DNA: Exploring AncestryDNA Thrulines

ThruLines® is a tool from AncestryDNA that shows you how you might be related to people with whom you share DNA.

A ThruLine is a hypothetical connection based on information from your family tree that supports a link between your tree and the family tree of the person you match (a match is someone who shares some DNA with you).

For a ThruLine to exist both you and your match need to have a family tree linked to your DNA test. AncestryDNA uses the family tree linked to your test to find people who are in your tree and also in the
trees of your matches.

You can find ThruLines from any page on Ancestry®. Click the DNA tab to start. ThruLines are available for ancestors through to 5th great-grandparents.

Here is a screenshot of my husband Greg’s ThruLines.

We know all of Greg’s great great grandparents, but when it comes to earlier generations there are gaps. ThruLines, using a combination of DNA and family trees, has the potential to help identify some of the ancestors whose name we don’t know. These suggestions are identified in green.

Thomas Harvey, born 1739, has been identified as possibly one of Greg’s fifth great grandfathers.

I select Thomas from the grid on ThruLines. While hovering it shows me there are two DNA matches who are also descended from Thomas. I am invited to evaluate the relationship paths.

One of the matches is a second cousin descended from Greg’s great grandmother Edith Caroline Edwards. The other match is identified as possibly a sixth cousin.

If I click on the green ‘Evaluate’ button beside the name of Thomas Harvey, I see two different sorts of trees to review. One tree is created by the DNA match, but it is a private tree with apparently no records. However, clicking on the private tree I can see that there are in fact 13 records attached. So I can evaluate the possible shared ancestry I have written to the match requesting access to the tree.

There are also 3 other trees with Thomas Harvey, with up to 3 records attached. The researchers have no DNA connection but are researching the same ancestors. Selecting one of the other trees I can see the three attached records and I can review these further. I am also invited to add Thomas to my tree on the basis of the research done by the Ancestry member. I prefer to progress more slowly and to evaluate the records to see if Thomas Harvey is indeed the father of Jane.

ThruLines has given me some hints to work on to go further back on the Harvey line and review the records to see if I can link Greg’s 4th great grandmother Jane Harvey to Thomas and Patience Harvey. The difficulty is that Harvey is not an uncommon surname and Jane is a common forename. It is hard to be certain that Jane Harvey is linked to this family. Parish records in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries are less useful in making connections between the generations. I do not think there are wills available for this family which would help to link the generations.

ThruLines® is a useful tool for suggesting connections between DNA matches and providing hints about possible relationships. However, as with all such hints and clues, the written records must also be assessed to determine if the relationship suggested by the DNA evidence actually holds

WikiTree link for Jane Harvey: Jane (Harvey) Edwards (abt. 1766 – 1842)

Julia Wilkinson née Mainwaring (1857 – 1907)

My second great grand-aunt Julia Mainwaring, the sixth of seven children of Gordon Mainwaring and Mary Mainwaring née Hickey, died in Hambleden, Buckinghamshire on 17 August 1907, 115 years ago tomorrow.

Julia was born on 10 April 1857 in Peachey Belt, South Australia, then a forested area where firewood and fencing material was gathered, now the industrial suburb of Penfield, 35 kilometres north of central Adelaide. The Mainwarings had a farm there, sold in 1859.

FOR SALE, 60 Acres of LAND (Section 4108) in the PEACHEY BELT, and near the thriving township of Penfield. On it is erected a comfortable 5-roomed Dwelling-house, with an Acre of Garden fenced in, and planted with Vines and Fruit Trees adjoining; also a Well of excellent water, Stockyard, Stackyard, &c. It is subdivided into two paddocks of 40 and 20 acres respectively, the larger of which was fallowed last year, and is now under crop. For further particulars, enquire of H. Gilbert, Esq, solicitor, Adelaide; or to Mr. G. Mainwaring, on the premises.

By 1861 the family lived in Ward Street, North Adelaide, later moving to East Terrace opposite the Botanic Gardens. In 1866 they left for England; Julia was nine years old.

In 1871 the family, including Julia, then thirteen, was living at 94 Grosvenor Place Marylebone. The household included 4 live-in servants.

In 1874 Julia was involved in Shakespearean tableaux with her sister Alice. She appeared as Juliet in a ‘Romeo and Juliet’ tableau arranged by Edward Matthew Ward, RA. She also appeared as Anne Page in the ‘Merry Wives of Windsor‘, arranged by the author and journalist Edward Dicey; her character was described by The Times as “arch and pretty”.

Portrait of Julia Mainwaring hanging in the Chinese Room at Whitmore Hall

On 12 July 1875 at St Swithin, London Stone, Julia married John Campbell Wilkinson, a retired naval lieutenant:

From the Morning Post of 14 July 1875:

Wilkinson -Mainwaring. -On the 12th inst., at the parish church, St. Swithin's, by the Rev. Edward Allfrey, John Campbell Wilkinson, lieutenant R. N., youngest son of George Yeldham Wilkinson, Esq., of Tapton, Derbyshire, to Julia, youngest daughter of the late Gordon Mainwaring, Esq. of Whitmore, Staffordshire.

In 1891 Julia and her husband were living in Bryanston Street, Marylebone, with two servants. (I have not been able to find John and Julia Wilkinson on the 1881 census)

In February 1900 John Campbell Wilkinson died at the age of fifty-six He was buried in a grave among those of the Mainwaring family, at All Soul’s cemetery in Kensal Green.

In the 1901 census Julia, possibly on holiday, was recorded as staying at Oriental Place in Brighton.

On 17 August 1907 Julia, fifty years old, died at Combe Cottage, Hambleden in Buckinghamshire and was buried with her family at All Soul’s cemetery in Kensal Green. Her probate records give her usual residence as 55 Connaught Street, Hyde Park, London. She left a will, with the executor her brother-in-law Augustus Frederick Wilkinson.

John and Julia Wilkinson had no children.

