#52Ancestorsin52Weeks Week24/52 George Henry Charles CARRETT III 1879 - 1953
Ahnentafel
Number 10
The context for discovery:
This
biography was written as part of the 52 ancestors in 52 weeks exercise devised
by Amy Johnson Crow. You can join in too
here. The theme for this week is "Popular Name."
Amy says:
“Do you have an ancestor who had a name that was popular/trendy at the time? Is there a name that keeps getting used in your family tree? Do you have an ancestor named after someone famous?.”
George was my paternal
great-grandfather and boy, George Henry is a name that keeps getting used in
our family tree. It leads to all sorts of complications and mix-ups or mistakes
particularly when other branches of the family tree insist on naming their
firstborn sons George Henry as well.
And just to add insult to injury,
the name CARRETT also gets misread by the OCR as GARRETT. Other spelling
variations include CARNET, CARRET, CARRITT, CARRATT, CARROTT. Sigh.
This blog post is a
compilation of several blog posts I previously wrote about my great-grandfather.
On the back of this photo is my
Grandmother's writing - "My father and brother George, Grandfather
standing and great grandfather with beard."
Great-grandfather - as in George
Henry Charles Carrett I who was born in 1834 and died in 1912.
Grandfather as in George Henry
Charles Carrett II born in 1856 and died in 1929.
Father as in George Henry Charles
Carrett III born in 1879 and died in 1953.
Brother as in George Henry
Charles Carrett IV born in 1906 and died in 1976.
My guess is the photo was taken
c1907.
The baby was born in November
1906 - a twin to his sister Daisy Minnie.
Childhood
Birth
Date/Place:
George was the eldest son of George Henry Carrett II and Sarah STORES.
He was born in
Dubbo 9th January 1879[i], the eldest of nine
children.
Here are the
others
· Ethel May was born on 4th March 1881[ii]
and died 25thJanuary 1882
· Mabel Blanche Rose was born on 1st August 1883 in
Petersham[iii]
· Harold Edward Stephen Carrett was born on 29th
December 1885 in Petersham. According to Peter Brian Carrett’s family history
they lived in Brixton Villa, Fairfowl Street, Marrickville. Harold was
christened at St Stephen’s 14th February 1886[iv]
· Ernest Albert Victor was born on 10th November 1888
at Marrickville and then baptized on 6th January 1889 – George Henry
and Sarah's parents living at Avoca Smithfield – father a bricklayer. [v]
· Charles Arthur Stanley Carrett was born 7th March
1891 at Seaview Street, Dulwich Hill, Marrickville, and baptized on 26th
April at St Stephen’s, Newtown[vi]
· Edith Sarah Cecilia was born on 25th January 1894
in Dubbo[vii]
· Lester Irving Claude born on 14th June 1896 in
Dubbo[viii]
· Herbert John Lawrence was born on 14th June 1899
and then baptized on 10th September[ix]
at All Saints, Petersham His parents were living at Charles St Petersham.
Baptism
Date/Place:
I have not looked
for baptism for George Henry Charles III. I need to
follow this up with churches in Dubbo.
From
George’s siblings’ births, we can see that his family moved to Sydney in the
mid-1880s living in Petersham and Marrickville but then moved back to Dubbo
briefly before moving back to 131 Seaview Street Marrickville as per the 1891
Census.[x]
Four males and two females were living at home then, presumably George HC
Carrett II, his wife and their children Charles, Ernest, Harold and Mabel. The
1891 Census was conducted on 5 April 1891 according to the About notes on
FindMyPast which are very useful. George’s
younger brother Charles would have just snuck in being born in March 😊 or maybe he didn’t make it to the Census and in fact it is George Henry
III who is the other male.
Newspaper Articles
In my Trove
searches, I did find mention of George as Secretary of the newly formed Iron
Cove Sailing Club in September 1900 as per here. I don't think that the Iron Cove
Sailing Club exists anymore. There is a Dobroyd Aquatic Club but I don't
know its history. My father and I used to sail a Mirror around Drummoyne
in the late 70s. I didn't realize how long the connection went back!
