Thomas Worden and Ann Eva
Cornish origins
Thomas Worden was born on 27/6/1835, the son of Thomas Worden and Jane Huntington, who were married in Plymouth St Andrew's on 1/10/1833. Thomas' birth date is given in an obituary (see below), and the date is consistent with his age as recorded in various other places: the 1841 census (taken on June 6th) gives his age as 5, the 1851 census (taken on March 30th) gives his age as 15, and parish register entry for his marriage on 19/12/1854 (see the I.G.I.) gives his age as 19.
Photo by John Reynolds of Padstow
Watch Maker and Photographer
The obituary says that Thomas was born in "the Parish of Indellion", Cornwall, but although the 1841 and 1851 census records show the family living in Endellion, the 1851 record gives Thomas' birth place as Plymouth, Devon. The same record says that Thomas' father, brother (Isaac) and sister (Elizabeth) were all born in Endellion, and surely the fact that Thomas' birthplace is not listed as Endellion can only indicate that indeed he was not born there. I have not obtained any birth record that confirms it, but I am confident that Thomas was born in Plymouth.
Nevertheless, Thomas was baptized in Endellion on 27/2/1837. It is noted in the parish register that Thomas was 20 months old at his baptism; observe that indeed 27/2/1837 is exactly 20 months after 27/6/1835.
Thomas' mother was born in St Germans, Cornwall, the daughter of John Huntington and Elizabeth Pinch. According to an 1841 census record Elizabeth Pinch was born in Cornwall; in fact it seems very likely that she was born in St Kew. However, the origins of John Huntington are unknown to me. Although his wife and his children were all born either in Cornwall or in Devon, it is quite possible that he came from the north of England, where the name Huntington is much commoner than it is in Cornwall and Devon.
Ann Eva was born in Wendron, Cornwall, in 1835, the daughter of Samuel Eva and Elizabeth Caddy, who were married in Wendron on 19/1/1824. The parish register record of her marriage to Thomas provides confirmation that she was born in 1835 (since, like her husband, she was 19 on 19/12/1854), and also confirms that her father's name was Samuel. We can also be confident that her mother's maiden name was Caddy, since one of Ann's brothers was named Richard Caddy Eva.
The censuses of 1841 and 1851 each list two Ann Evas of roughly the right age, but the one that married Thomas Worden was definitely the daughter of a Samuel Eva, and the 1841 census information then identifies her uniquely. The other Ann Eva was aged 6 at the 1841 census. At the time of the 1851 census both Ann Evas had left home and were working as house servants, one at Gweek and one at Higher Scarsick. Their ages are given as 16 and 15 respectively, meaning that the latter is (probably) ours. Both Ann Evas were born in Wendron, as were all other members of our Ann Eva's family, with the exception her youngest brother (Richard Caddy Eva). He was born in Altarnun in about 1846, and the family (without Ann) was living in Altarnun in 1851.
The identity of the lady in the above photo is unknown, although she is believed to be some relative of Thomas or Ann. The photo was taken in Seaton, Devon, and I can only assume that, whoever she was, she had gone to Seaton for a holiday, because I do not believe that Thomas or Ann had any relative who lived in Seaton. It cannot be Thomas' mother, since she died before the autotype photographic process was invented. It could perhaps be Ann's mother, but my best guess is that it is Thomas' mother's sister, Amelia Huntington (who was, I think, wealthier and of higher social status than Ann's mother).
Thomas Worden and Ann Eva were married in Linkinhorne on 19/12/1854. According to the parish register, Thomas was a labourer whose residence was in Endellion. No occupation was given for Ann, whose residence was in Henwood (which is in Linkinhorne parish). It is possible that Ann's parents were living in Henwood at this time. One of the marriage witnesses was Joseph M. Phillips, husband of Ann's elder sister Elizabeth.
Williamstown
Two weeks after their marriage, Thomas and Ann left England for South Australia, sailing on the Hooghly (see the passenger list), which departed Plymouth on 3/1/1855 and arrived at Port Adelaide on 19/4/1855.
Shortly after their arrival in South Australia Thomas and Ann settled in Williamstown, near the southern edge of the Barossa Valley, where they lived for the rest of their lives. Thomas Worden's name appears on electoral rolls for the South Australian district of Barossa in the 1890's and 1900's; his address is given as "near Williamstown" and his occupation as "sawyer". Newspaper extracts reveal that he also contracted for council work, and kept bees.
The
South Australian Advertiser
28/1/1870 |
The
South Australian Advertiser
2/11/1871 |
The
South Australian Advertiser
25/12/1888
Click to display text
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The State Library of South Australia has a photograph showing Ann with five other Williamstown women (Mrs James Wilson, Mrs John Warren, Mrs Albert Gower, Mrs Robert Ross and Mrs Joseph Holmes), workers for the first St Peter's (Williamstown) Church Bazaar, 24 November 1882.
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WILLIAMSTOWN, November 30. A grand bazaar was opened in the council hall on Friday last in aid of St. Peter's Church endowment fund. The usual miscellaneous articles and goods were deposited, including Swiss, Parisian, and Indian goods, and an excellent collection of photographic views of various parts of the colony and neighborhood, taken and presented by Mr. J. Warren. Some good music was discoursed, at intervals. The stalls were presided over by Mesdames Warren, J. Wilson, Worden, A. Gower, Holmes, and Misses Warren (3), Hogarth, Hodgson, Hattam, and others. Over £100 was collected. –Fine rains have fallen since Sunday last, suspending all hay operations. The weather is cloudy and cold. All are busy now cutting and carting. The crops are good. –Our Musical Union are practising for Christmas. |
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According to my notes, Ann Worden died on 15/5/1888; however, it is possible that I transcribed the date incorrectly. I presume she died at home, since the registration record gives the place as "near Williamstown". I do not know where she is buried.
Thomas Worden died on 9/8/1921 and is buried in the Williamstown Cemetery in plot 27. The burial record incorrectly has his name as "Warden", and I did not know about it when I visited the Williamstown Cemetery. I think that either his grave is unmarked or the headstone is illegible; otherwise I would have noticed it.
The following obituary of Thomas Worden appeared in a Gawler local newspaper in 1921:
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The late Mr Thomas Worden, who died in the Hutchinson Hospital
on August 9, was an old and highly respected resident of Williamstown, having lived in
the district since August 1856. He was born in the Parish of Indellion, Bristol Channel,
Cornwall, on June 27, 1835. He was married on 19th December 1854 and
arrived in Australia in the ship named "Hoogley" on April 15, 1855.
