Lilian's Tree

 My last post for Women's History Month is about my maternal great-grandmothers, Isabella and Maryanne. Both of these ladies were native born and were widowed young. Isabella Mary Ann Vaughan was born on 18 September 1847 at Domain Terrace, Sydney. Today the State Library of New South Wales stand on the spot but in 1847 it was a row of terrace houses. Isabella was the fourth child and second daughter for Henry Vaughan and Charlotte Chasmar. In October 1866 she married William Henry Martin and together they had nine children. William dies sometime between 1878 and her re-marriage in 1884, to August Jasper. It is through this marriage that she becomes my great-grandmother. Isabella and August had four children but only their eldest, Evelyn Maude reaches adulthood. She doesn't appear in the newspapers, other than her first marriage and then her death, on 29 October 1922. Isabella's legacy from her second marriage was 4 children, with three dying very young, 10 grandchildren, 2

  Mary TORP(H)Y    Mary was born  17 Dec 1834 in Ballyinakill, Co Galway, Ireland to Matthew Torp(h)y and Bridget Good. Bridget and four of her children, including Mary arrived in 1850 on the ship Lloyds,  her three other children would arrive in 1853. My next record for Mary is when she marries Thomas Abberton in St Peter and Pauls church, Goulburn on 22 July 1854. As Thomas was also from Ballyinakill, I could guess that they knew each other back home. Mary was a farmers wife and helped run the post office at Mummel, near Goulburn. In 1914 she travelled to Sydney for the funeral of her second son, Thomas and whilst there on 3 July, she passed away, aged 79. Mary's legacy; 15 children, 63 grandchildren and 82 great-grandchildren, that I know off! Of her 15 children, 13 of them reached adult hood and 11 married. Of those births, there were four sets of twins. A remarkable lady. Mary, with her husband Thomas. Ann ENRIGHT. My second paternal great-grandmother is another Irish lass, th

   Louisa Mary Ann Nicolls.                  Born 8 December 1860 in Lochyersleigh, NSW.              Died 7 May 1903 in Centre St, Redfern, NSW.  Buried 8 May 1903 in Rookwood, NSW.                                                                 From my research, I know that Louisa was a school teacher, first at Tarlo Gap and then at Mummel. I know that at the time she was teaching there, Mummel was a thriving community, with a post office,  several pubs, a church, cemetery and a copper mine. Farming was the main source of income for most of the parents, of her students. Reading the school records I know that Louisa had to ask permission, for the school to close when ploughing matches took place. She also wrote and explained that attendance was low because the children were required to help with the harvest. I have stood in the classroom, she taught in, walked into the rooms that were her home and wonder what it was like for her. I can assume  she met her husband,  Thomas Abberton at

Eveline Maud JASPER, born 3 April 1885, died 4 October 1932.  Born at McDonaldtown, in Sydney, Eveline was the first child for Isabella Mary Ann VAUGHAN and August JASPER, her three younger siblings all died very young.  She married Arthur GALBRAITH on 30 December 1908, at St Stephen's, Newtown. They would have 10 children. But what of her childhood? I can assume that she attended Erskinville Public School, as it was the closest to her home. I know she was a dressmaker, Mum told me that. Did she work for a firm or do it from home? Questions that I have no answers for. I do know that she made her own wedding dress. Was much loved and missed by her children.  The photo, above was taken of a family outing to Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney. Her wedding day. Eveline's legacy; 10 children, who all lived to adulthood and married, 22 grandchildren and 35 great-grandchildren.

  Well its over, three days of non-stop sessions, Main Stage events, Expo Hall, Relatives at RootsTech and so much more. I did a wide range of sessions, from DNA to Irish and Scottish and Writing. Some were excellent, some were good and some were... The keynote speakers were, apart from Steve Rockwood, were people I had never heard of, and as such I didn't listen to them.  Speakers I really enjoyed were, Michelle Patient, Fiona Brooker, Cathie Sherwood, Brian Donovan, Sunny Morton, Gillian Hunt, Michelle Leonard, Janet Few and Megan Heyl.  I still have more talks on my list to view, from Shauna Hicks, Robert Hamilton and Drew Smith. I know that I'll go back over the sessions and watch others but at the moment, I'd better go and see what my husband has been up to, what has happened in the world and think about getting dinner.

Lilian Evelyn GALBRAITH b, 22 October 1911, d 7 June 2006. She was known as Lily. Lily was born at 97 Regent Street, Camperdown and was the second of 10 children born to Eveline Maud JASPER and Arthur Alfred Victor GALBRAITH. She was baptised on 22 November 1911 at St Stephen's, Newtown. Lily attended Erskinville Public School, as her mother had. In September 1924, she was confirmed at Holy Trinity, Erskinville. The family was living in Erskinville, where the council chambers now stand. She worked in a boot factory and later Allen's cake shop, at Erskinville, becoming life-long friends with the daughter of the owner and dating one of the sons. Sadly he committed suicide. In 1945, Lily married Cecil Henry Gullen, a widower and they had one child. Cecil died of cancer, caused by being gassed in World War 1, leaving Lily a widow, with a three year old child.  In 1954, Lily married Matthew Henry Abberton, a mate of her first husband, they also had a child. Matt passed away in 1958,

March is Women's History Month and the Royal Australian Historical Society have highlighted 28 inspiring Australian women, in this article,  Women's History Month   It got me thinking about the women in my family, none of them did anything remotely like these women did but they are part of MY history, so I'm going to highlight the women in my family, over the coming weeks. This cute baby is my mother aged 12 months in 1912. I'll tell her story this week. Care to join me in celebrating the women in our family? Bye, Lilian.