The Beggs family on the SS Great Britain passenger list in 1868

Image of the SS Great Britain from Great Great Aunt Rose’s photograph album

A few days ago, when I was researching the Beggs family voyage to Australia—on the SS Great Britain in 1868—I couldn’t find them on the passenger list.

I believed—mistakenly, as it turned out—that first-class passengers, paying their own way, and so not registered as assisted immigrants, were listed separately or not at all.

The explanation is simpler. The clerk or clerks responsible for compiling the passenger list wrote the surname ‘Beggs’ as ‘Briggs’. They were described as ‘English’ not ‘Irish’ or ‘Australian’, and Frank Beggs, a boy of 18, became a young lady of 18.

A very helpful collections officer of the SS Great Britain Trust pointed me to the correct entries on the passenger list. Mis-spellings were quite common, she said.

from Public Record Office Victoria; North Melbourne, Victoria; Inward Overseas Passenger Lists (British Ports) [Microfiche Copy of VPRS 947]; Series: VPRS 7666 Images 122 and 130

The Beggs family, despite the clerical error of the surname and Frank’s gender-reassignment, is obviously the list’s Briggs family. The combination of names and ages completely matches the Beggs family and their 9 children.

As for their nationality, the passenger list has provision for English, Scotch, Irish, or other countries. Frank Beggs senior and his wife Maria were born in Ireland but had emigrated to Australia in 1849, nearly twenty years previously. Their children, except the youngest, Gertrude, were born in Australia. Even so, it would have been unusual at the time to describe them as Australian: they were British or—stretching it a little—English.

The passenger list has the port of embarkation Liverpool and date of departure 8 July 1868. There were 612 on board of whom 72 were saloon passengers including the Briggs family. The Briggs were described as English and were contracted to land at Melbourne

• Mr F Briggs adult profession, occupation, or calling of passenger: Gentleman
• Mrs Briggs adult Lady
• Fras Briggs 18 female Lady
• Elizth Briggs 16 female Lady
• Charlotte Briggs 14 female Lady
• Maria Briggs 11 female child
• Clamina Briggs 10 female child
• Theodore Briggs 8 male child
• Robt Briggs 6 male child
• Hugh Briggs 4 male child
• Gertrude Briggs 2 female child

There appears to be no nurse or governess travelling with the Beggs family in the saloon.

RELATED POSTS:

• Beggs family visit to Ireland
• Photograph albums from great great aunt Rose

Wikitree:

• Francis Beggs (1812 – 1880)
• Maria Lucinda (White) Beggs (1826 – 1914)
• Their children:
  • Francis Beggs (1851 – 1921) (Great great Aunt Rose’s husband)
  • Elizabeth Persse Beggs (1853 – 1908)
  • Charlotte (Beggs) McKissock (1855 – 1898) twin of Gertrude
    • Gertrude Beggs (1855 – 1859) died as a young child before the visit to Ireland
  • Maria Beggs (1856 – 1902)
  • Clamina Jane Lyons (Beggs) Davidson (1858 – 1904)
  • Theodore Beggs (1859 – 1940)
  • Robert Gottlieb Beggs (1861 – 1939)
  • Hugh Norman Beggs (1863 – 1943)
  • Gertrude Dorothea (Beggs) White (1866 – 1943) born in Ireland while the family was away from Australia

Beggs family visit to Ireland

On the reverse of the picture, which is the size of a carte de visite or visiting card, is a plan; the cabins occupied by the Beggs family appear to be indicated with red ticks.

My great-great Aunt Rose’s photograph album consists mostly of portraits of members of her family, but it does include one picture of a ship, Brunel’s SS Great Britain. This has the caption:

S.S. Great Britain 1868
September 1868. We all returned from Ireland in the Great Britain.

The ‘we’ is the Beggs family; the caption was probably inserted by Rose’s husband Frank Beggs, a boy of seventeen at the time of their long journey back to Australia.

From the Geelong Advertiser, Tuesday 8 September 1868, page 2:

The following old colonists, late residents in Geelong and the "Western District, returned to the colony by the steamer Great Britain;—Hon. Niel Black, of Glenormiston, Mrs Black, Masters Archibald, Stewart and Niel Black, and servant; Mr and Mrs F. Beggs, of Beaufort, Misses Elizabeth, Charlotte, Maria, Clamma, Gertrude, Masters F., H., R. and J. Beggs; Mr. and Mrs D. Stead, of Ballan; Mr Robert Richardson, formerly Inspector of Police, Geelong; Mr Fairfax Fenwick, of Chevy; Mr Alex. Hunter, and Mr George Staveley of Geelong, also Master E. G. Staveley.

The SS Great Britain was a steamship designed by the famous Victorian-era engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Launched in 1845, until 1854 she was the largest passenger ship in the world. The Great Britain made her first voyage to Australia in 1852 and operated on the England–Australia route for almost 30 years. Still afloat, she is now part of a Bristol maritime museum. (The Great Britain was not Brunel’s famous SS Great Eastern, a different vessel.)

The Beggs family left Australia for Southampton on 26 January 1865 on the ‘Bombay‘, a steamship of 608 tons. The passenger list includes Mr and Mrs Beggs, a daughter and son aged over twelve years old, three daughters aged between one and twelve, two sons aged between one and twelve, one infant daughter: eight children altogether.

