The descendants of Thomas Black

Family Member Details:

Family Stories

George BLACK (b 10 Nov 1852), my grandfather, was the fifth born child of Thomas Edward BLACK and Mary Ann STAINSBY. They were married on 1 May 1843 at All Saints Church, Marlyebone, London. They had six other children:

Mary BLACK (b 15 Aug 1844)

William BLACK (1847-1851)

Edward Thomas BLACK (b 2 May 1847)

Thomas BLACK (1850-1851)

William BLACK (b 1857)

Walter BLACK (b 7 Aug 1859)

Arthur Stainsby BLACK (b 31 Dec 1862)

George BLACK had two marriages:

1. To Elizabeth REGAN (b 5 Jun 1848, m 1 Jun 1873, d 5 Feb 1886) – from this union there were three children:

Elizabeth Louise BLACK (b 21 Jul 1874, d 23 Oct 1947)

George BLACK (b 10 Jun 1880, d 3 Jan 1966)

Alice BLACK (b 7 Sep 1882, d 30 Nov 1960)

Elizabeth Louise married Charles BALMAIN 15 Sep 1897 – no issue

George married Susan (?) (d 22 Oct 1954) – no issue

Alice BLACK did not marry.

2. To Helena GUNN (b 16 Sep 1864, d 3 Feb 1935) – from this union there were nine children.   These are listed below as the grand children of Thomas BLACK. 

Helena GUNN’s parents, Jessie Ellis GUNN and Harriet Ann KEARLEY, together with nine of their 10 children migrated to Australia in 1888 and 1889.   Their story is told in the Jessie Ellis GUNN link on this web site. 

Other migrations followed:  Helena’s granddaughter, Mignon MARISINI, m Roy ATKINSON 29 Oct 1945, daughter of Edith BLACK, migrated to Australia in 1949;  and, Helena’s son Francis Edward BLACK, migrated to Australia in 1953 with his family.  

Further Family Stories

After their marriage in Holland in 1936, my parents (Francis Edward BLACK and Marianne Aquinea VAN DE ZANDT) lived in Highbury, Islington, London in the family home at Framfield Road. My sister was born in 1937 and I came along in 1939, just a few months before the outbreak of WWII. My mother contracted TB shortly after I was born and I was placed in an orphanage run by the Sisters of Charity. My sister and I were evacuated out of London to Croft Castle in Hereford during the war. My father was in the ARP during the war - exempt from military service because of his specialised occupation as an Industrial Chemist, but he still saw a lot of action with the bombing of London. I attended boarding school at St Josephs Salesian School, Burwash and the Salesian College Farnborough and my sister, Helen, attended Our Lady of Mercy School, Eden Grove, London.

With other relatives (the cousins Mignon and Roy ATKINSON),who had migrated to Australia in 1949, telling us what a wonderful place Australia was, and because of my mother's ill-health, we decided to migrate to Australia in 1953. We travelled on the SS Maloja on its last voyage - a slow voyage plagued with mechanical problems and long delays. The journey took about six weeks which was long even for those times. It was worth the long delays however when we saw Sydney Harbour and the Bridge at daybreak - a memorable occasion in our lives and the start of our new lives in Australia.

On our arrival in Sydney we lived at Toongabbie with our sponsors, the Latham family - three families in one house and I slept on the veranda!  Shortly after our arrival, my father purchased a block of land in the area and arranged for a builder to commence building our new home. Unfortunately, despite all legal precautions, the builder absconded to Queensland with a large amount of our money - a disheartening introduction to Australia and to the disparate State legal systems. Despite this setback we eventually moved up to Bullaburra in the Blue Mountains where, in due course, we purchased our new home in Noble Street.

My parents lived in this house for the rest of their lives and they are both buried at the Wentworth Falls Cemetery.

My father commuted to Sydney on the steam train known as "The Fish". He worked for Johnson Matthey/Matthey Garrett (precious metal refiners) in Surrey Hills as an Industrial Chemist. My sister, Helen, and I, also commuted to Parramatta where Helen completed her Leaving Certificate at Our Lady of Mercy College and I attended Marist Brothers College for a short time before moving to Katoomba High School.

Helen went on to marry Philip HUTSON in 1961 and they had three daughters. After Philip died in 1967, Helen attended Teachers College and became a Primary School teacher, a career which she followed until her retirement in 1993.

After leaving school in 1954 I worked for B.G. Lambert, Timber/Hardware Merchants, Leura as a Tally Clerk. From there I moved on to work for the NSW Government Railway as a Relief Station Assistant working the western line from Penrith to Mount Victoria. After completing a Signalman's Course at Lithgow, I took up a position at Newbridge, near Blayney, where I worked for 2 ½ years.

