The Story of Elizabeth Ann Connor / Memories ... May 22

This post tells the story of my paternal Great Grand Aunt, Elizabeth Ann Connor  (1870 - 1949).

Our common ancestors are: William Connor (Connors) and Eleanor (Ellen) Hickey.

I'm posting this on the anniversary of her passing.

In Remembrance

(also for my 'Family Anniversaries' page)

• At the time of her birth our family name was Connor, but over time it morphed to become Connors and the 's' on the end became commonplace on records for the following generation.

• Elizabeth (known as Lizzie) was born in June of 1870.  Her birth certificate states her name is Elizabeth Connor, the daughter of Irish-born William Connor and Ellen Hickey.  Elizabeth was born in the small township of Gerringong in New South Wales.

• She was the eleventh of thirteen children born to William and Ellen.  She had four older sisters, six older brothers, and two younger brothers.

• Unfortunately for Elizabeth, all but one of her siblings passed away before she did, so her life was marked by the deaths of many of her close family members.

- when Lizzie was 6 her sister Sabina Ellen (15) and her brothers John (8) and Patrick (22) all died of typhoid fever which had ravaged the town of Wagga Wagga where the family was living at the time

- when Lizzie was aged 12, her father William died 

- her brother Edward George passed away when Elizabeth was 28 years old

- her brother Thomas (my great grandfather) died when Elizabeth was 40

- her mother Ellen died when Elizabeth was 41

- her brother Benjamin died when Elizabeth was aged 47

- her brother James passed when Elizabeth was 52

- when Elizabeth was 63, her sister Margaret passed away

- when Elizabeth was 70, her sister Mary Ann died

- Elizabeth's brother Michael died when Elizabeth was aged 72

- her sister Bridget died when Elizabeth was 76

• When Elizabeth herself passed away, there was only one of her siblings still alive, and that was William Jnr.

• Elizabeth had married in 1902 when she was 32 years old.  Her husband Frederick (known as Fred) Alexander Osborn Sharp and her four children Cecil, Frederick, Phyllis and Marjorie all survived Elizabeth when she passed.

• Elizabeth's two sons, Cecil Osborne and Frederick Edward were born in 1903 and 1904 respectively.  Elizabeth then had two daughters.  Phyllis Edna was born in 1907 and Marjorie Una was born in 1909.

I'm so fortunate to have a photo of Elizabeth, sent to me by a distant relative, a descendant of one of the children in the photo below.

• This photo was taken by Elizabeth's husband Frederick on the occasion of the family's safe arrival at Blowering, after escaping the widespread, life-threatening bushfires that were ravaging the area around Tumut, where the extended family were living.

• All of the people in the photo were living at  Gilmore, close to the town of Tumut, and had travelled a long way to the safety of this spot near the Tumut River.

Elizabeth is the lady standing in the front, on the far right.  At the time she would have been 34 years old.  Her mother Ellen Connor nee Cusack is standing third from the right.  Elizabeth's brother William Jnr. is the one sitting up on the buggy driving the horses.

Elizabeth's two youngest children are in the photo as well, as it was taken in January 1905. Cecil (2 years old) is standing in the buggy.  He is third from the right.  Frederick is that baby that Elizabeth's niece is holding on the far left.  Baby Fred would have only been three months old at the time.

The lady standing in the front row in the white dress, fourth from the right, is Mary Ann Connor, Elizabeth's sister.  The lady standing in the front row on the far left is Elizabeth's sister-in-law Elizabeth Connor nee Duffy (William Jnr's wife).  The other five children in this photo are all Elizabeth's nieces and nephews, children of her brother William and sister-in-law Elizabeth.

• It seems that after this disastrous event, Elizabeth and her husband left the Tumut area and moved with their young family to south of Sydney.

• Elizabeth passed away in 1949, aged 78.  At the time the family were living at Ramsgate, a southern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales.

• Elizabeth was survived by her husband Fred and all her children, Cecil, Frederick, Marjorie and Phyllis.

It saddens me to see the state of Elizabeth's burial plot.  The wooden cross has deteriorated badly over time and fallen off, and Elizabeth's name has almost disappeared from the tiny plaque that must have at one time been attached to the headstone.  I suppose it's comforting that there is at least something left behind to mark the life of Elizabeth Ann Sharp nee Connor, known to all as Lizzie during her lifetime.