In 1866 the Beggs’s youngest child, Gertude, was born in Ireland during their stay there.

The photograph album contains many portraits of the Beggs’s relatives and friends from Ireland, presumably people Frank Beggs and his family met at the time of their 1860s visit.

Related posts:

• Photograph albums from great great aunt Rose
• 13 minute video of the ship https://youtu.be/TWrENdIu7mE

Wikitree:

• Francis Beggs (1851 – 1921) (Great great Aunt Rose’s husband)
• His parents:
  • Francis Beggs (1812 – 1880)
  • Maria Lucinda (White) Beggs (1826 – 1914)
• His siblings
  • Elizabeth Persse Beggs (~1853 – 1908)
  • Charlotte (Beggs) McKissock (1855 – 1898) twin of Gertrude
  • Gertrude Beggs (1855 – 1859) died as a young child before the visit to Ireland
  • Maria Beggs (1856 – 1902)
  • Clamina Jane Lyons (Beggs) Davidson (1858 – 1904)
  • Theodore Beggs (1859 – 1940)
  • Robert Gottlieb Beggs (1861 – 1939)
  • Hugh Norman Beggs (1863 – 1943)
  • Gertrude Dorothea (Beggs) White (1866 – 1943) born in Ireland while the family was away from Australia

Hugh Lyons Montgomery Beggs (1815 – 1885)

My great great aunt Rose’s photograph album has a picture of Hugh Beggs (1815 – 1885), her husband’s uncle.

Hugh Lyons Montgomery Beggs was born 15 June 1815 in County Dublin, Ireland, fifth son of a Linen Hall linen-factor (dealer, chapman) named Francis Beggs (1766 – 1839), of The Grange, Portmarnock, Dublin, and his second wife Clamina Lyons née Montgomery (1786 – 1821).

Hugh’s brothers Francis, George, and his sister Sophia, emigrated to Victoria, Australia, on the Statesman, arriving in March 1850.

Hugh followed his brothers and sister three years later on the Africa, arriving in Melbourne on 16 April 1853.

In that year, Hugh Beggs, in partnership with a man called Precious Willan (1812 – 1900), purchased the Bushy Creek property of John Kidd, near Glenthompson in Western Victoria.

In 1860 Beggs bought out his partner and expanded the property from 8,000 to 14,700 acres. Bushy Creek remained in the Beggs family for 125 years. 

On 27 April 1853, shortly after his arrival, Hugh, then thirty-eight years old, married Elizabeth Smith (c. 1830 – 1864), twenty three, in St James’s Church, Melbourne.

At St. James's Church, Melbourne, on the 27th inst., by the Rev. George Studdart, Hugh Lyons Montgomery Beggs, Esq., of Malahide, County Dublin, to Elizabeth Smith, second daughter of Richard Horner Smith, Esq., late of Tullaghcop, County Meath, Ireland.

They had five children:

• Catherine Beggs (1854 – 1939)
• Rose Ann (Beggs) Wood (1856-1932)
• Francis Beggs (1858 – 1919)
• Jane Frances (Beggs) Dodds (1860 – 1934)
• Martha Florence Beggs (1864 – 1867)

Elizabeth died at the age of thirty-four on 1 August 1864 at Bushy Creek, two months after the birth of her daughter Martha.

The following year on 23 Mar 1865 at Bushy Creek Hugh married again, at Bushy Creek, to Lavinia Mary Eugenia Heney (c. 1839 – 1925). She was twenty-five; he was forty-nine.

BEGGS—HENEY.—On the 23rd March, at his residence, Bushy Creek station, Wickliffe, by the Rev. David Kaye, Hugh Lyons Montgomery Beggs, Esq., to Lavinia Mary Eugenia, fourth daughter of the late William Godwin Heney, Esq., of Dublin.

They had six children:

• Sophia Beggs (1866 – 1866)
• Lavinia Beggs (1868 – 1869)
• Sophia Montgomery Grattan (Beggs) Champion de Crespigny (1870 – 1936)
• Hugh Lyons Montgomery Beggs (~1872 – 1949)
• Matilda Cairns Beggs (1876 – 1969)
• William Goodwin Beggs (1878 – 1957)

Hugh Beggs died on 13 November 1885 at the age of seventy at Bushy Creek and was buried in the cemetery there.

BEGGS.—On the 13th inst., at his residence, Bushy Creek, Glenthompson, Hugh Lyons Montgomery Beggs, aged 70, fifth son of the late Francis Beggs, The Grange, Portmarnock, Co. Dublin, Ireland.

Hugh Begg’s daughter Sophia was the second wife of my great great grandfather Philip de Crespigny (the bank manager).

Related posts:

• Photograph albums from great great aunt Rose
• Catherine Beggs (1854 – 1939) (Hugh’s oldest daughter)
• de Crespigny – Beggs 1891 wedding (the marriage of Hugh’s daughter Sophia)

See also: Bushy Creek, Victoria. (1901). The Pastoralists’ review : a journal and record of all matters affecting the pastoral and agricultural interests throughout Australasia Retrieved January 6, 2023, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-539017377

Wikitree:

• Hugh Lyons Montgomery Beggs (1815 – 1885)
• Sophia Montgomery Grattan (Beggs) Champion de Crespigny (1870 – 1936) (his daughter)

Catherine Beggs (1854 – 1939)

The photograph album of my great-great aunt Rose Beggs has several portraits of the relatives of her husband Frank Beggs.