RELATED POSTS

• A Quiet Life: Gordon Mainwaring (1817-1872)
• J is for Julia Morris nee Hickey (1817 – 1884)
• Alice Moore née Mainwaring (1852 – 1878)

Wikitree:

• Julia (Mainwaring) Wilkinson (1857 – 1907)
• John Campbell Wilkinson (1844 – 1900)

Alice Moore née Mainwaring (1852 – 1878)

My second great grand aunt Alice Mainwaring was born in Adelaide, South Australia 170 years ago today, on 14 August 1852. Baptised on 14 October at St Andrew’s, Walkerville, she was the fourth of seven children of Gordon Mainwaring and Mary Mainwaring née Hickey.

Portrait of Alice Mainwaring hanging in the Chinese Room at Whitmore Hall

In 1862 Alice’s grandfather Rowland Mainwaring died and her father inherited the family estate of Whitmore in Staffordshire, England.

In April 1863 her sister Emily died aged fourteen, “after a long and most painful illness”. Her oldest sister Ellen was married in February 1865.

On 5 January 1866, when Alice was thirteen years old, she and her family—without Ellen and without her oldest brother who was at school there—sailed for England on the clipper ship “City of Adelaide“. (This ship, which had been launched two years before, is now on display in Port Adelaide. It is said to be the world’s oldest remaining vessel of its type.)

Clipper Ship, City of Adelaide. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

Until their departure for England, the family had been living on East Terrace, opposite the Botanic Gardens. Alice’s maternal aunt Julia Morris was matron of the Adelaide Lunatic Asylum, situated nearby in the grounds of the Gardens.

In January 1866 there was a sale of the ‘superior household goods’ and effects of Gordon Mainwaring who had left the colony which included a pianoforte, a very elegant full drawing room suite in walnut and green damask, tapestry and brussels carpets.

Advertising (1866, January 23). The South Australian Advertiser , p. 4.

The family settled in London in 1869. Whitmore Hall was leased and the family did not move there. The 1871 census has them living at 94 Gloucester Place, Marylebone, not far from Regent’s Park.

94 Gloucester Place, Marylebone, London, W1 from Google maps

Alice’s father died 21 December 1872 and was buried at All Souls Cemetery, Kensal Green.

Alice’s portrait hangs at Whitmore Hall, in the Chinese Room. She was evidently very pretty, and it was hoped that she would marry well. Family stories mention a match with Lord Brooke, heir of the Earl of Warwick, but it is said that she was not considered suitable and that permission to wed was refused.

Alice seems to have moved in artistic circles. ‘Miss Alice Mainwaring of Whitmore’ appeared in a Shakespearean tableau as Portia from the Merchant of Venice. The tableau, arranged by the popular R.A. portraitist James Sant, was one of a series held to raise money for charity.

From the Morning Post 22 April 1876 page 6

On 22 May 1878 Alice Mainwaring married Lieutenant William Boyle Moore of the 37th Regiment at St Mary’s, Bryanston-square, London.

London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; London Church of England Parish Registers; Reference Number: P89/MRY2/080 Retrieved through ancestry.com

On 3 June 1878, less than 2 weeks after her marriage, Alice died at the Queens Hotel in Hastings on her honeymoon. She was only twenty-five. It has been variously suggested that she committed suicide, that she died choking on a fishbone, and that the fishbone story was concocted to hide some other distressing truth. Her death certificate states she died of pleuropneumonia (a severe bacterial infection) after an illness of three days.

Death certificate of Alice Moore

The Queen’s Hotel, Hastings (about 1882). Image from Historical Hastings: Queens Hotel.

The marriage and death notices of Alice Moore née Mainwaring appeared in the same column of the Adelaide Express and Telegraph of 24 July 1878

Alice was buried with her father, at All Souls Cemetery, Kensal Green.

RELATED POSTS

• A Quiet Life: Gordon Mainwaring (1817-1872)
• J is for Julia Morris nee Hickey (1817 – 1884)

• Cavenagh-Mainwaring, Christine and Britton, Heather, (editor.) Whitmore Hall : from 1066 to Waltzing Matilda. Adelaide Peacock Publications, 2013. Page 109.

Wikitree:

• Alice (Mainwaring) Moore (1852 – 1878)

Philip Champion de Crespigny, General Manager of the Bank of Victoria

My great great grandfather Philip Champion de Crespigny (1850 – 1927) was General Manager of the Bank of Victoria.

One of my cousins recently obtained a photograph of the staff of the bank in 1917 from the Historical Services Curator of the National Australia Bank (which was formed by the amalgamation of the Bank of Victoria with the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney in 1927 and the National Bank of Australasia in 1982).

Staff of the Bank of Victoria in 1917

The photo appears to have been taken on the roof of the bank’s head office in Collins Street. There are no names with the photo, but clearly recognisable seated at the centre is Philip Champion de Crespigny.

Philip Champion de Crespigny in 1917

His obituary notice in the Argus (Melbourne), on 12 March 1927, outlines Philip de Crespigny’s banking career:

[Crespigny] joined the service of the Bank of Victoria in June, 1866, as a junior clerk. After spending a few years in country districts in service of the bank he was promoted to the position of manager at Epsom, and he filled a similar position at other country towns. Subsequently he was placed in charge of the South Melbourne branch of the bank. At the end of 1892 he was appointed assistant inspector, and he continued to act in that capacity until 1908, when he took the office of chief inspector. In 1916 he became general manager of the bank in succession to Mr George Stewart.

At the time of his first marriage, to Annie Frances Chauncy in 1877, Philip de Crespigny was the manager of the Bank of Victoria branch at Epsom five miles north-east of Bendigo. His oldest son Philip was born there in 1879. In early 1882 Philip moved from Epsom to Queenscliff, a small town on the Bellarine Peninsula, 30 kilometres south-east of Geelong. The Bank of Victoria was at 76 Hesse Street. Philip’s son, my great grandfather Constantine Trent, was born at Queenscliff in March 1882. Philip’s wife Annie died at Queenscliff in 1883.

