Spotlight On ... In The Beginning!

Lately, I've been deeply invested in uncovering the exact birthplaces of my ancestors and extended family.  This pursuit has been spurred by the realisation that familial accounts of birthplaces were often misleading or outright incorrect.  

Though verifying these details has sometimes required purchasing official birth records - an expensive endeavour - I find immense satisfaction in knowing I am uncovering and preserving the truth about precisely where my ancestors' and relatives' stories actually began.

The Start of My 'Beginnings' Quest

I started this recent journey of discovery with the exact beginnings of my parents and their siblings.  

In this post however, I will only share some of the interesting details uncovered in relation to the births and birthplaces of my mother and a couple of her siblings, because it led to a further discovery - an intriguing story about someone who is not a relative, but who's impressive story I'd love to share.

Accessing birth records through the Queensland Registry of Births, Marriages and Deaths has been a valuable resource, albeit with limitations.  Currently, only birth records up to 1925 are available, so I've only been able to locate records for three of my maternal grandmother's eight children:  my uncle Edmond James O'Donnell, my mother Margaret Brigid Connors nee O'Donnell, and my uncle Maurice Owen O'Donnell. 

Upon initially receiving these records a few years ago, I really only gave them cursory glances.  Recent deeper dives, however, have revealed fascinating insights.

Birthplaces and Surprising Details

The birth record of Edmond, my grandmother Sarah O'Donnell nee McCane's first child, lists his birthplace as "Kyburra, Bowen-Ayr Railway."  

At first glance, this might sound as though he was born at a railway station!  Not so.  Edmond was born at home on his parents' farm near the Kyburra siding, along the Bowen-Ayr railway line.   

This entry highlights how rural life during the 1920s shaped the recording of important events in my grandparents lives.  They didn't live in a town.  They lived in a farming community that was recognised and named according to the nearest important landmark - the railway siding where the farmers loaded their produce onto trains for shipment to markets elsewhere in the state.

So this home birth provided me with a very interesting insight into how a fact like "where born" was completed by my grandparents on their child's birth record.  An interesting aside is what's recorded in the 'witnesses' column further along on the record.  

There are three possibles for an entry in this column.  

1. is for the name of a medical attendant (usually a doctor).  

2. is for the name of a nurse attending the birth.   

3.  is for the name or names of any other witnesses (such as family members - husbands, aunts, grandmothers etc.)

Immediately I noted that my maternal great grandmother, Margaret McCane nee Farrell, was listed as the attending 'nurse'.  

This indicates she acted as a midwife during the birth of her own grandchild.   This role within families would have been quite common for women in her era.  Many would have gained hands-on experience assisting relatives and neighbours in childbirth.  My great grandmother Margaret had first-hand knowledge, having witnessed her mother giving birth to her siblings when she was 14 and 21 years old, and having given birth to seven children herself.

In addition, Margaret lived on a farm that was located quite close to daughter Sarah's home.  This proximity to her daughter and son-in-law's farm further cemented her role as a supportive presence during childbirth. 

Along with all of that, the tradition of midwifery appears to have run in the family.  My great grandmother's sister, Helen Ann Davies nee Farrell, had made a career of it, operating as a midwife after her husband's death in 1911.  No doubt, Margaret and her sister Helen would have had long conversations about childbirth over the years, and this combined wisdom would have comforted my grandmother Sarah during the delivery of her first-born.

When Sarah gave birth to her second child, my mother Margaret O'Donnell, in 1923, the birth record lists her birthplace as "Broadlands, Ayr-Bowen Railway", which essentially means that she was also born at home on the family farm, just like her older brother Edmond.   Instead of using 'Kyburra' as the recognisable local landmark, my grandparents used the name often used for the area around the Kyburra siding.

 

The role my great grandmother Margaret played in the birth of this grandchild of hers was once again listed as 'nurse'.  By this time, my great grandmother was aged 56, supporting her daughter (my grandmother) Sarah once again with the birth of a child.

Shifting Traditions

When my grandmother Sarah gave birth to her third child however, things had changed.