One, a cousin of Frank, is annotated ‘Catherine Beggs, Bushy Creek’.

Called Kitty, Catherine (1854 – 1939) was one of Frank’s cousins, the oldest daughter of Hugh Lyons Montgomery Beggs and his first wife Elizabeth née Smith.

Catherine’s birth notice appeared on 30 August 1854 in the Empire newspaper (Sydney):

July 27, at Bushby [sic] Creek, Geelong, the wife of Hugh Lyons Montgomery Beggs, Esq., of a daughter.

Hugh Beggs married Elizabeth Smith in Melbourne on 27 April 1853.  The Argus of 29 April 1853 has:

At St. James's Church, Melbourne, on the 27th inst., by the Rev. George Studdart, Hugh Lyons Montgomery Beggs, Esq., of Malahide, County Dublin, to Elizabeth Smith, second daughter of Richard Horner Smith, Esq., late of Tullaghcop, County Meath, Ireland.

In 1853, the year of his marriage, Hugh Beggs purchased the Bushy Creek property of John Kidd, near Glenthompson in Western Victoria. It remained in the Beggs family for 125 years.

Catherine’s mother Elizabeth died in 1864, when Catherine was ten. Her father Hugh remarried the next year.

One of Catherine’s half-sisters was Sophia Montgomery Grattan Beggs, the second wife of my great great grandfather, Philip de Crespigny, a bank manager.

Catherine never married. At the time of her death, on 20 October 1939, she was living in Hawthorn with her niece, Queenie Wood, the daughter of her sister Rose (Annie). She was buried in Box Hill cemetery.

 From the Argus 23 October 1939:

BEGGS.—On the 20th October, at Carboona, Riversdale road, Hawthorn, Katherine (Kitty), eldest daughter of the late Hugh Lyons Montgomery Beggs, Bushy Creek, Glenthompson, aged 85 years. (Privately interred, Box Hill Cemetery.)

BEGGS.—On the 20th October (suddenly), at Carboona, Hawthorn, Catherine, eldest daughter of the late Hugh Lyons Montgomerie and Elizabeth Beggs of Bushy Creek Estate, Glenthompson, loved aunt of Eileen (Mrs. Gordon Langridge).

The photograph was taken by Stewart & Co at 217 & 219 Bourke Street East. The company operated at these premises from 1881 to 1889.

The photograph shows Catherine Beggs posed in half-profile. She is dressed in the fashion of the early 1880s, firmly corseted, with a very small bustle. Her hair, parted in the middle, seems to end in a small bun. 

Lenore Frost writes in Dating Family Photos 1850-1920: “From late 1870s skirts were no longer full, but rather sheath-like with a train until about 1882 when they again expanded into a bustle. The bustle of the eighties was at times even larger than that of the seventies, reaching its maximum size between 1886 and 1888.”

Catherine’s bustle does not look large suggesting the photograph is from earlier in the decade.

Catherine appears to be wearing a coat-basque, a long, coat-like bodice that fully encased the torso and often extended into coat-tails resembling the back of a man’s frock coat; the coat-basque was extremely fashionable during the 1880s. In the early part of the decade waists were fairly long.

The pleated ruffle at the hem is typical of the early 1880s. The use of gauging, (pleating) was a notable decorative feature between 1880 and 1882. The asymmetrical line is a feature of the early part of the 1880s and apparently swathes of contrasting fabric across the abdomen is a peculiarity of 1882. 

Catherine’s hair, plainly dressed and close to the head with a centre part and small bun is typical of the early 1880s.

Related post:

• Photograph albums from great great aunt Rose

References

• Frost, Lenore (1991). Dating family photos 1850-1920. L. Frost, Essendon, Vic
• Taylor, Maureen Alice (2013). Family photo detective : learn how to find genealogy clues in old photos and solve family photo mysteries. F+W Media, Cincinnati
• “V&A · Corsets, Crinolines and Bustles: Fashionable Victorian Underwear.” Victoria and Albert Museum, https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/corsets-crinolines-and-bustles-fashionable-victorian-underwear Accessed 5 Jan. 2023.
• Zwolan, Madeleine. “1880.” Fashion History Timeline | A Hub for Fashion Research, State University of New York, 2 June 2020, https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1880-2/
• Bishop, Catherine. “Vintage Victorian: 1880s Evening Dress.” Vintage Victorian:, 21 May 2006, http://www.vintagevictorian.com/costume_1880e.html
• Sessions, Debbie. “1880s Fashion History – Dresses, Clothing, Costumes.” Regency Dress, Shoes | Jane Austen Clothing, Bridgerton Dresses, 3 Oct. 2019, https://vintagedancer.com/victorian/1880s-fashion/

Wikitree: Catherine Beggs (1854 – 1939)

The wedding of Rose and Frank Beggs 3 Feb 1876

My great great aunt Helen Rosalie Champion Crespigny, called Rose, was born on 15 October 1858 at Daisy Hill, later known as Amherst, near Talbot, Victoria to Philip Champion Crespigny and Charlotte née Dana, the youngest of their five children.