In 1886 Philip transferred to be manager of the Elmore branch, forty kilometres northeast of Bendigo. In 1887 he was appointed manager of the South Melbourne branch. In 1888 he became Assistant Inspector of Branches, and was appointed Inspector of Branches in 1908. In 1916 he became the bank’s General Manager.

Another obituary, in the Melbourne Herald of 11 March 1927, notes that Philip was remembered for his “ability as a financial expert [and this] was known throughout Australia. During the war period, he gave his services freely to the Government, his advice having been of the greatest value to the country.”

A 1918 photograph of the Bank of Victoria’s office in Collins Street shows an advertisement for the 7th War loan.

In its half-yearly reports during the war the Bank made mention of employees who had been killed in action or died of wounds.

Philip had six sons of whom the four eldest served in the war and one, Philip, was killed in 1918.

RELATED POSTS

• BRAVE BOY IN SHOOT-OUT WITH BUSHRANGER, LATEST NEWS
• Trove Tuesday: discreditable conduct in church
• Wedding Wednesday: Philip Champion de Crespigny married Annie Frances Chauncy 25 October 1877
• E is for entertainment in Epsom
• Q is for Queenscliff in 1882
• de Crespigny – Beggs 1891 wedding
• The Bank of Victoria in Collins Street
• O is for ‘Ottawa’ Gladstone Parade Elsternwick

Wikitree:

• Philip Champion de Crespigny (1850 – 1927)

Lieutenant John Walker R.N.

On 17 May 1838 at Launceston, Tasmania, one of my fourth great aunts, Theresa Susannah Eunice Snell Chauncy (1807-1876), married John Walker (1796-1855), a retired officer of the Royal Navy. He was forty-two; she was thirty-one.

The Naval Biographical Dictionary compiled in 1849 by William Richard O’Byrne, has a brief account of Walker’s career.

At the age of ten or so, he entered the Royal Navy on 9 May 1806 as a First class volunteer [cadet] on the Swallow sloop (387 tonnes, 121 men) under Captain Alexander Milner. The Swallow patrolled the Channel and the coasts of Spain and Portugal. He attained the rating of midshipman in early 1809.

In August 1809, five months later, he was transferred to HMS Norge, a 74-gun third rate ship of the line. The Norge was commanded as follows:

• 1808 – 1809 Captain Edmund Boger
• 1810 – 1811 Captain John Sprat Rainier
• 1811 Captain William Waller
• 1812 – 1814 Captain Samuel Jackson
• 1814 – 1815 Captain Charles Dashwood

Walker served on the Norge off Lisbon, at the defence of Cadiz, in the Mediterranean, in the North Sea, and on the North American and West India stations. From late 1813 held the rank of Master’s Mate, a midshipman who had passed the exam for Lieutenant, and was eligible for promotion when a vacancy became available. In 1814-15 he took part in the operations against New Orleans. HMS Norge was paid off in August 1815. On leaving the Norge Walker was presented with a commission bearing the date 17 February 1815. He was on half-pay from 1815.

In 1821 the crew of the Norge and other members of an 1814 convoy shared in the distribution of head-money arising from the capture of American gun-boats and sundry bales of cotton. In 1847 the Admiralty issued a clasp (or bar) marked “14 Dec. Boat Service 1814” to survivors of the boat service, including the crew of the Norge, who claimed the clasp to the Naval General Service Medal.

HMS ‘Norge’ (captured from the Danes 1807) off Pendennis Castle. 1811 watercolour by artist W.H.
In the collection of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London Object: PAF5858

When John Walker married Theresa Chauncy on 17 May 1838 in Launceston, Tasmania, the Launceston Advertiser of 24 May 1838 reported:

MARRIED.—At St. John's Church, on the 17th inst., Lieut. JOHN WALKER, R.N., to THERESA, daughter of W.S. CHAUNCY, Esq., of London.

John and Theresa Walker moved to Adelaide, where John Walker carried on business as a general merchant and shipping agent. The Walkers established a farm called Havering on the banks of the River Torrens.

Havering about 1839 pastel on paper by Theresa Walker. Havering was a farm established by the Walkers on the banks of the River Torrens, Adelaide.

John Walker chaired a local landowners meeting and in 1839 the village of Walkerville was named after him.

From The Colonist (Sydney, NSW), Saturday 19 January 1839, page 3:

WALKERVILLE.-At a recent meeting of the proprietors of the preliminary section on the Torrens, immediately adjoining North Adelaide, purchased from Governor Hindmarsh for 1100l,. and now laid out by Messrs, Hindmarsh and Lindsay, surveyors, as a village, containing 100 acre allotments, it was proposed that the name of Walkerville should be given to the property, in compliment to our excellent colonist, Captain Walker, R. N., who is also a considerable proprietor. The proposal was agreed to unanimously; and Walkerville promises speedily to rival Hindmarsh Town, and become the most delightful suburb of Adelaide. Allotments, we are informed, are selling in both villages at from 25l. to 50l. each, according to situation

During the 1840s, John Walker fell victim to overspeculation in land value and a South Australian financial depression. He was imprisoned briefly for debt in 1841. In 1849 he left the colony with wife Theresa to take up a government position in Tasmania.

John Walker painted in 1846 by his sister-in-law Martha Berkeley (Theresa’s sister). The painting is now hanging in the Art Gallery of South Australia.

John Walker died 8 January 1855. From the Hobart Colonial Times of 11 January 1855:

On Monday, the 8th of December, at Government Cottage, Launceston, LIEUT. WALKER, R.N , Port Officer, aged 58 years, deeply lamented by a large circle of friends, whose esteem he had gained by his affability of manner, and his undeviating rectitude in the discharge of his duty The funeral will leave Government Cottage on Wednesday, the 10th instant, at 4 p m. [Should be January but misreported in newspapers.]