He was also a
Brother in the Rose of Petersham GUOOF Lodge as per these newspaper articles
here. Or of course, it could be his father. It is difficult to tell.
 |
| 23 September 1899 Evening News Sydney NSW courtesy of Trove |
 |
| 17 August 1900 Evening News Sydney NSW Courtesy of Trove |
And a spot of cricket....
 |
| 3rd April 1900 Evening News, Sydney courtesy of Trove |
In the 1901 Census GH Carrett II is listed as living at 32 Charles Street Petersham with 8 males and 3 females living at home.[xi] I’m guessing that includes George and his wife, and all his sons George Henry III, Harold, Ernest, Charles, Lester and Herbert and his two daughters Mabel and Edith. I’m not sure who the extra male would be – maybe one of his brothers or a boarder?
Married Life
Marriage
Dates/Places:
George Henry Charles Carrett III married
Daisy Mildred TAYLOR on 20 May 1902[xii] at Christ Church
Enmore which is now St
Luke's Anglican Church I believe.
The mother of the bride's consent was obtained - Maryann Waters. The father of the bride is described as "not known".
Looking in Trove for results for Christ Church Enmore in 1902 I found an article in the social pages for a marriage on 31 May. This made me realize that the 20 May was not a Saturday. It was in fact a Tuesday which strikes me as an unusual day to get married. So maybe things were done in a bit of a rush. Millie was born in December of that year.
I wonder how Daisy and George met.
Children’s
Birth Dates/Places:
George and
Daisy had seven children:
1.
Millie
in 1903[xiii]
2.
Ethel
(my grandmother) in 1904[xiv]
3.
Daisy
&
4.
George
- the twins in 1906[xv]
5.
Rene
in 1908[xvi]
6.
Ossie
in 1910[xvii]
7.
And
Nora in 1913[xviii]
Electoral Rolls
1903 – There is a George
living at Nobbs’ Flat Canterbury[xix]. I’m assuming this is our George but it’s
difficult to be sure.
San Francisco
“On the morning of April 18, 1906, a massive earthquake shook San Francisco, California. Though the quake lasted less than a minute, its immediate impact was disastrous. The earthquake also ignited several fires around the city that burned for three days and destroyed nearly 500 city blocks.
Despite a quick response from San Francisco's large military population, the city was devastated. The earthquake and fires killed an estimated 3,000 people and left half of the city's 400,000 residents homeless. Aid poured in from around the country and the world, but those who survived faced weeks of difficulty and hardship.”
(National Archives https://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/sf)
There are 7,000 articles
about the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco to be found on Trove. Two thousand of these are in April when the
earthquake occurred but every month after that until September has 1,000
articles.
The family story is that George and
his brother went to San Francisco to help rebuild the city. When Ethel
was less than two years old and Millie was not yet three, their father left for San
Francisco on the SS Sonoma with his brother Thomas in September 1906[xx] Their names also appear on the shipping
list in the SMH.
George is
recorded as arriving in Honolulu on 24 September with one piece of luggage.[xxi]
He finally lands in San Francisco on 1st October 1906.[xxii] He is described as having brown hair, a fair
complexion, grey eyes and standing 5’ 9” tall (175cm) and having $60 in his
possession. Both he and Thomas described
themselves as bricklayers.
It is
great to be able to see the occupations of all those on board. Of the 30 people on the page I downloaded,
there are three labourers, seven carpenters, five masons, two plasterers, two
painters, one draughtsman, one Rivetter, one clerk, one blacksmith, one hotel keeper,
one soda water manufacturer, one French gold miner and three bricklayers
(including the two Carretts). There is one painter, a John W Hewell or Newell(?)
a painter from Cleveland Ohio going to San Francisco. The draughtsman was from Brisbane and on his
way to Vancouver and one of the labourers was going to St Louis. The rest were going to San Francisco. Most were from Sydney and one from Bowral in
NSW. There was one from Melbourne and three
from Ballarat, one from Adelaide, one from Kalgoorlie and three Scotsmen from
the Transvaal in South Africa.