Mr. Worden, whose wife predeceased him 35 years ago, leaves four
sons — T. S. H. and E. J. Worden, Williamstown; I. J. E. and A. E. A.
Worden, Victoria; seven daughters — Mesdames G. Wilson, A. Johnson, W. Gower,
S. Hammatt, W. Kennewell (all of Williamstown) and J. Buckley, Mannum,
and P. Howlett, Willaston. There are 45 grandchildren and
19 greatgrandchildren.
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(Believed to be) Thomas Worden
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Ann Worden
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Descendants of Thomas and Ann
I believe that Thomas and Ann had 14 children altogether: the eleven listed in the obituary and three who predeceased their father. I have found South Australian birth registrations for all but one of them. Here is the complete list of their children.
- Thomas Samuel Worden, born 9/3/1856 (in the Adelaide District),
- Isaack Josiah Eva Worden, born 16/8/1857 (Victoria Creek),
- Albert Edward Augustus Worden, probably born in latter half of 1859,
- Eva Jane Amelia Worden, born 18/6/1861 (Victoria Creek),
- Alice Anna Worden, born 28/8/1863 (Victoria Creek),
- Richard Warwick Worden, born 29/8/1865 (Williamstown),
- Ernest Joseph Worden, born 28/6/1867 (Williamstown),
- Edith Adeline Worden, born 5/9/1868 (near Williamstown),
- Elizabeth Cordelia Blanche Worden, born 14/12/1870 (Williamstown),
- Lelia Ethel Caroline Worden, born 18/2/1872 (Williamstown),
- Gertrude Mabel Worden, born 3/4/1874 (near Williamstown),
- Laura Gwendoline Worden, born 16/7/1876 (near Williamstown),
- Ambrosine Adelia Worden, born 5/1/1878 (near Williamstown),
- Geraldine Mildred Worden, born 11/8/1880 (near Williamstown).
What a magnificent collection of given names!
Note that the eldest son was very properly given the names of his grandfathers: Thomas and Samuel. Although the birth registration record only lists two christian names, in fact he had a third: Huntington (his father's mother's maiden name). The second son was apparently named after his father's brother (Isaac) and his mother's uncle (Josiah Eva, who had come to South Australia a few years before Thomas and Ann). The first daughter was given her mother's surname as a christian name; her other two christian names, Jane and Amelia, were the names of Thomas' mother and aunt (his mother's elder sister). Richard and Warwick, the christian names of the third son, had both occurred several times in earlier generations (see the Samuel Worden and Jane Calloway page), and Cordelia and Caroline were also used by earlier generations of Wordens. However, Thomas and Ann apparently exercised originality in coming up with the names Ambrosine, Blanche, Adeline and Adelia.
Two of the daughters died in infancy: Gertrude Mabel Worden died on 29/7/1875, aged 15 months, and Lelia Ethel Caroline Worden died on 24/7/1875, aged 3 years. The others all survived to adulthood, and I have found marriage records for those who remained in South Australia. In some cases I have also found death or burial records.
Isaac J. E. Worden and Albert E. A. Worden
It seems likely that Isaac and Albert went to Victoria in 1886, because the notice below appeared in the "Missing Friends" column of The Argus (a Victorian newspaper) on 14/7/1886.
There were not many Wordens in South Australia at this time, and since we know that I. J. E. Worden went from South Australia to Victoria, I think it is a safe bet that T. J. E. in the notice should have been I. J. E.. Probably someone misread someone else's handwriting. Perhaps even the handwriting was so hard to interpret that something like "I. J. E. Worden and A. E. A. [ditto] (brothers)" was converted to "I. J. E. Worden and A. E. A. Crothers". It would truly have been a remarkable coincidence if a different South Australia Worden with initials similar to I. J. E. travelled to Victoria in the company of a person with initials A. E. A..
Albert Edward Augustus Worden died in the Ancona district of Victoria in 1932, aged 72, and Isaac Josiah Eva Worden died in the Mansfield district of Victoria in 1937, aged 79. The death records say, more precisely, that Albert died on 25/6/1932 in Bonnie Doon, County of Anglesey, Shire of Mansfield, and Isaac died on 27/7/1937 in Bonnie Doon, Mansfield Shire, County of Delatite. This leaves me wondering whether Bonnie Doon straddles two districts, or whether the boundaries changed between 1932 and 1937. But in any case it is clear that the brothers remained in close contact with each other throughout their lives. Neither of them married, and they were both buried in the Bonnie Doon Cemetery.
Albert's death record states that he died of senility and epilepsy, and had no medical attendant in his final illness. The Deputy Coroner, George Redfern J.P., deemed that no inquest was necessary. An inquest was held into Isaac's death, and the Deputy Coroner found that he died of senile decay.
Albert's death record correctly states that he was born in Williamstown South Australia, and his parents were Thomas Worden, a farmer, and Ann Worden née Eva. No doubt Isaac provided this information. By contrast, on Isaac's death record "unknown" is written in the space provided for parents' names, and his birthplace is incorrectly given as "South Africa".
Thomas S. H. Worden
Thomas Samuel Huntington Worden married Harriet Lewis Coombe Pope on 25/1/1894 at St George Church Gawler. The groom was 37 and the bride 26. I know of the following children of this couple: Samuel Thomas Pope Worden (born at Barossa Diggings on 3/10/1894), Harriette Ann Coombe Worden (born at Barossa Diggings on 24/3/1896), Mary Ruth Mildred Worden (born at Barossa Diggings on 30/6/1897), Dora Elizabeth Huntington Warden (born at Barossa on 14/12/1898), Percy Wordan and Roy Wordan (born at Moorook on 22/2/1901, and lived for 1 hour and 8 hours respectively) and Charles Richard Ephram Worden (born at Williamstown on 22/8/1903).
The Advertiser
6/2/1894 |
The Advertiser
16/10/1894 |
Thomas Samuel Huntington Worden died on 6/6/1926, aged 70, and was buried on 8/6/1926 in the Williamstown Public Cemetery. Harriet Lewis Coombe Worden died on 21/9/1948, aged 81, and was buried on 23/9/1948 alongside her husband.