From the The Cornwall Chronicle of 10 January 1855 and repeated in the Adelaide Times 27 January 1855 :

DEATH OF LIEUT. JOHN WALKER, R.N.
The death of this gentleman, who was formerly a well known merchant of this city, is thus recorded in the Launceston Cornwall Chronicle of the 10th inst. :—
It is our painful duty to record the death on Monday evening, of Lieutenant John Walker, who for some years past has filled the appointments of Port Officer of Hobart Town, and Harbour Master of this port. Lieutenant Walker, as will be seen by the following extract from O'Byrne, has been on half-pay since 1815. He commanded in the mercantile marine, trading to India and these colonies, until about the year 1839, when he removed to Adelaide, and entered largely into mercantile transactions, in which not being successful he returned to this colony, where he has since been employed in the Port Office department. Lieutenant Walker was of amiable temperament, and accommodating and courteous in the discharge of his official duties. In private life he was the warm hearted friend and excellent companion. He lived respected and died lamented. O'Byrne furnishes the following brief sketch of Lieutenant Walker's naval career :—
WALKER (Lieut. 1815, F-P., 10 ; H-P., 31.) — John Walker, (a) entered the Navy 9th May, 1806, as Fst-cl. Vol. on board the Swallow sloop, Capt. Alex. Milner, employed in the channel, and off the coast of Spain and Portugal. In August, 1809, five months after he had attained the rating of Midshipman, he removed to the Norge, 74; and in that ship commanded by Capts. John Sprat, Rainer, and Chas. Dashwood, he continued to serve off Lisbon, at the defence of Cadiz, in the Mediterranean, and North Sea, and on the North American and West India stations, until August, 1815 —the last 19 months in the capacity of Master's Mate. He took part, in 1814 15, in the operations against New Orleans, including the Battle of Lake Borgne in 1815. On leaving the Norge he was presented with a commission bearing date 17th February, 1815. He has since been on half-pay.

John Walker and his wife had no children, and he appears never to have made a Will. After his death his widow lodged a claim for oustanding half-pay from the navy. She received 28 pounds 5 shillings.

RELATED POST AND FURTHER READING:

• T is for Theresa

• O’Byrne, William R. (1849). “Walker, John (a)” . A Naval Biographical Dictionary. London: John Murray. p. 1239. retrieved through Wikisource.org
• Harrison, Cy. “British Third Rate Ship of the Line ‘Norge’ (1807).” Three Decks – Warships in the Age of Sail, https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=5577
• Wikipedia entry for HMS Norge (1807)

Wikitree:

• John Walker (abt. 1796 – 1855)

Anniversary of the marriage of Philip Crespigny and Charlotte Dana

Today in 1849, 173 years ago, my 3rd great grandparents Philip Robert Champion Crespigny and Charlotte Frances Dana were married at the British Embassy in Paris.

The official residence of the British ambassador to France since 1814 has been the Hôtel de Charost, located at 39 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, just a few doors down from the Élysée Palace. It was built in 1720 and bought by the Duke of Wellington in 1814.

Ambassade du Royaume-Uni à Paris.
Image retrieved from Wikimedia Commons. Photograph by user Chabe01 in 2017. CC-BY-SA-4.0

Hôtel de Charost, residence of the British Ambassador, view from the garden.
Image retrieved from Wikimedia Commons, photographed by user Croquant in 2010 CC BY-SA 3.0

The National Archives of the UK; Kew, Surrey, England; General Register Office: Foreign Registers and Returns; Class: RG 33; Piece: 69 retrieved through ancestry.com

Philip was recorded as bachelor of Boulogne-sur-mer. Charlotte was a spinster of Albrighton in the County of Salop. Her previous marriage had ended in divorce. This was not mentioned on the registration.

The marriage was performed by Archdeacon Michael Keating, witnessed by a Fred Shanney or Channey. I do not know who he was.

Soon after their marriage Philip and Charlotte Crespigny emigrated to Australia.

Charlotte Frances Champion Crespigny née Dana (1820 – 1904) photographed probably in the late 1850s

Philip Robert Champion Crespigny in 1879

Related posts:

• Divorce of John James and Charlotte Frances née Dana
• Australian arrival of the Champion Crespigny family on the ‘Cambodia’ 31 March 1852
• 170 years since the Australian arrival of the Crespigny family on the ‘Cambodia’ 31 March 1852
• Charlotte Frances Champion Crespigny nee Dana (1820-1904) and her family in Australia

Wikitree:

• Philip Robert Champion Crespigny (1817 – 1889)
• Charlotte Frances (Dana) Champion Crespigny (1820 – 1904)

“Pink Hats on Gentle Ladies” Second edition by Vida and Daniel Clift

The second cousin of my grandfather Geoff de Crespigny was Vida Clift née Hopper-Cuthbert (1913 – 2007). She was my second cousin twice removed; our most recent common ancestors were Samuel Proudfoot Hawkins (1819 -1867) and Jeanie Hutcheson (1824 – 1864). Vida’s grandfather was David Hawkins (1858 – 1922). Geoff de Crespigny’s grandmother was Jeanie Hughes née Hawkins (1862 – 1942).

David Hawkins and his family lived in New South Wales. Jeanie Hughes lived in Victoria. I do not know whether my grandfather Geoff ever met his second cousin Vida.

In 1974 Vida Clift compiled a family history, which she called “Pink Hats on Gentle Ladies”. Copies of the manuscript were deposited in the State Library of New South Wales and State Library Victoria.

In the Introduction she wrote:

History requires a considerable amount of time and investigation. As I had neither the time, nor the resources for this research, and had to depend on my very unreliable memory for much of the material, this record is, I considered to be neither complete, nor strictly accurate.

Some of the dates included, are open to question and apologies are made for any errors. 

