I've decided to branch off for a while and share things other than just the stories of my direct ancestors. The main motivation for this is my desire to share some of the many wonderful photos I've found of my extended family (not too many degrees of separation from my direct ancestors).
These photos deserve to be in the spotlight, so I thought long and hard about an interesting way to do this. Hence the decision to put together collections of photos that all share a common thread.
For the eleventh collection post, the spotlight is on ... Labour of love!
Motherhood is such a life-long labour of love and the mothers of previous generations in my family tree overcame many challenges and faced difficult struggles raising their families. In this post I'm sharing some truly lovely photos of these mothers with their children.
The mother seated in this photo is Annie Clark / Thompson nee Exton, my paternal 3rd great aunt.
At the age of 14 she married William Clark, ten years older than her. This was not an uncommon event in the colonies in the 1800s.
Annie went on to have eight children with William, before he died when she was aged 32.
Annie was a widower, raising her young family, for five years before marrying again at the age of 37.
This photo shows Annie with her eldest son Thomas around 1860. Thomas has the look of a strong-willed child, and I wonder if he was a bit of a handful! Annie looks weary in this photo, and I think her life would have been tough! Annie died in 1919 at the age of 80 survived by six of her sons, one of her daughters, 40 grandchildren and 38 great-grandchildren.
Common Ancestors with Annie: my 3rd great grandparents James Exton and Susannah Lancaster (Annie's parents).
This photo shows mother Alice Brown nee Maguire, the wife of my paternal 2nd great uncle.
Alice was born in 1875 and married Robert Frederick Bayley Brown in 1892 when she was 17 years old.
Alice and Robert went on to have four children, all girls.
This photo shows Alice with three of her daughters Winifred Grace, Marietta Madge (known as Madge) and Vivian Hopetoun.
Sadly, Alice died a mere three years after this photo was taken, shortly after giving birth to her fourth daughter. She was only 28 years old. These little girls lost their mother so early in their lives and according to family history, they did not see their father again after the death of their mother. My heart just breaks when I think about this.
Common Ancestors with Alice's husband Robert and their daughters: my 2x great grandparents Henry Johnson Brown and Caroline Penelope Browning (Robert's parents).
The young mother gazing so lovingly at her son in this photo is Mabel Cusack nee Hicks, the wife of my paternal 1st cousin 3x removed.
Mabel married William Hugh Fay Cusack when she was 20 years old. They went on to have six children.
The young boy in this photo is Mabel's first born son Walter who came along in 1910. Don't you just adore that boater on his head and that fabulous suit he's wearing.
I also adore Mabel's dress and that delicate bracelet she's wearing. The fan, well I think it's a fan, in Mabel's hand is an extraordinary looking thing. It's a fascinating photo!
Mabel died in June of 1933, aged just 46. Her husband William died just over a month later. They were survived by their five children.
Common Ancestors with Mabel's husband William and their children: my 2x great grandparents Patrick Cusack and Eliza Exton.
This mother is Elsie Louisa Bostock nee Fackerell, the wife of my paternal 2nd cousin 2x removed.
Elsie was born in 1888, married Robert Bostock in July of 1908 when she was 20 years old, and gave birth to the baby in this photo in October of 1908.
Baby Robert Neville was the first of eleven children born to Elsie and husband Robert.
Elsie's last child was born in 1930 when she was 42 years old. Elsie lived until the ripe old age of 99, dying just two months before her 100th birthday in 1988. She was obviously a rather resilient woman.
Common Ancestors with Elsie's husband Robert and their children: my paternal 3x great grandparents William Browning and Anne (Nancy) Littlejohns.
The mother in this photo is Jane Atherton nee Bardsley.
Jane had married Thomas Arthur Atherton in 1895 when she was 18 years old. They went on to have a family of five sons and two daughters.
This photo, taken in 1913, shows Jane with her two daughters. Leila, aged 11, is standing beside her mother whose gaze is focused on baby Betty.
Here is another photo of mother Jane with her eldest daughter Leila, taken in the late 1930s.
Leila married my maternal 1st cousin 2x removed, Frank Warren Shaw.
Common Ancestors with Leila's husband Frank: my 2x great grandparents Michael Farrell and Susan Muldowney (Downey)
This photo, taken around 1916, shows Margaret Magdalen Neylon nee Hickey (seated), my paternal 1st cousin 3x removed, with her daughter Julia Alice Neylon.
Margaret was born in 1858. When she was 23 she married Thomas Neylon and they went on to have eleven children, although six of them did not survive their childhood years. Julia Alice was the eldest, born in 1882.
According to family stories, this photo was an old style postcard probably sent off to Margaret's son Michael who was fighting in France during WW1. Margaret would have been about 58 years old and daughter Julia would have been 34.
Sadly Michael never returned home, but the photo did when his belongings found their way back to Australia. Margaret only lived another eight years after the death of her son Michael. She died in 1926 at the of 68.
Common Ancestors with Margaret: my 3x great grandparents James Hickey and Margaret McNamara.
This mother is Mary Jane Reid nee Dooley, my paternal 1st cousin 3x removed, born in 1887. She married the father of her daughters, Alexander Reid, in 1915 just before he shipped off to fight in WW1.