On 3 February 1876 she married Francis Beggs in Ararat by license, according to the rites of the Church of England. Rose was 17 and her father provided his written consent to the marriage. Rose lived in Ararat, where her father was the Police Magistrate. Francis Beggs was 25, a squatter living at Eurambeen. Eurambeen is about 40 kilometers south-east of Ararat.

Marriage certificate of Francis Beggs and Helen Rosalie Champion Crespigny

From the Melbourne Argus of 9 February 1876:

BEGGS-CRESPIGNY. — On the 3rd inst., at Christ Church, Ararat, by the Rev. Canon Homan, Francis Beggs, eldest son of Francis Beggs, Esq., of Eurambeen, to Helen Rosalie, third daughter of P. C. Crespigny, Esq., P.M., Ararat.

[The marriage notice seems to be in error. The Anglican Church in Ararat was then known as Trinity Church, later Holy Trinity.]

Photographs from the albums of Rose Beggs née Champion Crespigny and Charlotte Champion Crespigny née Dana. The annotations are

The photograph album compiled by Rose Beggs includes photographs of them taken at the time of their wedding. The photographer was Johnstone, O’Shannessy & Co. of 3 Bourke Street, Melbourne. Perhaps they travelled to Melbourne after the wedding and had their photographs taken then as a memento. Or perhaps a photographer from the studio was visiting Ararat at the time.

Frank died in 1921. Rose Beggs died on 28 March 1937 in North Brighton,Victoria. They had no children.

From the Argus 29 March 1937:

DEATHS. 
BEGGS -On the 28th March at her residence St Marnocks, Hampton street, North Brighton, Helen Rosalie, widow of Francis Beggs, of St Marnocks, Beaufort.

From the Argus 6 April 1937:

BEAUFORT.-The death occurred at North Brighton of Mrs. Helen Rosalie Beggs, widow of the late Mr. Francis Beggs, the original owner of St. Marnock's Estate, Beaufort. She lived in the district many years and was closely associated with the local branch of the Australian Women's National League. The burial took place in the family burial ground at Eurambeen Estate.

Related posts:

• Photograph albums from great great aunt Rose
• Aunt Rose’s teapot
• St Marnocks

Wikitree:

• Helen Rosalie (Champion Crespigny) Beggs (1858 – 1937)
• Francis Beggs (1851 – 1921)

Photograph albums from great great aunt Rose

A few weeks ago I received an email from my father’s cousin, the son of my great aunt Nancy Movius nee Champion de Crespigny (1910-2003), offering me the custody of several collections of photographs:

“We have unearthed three Victorian photo albums that my mother seems to have brought from Adelaide with her.  They came to light when we moved out of our house by the seaside, and are filled with deC's and others among our forebears. We are no longer living in space sufficient to store them safely. You should have them for your archive. It would be a shame not to have them preserved and I am happy to ship them to you. Please say you want them and furnish an address.

The three albums have arrived, a most exciting event. They include more than 200 photographs, most of them cartes de visite, with some cabinet cards.

Pages of cartes de visite. Not all the photos are identified.

Cabinet cards of Rose and Frank Beggs

Cartes de visite, first produced in the 1850s, were small photographs. They were usually made of an albumen print, with the thin paper photograph mounted on a thicker paper card. Cabinet cards, of a larger format, date from the 1870s.

One the albums is inscribed “Rose from her brother Loo”. Loo or Loup was the pet name for my great great grandfather Philip Champion de Crespigny (1850-1927). Rose (1858-1937) was his youngest sister. She married Frank Beggs. This album has an index to people in the photos, and my great aunt Nancy has also annotated some of the photographs.

The second album has no inscriptions nor annotations.

The third album has been partly annotated by Nancy, who refers to the album as belonging to Charlotte Frances Champion de Crespigny nee Dana. Charlotte was my third great grandmother, the mother of Philip and Rose.

Rose Beggs nee CdeC on her wedding day

Charlotte CdeC nee Dana

Philip CdeC (Loo)

I think that Rose gave the albums to Nancy, her great niece.

Most of the photographs are new to me. It is marvellous to be able to see photographs of people I had previously only known as names. I look forward to sharing the photographs, and perhaps some of the stories that go with them, in forthcoming posts.

Related posts:

• Aunt Rose’s teapot
• St Marnocks
• Philip Champion de Crespigny, General Manager of the Bank of Victoria
• Trove Tuesday: Nancy de Crespigny at Salt Creek 1936

Wikitree:

• Charlotte Frances (Dana) Champion Crespigny (1820 – 1904)
• Helen Rosalie (Champion Crespigny) Beggs (1858 – 1937)
• Philip Champion de Crespigny (1850 – 1927)
• Nancy (Champion de Crespigny) Movius (1910 – 2003)

Through her eyes: votes for women 1903

My third great grandmother Charlotte Frances Champion Crespigny née Dana, lived from 1820 to 1904, a period of great change in the political status of women.

