Spotlight ... 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 Lance Dawes.

This post tells the story of my paternal 3rd cousin once removed, Lance Dawes  (1917 - 1943). 

Our common ancestors are:  James Hukins and Susannah Fullagar (my 3x great grandparents).

Lance Dawes - WW11 enlistment photo

Recently I've been doing a lot of research about the family tree members who fought in World War 11, and whilst it was very heartening to see that the majority of them made it home to their loved ones, I found a small group of men who tragically set off to serve overseas and never returned.  

The end of the line for this group occurred on foreign soil for all but one.  Four of the group had a burial place, but sadly, Lance Dawes did not.  This is his story:

Lance was born in the town of Murwillumbah, New South Wales, in 1917.  He was the fourth of six children born to Frederick Dawes and Susan Charlotte Timms.

Before the birth of Lance, his mother Susan had given birth to Audrey in 1912, Cecil in 1914 and Netta in 1915.   Then following the birth of Lance, Hazel was born in 1919 and Wilfred came along in 1922.

Records (his RAAF air crew application) show that Lance attended the Murwillumbah Primary School until the end of 1929.

  

Lance's name appeared on a list of primary school students who had qualified for entrance to the Murwillumbah High School, published in early 1930 in the newspaper, The Northern Star.  He then attended Murwillumbah High School from 1930 until May of 1932 when he turned 15.  

It appears that the family left Murwillumbah around this time, and moved further north to the area around Piggabeen, a town located in far north-eastern New South Wales, inland from Tweed Heads in the Tweed Shire.

Lance's father was a dairyman and established his own dairy farm in the area.   

Piggabeen had predominantly been a dairy farming town throughout the early 1900s, but by the time the Dawes family had re-located there, other industries had begun to flourish.  The rich volcanic soil in the region was particularly suitable for banana growing, and by the beginning of World War 11, Lance had a small farm of his own on which he grew bananas.

In October of 1940, Lance completed his application a an Airman with the Royal Australian Air Force.

In November of 1940, at the age of 23,  Lance submitted his application for air crew selection in the Royal Australian Air Force.  

Some of the details included on his application were his occupation (banana grower), sports and games he had played (cricket and tennis) and the fact that he had not completed an Intermediate or Junior Public Examination.  He had deferred his education after completing a term examination in April of 1932.

After sending off his application, there was a bit of a wait until Lance was actually called up to serve.

In the meantime, in May of 1941, Lance enrolled in the R.A.A.F. Reserve and was posted as Air Crew to Group V of the Reserve.  His Reserve Badge No. was 3524.

 

Then an item appeared in a local newspaper, dated September 27, 1841, stating that Lance "has received his call-up for the R.A.A.F. and will report for duty shortly".

Attestation papers completed in October of 1941

Enlistment Photo 1941

On the 12th of October 1941, at the age of 24, Lance travelled to the Recruiting Centre in Brisbane, Queensland and completed his attestation forms to enlist with the R.A.A.F.  

He was the first of the family to enlist for wartime service.   

Younger brother Wilfred enlisted with the RAAF just a couple of months later, in January of 1942, aged 19.  Older brother Cecil enlisted in April of 1942 with the CMF, aged 28.  

There was quite a lengthy period of training ahead for Lance, from October of 1941 to August of 1942.

A list of Lance's postings from his war service record

Lance trained at 3 I.T.S. - No. 3 Initial Training School - at Sandgate in Brisbane, Queensland, towards the end of 1941. This initial training would have taken two months to complete. 

He was then mustered to 3 W.A.G.S. - 3 Wireless Air Gunner School - located at Maryborough, Queensland, in December of 1941.  There he completed the seven-month course that in peacetime would take at least two years!

In June of 1942, Lance was mustered to 1 B.A.G.S. - No 1 Bombing and Air Gunnery School - at Ballarat, and then almost a month later was mustered to 3 E.D. - No. 3 Embarkation Depot - at Kingaroy in Queensland.

In July of 1942 Lance, aged 25, married Edna Mavis Rylah, aged 20.   

A newspaper item published in the local newspaper gave quite a few details about their special day.

Lance and Edna were married at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Tweed Heads, New South Wales.  They were married for only seven months before tragedy struck.

It appears that they spent their honeymoon with Lance's parents in Piggabeen.  The newspaper item above, published at the beginning of August 1942, states that "Sergeant Lance Dawes ... and his wife" had been staying with Mr. and Mrs. F. Dawes of Piggabeen.

August 1942 was the month when Lance was posted to the 22nd Squadron, initially located at Richmond, New South Wales, but then moved to NEA Port Moresby in October of 1942.  So, less than two months after being in Piggabeen with his wife and parents, Lance was in New Guinea with the 22nd Squadron which was there to support Australian Army operations against the Japanese around Buna and Gona.  

Lance had graduated as a Wireless Air Gunner (WAG) in mid 1942 and the WAG's task was to protect his aircraft from enemy attack, whilst maintaining contact with the home base, and helping to navigate a course by means of radio direction finding.