The above photo comes from a collection of family photos belonging to a second cousin of mine. I think the people must be Thomas Samuel Huntington Worden and family, in about 1902 (before the birth of Charles). In the same collection there is also a picture labelled "Tom and Harriet Worden" (shown below) which must be from a much later date.
 
The Advertiser 23/9/1948
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The Advertiser 7/1/1942
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Annie Harriet Coombe Worden did not marry; she died on 1/11/1946, aged 50, and was buried on 3/11/1946, in the Williamstown Cemetery.
The Advertiser 2/11/1946
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The Advertiser 2/11/1946
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Mary Ruth Mildred Worden also did not marry. She got her name in the paper when her house was broken into and property to the value of £12 10s was stolen. An ex-soldier named Edwin William Zucker was convicted of the crime. He said that he was drunk at the time, and claimed to be unable to clearly remember his actions. He made full restitution. The court placed Zucker on a £25 good behaviour bond, one condition being abstinence from alcohol for three years.
Mary Ruth Mildred died on 4/1/1967, and was buried in the Williamstown cemetery.
Dora Elizabeth Huntington Worden married George Robert Jackson at Lyndoch on 3/1/1925.
The Advertiser 6/2/1925
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Samuel Thomas Pope Worden (40) married Ellen Kathleen Williams (28, daughter of Archibald Campbell Williams) at St Matthews Church, Quorn, on 4/5/1935. Samuel and his future parents-in-law had a narrow escape when a train and Samuel's truck had a coming-together at Quorn in April 1935.
Samuel, who was a carrier, had another accident in his lorry in 1941.
Samuel Thomas Pope Worden died in 1973.
Charles Richard Ephram Worden died in a quarrying accident at Quorn on 8/7/1931.
The Advertiser and Register 14/7/1931
The Barrier Miner 16/7/1931
The Advertiser and Register 24/7/1931
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The Advertiser and Register 9/7/1931 |
Eva J. A. Wilson
The Mrs G. Wilson mentioned in Thomas Worden's obituary was Eva Jane Amelia Worden. She married George Wilson, whose father was named James Wilson, on 18/10/1881, at Holy Trinity Church Lyndoch; the bride was 20 and the groom 22.
I know of the following children: Leila Eva Gertrude Wilson (born 28/7/1882), Bernice Eudora Annie Wilson (born 2/10/1883, buried 24/11/1897), George Gerald Wilson (born 21/5/1885, died 30/10/1969, buried at Whyalla), Rupert Eva Wilson (born 31/5/1887, buried 12/9/1955 at Willaston), Ethel Blanche Adelia Wilson (born 6/7/1889), Flora May Amelia Wilson (born 16/9/1891), Thomas James Wilson (born 28/1/1894), Harold Wallace Wilson and Laura Mabel Lilian Wilson (born 18/9/1896), Audrey Beatrice Edith Wilson (born 7/12/1897) and Sydney Arthur Wilson (born 2/4/1902). All the children were born at Williamstown.
Harold Wallace Wilson enlisted in the AIF on 9/3/1916, aged 19 years and 7 months. His service record shows that at the time of his enlistment he was a butcher. He was unmarried. He was 5 feet 3½ inches tall, weighed 112 lbs, of fresh complexion, had blue eyes and brown hair. He served in France from 24/9/1916 to 2/12/1916, when he was killed in action.
I have discovered marriage details only for one of Harold's siblings: his twin sister, Laura Mabel Lilian Wilson, married Vernon Albert Walter Riggs (son of John Andrew Riggs) on 23/2/1921, at St Peters Church Williamstown. The bride was 24 and the groom 26. Laura was buried on 9/5/1949 at Burra.
A 1935 newspaper report of "Back to Williamstown" celebrations (see below) names one of the Williamstown old scholars as Mrs V. Riggs (Laura Wilson). The same report names another of the Williamstown old scholars as Mrs A. Bennett (Ethel Wilson). I have not been able to find out when or where Ethel Wilson and Mr A. Bennett were married, but presumably he was the Andrew George Bennett, husband of Ethel and father of Ron, Rita and Harold, who died at Lyndoch on 24/2/1952, aged 72.
Apparently Leila Eva Gertrude Wilson attempted a career as a teacher. The record of her service reveals that she only lasted six months, and was criticised by the inspector. I expect that she is the Miss L. Wilson named in the "Back to Williamstown" article as a former teacher and as an old scholar. So I presume that she did not marry.
Flora Wilson is also named as one of the "Back to Williamstown" participants; so apparently she too was unmarried in 1935.
A newspaper report reveals that Rupert Eva Wilson was at some time the proprietor of a motor garage, but the business evidently failed, leaving him with debts of some £800 that he could not pay.
George Wilson died at age 74 and was buried on 29/9/1933 in the Williamstown Public Cemetery. Eva Jane Amelia Wilson died at age 79 and was buried on 1/3/1941 alongside George.
Although I have discovered nothing about Thomas, Audrey and Sydney beyond their birth dates, we can deduce from the newspaper notice of George Wilson's death that they were still alive in 1933. Of the eleven children, only Bernice and Harold predeceased their father.
Alice A. Johnson
The Mrs A. Johnson mentioned in Thomas Worden's obituary was Alice Anna Worden. A misprint evidently occurred in the obituary, since her husband's initial was R, not A: Alice married Robert Johnson, whose father was named William Johnson, on 1/10/1884, at St George Church Gawler. The bride was 21 and the groom 23. I know of the following children: Gertrude Muriel Johnson (born at Yatta Creek on 17/7/1885), Charles Johnson (born near Williamstown on 6/7/1887), Vera Ann Eva Johnson (born at Williamstown on 12/7/1889), Alick Johnson (born at Williamstown on 13/9/1892), Irene Adelia Johnson (born at Williamstown on 19/6/1894), Robert Johnson (born at Williamstown on 10/4/1896), Auriol Ruby Johnson (born at Williamstown on 7/7/1898), Francis Laurence Johnson (born at Willaston on 14/1/1902) and James Henry Johnson (born at Rose Park on 16/4/1905).