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

In 1902, when she was 82 years old, the Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902 granted Australian women the right to vote and the right to stand for election to the Commonwealth Parliament.

When the list of voters was compiled, Charlotte was recorded on the Electoral Roll for the polling place of Beaufort, Division of Grampians, State of Victoria, as Charlotte Champion, living at Eurambeen, occupation home duties. (Eurambeen was about 11 kilometers west of Beaufort.) Also on the Roll were her daughters Viola Julia Champion and Helen Rosalie Beggs née Champion Crespigny, both also living at Eurambeen with the occupation of home duties.

The Commonwealth of Australia 1903 Electoral Roll for the polling place of Beaufort, Division of Grampians, State of Victoria, pages 2 and 3 showing the surnames of Beggs and Champion. Image retrieved from ancestry.com

 

Oddly, it appears that Charlotte and Viola were recorded twice. There are entries  on page 4 of the roll for Crespigny Frances and Crespigny Constantia, also both of Eurambeen; Frances was Charlotte’s middle name and Constantia was Viola’s third given name. When names were collected for the roll the surname Champion Crespigny went over two lines and so did their given names. There was not enough space on the form: the result was two Roll entries each.

The Commonwealth of Australia 1903 Electoral Roll for the polling place of Beaufort, Division of Grampians, State of Victoria, pages 4 and 5 showing the surname Crespigny. Image retrieved from ancestry.com

On the 1909 roll Viola’s surname was changed to Crespigny, with her full name recorded as Crespigny, Viola Julia Con. C. At that time she living at St Marnocks with her sister and brother-in-law.

A Victorian state election was held in October 1902 but for this women were as yet not enfranchised. The next year, however, there was a Federal election on 16 December and Charlotte and her daughters were eligible to vote.

The Federal Division of Grampians was retained by the sitting member Thomas Skene (1845 – 1910) of the Free Trade Party, an anti-socialist party which advocated the abolition of tariffs and other restrictions on international trade.

Charlotte and her daughters, from a prosperous family of graziers, probably supported Skene, a pastoralist. Voting was not compulsory, however, and though she was entitled to vote, Charlotte was unwell and probably unable to travel to the polling station at Beaufort to cast her vote.

There was provision for postal voting but it was very complicated, with specific witnesses required.

All in all, the story of my great grandmother’s enfranchisement is not especially remarkable. She was not a fire-breathing suffragist, but an ordinary person who, late in life, accepted a new political privilege with no great fuss.

Sources

• Australia, Electoral Rolls, 1903 retrieved through ancestry.com first published by the Australian Electoral Commission
• Geoff Browne, ‘Skene, Thomas (1845–1910)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/skene-thomas-8441/text14837, published first in hardcopy 1988, accessed online 12 February 2020.
• VOTING BY POST. (1903, December 9). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 9. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10586768
• A new genealogy prompt ~ Through Her Eyes Thursday! #ThroughHerEyesThursday https://thishoosiersheritage.blogspot.com/2020/01/new-genealogy-prompt-through-her-eyes.html

A scarf for General Birdwood

Everyone knows about WWI comfort funds and the socks that were knitted for the Diggers in the trenches.

But have you heard about the scarf that was knitted for their commanding General?

Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey. 1915. General William Riddell Birdwood (outside his dugout at Anzac. Photograph by Ernest Brooks and retrieved from the Australian War Memorial G00761

In 1916, Sophia, Mrs Philip Champion de Crespigny, (1870 – 1936), second wife of my great great grandfather, started a campaign to knit a scarf for General Birdwood, the popular commander-in-chief of Australian divisions on the front.

The first anniversary of the landing at ANZAC was observed on Tuesday 25 April 1916, with prayers and mourning for the dead.

Three days later ‘ANZAC Button Day’, with parades and many stalls and kiosks, was held in Melbourne to raise money for the troops. One of the attractions was a kiosk, ‘erected by the St. George Society’, an English patriotic society, where for sixpence patriotic knitters could add a row to scarf for General Birdwood.

Mrs Philip Champion de Crespigny was responsible for this money-raising idea.

Sophia Champion de Crespigny about 1894

Two of her sons and two step-sons enlisted during World War 1:

• Hugh Vivian Champion_de_Crespigny 1897 – 1969 enlisted 30 August
  1914 and later joined the Royal Air Force
• Constantine Trent Champion de Crespigny (1882 – 1952) enlisted 20
  May 1915
• Francis George Travers Champion_de_Crespigny 1892 – 1968 enlisted
  10 November 1917
• Philip Champion_de_Crespigny 1879 – 1918 enlisted 26 November 1918
  and killed in action July 1918

Within a week, a quarter of a yard had been added to Mrs de Crespigny’s scarf, with many sixpences added to the funds. She was aiming for 1½ yards.

Adelaide commentators seem to have been a bit over-critical. The edge of the scarf was wobbly, ‘goffered’ it was said, which means fluted or serrated. Knitters ply their needles differently, of course, at different tensions, so the collaborative scarf could not be expected to be perfectly uniform.

By mid-May Sophia de Crespigny had received so many applications for row-knitting that she hired a room at 349 Collins Street, not far from her husband’s office at 257 Collins Street [he was the general manager at a bank there], where she met prospective knitters between 10 o’clock and half past four on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

In June Sophia de Crespigny travelled to Geelong, where would-be scarf-knitters would find her at the Bank of Victoria in Malop Street.