He performed his first operational sortie in November of 1942, and went on to perform five more operational sorties over the next couple of months.  These six sorties totalled 12 hours flown as part of a 3-man crew.  Unfortunately, Lance's time in the skies was about to end.

In February of 1943 Lance was one of a 3-man crew flying a DB-7B Boston Mark 111 (Serial No: A28-21).  The pilot was George Trevelyan Smith and the other crew member with Lance was Sergeant Roderick Thomas Kerr.

On February 6 of 1943 their aircraft took off from 5 Mile Drome near Port Moresby on a mission against Salamaua.  

The aircraft was shot down into the sea 2 miles south east of Salamaua, New Guinea.  

All three crew members were declared "missing, believed killed" by the R.A.A.F. that day.

The R.A.A.F. report into the disappearance of the air crew stated that "reconnaissance from the air 5 minutes later revealed dinghy and debris but no trace of crew."  The report went on to state that the aircraft was "shot down in flames" and that the R.A.A.F. presumed it was either an "enemy fighter known to be concentrated in the immediate area at that time" or an "enemy aircraft from Salamaua".

An item appeared in a local newspaper, the Tweed Daily, on the 20th of February 1943 that stated "Mrs. L. Dawes, of Piggabeen, has been advised that her husband Sgt. Lance Dawes, RAAF, is reported missing, believed dead, as the result of air operations in the North early this month."

So, it was two weeks after the event that the Piggabeen community became aware of the possible tragic loss of one of their own.

This is the official letter that Mavis received from the RAAF.

It was not until over a year later however, that an obituary appeared in the Tweed Daily newspaper.

Five months after that, in September of 1945, the Piggabeen community organised a remembrance service to honour twelve of their young men, including Lance, who had made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

Unfortunately, there was no grave site or burial plot for Lance, and no tombstone for him.   His name and his service however were honoured in other ways.

Lance's name is inscribed on the Murwillumbah High School WW2 Roll of Honour Board in Murwillumbah, New South Wales.  

His name is also inscribed on the All Saints' Church's WW11 Roll of Honour Board in Murwillumbah, New South Wales.

There is a memorial plaque for Lance on the Roll of Honour Wall at the Australian War Memorial - Panel 101. 

Lance's name is also engraved on one of the bronze tablets at the Lae Memorial in New Guinea.  

This memorial commemorates more than 300 Australians who lost their lives whilst serving in New Guinea and have no known grave.

Spotlight On ... Twins!

Do twins run in families?   I've made a recent discovery about twins in my family tree and it certainly does seem that twins do indeed run in my family.

I am the daughter of a twin.  My Dad had a twin brother and both were born in the early 1920s to George Thomas Connors and Grace Olive Brown.

This photo shows those twin brothers, my Uncle Reggie and my Dad, when they were quite young.   

While some have said they were similar in looks when they were young, I did not see that when, as a child/teenager/young adult, I knew them as men in their 40s and 50s.  They had their own quite distinctive looks, personalities and traits.

I also have twin grandchildren, who are not at all similar in looks and most definitely have their very own personality and traits.    

Over the last year, I've become quite interested in finding out just how many sets of twins there are in my family tree.

Of course, the extent of my family tree research so far means I will not get to a definitive answer to this question.  I haven't gone down all the various branches and twigs of my family tree, so there could still be more twin discoveries to stumble upon.

So far though, I have found 22 pairs of twins.

In this post however, I'm going to leave out my grandchildren and only list the other 21 sets of twins, starting with those of my own generation and then going back 4 more generations.

The majority are definitely on my paternal side, but I have found a few sets on my mother's side as well.  Interestingly, I've found twins in every generation on my Dad's side going back four generations so far.  On my Mum's side, I've found twins in all but one of the generations as I went back four generations from my own.  

One really noticeable fact as I went back through the generations was the decreasing survival rate the further back I went.  As I looked back into twins born in the early to mid 1800s, there were sadly a number of twins that appear to have been stillborn or at least only survived a couple of hours or weeks.  Of course, in those days the mothers would have been giving birth at home, with no assistance from any medical professional, and complications no doubt arose with heartbreaking consequences.  

So, here is the record of twin births in my family tree at this point in my research: 

Paternal:

My own generation -  

My 1st cousins, Ruth Adeline and Phyllis Connors, daughters of my father's brother Colin Connors and his wife Ruth May.

They are granddaughters of my grandparents, George Connors and Grace Brown (common ancestors).

1 Generation Back - 

My father, Bede William, and his brother, my Uncle Reginald Frederick (known as Reggie) Connors.

They were sons of George Connors and Grace Brown, my grandparents (common ancestors).

My 2nd cousins once removed, Joan Margaret and John William Connors - children of Edward Thomas Connors and his wife Lily Emily Insull.

They are great grandchildren of 2x great grandparents, William Connor (Connors) and Eleanor (Ellen) Hickey (common ancestors), through their son Michael.

2 Generations Back - 

My 1st cousins 2x removed, Harold John Charles and Eliza Violet Cusack, children of James Cusack and Mary Ann Catherine Davies.

