Skip to main content

Trove Tuesday: A Humane Custom

Today's post concerns the wife of my Great Great Uncle Edward Donnelly.  Edward died on the 9th February 1908 (see here for his headstone inscription and photograph) leaving his wife of twelve years Margaret (nee Buckley) a widow with two young children, Sylvester about eleven years old and Frances about nine years old, to raise alone.  I had never heard of this practice until I found this article and I am very glad that she was given an option like this to see her through an extremely difficult time.  Margaret married a Joseph S. Ferguson in 1929 and lived until she was 85 years old (see here for her headstone inscription and photograph).




Source: A Humane Custom. (1908, November 19). Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative (NSW : 1890 - 1954), p. 14. Retrieved October 14, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article157664199

Transcript:
A Human Custom.


Mrs. E. Donnelly (daughter of Mr. Luckie, of Mundooran, and widow of the late Mr. Edward Donnelly, who was for many years teacher of the Mundooran public school) has been temporarily employed as assistant sewing mistress of the Mudgee District School.  When a suitable vacancy occurs Mrs. Donnelly will be permanently employed by the Department.  Under the regime of the late Mr. J.C. Maynard, Under-Secretary for Public Instruction, it was established as an unwritten law - a most humane law - of the Department that, provided the widows of deceased teachers possessed the necessary qualifications, positions as sewing mistresses would be found for them when practicable.

More posts on this family can be found here and here.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Kendall Children.

I started this post a while ago and was going to finally finish and post it yesterday however our four grandchildren came over and I got sidetracked.  Our grandchildren range in age now from six down to one;  they are so full of life (each of them lights up a room when they enter it) and we feel extremely blessed to have them in our lives.  After spending the afternoon researching this post, their arrival made this tragedy even more poignant for me and so I appreciated their company even more than usual and hugged them a bit tighter too!  This morning I woke up to a cold, wet and windy Wagga day and the thought of three little girls out in August weather like this, in light weight dresses with no shoes or jumpers impacted on me even more. Those poor babies! One of the girls was found still clasping her doll that she had carried with her over the whole tragic journey. When my husband and I were looking around the Wagga Wagga Monumental Cemetery some time ago we came a...

Sunday's Obituary - Honorah Quirk nee Costello (1815-1897)

Honorah Quirk (nee Costello) is my 4th Great Grandmother and is the subject of today's Obituary posting.  Born in Tipperary, Ireland the daughter of Michael Costello and Ann Hogan she came to Australia in 1841 on board the ship Gilbert Henderson with her husband Michael Quirk. Michael died on the 26th of October 1886 and Honorah on the 3rd of January 1897, both are buried at Wagragobilly cemetery. Source: DEATH OF MRS. MICHAEL QUIRK. (1897, January 22). The Burrowa News (NSW : 1874 - 1951), p. 1. Retrieved July 28, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article104853019 Transcript: DEATH OF MRS. MICHAEL QUIRK. IT is with regret we (Gundagai Times) record the death of Mrs. Michael Quirk, at the advanced age of 87 years.  She had been a victim to paralysis for some months and succumbed to a change for the worse at noon on Sunday last, surrounded by her dearest friends and relatives.  The funeral, which took place on Monday, was one of the largest and mos...

Thursday’s Titbit: From Liverpool to Quebec

 In a recent post I was finally able to reveal my husbands Martin family connection with Canada (see here ),   My husbands great grandfather William Martin, his first wife Mary (nee Adams) and their children James, Alexander and Margaret departed Liverpool, England and arrived in Quebec, Canada on the ship Brooklyn on the first of October 1879. Canada, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1865 - 1935 Name Birth Year Arrival Date Arrival Port Departure Port Vessel Maggie Martin 1 Oct 1879 Quebec, Quebec, Canada Liverpool, England Brooklyn Mrs Martin abt 1855 1 Oct 1879 Quebec, Quebec, Canada Liverpool, England Brooklyn James Martin abt 1877 1 Oct 1879 Quebec, Quebec, Canada Liverpool, England Brooklyn Alex Martin abt 1878 1 Oct 1879 Quebec, Quebec, Canada Liverpool, England Brooklyn Wm Martin abt 1855 1 Oct 1879 Quebec, Quebec, Canada Liverpool, England Brooklyn Source: Passenger listings for Martin. Canada, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1865 - 1935.  Retrieved from  Ancestry.com Af...