Biography

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Robert Wilson (1866 -1915)

Robert Wilson was the brother of Abraham Wilson.  He was born 6 June 1866 in Armagh, Ireland.

He emigrated to Australia with his mother Catherine and Abraham in December 1891.

He appears to have had a troubled life, but I don’t have too much information on him, other than that he lived in Rockhampton (with Abraham) for a period of time, and possibly moved to Townsville.  There is also the possibility that he might have been in the Stewart Creek Gaol for a while (as my check of electoral rolls for the period shows a Robert Wilson as living there – but it may not be the same Robert).

My hunch is he had trouble adapting to life in Australia, got into trouble with the law and ended up in gaol for a brief time.  However his family (especially his mother Catherine and brother Abraham) were supportive of him, however  their support was not enough to help him – given he died at a comparatively younger age.

Robert eventually died 5 November 1915 of  ‘Melancholia’ (severe depression) and ‘general debility’.  At the time he was living in Mackay Queensland.  He did not marry or have children.

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Isabella Smyth (nee Shields)

Well I’ve received some new information on Isabella Smyth (nee Shields), mother of Mary Jane Raynor.

John and Isabella Smyth and their four daughters Martha, Margaret, Anna Bella and Eliza Jane departed Glasgow on 10 August 1882 on the ship “Stirlingshire” arriving in Townsville on 7 November 1882 (IMM/117) The Log entry states that John’s age is 32, Isabella 33, Martha 6, Margaret 3, Annabella 1, Eliza inf.  Their destination in Townsville was listed as ‘Mr Robinson, Milkman’. Possibly John had an assisted passage and was indentured to work for Mr Robinson.

John died on 16 December 1883 at the Townsville Hospital of dysentery.  This was just over a year after arriving in Townsville (arrived November 1882). Isabella was then five months pregnant. She would have been unable to work at this time, and there was no Government welfare assistance as there is today. So she must have had a very difficult time, and I had previously said in an earlier post that I wondered how Isabella fared.

Jane Mary Smyth was born on 10 April 1884.  Isabella was left to raise 5 girls on her own.  The new information I received was that Isabella admitted Margaret and Annabella to the Townsville Orphanage on 6 Aug 1884 and they were discharged to her on 16 April 1886.  On 16 October 1886 she admitted Annabella and Eliza.  Annabella was discharged on 11 May 1893 and Eliza on 7 August 1894. So Isabella probably did not fare too well in the earlier days in Australia.

Townsville Orphanage extract

Isabella had a tough life. John and Isabella probably came to Australia to escape poverty in Ireland. On arrival, John died, and Isabella would have spent many years working hard in low paid employment to make ends meet. When she couldn’t make ends meet, she had to put her daughters in the Townsville Orphanage. Her hard life must have taken its toll because she eventually died 12 April 1909 aged 63 years. In the last 7-8 years of her life she suffered an illness which eventually took her life.

Thanks for the information on Isabella, it does explain a lot.  While her life was difficult,it is credit to her that she managed to raise her daughters, and all went on to live good lives.  I know that Mary Jane and Joseph Raynor must have been a very unlikely match, but all the Raynors I’ve ever met turned out well, so Isabella must have done something right.

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Catherine Wilson (nee McFall) (1832 – 5 November 1922)

Catherine Wilson was the mother of Abraham Wilson.

Catherine was born in Ireland in 1832 (birth date unknown).  She married Christopher Wilson, at the age of 19 years, in Daleyard, Ireland.

Catherine’s parents were John McFall (Farmer) and Mary Sturger.  It appears John McFall died and Mary remarried Thomas Bunting.  Catherine may have assume the name of her stepfather while growing up, though she later used the name McFall when recording the birth of her son Abraham.  Mary then had another daughter, Ann Eliza, who later moved to Australia.

Catherine probably had little to no schooling as she was illiterate.  When registering the birth of Abraham, she used a mark ‘X’ to sign her name.

At the time of Abraham’s birth, the family lived at Derryadd, Armagh Ireland.  Christopher later died suddenly in a Shipyard accident in Northern Ireland.

Catherine emigrated to Australia, with sons Robert and Abraham.  Older brother Thomas Andrew had probably already arrived in Australia, and met them on arrival. (I have not confirmed this, hopefully further research will find the answer).