It was 1925 by then and the birth record for my uncle, Maurice Owen O'Donnell, lists his birthplace as "Palm Cottage, Poole Street, Bowen".  This means that my grandmother Sarah had travelled almost 70 kilometres / 43 miles to the nearby town of Bowen to give birth.

The name "Palm Cottage" intrigued me and I wondered what sort of place this was!  I also noticed that the witness listed for this birth was not my grandmother Sarah's mother (my great grandmother Margaret) as before, but someone named Nurse Amy Field.

I realised in that instance that my grandmother had travelled to what was called a "lying-in hospital" run by a midwife named Nurse Field.

Uncovering Nurse Amy Field's Legacy

My previous research into the history of the midwifery career of my maternal great-grandaunt, Helen Ann Davies nee Farrell (mentioned before as the sister of my great grandmother Margaret and therefore the aunt of my grandmother Sarah) had uncovered the fact that she had been running her "lying-in hospital" for around 23 years by this stage.  

(Her story can be found here:  The Story of Helen Ann Farrell )

It was not common practice for women to give birth in hospitals back in the early 1900s.  The beginning of many babies' lives happened in a "lying-in hospital", which was a facility run by a private midwife in her own home.  Pregnant women would go there just before the birth of their baby and remain there throughout labour and for several days afterwards, supported by the midwife.

It would seem highly likely that my grandmother Sarah had received advice from her aunt Helen about the benefits of giving birth at a highly regarded establishment like Nurse Field's 'Palm Cottage'.

My interest had been piqued!  I was curious about Palm Cottage and I embarked on a research journey to learn about Nurse Amy field.

Immediately, I found that she had been mentioned in a blog post written by Trisha Fielding, a professional historian and writer who has worked at my local university, James Cook University.  Trisha Fielding is a Special Collections Library Officer there, and is a published author of quite a number of books about aspects of North Queensland history.

The post from Trisha's blog North Queensland History is titled NQ Midwives - "Invisible Heroines" and there is a great photo of Nurse Field at the top.

The author of this post, Trisha Fielding, goes on to say:

"Born in Bowen in 1879, Amy Louisa Wilcox Field trained as a nurse in Warwick for three years under Matron McNamara and later nursed in private homes in Bowen and Proserpine. ....  In 1908 she opened a private hospital in Bowen called Palm Cottage, where, by the time of her retirement in 1936, more than 2,000 children had been born. .... Nurse Field died in August 1939, at the age of 68, only three years after retiring from nursing."

There was an excerpt from a newspaper obituary included in this post as well, so I went off to Trove (Australia's free online research portal located at the National Library of Australia) to see what I could find in the newspaper archive.

In the Bowen Independent, dated Friday 28th of July 1939, this obituary appeared:

It was followed by this "Mother's Tribute":

An article published in the Townsville Daily Bulletin, dated Monday the 24th of July 1939, mentioned that from Bowen's early years in the late 1860s, up until 1922, there had been around 948 successful births in the town, but by 1936 (when Nurse Field had retired), the number had passed 2000!

That particular article also stated that "She had a marvellous record.  Her patients always returned".  

Historian Trisha Fielding had described Nurse Field as one of the "invisible heroines" of North Queensland's history, and this sentiment was echoed in contemporary newspaper articles, praising her exceptional record and the loyalty of her patients.

A Broader Perspective

The shift from home births on rural farms to seeking care at facilities like Palm Cottage highlights the evolving practices of childbirth in the early 20th century.  Discovering these details has enriched my understanding of not only my family's history, but also the broader context of maternal care in rural northern Australia.  It has also connected me to remarkable individuals like Amy Field, whose contributions deserve to be remembered and celebrated.

I now wonder if Palm Cottage might appear on the birth records of my other maternal aunts and uncles.  Did my grandmother Sarah return to Nurse Field's care for the birth of her subsequent children?  This question is a tantalising thread I intend to follow in my ongoing beginnings research.

I'm joining Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge.

The prompt for this week's challenge is:  In The Beginning.

Anyone who wishes to join the challenge, please click on this link:  Generations Cafe (Facebook Group)

The Story of Margaret Brigid O'Donnell

I begin my family tree blog with the story of my mother, Margaret Brigid O'Donnell (1923-1968) - Margaret to most, but "Mina" to the people who knew her best.