They were grandchildren of my 2x great grandparents, Patrick Cusack and Eliza Exton (common ancestors), through their son James.

My 2nd cousins 2x removed, Martha Hannah and James John Thomas, children of Andrew Thomas and his wife Harriett Matilda Wright.

Great grandchildren of my 3x great grandparents, William Henry Browning and Anne Littlejohns (common ancestors), through their daughter Hannah Browning.

My 2nd cousins 2x removed, Hector Patrick and Harold Michael Cusack, children of James Cusack and his wife Hannah Sutton.

Great grandchildren of my 3x great grandparents, Michael Cusask and Mary Green (common ancestors), through their son John Cusack.

3 Generations Back - 

My 1st cousins 3x removed, Alice and Ellen Murphy, children of Patrick Murphy (aka Maguire) and Bridgit Hickey.

They were grandchildren of my 3x great grandparents, James Hickey and Margaret McNamara (common ancestors), through their daughter Bridgit Hickey.

I have not done much research about either Alice or Ellen as yet, hence the lack of a date for their death.

My 1st cousins 3x removed,  James, Jane Caroline, Francis, Joseph, Matthew, Thomas, Arthur George and Sarah Wright, children of James Wright and Hannah Browning.

Yes, you're seeing correctly ... 4 sets of twins born to the same parents!

They were grandchildren of my 3x great grandparents, William Henry Browning and Anne Littlejohns (common ancestors), through their daughter Hannah Browning.

It's quite confronting when you realise that two sets of these twins did not survive their birth.  How heartbreaking that would have been for their parents.

My 1st cousins 3x removed, George Henry and Peter Browning, children of John Thomas Browning and Margaret Redmond.

They were grandchildren of my 3x great grandparents, William Henry Browning and Anne Littlejohns (common ancestors), through their son John Thomas.

My 1st cousins 3x removed, Mary Ann and William Matthew Browning, children of James Francis Browning and Eliza Kennewell.

They were grandchildren of my 3x great grandparents, William Henry Browning and Anne Littlejohns (common ancestors), through their son James Francis.

My Great Grandaunts, Eleanor Sabina and Cassandra Elizabeth Hukins, children of Adolphus Hukins and Mary Ann Farley.

They were daughters of my 2x great grandparents, Adolphus Hukins and Mary Ann Farley (common ancestors).

My 1st cousins 3x removed John and Thomas Hickey, children of Patrick Hickey and Julia Hawley.

They were grandchildren of 3x great grandparents, James Hickey and Margaret McNamara (common ancestors), through their son Patrick.

Sadly, one of the twins died at birth and the other died before he reached his second birthday.

4 Generations Back

My 2x great granduncles, Thomas and John Hickey, children of James Hickey and Margaret McNamara.

They were the sons of 3x great grandparents, James Hickey and Margaret McNamara (common ancestors).

You might notice the match in names between these twin sons of my 3x great grandparents and their twin grandsons (listed above)!

Maternal

1 Generation Back -

My 2nd cousins once removed, David (Davey) and Robert Edward (Bobby) O'Donnell, children of John O'Donnell and Catherine O'Connor.

They were the great grandchildren of my 2x great grandparents, John O'Donnell and Catherine Joy (common ancestors), through their son Michael.

2 Generations Back - 

My 2nd cousins 2x removed, Daniel and Thomas Prendergast, children of Thomas Prendergast and Mary Shea.

They were the great grandchildren of my 3x great grandparents, Patrick O'Donnell and Margaret Rafter (common ancestors), through their daughter Brigid.

My 1st cousins 2x removed, Helen Ann and Margaret Lillian (Madge) Davies, children of David Davies and Helen Ann Farrell.  Helen Ann Davies was also known as Sister Mary Francis as she became a Sister of Mercy in her adult years.

They were grandchildren of my 2x great grandparents, Michael Farrell and Susan Downey (common ancestors), through their daughter Helen Ann.

My 1st cousins 2x removed, Myreen Catherine and Laurine Florence Farrell, children of Michael Farrell and Hannah Hynes.

They were the grandchildren of my 2x great grandparents Michael Farrell and Susan Downey (common ancestors), through their son Michael.

4 Generations Back

My 2nd Great Grand Aunt and Uncle, John and Mary O'Donnell, children of Patrick O'Donnell and Mary Rafter.

They were children of 3x great grandparents, Patrick O'Donnell and Margaret Rafter (common ancestors).

The twins I've known in my family - my father and my uncle, and my grandchildren - were/are not identical, and are therefore known as fraternal (dizygotic) twins.  

It's a known fact that fraternal twins are the most common type of twin and they run in families. I think I'm probably correct in assuming that the majority of the twins in my family tree are fraternal.  

Some interesting facts about fraternal twins to finish off this post:

- fraternal twins come from two different eggs

- they each have their own placenta

- they can be either the same gender or a combination genders

- the highest rate of fraternal twins occurs in Africa

- fraternal twins are the result of hyperovulation

- they share half of their genes just like their brothers and sisters.