father listed on her daughter's birth certificate. It seems that Mary Ellen's parents, Thomas and Susan, made the decision to raise Margaret as if she was one of their own children, making it appear as if Mary Ellen and Margaret were sisters.
Indeed, a number of years later, on the death certificates of both Mary Ellen's parents, Margaret was listed as one of their surviving children. She was, of course, actually their granddaughter. I think Mary Ellen's parents wanted to protect her from possible negative attitudes from the community, and shield their granddaughter from the stigma of illegitimacy.
According to information gleaned from other descendants, Mary Ellen's siblings were unaware of the actual relationship between the two, and that appears to have remained the case for most of their lives.
Five years after the birth of her daughter, in May of 1904, Mary Ellen married John George Bates.
Mary Ellen was 29 years old, but John George had not yet turned 21. The consent of the local Justice of the Peace, Henry King, was needed to ensure the union could proceed. This was recorded on Mary Ellen's and John George's marriage certificate.
Mary Ellen and John George married at St. Luke's Church in Berry, New South Wales. They remained married for nearly 43 years until Mary Ellen passed away. They went on to have a family of six children together.
Mary Ellen's life after marriage was filled with highs and lows. She would have left the family farm after marriage and set up a home with John. It appears they moved into the township of Berry and lived there for a number of years between 1898 and 1915, before moving up to Queensland, where Mary Ellen's husband John had been born.
Their son George Thomas Bates was born in Berry the same year they were married, 1904. Mary Ellen was 30 years old.
Sadly, just two years later, in December of 1906, Mary Ellen's younger brother William Adolphus died at the young age of 28.
Less than a month later, in January of 1907, Mary Ellen gave birth to her third child (her second to John) named William Alfred. It seems Mary Ellen wanted to pay tribute to her deceased brother by naming her newborn William.
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| Article from Kiama Independent and Shoalhaven Advertiser Wed 16 Oct 1907 p2. |
Just a mere nine months later, Mary Ellen lost another of her brothers. James Alfred died in 1907 in dreadfully tragic circumstances.
He suffered horrific burns in a fire at his place of employment and died a few hours later. Sadly, the fire was a result of an accident caused by James himself.
The eldest of Mary Ellen's brothers, John Edgar, witnessed the event and tried in vain to save his brother. This experience was to have a huge impact on John Edgar's life and he suffered terribly for his remaining years.
Such a tragic event no doubt affected each and every one of the siblings in different ways. I wonder how Mary Ellen coped with the news and the emotional toll it must have taken on everyone in the family?
In 1909 Mary Ellen and John's son James Erice was born. Giving this son the second name of Erice is likely to have been related to the fact that Mary Ellen's youngest brother was named Erice. It's such an unusual name, but was passed down in the family for a few more generations.
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| Death Notice - Shoalhaven News and South Coast District Advertiser Sat 3 Sept 1910 p4. |
During the following year, Mary Ellen sadly lost both of her parents.
Her mother, Susannah (known as Susan) died in May of 1910, having suffered from an attack of double pneumonia and pleurisy. Mary Ellen's father Thomas then passed away in August, the victim of heart disease and dropsy. They were both quite young too, which seems so unfair!
Mother Susan was only 58 years old and father Thomas was only 60. Mary Ellen must have been heartbroken. She had lost two brothers and her parents within a period of just four years!
It seems that Margaret Adelaide, Mary Ellen's first born daughter, came to live with her at this time. Given that Margaret Adelaide was only aged 10 when the people she thought of as her parents both died, it would have seemed perfectly natural for Mary Ellen to step in and take Margaret into her home. Did Mary Ellen tell anyone that Margaret was in fact her daughter, or did the family continue thinking Margaret was Mary Ellen's sister?
In the following year, 1911, Mary Ellen gave birth to another daughter and named her Mary Elisabeth Susannah. The choice of Susannah was obviously a tribute to her late mother.
Mary Ellen was now 36 years old, and it was around this time that she and John decided to move up to Queensland with their family, including Margaret.
Mary Ellen and John's fifth child was born in Brisbane, Queensland in August of 1915. He was named Percy Frederick.
By this time, WW1 had broken out and Australia had become part of the conflict. Two of Mary Ellen's brothers headed off to war.
Cyril Ernest Connors had enlisted in October of 1914 and was shipped off to war in October of 1915, not long after Mary Ellen had given birth to Percy.
Mary Ellen's youngest brother, Erice Sylvester Connors, had enlisted in September of 1915 and was shipped of to fight in January of 1916.
At the time of his enlistment, Erice listed his address as 'Gotha Street, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, Queensland.'
He was actually living with Mary Ellen and her family and he listed Mary Ellen as his next-of-kin, so it sounds as if they were very close.
It's likely the Erice had moved to Brisbane at the same time as his sister, after the death of their parents.