South Australian marriage records exist for five of the children of Alice and Robert. Gertrude Muriel Johnson (23) married Arthur Samuel Hissey (25, son of Henry Hissey) on 11/12/1908 at the Gumeracha Registry Office; Vera Ann Eva Johnson (22) married Stanley Palmerston Pellew (28, son of William James Pellew) on 20/2/1912 at St Peters Church Williamstown; Auriol Ruby Johnson (25) married Barton Steer (23, son of George Steer) on 7/5/1924 at St Pauls Church Adelaide; Robert Johnson (aged 24) married Mary Pizzo (25, daughter of Dominick Pizzo) at St Josephs Presbytery, Kooringa, on 13/2/1923; Francis Laurence Johnson (aged 24) married Dorcas Eva Higgs (26, daughter of William Higgs) on 4/11/1922 at Methodist Manse Henley Beach. Either Francis lied about his age, or I have committed a transcription error, for Francis would only have been 20 on 4/11/1922.
Irene Adelia Johnson died at Williamstown on 7/6/1897, aged three.
According to their gravestones, Barton Steer died on 17/11/1960, aged 59, and Auriol Ruby Barton-Steer died on 18/8/1982, aged 84. Her last place of residence was Bordertown. It is curious that Auriol adopted the surname "Barton-Steer" in place of simply "Steer". My guess is that she did this after her husband's death, but I do not actually know anything about it. Both Barton Steer and Mrs Barton-Steer are buried in the Mundulla Cemetery, and photographs of the gravestones can be viewed online.
http://www.australiancemeteries.com/sa/tatiara/mundullahs_images/steer_arb.jpg
Alice Anna Johnson died at age 82 and was buried on 5/1/1946 in the Williamstown Cemetery. The stone on her grave also commemorates her daughters Ivy, Gertrude and Vera, indicating that they predeceased their mother. In fact Gertrude Muriel Hissey died on 7/6/1915 and Vera Ann Eva Pellew died on 18/7/1918. It is my guess is that "Ivy" on the gravestone refers to Irene; perhaps she was known as Ivy, or perhaps whoever ordered the stone misremembered the name of the little girl who had died fifty years earlier.
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The Advertiser 8/6/1916
The Advertiser 19/7/1918
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A newspaper notice of the death of Alice Anna Johnson reveals that my information about her progeny is deficient. It lists seven children, three of whom I did not previously know about.
It looks as though this notice lists Alice's children in order from oldest to youngest, but with males before females. It would be possible for the "new" son Ralph to fit in between Vera and Alick; however, a 76 year old Ralph Richard Johnson was buried at Williamstown on 10/8/1963, and this raises the possibility that the Charles born in 1887 came to be called Ralph. If Charles were still alive on 5/1/1946, then his name should have been listed in the death notice along with the names of his siblings; on the other hand, if he were dead then his name should have been included on his mother's gravestone along with the names of his deceased sisters. The same reasoning raises the possibility that James Henry (born 1905) came to be called Walter. I assume that the youngest daughter, Zealia, was born after James; if Walter were also born after James then Alice (born 1863) was quite old when her last child was born.
Sure enough, a Walter Henry James Johnson (24, son of Robert Johnson) married Amelia Pearl Ruby Hinge (18, daughter of Francis Hinge) at the Mundulla Methodist Church on 12/10/1929. And Ralph Charles Johnson (33, son of Robert Johnson) married Mabel Veronica Rita Waye (25, daughter of Edward Gordon Waye) at the C of E Rectory Willunga on 31/10/1923. Although our Charles would have been 36 rather than 33 on this date, we have definitely got the right person, since Mabel Veronica Rita Johnson, who died on 6/4/1978 at the age of 83, is buried in the Williamstown Cemetery in Grave 6 of the WesternQ section, right next to Ralph Richard Johnson, who is in Grave 5.
Zealia Maude Johnson (27, daughter of Robert Johnson) married Bertram Donaldson (37, son of William Donaldson) on 16/4/1927, at Christ Church, North Adelaide.
Robert Johnson (the younger) enlisted in the AIF on 15/8/1917. His service record shows that at the time of his enlistment he was single and was a Blacksmith's Improver. He embarked for England on 17/10/1917 and served in France in 1918 and 1919. He returned to Australia on 22/2/1920, and died in 1954.
Alick Johnson enlisted in the AIF on 2/11/1916. His service record shows that at the time of his enlistment he was single and a Bullock Driver. He embarked for England on 24/1/1917 and was sent to France on 24/9/1917. He was wounded (gassed) in Belgium on 30/10/1917 and returned to England. He went absent without leave in London from 8/2/1818 to 14/3/1818, during which time he got married. He was sentenced (on 17/4/1918) to 90 days detention and forfeiture of pay for the 158 days from 8/2/1918 to the end of his detention. The unserved balance of his detention (namely, 40 days) was remitted when he was sent back to France on 5/6/1918. He was returned to England on 10/4/1919 and returned to Australia, with his wife, on 5/8/1919.
The certificate of Alick's marriage to Ethel Freeman is included with his military record. It shows that she was 21 years old and the daughter of John Freeman, a deceased compositor. Her address prior to marriage was 26 Cromwell Road, South Kensington. Alick died at age 61 and was buried on 2/6/1954 at Williamstown.
Unidentified people
I am hoping that, just maybe, someone out there in internet land might recognize the people in this photo and tell me who they are:
A first guess was that they are the Johnsons, but unfortunately the ages of the children do not appear to be right (unless for this occasion they had traded the three year old Alick for a similarly aged little girl). The second cousin who sent me the photo above also sent me the photo below, on the back of which was written "Grandma's sister Alice?". (Here "Grandma" refers to Edith Adeline Buckley, née Worden, to be discussed below.)
I agree that the women in the two photos do bear a resemblance to one another.
Coincidentally, another relative sent me a photo of an unidentified couple, suggesting that the woman in it looked a lot like Ambrosine Adelia Worden. It was clearly taken in the same studio as the photo above, since the same distinctive chair appears in both. Perhaps the two photos were taken on the same occasion.
The distinctive chair must have been part of the furniture in the studio that P. J. Marchant opened in Gawler in 1895, since a "MARCHANT, Ebenezer Tasman" web page has a picture of Ebb Marchant (born 1887), as a young man, standing next to the same chair.
The unidentified woman's resemblance to Ambrosine Adelia is clear, and they both resemble the possible Alice, but the unidentified man is surely not Ambrosine Adelia's husband. So my guess is that the unidentified woman is another of the (many) sisters.
Alice Anna was 15 years older than her sister Ambrosine Adelia. I conjecture that the woman in unidentified couple photo is one of the sisters in between Alice and Ambrosine.