On 11 October 1960 I joined the Royal Australian Air Force as a Clerk. This led me to a 25 year very interesting career in the RAAF where I reached the rank of Squadron Leader, retiring in 1985 to commence a fulltime Bachelor of Business Studies course at Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga. After moving to Canberra in 1991, Norma, my wife, worked as a Medical Secretary in the Cardiology Department, The Canberra Hospital and myself as an Archives Officer with the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations. In 2003 we both retired and moved to the "Sunshine State".    Some four years later we returned to Canberra.

I met Norma Nash in 1965 and we married at St Johns Church, Reid, Canberra on 30 April 1966. We had three children - Philip, Fiona and Naomi. Fiona and Naomi went on to obtain Bachelor degrees with Fiona obtaining her PhD in 2001 from Sydney University. Naomi has also completed her Masters in Arts Administration from Adelaide University.  

Just a few words on Helena Black’s (Gunn) other children (ie, my Aunts and Uncles).   Hilda became a Mother Superior with the Sisters of Charity – last position that I am aware of was at a girls reformatory at St Helens, Liverpool, UK.   Minnie had a life-long career in Optometry working for Newbolds, London and Maud was still alive, living in the family home when we visited London in 1974.   Minnie and Maud did not marry.   Arthur worked for Johnson Matthey in London for all his working life as an electrician.   His daughter, Brenda SELINE (BLACK), married an executive of one of the oil companies and had some very interesting postings – Tripoli in Libya, Medan in Indonesia.   They had no children and Brenda was living in Malaga, Spain, until her death in 2015.   The house in London was sold when Maud died and the proceeds divided between Brenda, Mignon, Helen and myself where we each received $4,500 AU.    The house was sold in 2007 for 1.25 million pounds!!

In Oct 2019 I made contact with Ian Black in England, whose name appeared as a close relative on my Ancestry DNA report. In reply, to quote Ian Black - "I wasn't aware I had any Aus relatives on the Black side!". My records were similar. I had no idea that George Black and Arthur Stainsby Black had further siblings with descendants. Somehow my uncle Arthur Ellis Black, who encouraged me on this genealogy road trip, did not relate information on George Black's siblings. I'm not sure if this was intentional - a possible schism in the family? It is relevant that the first entry in the Family Bible is George Black's birth on 10 Nov 1852 and his first marriage to Elizabeth Regan on 1 Jun 1873.

The following records of descendants of Thomas Black have been amended to include information provided by Ian Black

Family Contact

Surname: BLACK
Given Name(s):  Martin
Email: mnoir@tpg.com.au

Descendants

Children

BLACK, Mary (1) BLACK, William (2) BLACK, Thomas Edward (3)

BLACK, Thomas (4) BLACK, George (5) BLACK, William (6)

BLACK, Walter (7) BLACK, Arthur Stainsby (8)

Grandchildren

BLACK, Rosina (3A) BLACK, Mary Ann (3B) BLACK, Thomas Edward (3C)

BLACK, William (3D) BLACK, Arthur (3E) BLACK, Eliza (3F )

BLACK, Elizabeth L. (5A) BLACK, George (5B) BLACK, Alice (5C)

BLACK, Helena (5D) BLACK, Edith (5E) BLACK, William (5F)

BLACK, Maud (5G) BLACK, Minnie (5H) BLACK, Millicent (5I)

BLACK, Hilda (5J) BLACK, Arthur (5K) BLACK, Francis E. (5L)

BLACK, Ethel N. (6A) BLACK, Elsie M. (6B)BLACK, Stanley W. (6C)

BLACK, Margery (8A)

Great Grandchildren

PULLEN, Rose M. (3A1) PULLEN, William H. (3A2)

BLACK, Norman (3D1)

BLACK, Frederick G. (3E1)

MARISINI, Mignon L. (5E1)

BLACK, Brenda E. (5K1) and (8A1)

BLACK, Helen M. (5L1) BLACK, Martin G.F. (5L2)

Great Great Grandchildren

BLACK, Ian N. (3D1A) BLACK, Fiona M. (3D1B)

ATKINSON, Pauline (5E1A) ATKINSON, Christopher (5E1B)

HUTSON, Yvonne (5L1A) HUTSON, Elaine (5L1B) HUTSON, Philippa (5L1C)

BLACK, Philip (5L2A) BLACK, Fiona H. (5L2B) BLACK, Naomi J. (5L2C)

Great Great Great Grandchildren

LYNCH, Ellen (5L1A1) LYNCH, William (5L1A2)

HUTSON, Moana (5L1C1) HUTSON, Tess (5L1C2)

MORRIS-BLACK, Maddison (5L2A1)

SPENCER, Phoebe (5L2B1) SPENCER, Joshua (5L2B2)

JONES, Lennon (5L2C1) JONES, Harley (5L2C2)

This family information was last updated by Martin BLACK on 20 September 2020