Another
interesting point on the Manifest of Alien Passengers for the U.S. Immigration
Officer was the question of whether they were polygamists or anarchists or
deformed or crippled. Hmmm. The answer was “No”. When asked what race or people they were,
whilst describing themselves as Australian by nationality, the Carrett brothers
described themselves as English. Others
described themselves as Greek, Scotch, Irish, Welsh.
Meanwhile
back in Australia, Daisy gave birth to twins Daisy and George on 3rd
November. What fortitude to be left with
four children under the age of three.
George left San Francisco on
the “Ventura” and arrived in Sydney on 19 February 1907.[xxiii]
He also appears on the Shipping List in the Sydney Morning Herald but the name
is spelled CARRATT.[xxiv] The ship was very overdue according to this
article so George’s family would have been very worried.
 |
| That Welcome Home. (1907, February 20). The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate (Parramatta, NSW : 1888 - 1950), p. 2. Retrieved June 21, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article86158067 |
1912 – George’s grandfather
George Henry Carrett I dies in Dubbo[xxv]
1913 – George and Daisy are
living at Flinders Road Canterbury.
George is described as a builder.
His father, George Henry II is living around the corner in Riverview
road with his wife Sarah and daughter Mary Ann.
Charles, George Henry III’s brother, and wife Louisa are living in Bass
Road.[xxvi]
This
Xmas card and an entry in the Sands Directory indicate the Carretts moved to
Vaucluse happened in 1914.
The card says Natona rather than Natoma but I think that's a typo.
A search of Trove reveals that the Vauclus home was up for auction in 1951 and described
as being 61 Fitzwilliam Road Vaucluse, though we always knew it as Parsley Bay.
It now seems to be called
appropriately Le Mer.
So why call your home Natoma?
I've googled Natoma (yes, lazy I know) and it seems to be an opera from
1911, a motorboat from the US Navy from 1917 to 1919 and of course there is
Natoma in Kansas and Lake Natoma in Sacramento, California. The opera was
a bit of a flop as far as I can tell. Although I do feel obliged to
include a photo of the soprano who played the part of Natoma as her surname does
seem to link with this week's theme.
But there is a
bit of me that hangs on to the Natoma based in California.
Here's a picture of Natoma Street
in San Francisco after the quake and if you want to see more of the devastation
on Natoma Street, check out Stanford University's website here. Maybe my great-grandfather wanted to commemorate his
work in Natoma Street??? I'm happy for others to volunteer opinions.
 |
| Corner of Seventh and Natoma San Francisco 1906 courtesy of DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University from Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/smu_cul_digitalcollections/6351480312/ |
George seems to
have embraced life with all that it had to offer. He was a prolific builder
of homes in Sydney's west.
No doubt the
Great War was just another adventure to add to the list. Nora, the youngest,
was just two or three years old when he enlisted. My grandmother Ethel
was 11 years old and the eldest Millie would have been twelve.
First World War
George Henry Charles Carrett III and Charles Arthur Stanley Carrett in France c 1917/1918
George
Henry Charles CARRETT III enlisted on 8 May 1916 at the age of 37.[xxvii] He served in the
Australian Army Service Corps 5th Division Train as a Driver. For those
of you who, like me, are not familiar with the organization of the Army, the
Service Corps is basically about supplies and transport. According to
this website, "of the 331,781 men of
the AIF who embarked in Australia for overseas, 9,735 were AASC personnel."
Volume 1 of Neville Lindsay's book Equal to the Task - The Royal
Australian Army Service Corps contains a wealth of information and you can
find it online here.
George
agreed "to allot not less than three-fifths of the pay payable to me from
time to time during ......support of my wife and children."