I now think that the unidentified couple must be James William Gower and Elizabeth Cordelia Blanche Worden. It was a Gower descendant who sent me the photo originally, and I think the man does bear some resemblance to Walter James Gower, son of James and Elizabeth. (See below for a photo of Walter James.) Moreover, I think that the man looks at least ten years older than the woman, and Elizabeth was the only one of the Worden girls to marry a man that much older than herself. And other photos appearing on this page indicate that the man is not George Wilson, Thomas Kennewell or John Stuart Hammat.
Accepting (reluctantly) that the unknown people in the the photo at the top of this box are not Johnsons, I have no idea who they are. Since I received it from a Buckley descendant, it is quite possible that they are related to the Buckleys and not to me. Currently, that is my best guess.
Richard W. Worden
Richard Warwick Worden, son of Thomas Worden, married Emma Ellen Gower, daughter of James Gower, on 3/4/1889, at Lyndoch Church. The bride's age was given as 25 and groom's as 24, although in fact he would have only been 23. There was another connection between the Wordens and the Gowers, because Emma Ellen Gower's brother, James W. Gower, married Richard Warwick Worden's sister, Elizabeth Cordelia Blanche Worden. No doubt Albert Gower, whose wife appears in the church bazaar photograph mentioned above, was part of the same Gower family.
Richard Warwick and Emma Ellen had one son, also named Richard Warwick Worden, who was born at Williamstown on 18/8/1889. Richard Warrick Worden the father died at Williamstown on 4/3/1890, aged 24. By 1902 his widow Emma Ellen had become the de facto wife of Percy Augustus Kennewell, who had a previous wife who was still alive.
Richard Warwick Worden the son enlisted in the AIF on 14/1/1915. At his enlistment Richard Worden gave his age as 25 years and 5 months and his birthplace as Williamstown (both in agreement with the birth registration record). He gave his occupation as drover, and as next of kin he named his mother, Mrs P. A. Kenenwell (sic), of Wolfram Street North Broken Hill.
Richard Worden's service record shows that he served at Gallipoli in October, November and December of 1915. He was in Egypt for most of the rest of the war. The Broken Hill newspaper The Barrier Miner published soldiers' letters home, including one from Corporal R. W. Worden to his mother, which appeared in the issue of 20/8/1916:
Just a line to let you know I am well and doing all right. I feel better than I have been for a long while.
There is not much news to write about here. The weather is hot and dusty sometimes, so you see it is like home in the summer. I could nearly start a shop with all the socks and things sent to me since I left Australia. I went out to the catacombs last Saturday, and had a look at the Kom-el-Shougafa Necropolis (the hill of the Potsherd). The tombs are very old, dating back to the second century, and are dug out of solid rock. You go down a winding stairway with a central shaft to a sort of room, the roof of which is supported by seven pillars of solid rock. There are several tombs where you can see the bones of the kings and queens who are buried, also the kings' horses. There are also some statues of different kings and queens. It is a very interesting place to visit, and I am going there again if I get a chance. On the way out you pass a large column know as Pompey's Pillar (which is supposed to be the burial place of the famous Roman General Pompey, who was vanquished by Julius Caesar). It is 88ft. high, and about 9ft. in diameter at the bottom. There are some very pretty scenes here. One of the prettiest is on tho Mahmoudia Canal, which is used for boat traffic from all parts of Egypt, and is also tho main water supply of the town. I went for a ride on the tram yesterday, right round the town, and it was some ride. Takes about an hour to do it. It would open your eyes to see the fine old buildings, but the dirt is something awful, and nearly makes one sick. If you are making anything I would, rather you sent it to the boys in the trenches than to me, as I can get anything I want while I am here. I will close now with love to all home.
Kind regards to all my friends.
Richard contracted malaria in 1917. He returned to Australia in August 1919, and lived in Broken Hill, where in 1920 he married Clara Bray. Richard died in Broken Hill in 1973; the NSW death record has his full name as Richard Warwick Worden and has the given names of his father and mother as Warwick Richard and Emma Ellen. Richard's wife Clara died in Broken Hill in 1970.
Richard and Clara had three children. Their eldest son, Frederick Warwick Worden, served in WWII. He was 18 years old when he enlisted, but gave 13/3/1919 as his date of birth, pretending to be 20. I suppose that his actual date of birth was 13/3/1921. He died from wounds at Tobruk on 21/6/1941.
The Barrier
Miner 28/6/1941 |
The Barrier
Miner 20/6/1942
The Barrier
Miner 21/6/1945
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Frederick Warwick Worden was evidently known by his second name, Warwick. In The Barrier Miner's "Church Men and Matters" article of 12/12/1936 there is a reference to W. Worden as one of two district court representatives for the Nicholls Street Methodists. So it appears that Richard Warwick Worden was also known as Warwick, as the 15 year old F. W. Worden would surely not have been considered old enough for such a role. Nevertheless, in R. W. Worden's 1915 enlistment application his name is given simply as Richard Worden, and he signed "R. Worden". I shall continue to refer to him as Richard.
The other two children of Richard and Clara were named Ross and Patricia Dawn. I do not know their birth dates. Ross was married on 16/8/1947 to Fay Giles and Pat was married on 5/7/1949 to Owen Fletcher Dowling. Ross and Fay had a daughter named Margaret who was born on 6/4/1954.
The
Barrier Miner 20/1/1947 |
The
Advertiser 11/8/1947 |
The
Barrier Miner 30/4/1952 |
The
Barrier Miner 1/5/1954 |
Percy A. Kennewell, de facto husband of Richard's mother Emma Ellen, had married Amelia Alice Morris on 26/9/1891, and they had a son (Thomas) who was born in 1892. Amelia Alice Kennewell also gave birth to daughters Jane, Lucy and Margaret, in 1895, 1897 and 1899 respectively, but in each case the birth record does not give the father's name. Amelia Alice Kennewell died in 1957. Percy and Emma Ellen had children named Dorothy, Edwin Percy (b. 10/2/1902), Marjorie and Jessie. Percy A. Kennewell died in Broken Hill in 1931, Emma Ellen Kennewell died in Victoria in 1947.
Ernest J. Worden
Ernest Joseph Worden died on 21/8/1951, at age 84, and was buried at Williamstown on 24/8/1951. He is buried alongside his wife, Edith Charlotte Worden, who died on 13/9/1941, at age 61, and was buried at Williamstown on 15/9/1941. Ernest and Edith had married in St Peter's Church, Williamstown, on 13/12/1906; the list of marriages from which I obtained this information gives the bride's name as Edie Charlotte Rice.