She died aged 90 years 5 November 1922 at the Dunwich Benevolent Asylum.

The Dunwich Asylum was located on  North Stradbroke Island, Moreton Bay, Queensland.  It ran from 1865 before closing in 1946.   It was an institution for people of all ages who were unable to care for themselves, which included the elderly, infirm and the senile.

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Jane Coleman (nee Wiltshire) June 1854 – 25 May 1922

Occupation:  Housewife, mother

Address prior to marriage

<1880 – Vernham Dean,  Hampshire, England

Family recollections:

– While at Wyandotte she used to keep a rifle near the house when George was out droving, to scare of the local aboriginals (who sometimes threw spears at the house).

Death:

On 25 May 1922, Jane died suddenly of heart failure.  Her death was reported by husband George.

George must have been devastated by her sudden death, given her cause of death was reported by George.  A year later, he wrote a ‘Memoriam’ post in the Townsville Daily Bulletin.

Her children also placed a Memoriam post in the Townsville Bulletin, in 1925.

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George Coleman – 14 Feb 1855 – 4 Sep 1943

George Coleman was the father of Emily Wilson.

George &amp; Jane Coleman(?)

Note:  I have not confirmed the identify of the above, but I believe it is a photo of George and Jane Coleman on their wedding day.

George was born at Wilty and Birks, Shalbourne, England.  His parents were Thomas and Ann Coleman.

George married Jane Wiltshire 12 May 1880 in her home town of Vernham Dean.  They emigrated to Australia soon after, arriving by the time of their first child’s birth (Emily) on 8 May 1881.

George’s occupation was listed as labourer throughout his life.  However, on moving to Australia, 1880-1881, he was a drover at Wyandotte Station, near Cardwell Queensland, where he lived with Jane and his children.  By 1908, George, Jane and children had moved to South Townsville, living at 10 Fifth Avenue.

George outlived Jane by 21 years, eventually passing away 5 September 1943, in Townsville.

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Emily Jane Wilson (nee Coleman) 8 May 1881 – 7 Nov 1969

Emily was born at Wyandotte Station, near Cardwell in Queensland, in 1881.  She was the eldest child of George and Jane Coleman (nee Wiltshire).  There were ten children in total though the second eldest, Elizabeth, died in infancy (3 months old), and another daughter died at 4 years of age.

On living at Wyandotte Station, Emily later recalled that when her father was away droving, her mother would keep a rifle handy in case of trouble with the local aboriginals.  The aboriginals were known to throw spears at white settlers in the area, and Emily’s mother  would fire a shot or two to scare the aboriginals if they approached the house.

Emily was engaged to a man with the occupation of ‘ringer’, but he died before the wedding.  She later married Abraham Wilson at the Stoke St Church (Methodist) in Townsville, on 9 December 1908. One of Emily’s younger brothers, Fred, was one of the witnesses to sign the marriage certificate.

At the time, Emily was living in Fifth Avenue, South Townsville, with her parents.   After marriage, she moved, with Abraham to Railway Estate.

Emily and Abraham had five children.  Emily was known to be overly protective of her eldest son, according to her daughter-in-law.  When her son got married, Emily worried her daughter-in-law would not be able to look after him properly.

in later years Emily possibly suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, though it was not diagnosed, probably because Alzheimers was still relatively unknown.

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1900s post directories and electoral rolls

I discovered that the City and State Libraries hold various subscriptions to family research sites and hold many CD-ROMs on various areas of family historry/geneology.  As a library member I booked myself into the NT Library to use one of the research computers there.

I  thought I would check out the electoral rolls and post directories to see where everyone (ancestors) were living in early 1900s.  I am curious about a couple of moves:  When George Coleman and family moved from Wyandotte Station to South Townsville, and when/why Abraham Wilson moved from Rockhampton to Townsville in 1901.

1900 was pre-federation, and perhaps only land owners were allowed to vote (as I believe was the case).

Electoral Roll (1900):

Coleman, George:  Freehold Fifth Avenue South Townsville

Parker J. r.o:  Wyandotte Station  (not a relative, just curious who was living there after the Colemans moved from Wyandotte Station  to Townsville)

No Wilson family members listed anywhere in Queensland.