Physical Description
He was 5 foot 7 3/4 inches (172cm) and weighed 146 lbs (66kg). You'll notice he has shrunk a bit since his San Francisco days. Bricklaying will do that to you.
He had grey eyes and hair which was brown turning grey.
Distinctive marks included I
think 2 toes off the left foot. I would really love to know the story behind
this but unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll ever find out.
His younger brothers Charles (younger by 11 years) and Leslie (younger by 17
years) also enlisted. Charles's record can be viewed here. Charles enlisted 15 May 1916 - only a week after
George. He joined the 11th Field Artillery Brigade. He embarked on 11 September 1916 from Sydney on the HMAT Aeneas A60.
Service Record
Now I'm not very good
at reading these records I must confess so bear with me. It's due to a general ignorance of military abbreviations and understanding of military
organization. It looks like from May to October 1916 George was with the
22nd Reinforcements and then he was invalided at Victoria Barracks from 8
October to 1st November. Then he was a Driver with the 25th Reinforcements
from 2 November until 2 February 1917. Then from 3 February 1917 until 10
May, he was a Driver with 24th Reinforcements.
Port Melbourne, Vic. 1917-05-11. Starboard side view of HMAT Shropshire (A9) berthed at the wharf. Service personnel, including members of the 1st Division Signal Company, wait to board the ship while their gear is transferred from trucks. From Australian War Memorial Collection. |
On 11th May 1917 he embarked from Melbourne and disembarked at Plymouth on 19
July.
There is some reference on the record to his being at No. 4 Camp P'house or
Pkhse. This must be a reference to the Parkhouse Training Depot.
Graham Wilson in his article The relevance of miscellany
administrative, support and logistic units of the AIF says:
The AASC Training Depot at Parkhouse was a particularly busy establishment. The depot not only trained and despatched 150 ASC reinforcements per month and conducted specialist officer and NCO training, it was also responsible for providing the supplies, transport and barracks services support for the AIF in the UK. Taking into account the AIF HQ, several hospitals, units of AFC and AIF depot complex, Parkhouse was responsible, on top of its training commitment, for the housing, feeding and transporting of about 50,000 men at any given time.
Some photos of the Depot are on the Australian War Memorial site.
Australian Army Service and Veterinary Corps horse lines at No. 4 Parkhouse camp.
On 7th November 1917 George left Southampton for France for what looks like to be Rouelles.
By 14th November he was moved out to 5th Division Train and then on 23rd
November he was posted to the 10th AASC. According to the Unit Diary for the Division they seemed to be moving around Belgium
or Flanders as it was referred to then. Dranoutre, Haegedorne, Locre and
Brulooze are some of the places mentioned.
He stayed with this unit until 1919.
Battles
According to Neville
Lindsay's timeline my great-grandfather would have been
involved in holding the Line during the Flanders Winter, the Defence of Amiens
from March to July, Hamel in July, and the Final Offensive from August to October.
Leave
George's service record
shows two periods of leave - I think from 8 December 1918 until 3 January in
Nice. He took some more leave in April from 15th April to 8 May 1919
which he spent in the UK.
End of Service and Medals
By 10 June 1919, George was moved out to Number 2 Group at Sutton Veny.
You can read more about Sutton Veny here.
Three days later he was moved out
to Number 5 Group at Weymouth and returned to Australia on SS Frankfurt leaving on 1 July and disembarking on 20 August 1919.
The SS 'Frankfurt' arriving at Outer Harbour, South Australia with passengers, possibly soldiers, crowded on to the decks courtesy of National Library of Australia and State Library of South Australia
Here is a picture of her coming into South Australia. I was fascinated to
read on this site that Frankfurt was one of the
first ships to capture the Titanic's distress calls in 1912 but her offer of
help was refused by the radio operator.
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George Henry
Charles Carrett was awarded the Victory Medal and the British War Medal.