A defunct web site called Rice Family History (formerly at http://members.westnet.com.au/amunns/rice/) had some information about Edith Charlotte and her Rice relatives, and gave her name as Charlotte Edith Rice rather than Edith Charlotte Rice. It also gave her birth date as 12/12/1872. This information is corroborated by a RootsWeb WorldConnect Project website called "The ROADS Family of Buckinghamshire, and One-Place-Studies of Waddesdon, Grendon Underwood and Wotton Underwood", which has further information about her ancestors. The Charlotte Edith Rice page of this site also tells us that she was born at Sandy Creek S.A. (which is about 10 kilometres from Williamstown, roughly halfway between Gawler and Lyndoch).
(The Wayback Machine has archived copies of parts of the Rice Family History site.)
Advertiser 15/9/1941
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Advertiser 15/9/1941
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My eldest brother remembers our father saying that he (our father) had an uncle who used to prospect for gold "up around Warren Reservoir". Since Warren Reservoir is near Williamstown – about seven kilometres southeast – I think it likely that this uncle was a Worden. It was probably Ernest Joseph.
I had always believed that Ernest and Charlotte did not have any children. However, a newspaper notice of Ernest Joseph's death reveals that in fact they had a son named Wilton. He must have been born in about 1919, since he gained his qualifying certificate in 1934.
The Advertiser 24/8/1951
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The Advertiser 27/12/1934
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In 1937 there is a reference in The Advertiser to an amateur cyclist from Williamstown named W. Worden. Unless some other unrelated Wordens had moved to Williamstown, this can only be Wilton.
I found a few other references to the cyclist W. Worden, who seems to have been rather successful as a professional. As a keen cyclist myself, I would like to claim him as my relative!
The Advertiser 20/2/1939
The Advertiser 10/1/1947
The Advertiser 9/2/1948
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The Mail 26/2/1944
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I suppose that if you are named Wilton then you might end up being called Bill, if only because people think you are a William. Nevertheless, it seems that Wilton preferred to be called "Tony": the SAGHS database of newspaper death notices shows that Wilton (Tony) Worden died in 1993. Whether or not Tony Worden and Bill Worden of Super Elliotts are the same person is not quite clear.
I found one other mention of W. Worden of Williamstown in The Advertiser: in 1952 there was a grass fire on his property, close to his house.
Edith A. Buckley
The Mrs J. Buckley mentioned in Thomas' obituary was Edith Adeline Worden, who married Franz James Buckley (also called James Frank Buckley) on 12/5/1891 at St Peter's Church Williamstown. The bride was 22 and the groom 28. They had the following children: Rose Dora Ellice Buckley (b. 1/3/1892, Williamstown), Reuben Murray Buckley (b. 19/6/1893, Teal Flat, Hundred of Ridley), Annie Laura Buckley (b. 18/6/1895, Royals Hill, Hundred of Ridley), Frank Charles Buckley (b. 30/11/1896, Hundred of Ridley), Mabel Bernice Irene Buckley (b. 27/5/1898, Hundred of Ridley), Eva Beatrice Buckley (b. 26/10/1899, Hundred of Ridley), Laura Adeline Victoria Buckley (b. 19/1/1901, Mannum), Laurence James Buckley (b. 2/1/1904, Fairview, near Mannum), Gwendoline Zelma Blanche Buckley (b. 16/2/1906, Hundred of Ridley), Robert Norman Buckley (b. 12/8/1907, Mannum), Terence Lionel Keith Buckley (b. 22/2/1909, Mannum), Amy May Buckley (b. 22/6/1911, Mannum) and Ivy Doreen Buckley (whose birth date I do not know).
James Frank and Edith Adeline lived on a farm called "Daisy Dell", 12 miles north of Mannum.
Laura Adeline Victoria Buckley was buried at Mannum on 1/5/1902; she would have been 15 months old. Mabel Bernice Irene Buckley died on 12/12/1898 at Pellaring Flat, aged 6 months, and was buried at Mannum on 15/12/1898.
I found a newspaper announcement of the engagement of Annie L. Buckley to Clarence W. Searle in 1925. I have not discovered whether or not they married.
Rose Dora Ellice Buckley married Roy Whitfield (I do not know when or where). Rose was buried at Mannum on 27/8/1972; Roy was buried at Mannum on 23/10/1976.
I know marriage details for five of the siblings of Annie and Rose: Eva Beatrice Buckley (21) married Lionel Stanley Roy McLaren (24, son of John McLaren) on 9/7/1921 at the Methodist Parsonage Torrensville; Reuben Murray Buckley (25) married Lilian Myrtle Nancarrow (31, daughter of Alfred Nancarrow) on 25/2/1920 at the Baptist Church Coobowie; Robert Norman Buckley married Jean Emily Short (daughter of G. J. Short) at Curramulka in July 1939; Terence Lionel Keith Buckley married Elinor Mary Cook (daughter of W. D. Cook) at Minlaton on 31/3/1940; Ivy Doreen Buckley married Len Aldenhoven (son of E. J. Aldenhoven) at Berri on 12/6/1940.
Ivy died on 30/7/2007, aged 89. She is buried at Centennial Park.
I have seen lists of the children of James Frank and Edith Adeline in a few different places, and none of them include Ivy. But the newspaper report of her marriage to Len Aldenhoven clearly says "youngest daughter of Mrs and the late Mr J. F. Buckley of Mannum", which by itself surely proves that she is who I think she is, and the fact that she had a niece named Whitfield – clearly a daughter of her sister Rose – adds another level of certainty.
The Advertiser 10/7/1940
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The Advertiser 4/4/1941
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Reuben Murray Buckley enlisted in the AIF on 21/1/1916. His service record shows that at the time of his enlistment he was aged 22 years and 6 months, was single and a farmer. His next of kin is named as his mother, Edith Adelaide Buckley, Mannum, South Australia. He was posted to Egypt in August 1916. On 3/12/1917 he was wounded in action, sustaining a gun shot wound to the thigh. He returned to Australia in August 1919, and was discharged on 25/9/1919.
Edith Adeline Buckley was buried at Mannum on 25/3/1954; James Frank Buckley was buried at Mannum on 6/3/1937.