However, material was obtained from old Parish records, Family Bibles and Birthday Books, old headstones, and printed records in the Public and Mitchell Libraries, Sydney; the National Library, Canberra; and the Archives Office of Tasmania.

Many people, relatives, friends, and even complete strangers assisted me by supplying relevant notes and reminiscences. To all who helped in any way, may I express my sincere gratitude.

Should you feel your family has been overlooked, or scantily recorded, it has not been done so intentionally. It is because the requested information has not been sent to me. In some instances, my requests for information were completely ignored, and I have included only those names and dates which, I believe to be accurate.

Although we appear to have had many distinguished ancestors, we ourselves, are who we are neither better nor worse for those ancestors. Although there may have been an odd scallywag here and there in the many families, I have not found any to include in this record, which I have endeavoured to keep accurate as far as possible. Nor is there anything in this book intended to hurt anyone.

This record has been compiled in the hope that future members of the families will keep it up to date. Some may perhaps research more deeply into the families who came from the Old Country. 

Younger members of the families will have a better opportunity than I will ever have, to go to England, Scotland or Ireland and delve into the past there, where the information should be available.

In 2017 Vida’s son Daniel wrote to me:

I have just been searching through the internet checking on some Hawkins Family history and I came across your details.

I too am a relative of Samuel Proudfoot Hawkins. (A great, great Grandson.)

My mother, (Vida Clift), was a daughter of Jessie Hawkins, whose father was David Hawkins, whose father was Samuel Proudfoot Hawkins.

Mother wrote a very incomplete family history, (Pink Hats on Gentle Ladies), and I am now endeavoring to continue the task, which is a very onerous one!

However, just thought I would drop a line and introduce myself.

We have been in correspondence over the last five years.

Daniel has now produced a second edition of his mother’s book, with corrections and additions. A digital copy is being made available on this website.

Introducing the second edition Daniel writes:

Some additional information and photographs have been added, including scallywags, due to the wonders of the Internet. 

Way back in 1973, mother told us she was going to write a book on our Family and all those individuals associated with our family. 

To be honest, we had no interest at all at the time, and as is often the case, we now wish we had paid more attention to her efforts. My mother, (Vida), and my elder sister Barbara, could remember dates and names of relatives where they lived, who they married, where they were born and died. I do wish I had recorded all that information. 

Now, I am the last one standing, (to quoin a phrase), and as such I am now engrossed in updating the original book and the information mother had gained. 

As is stated in the original edition of her book – ‘Pink Hats on Gentle Ladies’, most of the information was gathered by ‘badgering’ family members and those ‘non’ family members into sharing their knowledge and recollections, searching manually through the Mitchel Library, State Archives, Cemetery and Church records.

Mother painstakingly proceeded to put all the information into some sort of chronological order and then typed the whole document using an old Remington typewriter and foolscap size paper! 

I still have that original document.

After the book was printed, not published in the true sense of the word, copies were sold, mainly to the family and copies found their way into both the Mitchell Library and the State Library in Sydney. A copy has also found its way into the State Library of Victoria!

It is fortunate, one of the family members, a cousin, Barbara Hopper-Cuthbert, retyped the entire document into electronic format, thus enabling me to add information, photographs, and to correct information and explore the internet for much needed dates, particularly on Births, Deaths, and Marriages.

Original photographs were scanned, some were enhanced and have been included in this second edition.

There is, a lot of information that is incorrect, missing, and difficult to find. 

An extensive source of information was gained from the Internet via a ‘web’ of sites dedicated to Family History, and the ability to explore the families of relatives, but, as Mother found, as have I, some questions asked seeking more information, have gone unanswered.

Reformatting the book proved to be far more difficult than I had imagined, asking myself should I change the format, or leave it alone?

I did however where possible, remove a lot of duplicate information and combine it into a single family with reference to the relevant families. Some information is duplicated because it refers to both sides of a family.

A lot of photographs became available from both my mother’s archives and other sources and where appropriate, have been included. I still have a Sea Chest and two filing cabinets full of family history!

Some information has also been included which may, or may not be applicable to the actual family history, but it is included for historical interest. 

I undertook a DNA test through Ancestry, and that has brought the relatives ‘out of the woodwork’, which is much appreciated!

Through Ancestry, I have started a Family Tree, (Daniel Clift Family Tree), hopefully this will be available to anyone looking for information on the Clift side of the family, although it does include quite a few other families, some going back 12 generations.

As some family information is vague, I have removed it altogether. 

.

Pink Hats on Gentle Ladies May 2022 07 29Download

Wikitree: Vida (Hopper-Cuthbert) Clift (1913 – 2007)

Alençon ancestors

Alençon is a town in Lower Normandy on the banks of the Sarthe River, 170 kilometers southwest of Paris.

Old town of Alençon.
Photograph taken in 2011 by David Merrett and retrieved through Flickr (CC BY 2.0).

The Protestant Reformation was preached in the Duchy of Alençon from 1524 and the town became a centre of the reform movement. In 1598, with the Edict of Nantes, King Henry IV gave limited protection to French Protestants (Huguenots), but with its revocation in 1685 by Louis XIV, Huguenots were open to persecution in France. Many left Alençon, emigrating to England, the Netherlands, and the Channel Islands.

Among these were my eighth great grandparents Israel Granger and his wife Marie Granger née Billon, their son René and daughters Marthe and Magdalen.

Israel Granger was an apothecary who had lived in Alençon, on the Rue de Sarthe. He was the son of Pierre Granger , Sieur des Noes, bourgeois of Alençon, and Suzanne Granger née Groustel. Israel was baptised on 4 March 1635. He married Marie Billon on 20 December 1662. Israel and Marie had nine children. Two daughters and one son lived to adulthood.

Israel Granger was prosecuted in 1685 for taking part in an illicit assembly in the woods of la Fuie des Vignes near Alençon. He and his family went to Paris and he was imprisoned for religious reasons. His
property was seized: land called La Bouillière and a house on rue de Sarthe. A decree of the King’s Council of March 20, 1789 (or 1790) ordered the release of these assets in favor of a woman named Marie Victory Jacqueline Duval de la Poterie.