He was not a hero as such. But, like his Corps motto - Par Oneri, he
was equal to the task.
1924 daughters
Millie and Ethel marry[xxviii]
 |
| Millie's wedding - L to R Ethel Carrett and Ted Conner, Millie with husband Frank seated, father George to right in back row |
1925 George Carrett and Harold E.S. Carrett are listed as living on the North side of Wairoa Street Campsie off South Parade[xxix]
1926 - George's yacht was broken up in a storm
 |
| 19 April 1926 Evening News Sydney courtesy of Trove |
1928 George's parent’s
golden wedding anniversary
NSW Sands Directory – George Carrett, builder, is listed on the North side of Morgan Street at Number 17, 4th place after Maria Street.[xxx]
1929 George’s father
dies[xxxi]
1933 Electoral
roll shows George and Daisy living at 74 Myrtle Street, Annandale South[xxxii]
1934 mother
dies
1935 Electoral
Roll – George and Daisy are listed as living at Chards Lane, Belmore.[xxxiii]
1949 Electoral
Roll – George and Daisy and Daisy Minnie are living at 71 Ewart Street, Dulwich
Hill. George is described as having no occupation.[xxxiv]
Senior
Years
George Henry Carrett III, Ted and Ethel Conner, Daisy Mildred Carrett
This
looks like it might be taken at a train or a bus station doesn't it? Ted
and Ethel CONNER (nee CARRETT) are in the middle and then there are Ethel's
parents on either side, George Henry Charles CARRETT III and Daisy May (nee
TAYLOR). I'm guessing this is circa the early 50s.
Date and
Place of Death
George died on 27 December 1953 at
the age of 74.[xxxv]
According to his death certificate he died at the State Hospital and Home
at Lidcombe. Before that, he had been living at 71 Ewart Street, Dulwich
Hill. He was a builder and had been born in Dubbo to George Henry Charles
Carrett -another builder. George's mother's name was Daisy Stores.
He married Daisy Taylor at the age of 23. Children alive at the
time of his death were Ethel 49, George H.C. 47, Daisy 47, Irene 45, Oswald S.
43, and Nora 39. The 1 female deceased would have been Millie. His
son Oswald of Wombyne Street, Gilgandra was the informant. George was
cremated at Rookwood on 29 December according to the rites of the Church of
England.
I think
this must be the last photo we have of George. He is shown here with his
wife Daisy Mildred and daughter Daisy Minnie.
Estate
Probate was
granted on 29 March 1954. The administrator
was F.W.E. Andrews, his son-in-law, and was valued at £1,000.[xxxvi] I ordered the probate packet from the NSW Records
office on 20th June 2022.
Conclusion
George led
just about the fullest life I have documented to date. I know there is much
left out. I would love to know all the
buildings he was involved with. He was a
son, a brother, a husband, a father, and a grandfather. He ran a business, served his country, went
to the aid of others, and enjoyed sailing, and probably some other hobbies to
boot. He might have had a common name,
but he had probably quite an unusual life, full of excitement and novelty.
Although I had quite a bit of material on George (and Lord knows there's more I didn't include) I located some new records e.g. his arrival in San Francisco and I ordered his birth certificate and probate, so some progress was made as well. Going over old research always reveals new things to follow up and check.
References
[i] NSW BDM Index –
certificate ordered 21/6/22 and Peter Brian Carrett’s unpublished family history
Bricks and Mortar
[ii] NSW BDM Index – birth
is indexed under Ethel May CARRET death is indexed under Ethel May CARNETT
[iii] NSW BDM Index
[iv]Sydney, Australia, Anglican Parish Registers, 1814-2011 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com
Operations, Inc., 2017. Original data: Sydney Diocesan Archives, Anglican Church
Diocese of Sydney. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia..
[v] Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia, St.
John's Parramatta, Baptisms, 1790-1916 [database on-line]. Provo, UT,
USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.