The Advertiser 5/3/1938
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The Advertiser 25/3/1954
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The newspaper death notice for Edith Adeline tells me that her children Frank, Laurence, Gwendoline and Amy were alive on 25/3/1954. So Laura and Mabel were the only two of her thirteen children not to survive into adulthood. But it is very curious that the death notice does not include Ivy's name along with the names of the other ten.
http://www.mid-murray.sa.gov.au/webdata/resources/grave/Buckley__Edith.jpg
Elizabeth C. B. Gower
The Mrs W. Gower mentioned in Thomas' obituary was Elizabeth Cordelia Blanche Worden, who married James William Gower, whose father was named James Gower, at PM Manse, Gawler, on 11/6/1891. The bride's age was given as 21 (a slight overstatement) and the groom's was given as 30. James William must have been known as William, presumably to distinguish him from his father. I think it probable that the "unidentified couple" shown above are in fact William and Elizabeth.
I found birth registration records for two children of William and Elizabeth: Walter James Gower, born at Yatta Creek on 5/8/1891, and Norman Albert Gower, born at Williamstown on 20/4/1893. They also had a third son, Clifford William Gower, who was born on 18th October, 1912. Elizabeth Cordelia Blanche Gower died at age 83, and was buried on 8/11/1954 in the Williamstown Cemetery alongside her husband, who had died two years earlier, aged 92, buried on 19/11/1952.
As mentioned above, it appears that James William Gower was the brother of the Emma Ellen Gower who married Elizabeth's brother Richard.
The Advertiser 19/11/1952
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The Advertiser 7/1/1954
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Newspaper notices show that Norman A. Gower married Ethel M. Patterson, daughter of A. Patterson, on 18th December 1913, at St Peters Church Williamstown, and that they had a daughter named Muriel Lorraine born at Williamstown on 2/5/1917.
The Advertiser 24/1/1916
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The Advertiser 24/5/1917
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Muriel
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On the back of the picture of Muriel is written "To Aunt Ed, from Muriel". Since I received it via a Buckley descendant, "Aunt Ed" must refer to Edith Adeline Buckley.
Norman Albert Gower died at age 65 and was buried at Williamstown on 6/2/1959. Ethel Martha Gower is buried in an adjacent plot: she was 77 when she died and was buried on 8/6/1971.
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James and Elizabeth's son Walter enlisted in the AIF on 16/11/1915. His age at enlistment was given as 24 years and 2 months. He was a Police Constable and unmarried at the time of his enlistment. His war service was spent in Egypt, from April 1916 to November 1917. He was wounded in his left arm in April 1917, and although he returned to active service in August he was admitted to hospital again in September, and then returned to Australia to be discharged. He died on 10/1/1933.
According to South Australian marriage records, Walter James Gower (aged 27) married Mary Louise Baum (31, daughter of August William Baum) on 3/8/1918 at St James Church West Adelaide. A descendant of theirs tells me that Mary was actually named Louise Marie Baum, although she was always known as Mary.
In 1922 Wal built a house at Prospect, which became the family home.
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(It is believed that Wally is the man on the right) | |
The images above are reproduced from a postcard Wally sent to Mary on May 16th 1916. The photo of Mary and Wally shown below is believed to have been taken at Victor Harbour (on Granite Island, I would say, judging from the background). I suppose that it was taken shortly after their marriage.
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Wal's father?
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Mary and Wally had one daughter, Shirley Jean Gower, always known as Jean, who was born on 1/8/1921. Wally died on 10/1/1933, Mary died on 10/12/1970. They are both buried in the North Road Cemetery, Nailsworth.
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The Advertiser 1/1/1946 |
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I am indebted to one of Clifford William Gower's daughters for telling me of Clifford William's existence and passing on the following information about him. He married Gwynneth Doris Clara Hill (of Willaston) on 31 October, 1936, at Methodist Parsonage, Adelaide. They had a son born in 1937, and daughters born in 1939 and 1948. Clifford served in the RAAF from 30/7/1940 until 16/11/1945. He died on 2/8/1988 and is buried at Williamstown. Gwynneth Doris Clara Gower died on 9/8/1975; her ashes are buried with her husband.
Laura G. Hammat
The Mrs S. Hammatt mentioned in Thomas' obituary was Laura Gwendoline Worden, who married John Stuart Hammat, whose father was named William, on 25/4/1899 at the residence of Rev. J. J. Darwin; the bride was 22 and the groom 29. John Stuart Hammat was a teacher, but his teaching service record indicates that he was not a particularly good one. Note that there is a separate teaching service record for John Stuart Hammatt, but surely both records relate to the same person!
Laura and John Stuart had the following children: Laura Florence Hammat (b. 10/12/1899, Petersburg), Annie Eva Hammat (b. 2/9/1901, North Adelaide), Doris Jean Hammat (b. 19/10/1904, Williamstown), William Gordon Hammat (b. 10/12/1906, Gawler), Edna Gwendoline Hammat (b. December 1908, d. 16/8/1918), Howard Hammat (b. 28/3/1911, d. 28/3/1911, Williamstown), John Rutherford Hammat (b. 1/1/1913, North Gawler) and Edith Enid Hammat (b. 29/6/1917, Enfield).
Laura Florence's birthplace, Petersburg, subsequently had its name changed to Peterborough. The web page German placenames in South Australia quotes a 1916 report of a South Australian Government "Nomenclature Committee" as saying
No doubt it was at about this time that Franz Buckley (see above) started calling himself Frank.
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In the picture shown above, the girl on the foal must be Edith Enid Hammat, who was evidently known as Enid. The words "Amy Howlett" written on the back represent someone's incorrect guess as to the identities of the people; however, it must be a Hammat picture, since Enterprise was the name of the Hammat family home, near Williamstown. If the photo were taken near the end of 1919, then Enid would have been about 2 and a half years old, and her mother, Laura Gwendoline, would have been 43.
Presumably the initials A. E. H. in the bottom left corner are those of the sender of the card (which was sent to a Buckley descendant). I guess that A. E. H. stands for Anne Eva Hammat.