On 14 July 1687 his daughters Magdalen, age 20, Marthe age 21, both of Alençon, made their Reconnaisances at the French Church of the Savoy in London. A Reconnaissance was a recognition of fault in attending a Catholic service and the public avowal of faith on admission to communion.

Savoy Chapel London photographed 2007
Image retrieved from Wikimedia Commons, taken by user Neddyseagoon (CC-BY-2.5)

René, son of Israel Granger, was commissioned as Ensign in the English army 1692, appointed on 25 February 1693 as ensign to Captain Taylor of Sir George St George’s Regiment of Foot. By 1698 he had been promoted to Lieutenant. In August 1699 Lieutenant René Granger, one of the officers of Matthew Bridges’s Regiment of Foot, received 2 shillings when the regiment was disbanded.  (Sir George St George’s Regiment of Foot became Sir Matthew Bridges’s Regiment of Foot when Sir Matthew Bridges became colonel. The regiment eventually became the 17th (Leicestershire) Regiment of Foot). In 1701 René was appointed as an ensign in Sir Matthew Bridges’s Regiment. In October he was appointed quartermaster. On 12 February 1702 he was appointed as Lieutenant to Captain George Withers.

Magdalen married Thomas Champion on 12 February 1695 at St Mary Magdalene, Old Fish Street, City of London. They were both of the parish of St Anne, Westminster. Thomas, later known as Thomas Champion Crespigny, was an officer in the English army.

The Church of Saint Mary Magdalen Old Fish Street from The Churches of London by George Godwin (1839) retrieved through Wikimedia Commons

In January 1697 René, Marthe and Magdalen were mentioned in their father’s will. Israel died in 1700 and the will was proved in 1700 at London.

On 8 July 1699 Marthe married Florand Dauteuil at the French Chapel, Savoy, the Strand, London. They were married by licence issued by the Archbishop of Canterbury on 4 July. Florand Dauteuil was an officer in the English army.

In 1699 René was naturalised. He was stated to have been born at Alanson in Normandy, son of Israell Granger by Mary, his wife. He was attested by Isaac Eyme and John Peter DesBordes.

Mary’s will was drawn up in 1711. Her daughter Marthe had died but Mary left half her estate to Marthe’s three children by Florand D’Auteuil. The other half was left to her daughter Magdalen. René was not mentioned. He presumably had also died before 1711. Mary died in 1713.

Magdalen was widowed in 1712. She and Thomas had six children, two of whom died young. Her relatives by marriage, particularly her brother-in-law Pierre Champion de Crespigny, helped her financially.

Magdalen died in London in 1730.

RELATED POSTS and FURTHER READING:

• Will of Thomas Champion de Crespigny made 1704 probated 1712
• J is for Jedburgh
• F is for fleeing from France
• R is for refugees
• 52 ancestors: Whitehall June 15 1727

• De la Pinsonnais, Amaury. Eléments de la généalogie de La famille Granger sieurs des Nos et de Prefontaine. Amaury de la Pinsonnais, 2005. Retrieved through http://pinsonnais.free.fr/genea/?id=granger.

Wikitree:

• Israel Granger (1635 – 1700)
• Marie (Billon) Granger (1633 – 1712)
• Marthe (Granger) D’Auteuil (1666 – abt. 1708)
• Madeleine (Granger) Champion de Crespigny (1667 – 1730)
• René Granger (1671 – aft. 1702)

Remembering E Walter Hughes (1854 – 1922)

Edward Walter Hughes, my great great grandfather, was born on 11 July 1854 in Noarlunga, South Australia, second of the eight children of Samuel Hughes and Sally Hughes née Plaisted.

On the 11th instant, at Kingston, Noarlunga, Mrs Samuel Hughes, of a son.

South Australian Register 13 July 1854

When he was two years old the family moved to Bendigo in Victoria, where his grandfather Edward Hughes was in the timber business. Samuel Hughes moved to Melbourne with his family where he set up an importing and timber merchant firm with the name ‘Hughes Lord & Co’.

Walter Hughes and his brother John went to school at Scotch College from 1867 – 69. In 1869 the family moved to Mount Gambier, in South Australia, where Samuel again founded a timber business.

In about 1870 Walter joined the National Bank of Australasia in South Australia; he ended up in charge of its Naracoorte branch. He resigned in 1873 when his father Samuel returned to Melbourne to establish Samuel Hughes & Co, Importers and Merchants. At this time, the family lived in Moonee Ponds.

In Melbourne, Walter, then nineteen, joined the Bank of Victoria. He was posted for some time to Dunolly as relieving officer, but by 1882 had returned to Melbourne.

Edward married Jeanie Hawkins in Dunolly on 25 September 1883.

HUGHES—HAWKINS.—On the 25th ult., at the Presbyterian Church, Dunolly by the Rev. J. W. Lawson, brother-in-law of the bride, Edward Walter, eldest son of Samuel Hughes, Tan-y-ffordd, Ascotvale, to Jeanie, youngest daughter of the late S. P. Hawkins, Melville Forest Station, Coleraine.

The Argus 2 October 1883

They had four children, the first two born in Melbourne, the second two in Beaufort, where Walter had been posted by the Bank of Victoria:

• Beatrix 1884–1943
• Reginald Hawkins 1886–1971
• Vyvyan Westbury 1888–1916
• Cedric Stuart Castlereagh 1893–1953

Walter and Jeanie’s four children – Reginald, Beatrix, Cedric and Vyvyan, in 1902

Early April 1916 – (back) Jeanie, Olive Hughes (Chatfield), Vyvyan, Walter (seated) and Beatrix de Crespigny (Hughes); (front) Nancy and Geoffrey de Crespigny

The Bank of Victoria in Beaufort in the 1890s – from Museum Victoria Reg. No: MM 001094

E. W. Hughes

Walter spent thirty-three years working for the Bank of Victoria in Beaufort. Busy in local affairs, he was described on his retirement due to ill-health in 1919 as “one of the most active residents of Beaufort”.