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| 1916 Electoral Record for Fortitude Valley, Brisbane |
The 1916 Electoral Roll shows that Mary Ellen and her husband John George were living at 78 Gotha Street in Fortitude Valley,
and that Erice (known as Eric) was living with them.
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| Anzac Day procession through the streets of Brisbane, 1916 - John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland |
I found this amazing postcard (sent by a soldier heading off to war) which shows a procession through the streets of Brisbane on Anzac Day in 1916. Mary Ellen's brothers Erice and Cyril were already overseas fighting at this time, and I wonder if perhaps she (and her family) were somewhere in that crowd cheering on this battalion heading off to fight.
Sadly, Mary Ellen's youngest brother Erice Sylvester did not return home to Australia. He was killed in action on the 30th of December 1916. I wonder how long it took before Mary Ellen found out about the death of her youngest brother? I have no doubt it would have been intensely distressing for her receiving the news, and of course then she would have agonized over the safety of her other brother Cyril who was still serving his country so far away.
When Mary Ellen gave birth to another son in November of 1917, he was named Cyril Ernest Bates, no doubt in honour of the brother who was still away fighting. I do wonder if Mary Ellen had any knowledge of what had happened to her brother Cyril while he had been away?
Would she have known that he had fought at Gallipoli with the 6th Light Horse, become ill with influenza and evacuated to Malta for six months before being sent to Egypt where he joined the Imperial Camel Corps? Did the family find out that this unit saw some very heavy fighting and that Cyril had been wounded several times during this time? It would have been an utter relief to find out that he had returned to Australia on leave in November of 1918, just as the war was ending. Did the family meet up to celebrate his return?
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| Electoral Record 1921 Fortitude Valley, Brisbane |
Electoral records show that by 1921, Mary Ellen and her family had moved from Fortitude Valley to Lamington Street, New Farm in Brisbane, much closer to the Brisbane River. Mary Ellen was aged 47 by that time and her home would have been noisy and busy.
Her eldest son George Thomas was 17. Son William Alfred was 14. Son James Erice was 12. Daughter Mary was 10. Son Percy Frederick was 6, and youngest son Cyril Ernest was 4 years old.
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| Electoral Record 1921 Fortitude Valley, Brisbane |
Mary Ellen's first daughter Margaret Adelaide, now aged 23, was still living with them as well. It also seems that another of Mary Ellen's brothers had moved to Brisbane around this time.
John Edgar, the brother who had witnessed his brother's tragic fiery accident, was working as a registered bookmaker in Brisbane, and his workplace would have been the Eagle Farm Racecourse situated at the nearby suburb of Eagle Farm. He had fled from New South Wales, leaving his wife and young children behind. In 1919 there had been a warrant issued for his arrest on charges of wife desertion.
I like to think that Mary Ellen was regarded more like a mother than a sister by her siblings. Indeed, as the older sister and the eldest in the family, she most certainly would have played a mother-like role to all her brothers and her sister as they were growing up. Had John Edgar moved closer to his older sister in his time of trouble because he knew she would show compassion and support?
Unfortunately though, John Edgar died just a few years later in January of 1923. He suffered a grizzly death, committing suicide by slashing his own throat with a razor. He had apparently become heavily addicted to drink and had found it hard to hold down a job. What sadder footnote to his story could there be? How the news of his death must have been devastating for all his family, including Mary Ellen!
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| Electoral Record 1925 Merthyr, Brisbane |
Two years later, in 1925, Mary Ellen and her husband had moved to Hawthorne Street in New Farm. It wasn't a big move, as Hawthorne Street was located off Lamington Street where their previous home had been. I'm not entirely sure why Mary Ellen and her husband kept moving around, but I'm guessing they had originally been renting and as they grew older, perhaps they were then able to buy their own home.
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| Electoral Records 1928 Merthyr, Brisbane |
The 1928 electoral records show that Mary Ellen, husband John George, and son William Alfred were still living in Hawthorne Street. Mary Ellen was 54 years old by this time. Her eldest son, George Thomas Bates, had left home and so had Mary Ellen's first daughter, Margaret Adelaide. Margaret had married in 1927 and had moved to her own home with husband Frederick.
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| Mary Ellen and her husband John George Bates |
I have little knowledge of Mary Ellen's life from the 1920s on. Of course her children grew up and moved on with lives of their own during this time. I'm sure though that they all remained close to their mother and father, and I have no doubt that Mary Ellen's life was filled with family events and celebrations.
At the age of 72, in July of 1947, Mary Ellen died in a Brisbane Hospital. She had suffered from bronchial pneumonia and senility. She was survived by her husband and all her children, but rather sadly by only three of her siblings.
Mary Ellen had already lost three of her brothers (two of them quite tragically) and her parents between the years of 1906 and 1923, but then her sister Alice Adelaide died in 1937, when Mary Ellen was 63 years old; and her brother Cyril Ernest had died during his war service (his second round of service) in 1942, when Mary Ellen was aged 67.