Laura F. Hammat
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Laura F. Dunn, September 1928
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Laura Florence Hammat (27) married Bernard Dunn (31, son of William Dunn) on 26/7/1926 at the residence of S. C. Myers at Goodwood Park. Bernard Dunn apparently died less than three years after this marriage, since the widowed Laura Florence Dunn married Harold Gordon Baker (32, son of Alfred Baker) on 18/1/1929 at St Paul's Church Adelaide. Courtesy of the photo shown above I know that Laura and Bernard Dunn had a son: the writing on the back of the photo shown above says "To Aunt Edie with Love and Best Wishes from Laura", to which has been added by another hand "taken Sept 1928, Murton at 15 months". Laura Florence Baker was buried at Williamstown on 12/1/1938.
Anne Eva Hammat (34) married William James Hall (31, son of William Hall) on 11/1/1936 at the Methodist Church, Williamstown. Bill Hall was from Granton, in Tasmania, and Bill and Anne evidently went to live in Tasmania, since Anne died in Hobart in 1945.
The Advertiser 8/8/1945
The Advertiser 1/1/1934
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The Advertiser 8/8/1945
The Advertiser 5/8/1932
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I know of marriages of four of the siblings of Laura and Anne. Doris Jean Hammat (27) married Henry Charles Carman Oates (23, son of John Henry Oates) on 13/8/1932 at the Methodist Church, Williamstown. William Gordon Hammat (21) married Ada Janet Gibbs (22, daughter of Walter Gibbs) on 18/10/1928 at St Michaels Church, Mitcham. John Rutherford Hammat (22) married Mavis Elma Pomeroy (daughter of Richard Pomeroy) on 19/1/1935 at Draper Memorial Church Adelaide. And Edith Enid Hammat (19) married William James Tennant (23, son of Alfred John Tennant) on 30/1/1937 at Maughan Church, Adelaide.
Laura Gwendoline and John Stuart Hammat are buried alongside each other in the Williamstown Cemetery. She was 77 when she died, and was buried on 5/4/1955; he died on 4/12/1950, aged 81, and was buried on 5/12/1950.
Amy A. Howlett
The Mrs P. Howlett mentioned in Thomas' obituary was Ambrosine Adelia Worden, who married Philip John Howlett, son of Michael Howlett, on 14/4/1900, at the Manse, Glenelg. The bride was aged 22 and the groom was aged 26. For more information see the Philip John Howlett and Ambrosine Adelia Worden page.
Note that Mrs Howlett (Amy Worden) is listed as one of the oldest old scholars to participate in the "Back to Williamstown" celebrations.
Geraldine Mildred Kennewell
The Mrs W. Kennewell mentioned in Thomas' obituary was Geraldine Mildred Worden, who married William Thomas Kennewell, son of William Henry Kennewell, at St Peter's Church Williamstown on 10/1/1905. The bride was 24 and the groom 30.
Bill and Mildred
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Leila and Doss
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An Ancestry World Tree Project website called The Cottle Chronicles, which seems to have disappeared, had a Thomas Kennewell page listing the following children of William Thomas and Geraldine Mildred: Leila Enid Geraldine Kennewell (no birth record found), Dorothea Mabel Kennewell (b. 2/2/1913, North Gawler) and Lloyd Elvin Kennewell (born 29/7/1917, Rose Park, died aged 8 weeks). Leila Enid Geraldine Kennewell (19, daughter of William Thomas Kennewell) married Vollrath Ernst Krieg (23, son of Paul Heinrich Krieg) on 19/2/1927, at St Peters Church Williamstown. Ernst and Leila are buried at Willaston: he died on 31/12/1969, aged 66, and she died on 29/6/1983, aged 75. (However, the Online Cemetery Search, which includes Willaston, does not currently find them, for some reason.)
The Advertiser
29/9/1917 |
Geraldine Mildred Kennewell died on 8/9/1941. She and William Thomas Kennewell are both buried in the North Road Cemetery, Nailsworth S. A., and information from a list of the headstones reveals that William Thomas died in 1955.
Further comments
There are several Wordens buried at Willaston, and the burial records held by the South Australian Genealogy and Heraldry Society also include many Wordens. These people were not not necessarily closely related to my Wordens, since one George Worden and family came to South Australia in 1849 on the Samuel Boddington. This family was at St Cleer at the time of the 1841 census, and I have not been able to make any connection between them and my Wordens.
According to Thomas Worden's obituary, 45 of his grandchildren were alive at the time of his death. I do not know the true number, but it seems that 45 is a slight underestimate. According to me, there were at least
- 5 children of TSH Worden (Samuel, Annie, Mary, Dora and Charles),
- 9 children of EJA Wilson (four sons and five daughters alive in 1933),
- 7 children of AA Johnson (Ralph, Alick, Robert, Frank, Walter, Auriol and Zealia),
- 1 child of RW Worden (Richard Warwick)
- 1 child of EJ Worden (Wilton)
- 11 children of EA Buckley (Rosa, Reuben, Annie, Frank, Eva, Laurence, Gwendoline, Robert, Terence, Amy and Ivy),
- 3 children of ECB Gower (Walter, Norman and Clifford),
- 6 children of LG Hammat (Laura, Annie, Jean, Bill, John and Enid),
- 2 children of AA Howlett (Eva and Phil),
- 2 children of GM Kennewell (Leila and Doss),
which makes 47. But I know next to nothing about the 19 greatgrandchildren alive in 1921.
The Kennewells
The Cottle Chronicles website mentioned above had a Thomas Kennewell page listing Percy Augusta Kennewell as one of the children of this Thomas Kennewell and his wife Mary Ann (née Francis). Percy was born on 13/1/1871. Amongst his several siblings was an elder brother Mark Albert Kennewell, born 24/6/1860, who married Dinah Ann Adams. These were the parents of the noted author Myrtle Rose White. The Cottle Chronicles did not know about Myrtle Rose, and listed only seven of the ten children of Mark Albert and Dinah Ann Kennewell. Mark Albert Kennewell was buried on 15/5/1931 at Willaston; Dinah Ann Kennewell was buried on 27/5/1949, also at Willaston.
The Cottle Chronicles included the information that Percy's eldest brother was the William Henry Kennewell who was the father of William Thomas Kennewell, husband of Geraldine Mildred Worden. There is also a RootsWeb WorldConnect Project website called "Kennewell" which has a Thomas Kennewell page with some further information on Thomas Kennewell, his son William Henry, and a grandson named William Charles Kennewell,
Thomas Kennewell, with his parents Richard and Jane and six siblings (Jonathan, Sarah, Richard, Jane, George, James) came to Australia on the Canton in 1846.