Margaret Brigid O'Donnell 

In the year of her birth, 1923, construction started on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, King Tutankhamum's burial chamber was opened by Howard Carter, the very first issue of Time magazine was published, and Mount Etna erupted in Sicily.

Big, headline-making happenings ... while in north Queensland, a small baby girl arrived quietly into the heart of a growing farm family.

Broadlands on paper ... but Kyburra in real life

Margaret's birthplace was registered as Broadlands, near Ayr, Queensland, but the truth is more specific - and more ours.

Margaret was in fact born at the family farm, where her parents had made their home on a tract of land between Cape Creek and Armstrong Creek, near the Kyburra railway siding, situated about halfway between the small townships of Gumlu and Guthalungra.  Broadlands, listed as Margaret's birthplace, was another railway siding on the main rail line that ran from between Townsville and Bowen, and the area around it was referred to as 'Broadlands'.  

When Margaret was born, her father James O'Donnell was aged 35 and her mother Sarah McCane was aged 28.  James owned a small property where he had settled down to begin a family with Sarah, and they already had a son named Edmond James, born in 1918.

Margaret came into the world in June 1923, and after that her family grew considerably with the birth of five more brothers and one sister: 

Maurice Owen (known as Morrie) was born in 1925; 

John Joseph (known as Jack) was born in 1926; 

James Thomas (known as Jim) was born in 1928; 

and Edward Martin (known as Eddie) was born in 1930.

Marcella Therese was born in 1935, and

Terence William was born in 1937.

The girl in the early farm photos

Margaret with her older brother Edmund at the back,
and younger brothers Maurice, Jim, Eddie and Jack.
(Photo shared by Terry O'Donnell)

Here's an old photo of Margaret with five of her brothers, possibly taken in 1933, when Margaret would have been aged almost 10, at the Kyburra family farm.

Margaret's education journey had already begun at home by the time this photo was taken.  

Lessons by mail: the Correspondence School years (1929-1935)

Margaret was enrolled at the Queensland Primary Correspondence School in January of 1929, aged 5.  She was enrolled by her mother Sarah - herself a former teacher and a firm believer in schooling for all her children.

The records show that Margaret, Student No. 10971, was enrolled in First Class in 1929. Lessons arrived by mail, and Sarah guided Margaret through the work with her own teaching skills.  Margaret remained with the Correspondence School until July of 1935, by which time she was 12.  

A new baby sister - and a move into the classroom (1935)

In April 1935, Margaret's only sister, Marcella Therese, was born - an arrival that understandably reshaped the family's daily routine and Sarah's capacity to supervise lessons at home. 

With Margaret now considered old enough to ride to school (on horseback) with her brothers Edmund and Maurice, she was enrolled at Gumlu State School and was placed in Fifth Class.

Margaret with her older brother Edmund holding youngest sister Marcella
and brothers Eddie, Jim, Jack and Maurice in front.
(Photo shared by Terry O'Donnell)

The photo above shows Margaret with five of her brothers and her new little sister.  It was likely taken in late 1935 or early 1936.  Margaret would have been around 13 years old.

Finishing school years (1937-1938)

In 1937, another brother, Terence William (known as Terry) was born.  Margaret completed Seventh Class in December that year, and then left Gumlu State School.

A little later, in February 1938, Margaret returned to the Primary Correspondence School for a final stint, likely to complete her scholarship exams.  She finished in June, after turning 15.

  
A talent for sewing (and proof in the paper)

During the late 1930s, Margaret displayed a real talent for sewing - not just the everyday necessity of it, but the artistry.  

The local newspaper, the Bowen Independent, mentioned her as a Bowen Show prize winner more than once.  

• In 1936, aged 12, she won second prize in the 'Best Hand Worked Apron' competition event, and won 1/-. 

• In 1938, aged 14, Margaret won first prize for the 'Best Doyley'.  This time the prize was 2/-.

Margaret in 1940: the big family, nearly complete

Margaret with her brothers Jim, Jack, Maurice, Eddie and Terry
and younger sister Marcella.
(Photo shared by Terry O'Donnell)

The photo above shows Margaret with her younger brothers and only sister, probably taken around 1940.