The Geelong Advertiser reported that the scarf was khaki with a border of General Birdwood’s colours: red, purple, and black, and a touch of yellow. The scarf was now 2½ yards long.

By mid-August Birdwood’s scarf, completed, and yard longer than planned, was put on display in the window of Messrs Singer and Co. in the Block Arcade on Collins Street. There was also a book with the names of over 300 of its volunteer knitters. Sophia’s scarf campaign had raised £13. The Melbourne Lady Mayoress’ fund for Red Cross got £2 18/-, and £10 2/- was presented to the Y.M.C.A. for the benefit of the Australian soldiers at the Front (a national appeal).

Melbourne Punch 24 August 1916 page 32

Among letters received by General Birdwood, now digitised by the Australian War Memorial, is one from Sophia, Mrs Philip Champion de Crespigny, forwarding the scarf and the book of names of the ladies who worked on it.

Letter from Sophia Champion de Crespigny to General Birdwood enclosing a scarf and a book with the names of the knitters. Retrieved from the Australian War Memorial Letters received by Field Marshal Lord William Birdwood, 1 June 1916 – 25 December 1916 https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C2084586?image=107

I have not found a picture of General Birdwood in a scarf. This picture from the Australian War Memorial is from about 1915: The officer in the foreground, rugged up in a greatcoat and scarf, is possibly Major Harold A Powell of the Australian Army Medical Corps (AAMC). The tents in the middle distance on the left are probably those of a field hospital; the location appears to be the Gallipoli Peninsula.

 

General Birdwood’s reply to Sophia de Crespigny was published in the Geelong Advertiser.

Birdwood mentions that his aide-de-camp Henry de Crespigny (1882 – 1946) was a cousin of Sophia’s husband [Henry was Philip de Crespigny’s 3rd cousin once removed]. Birdwood also mentions Dr de Crespigny and ‘his hospital’. This was the 1st Australian General Hospital in Rouen, commanded by Philip’s son – Sophia’s step-son – Constantine Trent de Crespigny.

General Sir William Riddell Birdwood visiting a Battalion Headquarters in the support line trenches in Ungodly Avenue in the Messines Sector, in Belgium, on 25 January 1918. General Birdwood is second from the left. Australian War Memorial image E01495

Across Australia many other scarves were knitted by ladies who gave their sixpences and shillings to raise money for the soldiers, and it seems more than likely that Sophia’s was not the first. I’m not a great knitter myself – I started a scarf in the 1980s, which forty years later is still less than a foot long – but I’m delighted to have a family connection with Sophia’s.

Sources

• ANZAC BUTTON DAY (1916, April 29). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 19. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2099087 
• ITEMS OF INTEREST (1916, May 9). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 8. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2097012 
• Melbourne Letter. (1916, May 10). Critic (Adelaide, SA : 1897-1924), p. 24. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article212165326 
• “Goffer.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/goffer 
• LADY KITTY IN MELBOURNE. (1916, May 20). Observer (Adelaide, SA : 1905 – 1931), p. 7. Retrieved January 28, 2020, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article164664340 
• ITEMS OF INTEREST (1916, May 15). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 8. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2105490 
• GENERAL BIRDWOOD’S SCARF. (1916, June 1). Geelong Advertiser (Vic. : 1859 – 1929), p. 3. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article132736659 
• GENERAL BIRDWOOD’S SCARF. (1916, June 5). Geelong Advertiser (Vic. : 1859 – 1929), p. 4. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article132737110 
• NATIONAL FUNDS. (1916, August 17). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 9. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1613276 
• GENERAL BIRDWOOD’S SCARF. (1916, August 23). Geelong Advertiser (Vic. : 1859 – 1929), p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article130692189 
• THE LADIES LETTER (1916, August 24). Punch (Melbourne, Vic. : 1900 – 1918; 1925), p. 32. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article121078394 
• GEN. BIRDWOOD’S SCARF. (1916, December 5). Geelong Advertiser (Vic. : 1859 – 1929), p. 4. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article130671603 

 

Other scarves were also knitted for General Birdwood during 1916

• MOSTLY ABOUT PEOPLE. (1916, May 16). Kyneton Guardian (Vic. : 1870 – 1880; 1914 – 1918), p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article129594972 
• EVERY WOMAN (1916, May 20). The Journal (Adelaide, SA : 1912 – 1923), p. 10 (NIGHT EDITION). Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article201904003 
• FROM NEAR AND FAR. (1916, May 31). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 – 1954), p. 5. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15639838 
• Park Fence Must Go (1916, June 9). Malvern Courier and Caulfield Mirror (Vic. : 1914 – 1917), p. 1. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article130658111 
• RED CROSS (1916, July 16). Sunday Times (Sydney, NSW : 1895 – 1930), p. 25. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article121347053 
• SOCIAL CHAT (1916, July 31). The Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 – 1954), p. 7. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article223365185 
• FOR WOMEN. (1916, August 30). The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 – 1930), p. 6. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article239216093 
• PRESENTATION SCARF. (1916, August 24). Hamilton Spectator (Vic. : 1870 – 1918), p. 4. Retrieved  from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article133706220
• SCARF for GENERAL BIRDWOOD. (1916, December 14). Hamilton Spectator (Vic. : 1870 – 1918), p. 4. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article129391992  
• BALLINA WAR CHEST. (1916, September 16). Northern Star (Lismore, NSW : 1876 – 1954), p. 5. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article92970437 
• “MAGNIFICENT MEN.” (1916, November 3). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 – 1954), p. 3. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15701183 
• GENERAL BIRDWOOD’S SCARF. (1917, February 6). The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 – 1933), p. 8. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article20155560