This photo was likely taken in 1916 and sent off to Alexander as a reminder of what he had left behind. Sadly he was killed in action in 1917.
The two young girls in the photo were Constance Jean, standing beside her mother, and Emma Eileen May.
Mary Jane gave birth to a son in 1918, re-married in 1924 and then had two more daughters. She died in 1955 at the age of 68.
Here is a photo of Mary Jane with her only son Cyril James Reid, taken many years later in 1939 before Cyril went to serve in WW11.
At the time Mary Jane would have been 52 years old. Thankfully Mary Jane was able to welcome her son back home safely at the end of the war.
When Mary Jane died in 1955, she was survived by all her children, but not by her second husband George Coldwell. He had died in 1951.
Common Ancestors with Mary Jane: my 3x great grandparents James Exton and Susannah Lancaster.
The mother looking upon her daughter in this photo is Frances Elizabeth Maude Dillon nee Kilfoyle, my paternal 1st cousin 2x removed.
Born in 1885 in Gunnedah, New South Wales, Frances married John Edwin Dillon in 1906 when she was 21.
They went on to have nine children. The youngest Shirley Maude Dillon, seen in this photo, was born in 1929 when Frances was 44 years old.
Frances lived until her 63rd year, dying in 1948 and survived by her husband John and all their children.
Common Ancestors with Frances: my 2x great grandparents Henry Johnson Brown and Caroline Penelope Browning.
Catherine (Kate) emigrated to the U.S.A. from Ireland sometime around 1900. She married Richard B. Dwyer in 1902 and went on to have four children. Anastacia was their first born, and Catherine came along four years later.
In this photo Catherine (Kate) is sitting on the front porch of her home with daughter Anastacia, on the right, and Catherine, on the left.
Common Ancestors with Catherine: my 2x great grandparents John O'Donnell and Catherine Joy.
This is a photo of Sarah Muckian nee McCann, my maternal 2x great grandmother, and her son Edward Muckian.
I have not yet been able to find out many details about Sarah. At this point in time I only know that she was born in 1821 in northern Ireland, she married Patrick Muckian when she was 32 (which, for the times, seems rather late in life to be married for the first time) and they went on to have five children.
Edward was Sarah's eldest son, born the year after her marriage when she was 33 years old.
This photo was taken on the day of Edward's wedding in 1892. Edward was 37 (again, that seems rather late in life) and Sarah, the proud mother, was 71 years old.
Common Ancestors with Sarah: sadly I have not yet been able to discover the names of Sarah's parents.
This rather poised, serene looking mother is Elizabeth Shaw nee Farrell, my maternal 2nd great aunt.
Elizabeth was born in Durham, north-eastern England. She migrated to Australia with her parents and siblings when she was 14.
In 1897 Elizabeth married Frank Shaw when she was 24 years old, and they went on to have five children.
In this photo Elizabeth is surrounded by her five children. Her two boys are her eldest Frank standing to her right and her youngest Edwin standing on the chair beside her. Her daughters are Mary and Margaret on the right and Dorothy is the little one cuddling up to her mother.
Common Ancestors with Elizabeth: my 2nd great grandparents Michael Farrell and Susan Muldowney/Downey.
The mother in this photo is my maternal great grandmother Margaret McCane nee Farrell (the sister of Elizabeth in the previous photo).
Margaret was born in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, Durhamshire, north-eastern England. She emigrated to Australia in 1886 when she was 20 years old, with a younger sister.
This happened a year before her sister Elizabeth (pictured above), her other siblings and her parents came to Australia.
Margaret worked as a domestic servant for many years before marrying Owen Muckian (McCane) in 1892 when she was 26.
On a side note, Owen Muckian (whose name was anglicized upon arrival in Australia to McCane) was another son of Sarah Muckian nee McCann who was pictured earlier in the wedding day photo of Edward, her eldest son.
Margaret and her husband Owen went on to have a family of seven children. Their eldest son Edward William died tragically when he was only 8 years old. This photo, taken sometime around 1911 shows Margaret surrounded by her surviving boys Thomas (Tom), John (known as Jack), James (Jim) and her youngest Edward Joseph. The two eldest daughters, Susan and Sarah, were not included in the sitting for this portrait.
This photo shows my elderly great grandmother Margaret McCane nee Farrell (the same lady from the photo above) with her daughter Sarah Mary Josephine McCane, my grandmother.
Common ancestors with Margaret: my 2x great grandparents Michael Farrell and Susan Muldowney (Downey), Margaret's parents.
Finally, this last photo shows my mother, Margaret Brigid Connors nee O'Donnell, with myself and my brother.
Sadly I don't have many photos of Mum with us both, so this is a little treasure.
Margaret Brigid (known as Mina) O'Donnell was born in 1923, the daughter of Sarah Mary Josephine O'Donnell nee McCane (pictured above) and James O'Donnell. Margaret was the second eldest of seven children.
She married Bede William Connors in 1959 when she was 35 years old. Tragically their marriage only lasted nine years, as Margaret died in 1968.
This photo was taken around 1965 when Mum was 42, but was succumbing to the condition that had plagued her for many years. Despite that, she put everything she had into being the best mother she could be, and that will always be a lasting and truly valued memory.
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