Memories ... January 13

  Anniversary of a Birthday :   

(For my 'Family Anniversaries' page)

Today is the anniversary of the birth of the wife of my paternal granduncle, and this post is part of my Family Anniversaries / Memories page.

I don't often include spouses of my relatives in these 'Memory' posts, but I'm making an exception in this case because of a very special photo in my family tree photo collection.  It is one of my favourites!

This is the only photo I have of Vera Coleman and it is in fact a photographic postcard:

Vera Agnes Connors nee Coleman

Henry James Coleman
Vera's brother

This photo was put on a postcard which was sent to her brother Henry (known as Harry) James whilst he was away serving in World War 1.  

It's a particularly poignant shot I think, as it seems to depict a young lady deep in thought ... possibly concerned about the fate of her younger brother and wondering if she will ever see him again.  

• Vera was born on the 13th of January 1897 in the town of Ballina in New South Wales.

• She was the eldest of 10 children born to James Coleman and his wife Catherine Finn.

Cyril Ernest Connors
Vera's husband

• At the age of 25, Vera married my granduncle Cyril Ernest Connors in Murwillumbah, New South Wales in 1922.  Cyril had also served in WW1 with the 6th Australian Light Horse Regiment and the Camel Corps.  He had seen action at Gallipoli and then in Egypt, and had been wounded many times.  Cyril had returned home safely in 1918 and had been working in the Murwillumbah area. 

• They went on to have six children.

          - Thomas James was born in December of 1922.

          - Moya Delene was born in February of 1925.  Sadly, she died a mere 8 months later.

          - Claire Catherine came along in 1926.

          - Cyril Joseph was born in 1929.

          - Bruce Bernard was born in 1930.

          - John Linus came along in 1934.

          - Margaret Mary came along in 1936.  By this time, Vera was aged 39.

• According to Census data from 1930 to 1936, Vera and Cyril began their married life living in the Alstonville / Wollongbar area of New South Wales where Cyril worked as a dairy foreman.  By 1937 however, they had moved to Camden Park Estate, near Menangle in New South Wales, where Cyril worked at the Macarthur-Onslow property as a Studmaster.

• Tragically, Vera's husband died of a heart attack in 1942 when Vera was 45 years old.  He had just re-enlisted for service in WW11 and was attached to the Camp Staff at Raymond Terrace in New South Wales.

• Vera was left widowed with children ranging in ages from 20 to 6.  I'm not sure how Vera managed to support herself and her youngest children, but I would think she received much needed support from members of her own family.

Thomas James Connors,
eldest son of Vera & Cyril

• At the time her eldest son was serving in WW2, so that would have been an added anxiety.  Thomas James Connors had enlisted just months before the death of his father and served in Borneo and New Guinea, before being discharged in May of 1946.

• According to the 1943 Census, she was living with her eldest son Thomas James Connors on Esmonde Street in East Lismore.  This information doesn't paint the whole picture however.

• In 1943, when Vera moved into the house on Esmonde Street, her eldest son Thomas was the only child of voting age and was therefore the only child included in the census (as he was serving however, he would have rarely been home that year).  Of course, he was not the only child of Vera's living in the house.

          - Claire Catherine would have been 17

          - Cyril Joseph would have been 14 years old

          - Bruce Bernard would have been 12

          - John Linus would have been 9 years old

          - and Margaret Mary would have been 6.

• The 1943 to 1949 census documents show that Vera continued living on Esmonde Street in East Lismore with her children.

• By 1954 however, Vera had moved from Lismore to Lidcombe.  By this time, it appears that only Vera's eldest son and daughter had moved out, while the other four still lived with Vera in Lidcombe.

• Vera continued living in Lidcombe and passed away in 1985, aged 88.  She was survived by 5 of her children as not only her daughter Moya had passed at the age of 8 months, but her son Bruce died in 1973.

• Vera was buried at the Rookwood cemetery alongside her son Bruce.