BEAUFORT.
VALEDICTORY.
Over £50 was subscribed for the purpose of making a presentation to Mr E. W. Hughes (for 33 years manager of the Bank of Victoria, Beaufort) prior to his departure for Melbourne. A number of representative citizens met Mr and Mrs Hughes on Monday, and expressed their appreciation of their valuable services to the town and district. On behalf of the people of Beaufort and district, Mr J. R. Wotherspoon presented Mr Hughes with a pigeon blood ruby ring and a purse of sovereigns, and Cr R. A. D. Sinclair (shire president) presented Mrs Hughes with a solid leather travelling bag. Both gentlemen referred in eulogistic terms to the good qualities of Mr and Mrs Hughes as citizens, expressed regret at their departure, and wished them health, prosperity and happiness in the future. Their remarks were endorsed by Messrs E. J. Muntz, G. H. Cougle, and A. L. Wotherspoon. Mr and Mrs Hughes feelingly returned thanks.

The Ballarat Star 23 October 1919

On 2 July 1922 at his home at 19 Oakwood Avenue, Brighton, Walter died at the age of sixty-seven, from diabetes and heart failure. He was buried in Brighton Cemetery.

The remains of Mr. Edward Walter Hughes, 67, who died on Sunday at Oakwood avenue, North Brighton, were interred today in the Church of England portion of the Brighton Cemetery. The Rev. Perry Martin officiated at the graveside. Born in South Australia, Mr. Hughes had lived in Victoria for 50 years. He was manager of the Bank of Victoria at Beaufort for 30 years. He has left a widow, two sons, and a daughter. The funeral arrangements were carried out by Monkhouse and Son.

The Herald (Melbourne, Victoria) 4 July 1922

HUGHES On the 2nd July at his residence, 19 Oakwood Avenue, Brighton. Edward Walter, the beloved husband of Jeanie Hughes, aged 67 years. (Private Interment.)

The Argus 4 July 1922

Mr Edward Walter Hughes died on Sunday at North Brighton. Born in South Australia, Mr Hughes had lived in Victoria for 50 years. He was manager of the Bank of Victoria at Beaufort for 30 years. He has left a widow, two sons, and a daughter.

The Ballarat Star 5 July 1922

Walter Hughes was something of a poet, and some of his verse was published in various newspapers between 1902 and 1916. My cousin Gordon Hughes has compiled a booklet of his poems, “E. W. Hughes’s Poems”, and has kindly given me his permission to attached it here.

Poems – E. Walter HughesDownload

One of his poems was published in the Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News with the remark that “Mr E.W. Hughes, of Beaufort, has followed up his recent successes, by winning the ‘Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News’ first prize of £1 1s for the best verse of eight lines descriptive of Cup Day. He also was placed third in the paper’s competition for best anecdote of a Melbourne or Caulfield Cup day.”

These successes, however, were insufficient foundation for a career as professional poet and, like the Lloyd’s bank-clerk T.S. Eliot, Walter Hughes did not abandon his day job. [It is interesting to note that Eliot had a high opinion of the cultural significance of Derby Day, and horses, though not necessarily thoroughbreds, appear in his verse, among them the famous lonely cab-horse who steams and stamps.]

CUP DAY
'Tis the Melbourne Carnival once again,
and the heart of the sportsman is glad;
Though a stranger would think at the
Flemington show we'd all gone galloping mad.

In the grandstand the shimmer of silk is
seen; on the flat the simmer of fun;
And the "Books" on the Hill, with the
pencil and quill, are laying the "odds" – bar none.

In the saddling paddock, before "The Cup" race,
the "punters" are keen on their "tips",
And wagers are laid in stentorian tones,
and also by feminine lips.

Horses in line—they're off!—and the sheen
of the colours passing the crowded stand
Makes a race to remember—no matter who
wins—the "Gem" of this Southern land.

RELATED POSTS:

• A run on the bank in Beaufort

Wikitree:

• Edward Walter Hughes (1854 – 1922)

Remembering Wentworth Rowland Cavenagh-Mainwaring (1869 – 1933)

Wentworth Rowland Cavenagh-Mainwaring (1869 – 1933), an Adelaide surgeon, was my great grand uncle. He died 89 years ago on 27 June 1933.

He was the fourth of ten children of Wentworth Cavenagh and Ellen Cavenagh née Mainwaring. He was very close to his sister Kathleen, my great grandmother, and her husband, another surgeon, Arthur Murray Cudmore. My grandmother always remembered him fondly and knew him as Uncle Wenty.

Photograph from the Virtual War Memorial of Australia

Following his death the Adelaide newspapers published obituaries and reminiscences.

Obituary in the Adelaide Advertiser of 28 June 1933:

DEATH OF WAR SURGEON
Dr. Cavanagh-Mainwaring's Fine Record
CAREER OF SERVICE
One of Australia's most able war surgeons, Dr. W. R. Cavanagh-Mainwaring, died yesterday at Palmer place, North Adelaide. He was 64 and a bachelor. For about 25 years he was associated with the Adelaide Hospital, and from 1900, until he retired through ill-health about three years ago, had a practice on North terrace. He was one of the most distinguished of the many accomplished old boys of St Peter's College.
Conscientious skill and courage made Dr. Cavanagh-Mainwaring's war record one of many successes. He enlisted 15 days after the declaration of war, and finished his military work in 1919, being one of the few South Australian doctors to go through the whole of the campaign. While on duty he worked untiringly. No situation was too dangerous for him to tackle, and he became so attached to the 3rd Light Horse that he let chances of promotion pass so that he could remain with that unit. At one stage, when he was in hospital with an injured knee, he obtained transport to Cairo in a hospital ship, joined his regiment and went with it on an expedition as a passenger in a transport cart.