‘Post directory’ 1903: 

– George Coleman  – 5th Avenue South Townsville

– Abraham Wilson – Fairfield Townsville.

Electoral Roll 1903:

Coleman, George – Fifth Avenue Townsville

Coleman, Jane – Fifth Avenue Townsville

Coleman, Emily Jane – Fifth Avenue Townsville

Wilson, Abraham, Fairfield, Stewart Creek

Wilson, Catherine, Fairfield, Stewart Creek.

Possible relative:  Wilson, Roberts, Stewart’s Creek Penal Establishment.

Wilson, Thomas Andrew, ‘Pleystowe’ Walkerston (Herbert division)

Wilson, Fredericka, ‘Pleystowe’ Walkerston (Herbert divison)

Wilson, Ann Eliza (half-sister Catherine):   74 Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley QLD (possible mis-numbering, should have been 714 Brunswick St)

Wilson, Eliza – 716 Brunswick St

Wilson Robert – 714 Brunswick St

Wilson, Walter – 716 Brunswick St.

Note Ann Eliza was not married to Abraham’s brother Robert, but a different Robert who appears coincidentally to have had the same surname (Wilson).   . Ann and Robert possibly had son Walter, who married Eliza.  Or, Ann & Robert had two children Eliza and Walter, who lived next to them in Brunswick St Fortitude Valley.

 

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Smyth Family – Emigration to Australia

John and Isabella Smyth (or Smith), and family, arrived in Townsville 7 November 1882, via an assisted passenger immigration program. The Vessel was Stirlingshire, and it departed Glasgow, Scotland 10 August 1882.

The Smith (or Smyth) family listing in the Passenger list was:

Smith, John – 33 years
Smith, Isabella – 33 years
Smith, Martha – 6 years
Smith Margt (short for Margaret) – 3 years

Smith Annabella – 1 year
Smith, Eliza, Inf.

Mary Jane Smith, future wife of Joseph Raynor, was not yet born.

Review of the passenger list extract states:   ‘Mr Robinson, Townsville, milkman’ – possibly he sponsored the emigration?

Another issue I just noticed – I’ve been wondering how Isabella fared when John died just over a year after arrival in Townsville.  On the passenger list is a family of Simpsons – might be a coincidence – but could the family be related ie. the father (who is listed age 29) -is possibly the brother of Isabella.  I will check this out as a possibility.

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John & Isabella Smyth (nee Shields) – Children

 

 Martha Graham Smith

b.   5 Aug 1875, in Strabane, Tyrone, Ireland

m.  10 Apr 1895, Hugh Alexander (Hughie Shanks)  (QLD Archives B95/001992)

d.   12 Jan 1949   (QLD Archives 1949/000931)

Margaret Smith

b.   11 June 1878, in Knockmoyle, Tyrone, Ireland

m.  30 Oct 1901, John (Jack) Story (QLD Archives 01/002379)

d.  8 Aug 1956 (QLD Archives 1956/B015092)

Isabella Smith (known as Annabella  or Annie) 

b.  1881  (birth place unknown)

m.  5 Jun 1912, Thomas Erskine  (QLD Archives 12/003660)

d.   23 Dec 1937

Eliza Smith

b.  1882  (birth place unknown)

m.  never married

d.   12 Apr 1922

Mary Jane Smith

b.  10 April 1884 (Knapp St, Townsville)

m.  4 Mar 05  Joseph Raynor (St James Cathedral Townsville)

d.   27 Dec 1956 (Townsville)

There were also 2 deceased children – 1 Male, 1 Female

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Joseph Raynor – Siblings

Joseph Raynor

There is also a brother of Joseph as there was a photo taken of them together.  Unsure where the photo was taken, but I suspect it was taken in Australia. I think this because if the photo was taken in Sicily, why did he not also have a photo of his mother?  Also, all my family history research so far shows a pattern of ‘chain emigration’.  This is where one family member emigrates first and then encourages other family members to emigrate to the same location.

Given cost of travel back then, Joseph’s brother might also have emigrated to Australia – it seems unlikely he would come to Australia back then for a holiday.  It is also uncertain whether the brother is a full or half brother (ie. different fathers).