St Marnocks

In Australia, a horse’s birthday is the first day of August. Mating usually happens early in the previous spring, with foaling eleven or twelve months later. Having a common birthday means that horses of a similar age can be entered together in racing events.

Francis Beggs (1850 – 1921), called Frank, the husband of my 3rd great aunt Rose Beggs nee Champion de Crespigny (1858 – 1937), owned a Thoroughbred called Saint Marnocks, probably named after a village near Dublin with a connection with the Beggs family.

Francis and Rose Beggs. Photograph from Flickr uploaded by Guy Goodman.

 

The Australasian of 19 September 1891 reported that:

Mr. Francis Beggs, Eurambeen, Beaufort, requests permission to supplement our correspondent’s report of the Ararat show by stating that his colt Saint Marnocks, by Macgregor-Nightlight, took first prize at Ararat in the class for two and three year old thoroughbreds, and also Messrs. Briscoe’s special prize for the best thoroughbred stallion in the yard. In the light-weight hack class his horse Malahide, by Macgregor, took first prize.

In March 1892 St Marnocks was reported as being 3 years old when he came third in the one mile Trial Stakes at the Buangor Races on 15 March. His sibling Elphinstone, also by Macgregor-Nightlight, came first. Later in the day St Marnocks came third again in the one mile Welter Handicap. The newspapers over the next two decades have many report of St Marnocks.

In the annual races of the Beaufort Jockey Club on New Year’s Day 1894 St Marnocks won the Handicap race by a neck. In 1899 he won the three quarters of a mile Flying Handicap at the Beaufort races. The Ballarat Star reported that the win was “A gift to St Marnocks, who won in the last few strides by two lengths in 1 min. 35 sec.”

At the March 1899 Beaufort Show St Marnocks won first prize for best blood entire horse and also the Champion prize for best blood horse or mare, any age, in the yard.

In the next decade Aloha, the son of St Marnocks, began to feature in the turf reports. St Marnocks again won first prize for blood entire and also Champion at the 1902 Beaufort show. St Marnocks sired many progeny, for example in 1908 10 horses all sired by St Marnocks were offered for sale by Mr Francis Beggs of Eurambeen.

On 13 August 1908 Melbourne Punch reported “Mr. and Mrs. Frank Beggs, who for many years have lived at Eurambeen East, are now settled in their new home at St. Marnocks, Mr. Beggs having purchased part of the Stoneleigh Estate in the Beaufort District.” The new property was named after their successful horse.

Punch reported in January 1909 “Mrs. C. De Crespigny, of Brunswick-street, Fitzroy, and her little son, are visiting their relative, Mrs. Frank Beggs, of St. Marnock’s, Beaufort.” The ‘little son’ was my grandfather Geoff (1907 – 1966); his mother was Beatrix de Crespigny nee Hughes (1884 – 1943).

Frank Beggs and Geoff de Crespigny St Marnocks 1908

Pastoral Review, 15 October 1921, p 795 retrieved from ‘Beggs, Francis (1850–1921)’, Obituaries Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/beggs-francis-95/text95

In 1927 an article in the Australasian reported that Francis Beggs was responsible for building the homestead and outbuildings. He also established plantations to provide shelter for the paddocks and a created a garden surrounded by acacias. After the death of Frank Beggs in 1921 the property was taken over by his nephew Theodore George Beggs (1903 – 1936).

beginning of a lengthy profile of St Marnochs (St Marnocks) in PASTORAL (1927, December 10). The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 – 1946), p. 42. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140807599

ST.MARNOCK’S (1935, July 20). The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 – 1946), p. 36. Retrieved August 1, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article141759823

In 1930 the homestead was photographed as part of a series of pastoral homes and again in 1987, by that time somewhat run down.

PASTORAL HOMES OF AUSTRALIA (1930, September 13). The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 – 1946), p. 32 (METROPOLITAN EDITION). Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140832545

St Marnocks photographed 28 October 1987 by John T Collins (1907 – 2001) and in the collection of the State Library of Victoria Image H2013.6/11

St Marnocks photographed 28 October 1987 by John T Collins (1907 – 2001) and in the collection of the State Library of Victoria

St Marnocks photographed 28 October 1987 by John T Collins (1907 – 2001) and in the collection of the State Library of Victoria

St Marnocks photographed 28 October 1987 by John T Collins (1907 – 2001) and in the collection of the State Library of Victoria