At Anzac
When he left South Australia on October 3, 1914, he was regimental medical officer to the 3rd Light Horse, a position he held until October, 1916. With this unit he reached Gallipoli in May, 1915, a few weeks after the landing, and remained until the evacuation. Late in 1916 he became attached to the 2nd Stationary Hospital in Egypt, which was in close touch with fighting at Magdaba and Rafa, and later moved to El Arish, where almost all of the casualties from the first two battles of Gaza were dealt with. From El Arish the 2nd Stationary Hospital was transferred to Moascar, and Dr. Cavanagh-Mainwaring went to the 14th General Hospital, first at Abassia and later at Port Said. In 1918 he returned to South Australia, but after a short leave returned to Egypt. For his work during the Gaza fighting he was mentioned in dispatches. He was also awarded the Order of the White Eagle, a decoration given by Serbia for good work in the common cause to specially chosen men in the service or the Allies. He left Australia with the rank of captain-surgeon, and returned as major-surgeon.

Academic Achievement
Dr. Cavanagh-Mainwaring's academic career was successful from the time he entered St. Peter's College until he earned the degree of F.R.C.S. He won many scholarships at St. Peter's, and passed at the first attempt every examination for which he sat, whether at college or university. His medical studies were begun at the University of Adelaide and finished in London.

He was a son of the late Mr. Wentworth Cavanagh-Mainwaring and Mrs. Cavanagh-Mainwaring, and was born at "Eden Park," Marryatville. Whitmore Hall Staffordshire, England was the property of his parents. It is now held by a brother, Mr. J. G. Cavanagh-Mainwaring. Mrs. A. M. Cudmore, wife of Dr. A. M. Cudmore, of North Adelaide, is a sister.

“Passing By” column from the Adelaide News of 28 June 1933:

Helping the Wounded
FEW men in the 1st Division of the A.I.F. were more loved, I was told today, than Dr. W. R. Cavanagh-Mainwaring, who has just died at the age of 64. Mr. H.M. Bidmeade, who was one of the first men in the British Empire to enlist (he wrote in offering his services in the event of war, on August 3, 1914), was closely associated with Dr Cavenagh-Mainwaring in Gallipoli and Egypt. He told me today that often the doctor, in his eagerness to help the wounded, had to be dragged out of the danger zone. On Gallipoli, when he had established rest bases for his men in one of the gullies, he would never stay with them and rest, but always hurried off to help the other front line doctors with the wounded. It didn't matter what the danger was, he would go anywhere to help the wounded.
Often, so Mr. Bidmeade said, he would be fixing up the wounded before the stretcher bearers arrived to carry them into safety. And whenever he found stretcher-bearers running short of food he would share his superior rations with them.
Saved From Grave
THERE is one man who, has to thank Dr. Cavanagh-Manwaring that he wasn't buried alive. It was at Quinn's Post, on Gallipoli. About 50 dead Australians and Turks were being temporarily buried in a big trench. The burying party was just going to cover up the bodies when Dr. Cavanagh-Mainwaring stopped them. "Take that man out," he said, pointing to an Australian. "I don't think he's dead. He wasn't. The doctor attended to him: and he re-recovered.

From the Adelaide Advertiser of 29 June 1933 page 10:

Out among the People
By Rufus.
Dr. Cavenagh-Mainwaring
YESTERDAY I met dozens of men who expressed regret at the passing of Dr. Cavenagh-Mainwaring. He was known to his friends as "Cavy," and he was loved by all who knew him. Members of the 3rd Light Horse swore by him. One of them said to me, "If ever a man earned the V.C. it was Dr. Mainwaring." A doctor pal of mine who was at the war said to me:—"Cavy should have been knighted for what he did at the war." Mr. Jacobs said:— "Cavy was a splendid character. Although he could express an opinion in a courageous way, I never heard him say a nasty thing about anyone. With all his worth and knowledge of life he was modest almost to a fault. He was first and last an English gentleman." Cavy was a wonderful mixer, and he always had regard for the under dog. In addition to all his other qualifications, he was one of the best bridge players in Adelaide. He was an excellent field shot, and he loved a good race-horse. In recent years he was motored to the races by Joe Netter, who is at present touring the East with Mrs. Netter. Joe and his wife will be sorry to hear of the passing of their old friend.

From the Adelaide Chronicle 13 July 1933:

The "Old Doc" And His Spurs"
ONE of the Old 3rd,' Glenelg, writes: —'Dear Rufus— The passing of Dr. Cavenagh-Mainwaring will be regretted by all members of the old 3rd Light Horse Regiment. He was a lovable old chap, and long hours on duty meant nothing to him. He had a habit of leaving his spurs attached to his boots on retiring, and as he often conducted the 7 a.m. sick parade in his pyjamas, the spurs looked a little out of place, and did not meet with the approval of his batman. As was usually the case with the rigid discipline of the A.I.F., the batman often issued the orders to his superior. In this case (so the story went at the time) the batman was heard to say to the old Doc. one morning. 'Haven't I told you often enough not to wear those damned spurs with your pyjamas?' Doc, rather sheepishly, explained he did not know he had them on, to which the batman replied, 'Well, if you're not more careful in the future I'll hide the cows on you, and you won't have any at all.' This was a great joke among some of the boys."

Wentworth Cavenagh-Mainwaring (right) at Gallipoli with his brother-in-law, Arthur Murray Cudmore, also a surgeon from Adelaide. The seated man is probably Bronte Smeaton, a fellow doctor from Adelaide.

RELATED POSTS:

• Sepia Saturday: First World War faces – Wentworth Rowland Cavenagh-Mainwaring at Gallipoli
• German flag from Fast Hotel Jerusalem

Wikitree:

• Wentworth Rowland (Cavenagh) Cavenagh-Mainwaring (1869 – 1933)