'Mina': the nickname that stuck  

Margaret had a nickname: 'Mina'.  The story behind it is unfortunately lost to me now.  It sounds like something one of her younger siblings might have come up with - the kind of family nickname that becomes so normal nobody think to write down where it started.

But then, there it is in print.

In 1941 Margaret was mentioned again in the local newspaper, the Bowen Independent (Friday, July 4, 1941), but as 'Mina'.  

"Miss Mina O'Donnell" was making her debut, along with eight other young ladies, at the Debutante Ball, aged 18.  

Such an event would have been an absolute highlight for young women living in the area at this time.

The article stated:  "Miss Mina O'Donnell wore a white taffeta frock with swing skirt and shirred bodice finished with sash peaked in front and bow at back, also silver spray on shoulder and one in hair. She wore a white velvet coat and white lace mittens.  She carried a white and silver evening bag and bouquet of roses and fern finished with ribbons tied in tiny bows and ends.  She also wore a gold cross and chain."

Would Margaret's (Mina's) debutante dress have looked something like this?

It certainly seems like this particular McCall's dress pattern would have come close.

Leaving the farm: the move to Bowen (early 1940s)

The O'Donnell family lived on the Broadlands property until around the early 1940s, when circumstances prompted the decision to leave and move down the highway to Bowen.

The O'Donnell Family
Back Row L-R: Jim, Jack, Margaret, Maurice, Edmund
Front Row L-R: Terry, mother Sarah, Marcella, father James and Eddie.

Here's a photo of the entire family, taken sometime after the move to Bowen, possibly around 1942-1943.  Margaret would have been about 20 years old.

Bridesmaid days (1947 and 1949)

Margaret O'Donnell was mentioned again in the local newspaper in 1947.  The occasion was the Pilcher/Tredrea wedding and Margaret was one of the two bridesmaids.  The bride, Marjory Agatha Tredrea, was a very dear friend.

The Bowen Independent article (Friday, December 12th, 1947) stated:

"The bridesmaids were the Misses Ellen Pilcher and Margaret O'Donnell, the former being a sister of the groom, and the latter a close friend of the bride.  Both were frocked alike.  Miss Pilcher choosing blue and Miss O'Donnell pink.  Their gowns looked really lovely, being of delicate net over satin, with large picture hats to match."

Margaret, on the right, as a bridesmaid in 1947, aged 24.

Margaret was a bridesmaid once again in 1949 for her cousin's wedding.

Irene Bidgood (known as Bon) and her sister Lorna were the daughters of Margaret's mother's only sister.

Margaret's mother Sarah O'Donnell (nee McCane) and her sister Susan Bidgood (nee McCane) had been extremely close throughout their lives and their daughters grew up as very close cousins, spending many hours in each other's company.

When Irene Bidgood married, she asked her sister Lorna and Margaret, her close cousin, to be her bridesmaids.

Wedding Party of Irene Bidgood (Margaret's cousin) and Ted Lawlor -
Margaret is the bridesmaid on the left and her cousin (the bride's sister) Lorna is on the right.
(Photo shared by my maternal 2nd cousin Therese Olsen nee Lawlor).

This photo shows the lovely bridesmaids, Margaret on the left and her cousin Lorna on the right, in their gorgeous dresses and fabulous wide-brimmed hats.  

Margaret was 25 years old.

Railway Refreshment Rooms: a working woman (early-mid 1950s)

By the early 1950s, Margaret was working in what were known as 'Railway Refreshment Rooms'.  These no longer exist, but back in those days many railway stations had Refreshment Rooms.  Tea, cakes, scones, sandwiches and sometimes alcoholic refreshment were on offer for passengers alighting from trains to take a little break from their journey.

Old photos suggest Margaret may have worked in ...  

 

Ingham,

St. Lawrence,

outback Queensland.

and Charleville.  The photo above was taken sometime around 1952-1954.  It was labelled "Charleville" on the back.  Margaret is on the left, at the back.

Margaret was mentioned again in the Bowen Independent, on Friday February 8th, 1952 when she was 28 years old:  "Miss Mina O'Donnell arrived home on last night's mail from Charleville to spend a holiday with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. O'Donnell, Dalrymple Street."

