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

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 across a very sad he

Trove Tuesday - The Murder of Patrick McCooey

These articles involve my 5th Great Grandmother Ann Puckeridge (nee Maund) and her son William Puckeridge (my half 4th Great grand Uncle). Ann was born in England and married her first husband Joseph Puckeridge around 1796. There are records of two children being baptised in St Marylebone, Middlesex, England for this couple Sarah (1799-?) and James (1800-?). Their lives took a turn in 1800, when Joseph was sentenced to death for stealing scotch ticking, this sentence was later remitted to transportation for Life. In 1801 Joseph, the convict and Ann his free wife arrived in Australia on board the ship Earl Cornwallis , their English born children's fate is unknown. They went on to have the following children in Australia: William (1802-1877), John (1804-1885), Ann Sawyer nee Puckeridge (1806-1882), Mary Ann (1809-1818), Richard (1812-1881), Joseph (1814-1857) and Henry (1817-1819). Joseph worked as a brickmaker in Australia and died in Sydney in 1818. In 1820 Ann married J

Trove Tuesday - Death of a Centenarian

The year I turned twelve my Great Great Grandmother Flora Ann Worldon nee McDonnell passed away just two months short of her 105th birthday. She was born at the Inn owned by her Father and Uncle at Five Mile Creek, Gundagai in 1875; the ruins of which can be still seen today near the 'Dog on the Tuckerbox' and lived a full and interesting life. Growing up she had always been part of the family folklore. I have always known her to be my oldest ancestor at the time of their death but now it seems that my 5th Great Grandmother Ann Costello nee Hogan at 105 years of age has overtaken her for top ranking. There do seem to be some embellishments and discrepancies in the article however, she had been in Australia for only twenty nine years not over half a century and her immigration files have her birth year c.1798 rather than c.1782 that would be required for her to die in 1887 aged 105, so more research is required for verification of her exact age. Source: DEATH OF A CENT

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