Related post

• Aunt Rose’s teapot

Sources

• Carrot cake and party hats as horses celebrate birthday. (2016, August 1). Retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-01/southern-hemisphere-horses-celebrate-birthday/7677546
• Port-St. Marnock – Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837). Retrieved from https://www.libraryireland.com/topog/P/Port-St-Marnock-Coolock-Dublin.php 
• RURAL TOPICS AND EVENTS. (1891, September 19). The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 – 1946), p. 5. Retrieved August 1, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140709700 
• BUANGOR RACES. (1892, March 22). Sportsman (Melbourne, Vic. : 1882 – 1904), p. 3. Retrieved August 1, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article227692711
• BEAUFORT RACES. (1894, January 2). The Ballarat Star (Vic. : 1865 – 1924), p. 4. Retrieved August 1, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article209802427
• BEAUFORT RACES. (1899, January 4). The Ballarat Star (Vic. : 1865 – 1924), p. 4. Retrieved August 1, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article215236224
• HORSES AND CATTLE. (1899, March 23). The Ballarat Star (Vic. : 1865 – 1924), p. 4. Retrieved August 1, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article215322056
• Sporting Notes. (1902, April 26). Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 – 1954), p. 16. Retrieved August 1, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article221224922 
• PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL SHOWS. (1902, April 3). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 6. Retrieved August 1, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article9634486 
• Advertising (1908, May 14). The Ballarat Star (Vic. : 1865 – 1924), p. 5. Retrieved August 1, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205464765 
• Fact and Rumour. (1908, August 13). Punch (Melbourne, Vic. : 1900 – 1918; 1925), p. 24. Retrieved August 1, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article176018320 
• Fact and Rumour. (1909, January 21). Punch (Melbourne, Vic. : 1900 – 1918; 1925), p. 24. Retrieved August 1, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article176022294 
• PASTORAL (1927, December 10). The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 – 1946), p. 42. Retrieved August 1, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140807599
• PASTORAL HOMES OF AUSTRALIA (1930, September 13). The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 – 1946), p. 32 (METROPOLITAN EDITION). Retrieved August 1, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140832545 

Aunt Rose’s teapot

My family has an old silver teapot said to have belonged to Aunt Rose, my grandfather’s great aunt, Helen Rosalie Beggs née Champion de Crespigny (1858-1937).

Aunt Rose’s teapot

The pot has 5 hallmarks.

The first mark, a lion passant guardant- a lion walking with one paw raised from the ground and head turned to full face – indicates the teapot is sterling silver, an alloy of 92.5% silver and 7.5% other metals, most often copper. Pure silver is too soft to be used for teapots. Between 1720 and 1822 lion passant guardant appears on all silver wrought in England. After 1822 the lion the lion passant ceased to be guardant and faced to the left, that is the lion’s face was no longer turned to the viewer but looked forward.

The second mark is a crowned leopard’s head. This was used on silver made in London made between 1478 and 1822. The town mark was the hallmark of the assay office that tested the purity of the piece, in this case the Goldsmiths’ Company Assay Office in London.

It is thought that the marks were changed in 1822, without public announcement, with the hope of catching out forgers.
The third mark, a lower case e, identifies the year the piece was made. Legislation prescribed that there should be a mark “to denote the year in which such plate is made”. Each assay office used a different system. The letters were used in a cycle, and for the London office, this e was used in 1740, 1780, 1820, and 1900.

The fourth mark is a duty mark. From 1784 a duty was imposed on all manufactured silver articles. An image of the head of the sovereign was stamped on all plate to show that the requisite tax had been paid to the Crown. The tax was discontinued in 1890 and the mark was no longer used. On this teapot the sovereign’s head is poorly formed and worn, but I think this mark is the head of George III which appeared on silver from 1786 to 1821.

The fifth mark is the maker’s mark. I think it is the mark of Richard Pearce, a London silversmith, used from 1817 to 1824. See http://www.silvermakersmarks.co.uk/Makers/London-RJ-RQ.html#RP and for an example identified as his work: http://www.antiques-atlas.com/antique/georgian_silver_toast_rack_1823_-_fish_handle/as530a709 .

Since the the first mark the lion appears to be guarding, looking towards the viewer, it dates before 1822. The second mark is definitely crowned, thus I am sure the the pot was made before 1822. Because there is a duty mark, the pot was made after 1784. I believe the teapot was made in 1820, as that is the only possible year indicated by a lower case e between 1784 and 1822.

We do not know how the teapot was acquired or came to be in the family’s possession.

References

• https://www.thegoldsmiths.co.uk/company/history/history-of-the-company/
• https://www.thegoldsmiths.co.uk/company/history/hallmarking/
• http://www.925-1000.com/british_marks.html
• http://www.silvercollection.it/dictionaryhallmarkinginbritain.html
• http://www.silvercollection.it/dictionarydecryptingUKsterlingmarks.html
• http://www.925-1000.com/silverglossary4.html
• http://www.silvermakersmarks.co.uk/Makers/London-RJ-RQ.html#RP
• A teapot identified as having been made by Richard Pearce in 1821 and sold by auction at Bonhams in April 2015 for just over $1000 https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/22677/lot/106/

A George IV silver teapot by Richard Pearce, London 1821, Of oval form, with flowerhead, leaf scroll and shell borders and bands of curved lobes and flutes, raised on flowerhead, leaf scroll and claw feet, engraved with a crest and monogram, height 17cm.