Then the records confirmed what the Charleville photo hinted at - Margaret wasn't just employed there.  She rose to a position of responsibility.

Australian Electoral Roll 1954

Electoral Roll records show that Margaret was working as a Manageress at the Charleville Railway Refreshment Rooms in Charleville, outback Queensland, in 1954 when she was 31 years old; so it's likely Margaret is standing with the staff under her management at the time in the above photo. 

(I've written about Margaret's working life in more detail in this post:  Off To Work)

Dances, social life ... and the man she would marry

Dances and balls were very important social events during Margaret's early adult years, and would have been the primary way to meet young gentlemen.

This photo shows Margaret attending a ball or social dance, sometime in the early to mid 1950s.  Margaret, who would have been in her mid-30s, is seated far right at the back, and the man she would marry (my Dad) is crouched down on the far left in front.

Christmas at Dalrymple Street

The O'Donnell family Christmas celebrations throughout the 1950s were held at their Mum and Dad's home in Bowen.  I can imagine the fun and frivolity around the large dining room table at the back of the old Queenslander house.

The photos above would have been taken on Christmas Day, in the mid to late 1950s at Margaret's parents' house on Dalrymple Street.

The two shots at the top show all the brothers and sisters with their father James and mother Sarah.  Looking carefully at the shot, you will notice two extra ladies seated side by side on the left of the table.  One of them was Desley Hockings (first on the left), who was to become my aunty after marrying into the family.  She married my uncle James (Jim) who is sitting beside Desley, but only his shoulder is visible in the photo.

Home again, then marriage (1958-1959)

Australian Electoral Roll 1958

 
By 1958, Electoral Roll records show that Margaret was living back in the family home in Dalrymple Street, Bowen; along with her father James, mother Sarah, brothers James Thomas and John Joseph, and her sister Marcella.  Her occupation at this time was listed as 'barmaid', which meant she was working at the bar that was part of the Refreshment Rooms at the Bowen railway station.

Margaret married Bede Connors in January of the following year, 1959, aged 35.

Wedding Party:
Left to right back row:  Best Man Henry J. Allan ; Bridesmaid (and sister) Marcella O'Donnell; Groom Bede Connors; Bride Margaret O'Donnell; Father of the Bride James O'Donnell; Bridesmaid Marg Pilcher; Groomsman (and brother) James O'Donnell.
Front row far left:  Flower Girl Sandra
Front row far right: Flower Girl Carmel

Margaret gave birth to two children. Bernadette (that's me!) was born at the end of 1959 and Mark was born in 1961.

Loss, illness, and a life cut short (1961-1968)

1961 held some sorrow for Margaret though, as her dearly beloved sister Marcella died on the 29th of April.

This photo shows Marcella on her wedding day, but sadly Marcella's passing meant it was quite a short-lived marriage.

Unfortunately Margaret's married life did not last all that long either, just nine short years.  

Suffering rheumatic fever as a child left its mark, and by the late 1960s Margaret was quite ill and experiencing heart problems.  She spent time in a number of hospitals, and had quite extended stays at times.

Margaret died on April the 18th, 1968 at the rather young age of 44.  She died in Gympie, the home of Margaret's husband's mother (my paternal grandmother) where my brother and I were spending the Easter break with Dad and his family.  I was still only 8 years old, and my brother was just 6.  My Dad was 43, and had just celebrated his 9th wedding anniversary in the January of that year.

Margaret was buried at the Bowen General Cemetery.

Margaret Brigid O'Donnell  1923 - 1968.

💗  Family Anecdote:  from my cousin, Carmel ...

"As you know, I am the flower girl on the right in the wedding photo. My dress was pale green and Sandra’s was a very pretty lavender.  The story goes that Grandma Connors chose which granddaughter wore which colour!!!...much to my mum’s chagrin.💕  I think Sandra still has her bonnet."

Update:

I'm adding some additional photos to my original post.  Unfortunately I don't have many details about these photos, so I'm hoping family members might see these at some point in the future and recall when / where they may have been taken. 

 

(Thank you to my 2nd cousin for letting me know the details about the wedding party photo in the top right hand corner)