Original data:Parish Baptism Registers. Textual records. St.
John’s Anglican Church Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia. Reference
Number: REG/BAP/5; Description: Vol 05, 1883-1916 (No
3603-7054)
[vi] Sydney, Australia, Anglican Parish
Registers, 1814-2011 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com
Operations, Inc., 2017.
Original data: Sydney Diocesan Archives, Anglican Church
Diocese of Sydney. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
[vii] Ancestry.com, Australia
Birth Index, 1788-1922 and Peter Brian Carrett’s unpublished family history Bricks
& Mortar
[viii] Ancestry.com, Australia
Birth Index, 1788-1922 and Peter Brian Carrett’s unpublished family history Bricks
& Mortar
[ix] Ancestry.com, Sydney,
Australia, Anglican Parish Registers, 1814-2011
[x] FindMyPast New South
Wales 1891 Census, Series NRS 683, Film Number 2541
[xi] FindMyPast New South
Wales 1901 Census Series NRS685 Film Number 1166 district Petersham
[xii] FindMyPast New South
Wales Marriages 1788-1945
[xiii] Ancestry.com, Australia
Birth Index, 1788-1922
[xiv] District of Canterbury
at Canterbury, Birth Registered Number 31218, Ethel Irene Carrett, 1904,
Registrar General’s Office, Sydney, N.S.W., Australia
[xv] Sydney, Australia,
Anglican Parish Registers, 1814-2011 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA:
Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2017.
[xvi] Ancestry.com Australia
Birth Index, 1788-1922
[xvii] Ancestry.com Australia
Birth Index, 1788-1922
[xviii] NSW BDM Index
[xix] FindMyPast Australia
Electoral Rolls 1903 District Canterbury Number 150, page 8
[xx] FindMyPast United
States, Passenger, and Crew Lists, Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at
Honolulu, Hawaii, 1900-1953 Publication Number A3422, Roll Number 10
[xxi] Ancestry.com. Honolulu,
Hawaii, U.S., Arriving and Departing Passenger and Crew Lists, 1900-1959
[database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009.
Original Data: Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving or Departing at Honolulu,
Hawaii, 1900–1954.
[xxii] Ancestry.com.
California, U.S., Arriving Passenger, and Crew Lists, 1882-1959 [database
on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original Data:
Selected Passenger and Crew Lists and Manifests. National Archives, Washington,
D.C.
[xxiii] FindMyPast Australia,
Inward, Outward & Coastal Passenger Lists 1826-1972, State Records
Authority of New South Wales
[xxiv] SHIPPING. (1907, February 20). The Sydney
Morning Herald (NSW: 1842 - 1954), p. 10. Retrieved June 18, 2022, from
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14849355
[xxv] FindMyPast Civil Deaths
& Burials Registration number 10218
[xxvi] FindMyPast Australia
Electoral Rolls 1913 District Canterbury Number 233 Page 4
[xxvii] Ancestry.com,
Australia, WWI Service Records, 1914-1920
[xxviii] Ancestry.com, Australia
Marriage Index, 1788-1950
[xxix] Ancestry.com. Sydney and New South Wales,
Australia, Sands Street Index, 1861-1930 [database on-line]. Provo,
UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
[xxx] FindMyPast New South
Wales Directory 1928 (Sands)
[xxxi] FindMyPast Civil Deaths
and Burials Registration number 20510 (mother Mary and father George H)
[xxxii] Ancestry.com,
Australian Electoral Rolls, 1901-1936
[xxxiii] FindMyPast Australia
Electoral Rolls Lang District Number 1112 page 19
[xxxiv] Ancestry.com. Australia, Electoral Rolls,
1903-1980 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations,
Inc., 2010.
[xxxv] Death Certificate,
District of Newtown, Registration Number 1953/026525 George Henry Charles
CARRETT
[xxxvi] Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia,
Index to Deceased Estate Files, 1859-1958 [database on-line]. Lehi,
UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.
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