#52Ancestorsin52Weeks Week 27/52 Walter William FORFAR – 1878 - 1949
Walter William Forfar with grand-daughter Shirley Cornwall and Ray Jeffrey
Ahnentafel Number 14
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 Extended
Family.
Amy says:
We often focus on those people from whom we descend. But what about their siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins? They played a role in our ancestors' lives, just like those people play a role in our own lives. This is a good week to explore the lives of these other people in the family tree.
Walter was my
great-grandfather on my maternal side.
This blog post is a
compilation of several blog posts I have written about Walter and his family.
Childhood
Birth
Date/Place:
Walter William
Forfar, also known as Dick Forfar, was the youngest of three brothers.
1.
George
Robert born 6th October 1873 (died 16th April 1946)[i]
2.
Ernest
(later known as Eddie) Albert born 29th October 1874[ii]
3.
Walter
William born 6th June 1878[iii]
Baptism
Date/Place:
I have not been
able to identify a baptism for Walter.
The boys’
parents, George, and Emily did not have a happy marriage.
They divorced
in 1885 when Walter would have been 7 years old.
The divorce
papers record that the family had lived in the following places:
·
Leamington,
Warwick
·
Teddington,
Middlesex – confirmed in the Electoral Registers - Albert Road[iv]
·
21
Belgrave Road Norwood, Surrey – 1878 – 1883 according to Directories[v]
·
Carlisle
Road, Eastbourne, Sussex
·
38 Ditchling
Rise, Brighton – 1882 according to Directory[vi]
·
123
Church Road, Hove (An article written by
Judy Middleton in 2002 and revised 2015 gives an account of Forfars bakery in
Hove. It says that in the 1880s George
Forfar took over the business. [vii]
Six homes in
thirteen years.
Emily asserted
that George ...
committed adultery in 1879 on divers occasions and wilfully communicated to her a certain venereal disease.
She said that
he committed adultery again in 1884 and deserted her on 18th July leaving her
destitute.
A newspaper
article revealed that George Senior went to Australia in 1884 after leaving
her.[viii]
Emily committed
suicide at the age of 40 on 14 September 1893. [ix] Walter would have been 15
years old.
She divided her
estate equally between her three sons which they attained at the age of 21. [x]
Emily's father’s and brother's names were Edward which is why I think Ernest changed his name to Ed. Ed emigrated to Canada[xi] where he was a well-known Guide and Hotel owner, amongst other things. Ed was buried at Fort St James BC 26 January 1940. He was 66 years old when he died on 22 January 1940.
Extended Family
George Forfar Senior
was an only child so there was no extended family on his side to provide aunts
and uncles or cousins.
Emily in
contrast had three sisters and one brother:
1.
Elizabeth
Ann born 3rd quarter 1848[xii] – married Walter Featherstone
decorator[xiii].
They had a son Edward born 1868 according to the 1881 Census[xiv] and a daughter Dorothy
Grace born 1884 according to the 1891 Census[xv].
2.
Mary
Ann born 1850[xvi]
– married Andrew Pears Perfumer in 1869[xvii]. They had four children
by the 1881[xviii]
census + five by the 1891 Census[xix] – Francis born 1871, Helen
born 1872, Andrew 1873, Roland 1875 and Elizabeth 1876 and John in 1886
3.
Edward,
a veterinarian, born 1858[xx]. Married Annie Octavia
Hardess 1886.[xxi]
They had two children Gladys Octavia born 3 January 1891 and Edward Hardess
Hollingham born 8 October 1887.[xxii] Divorced 1902. Edward
deserted his wife in September 1894.
4.
Adelaide
born 1865[xxiii]
married Alexander Piesse[xxiv], a veterinarian, and
had one daughter Constance Elise born 1889[xxv]. Divorced in 1895.
Alexander married Mary Ann Cullemore in 1897 and had a son Alexander Francis
Charles Piesse in 1901. He remarried Adelaide in 1907[xxvi].
Interestingly the probate[xxvii] for Adelaide reads as
follows: Piesse Adelaide Elise of Mount Castle Lenham Kent widow died 6 April
1950- Probate London 15 June to Walter George Burt solicitor and Edward Piesse
Butterworth photographer. Effects £9421 1s. 5d. Who was Edward Piesse
Butterworth? Well Adelaide’s daughter Constance married John Foster Butterworth[xxviii] so my best guess is
that Edward is her son.
So Walter and
his brothers had three aunts – Aunt Elizabeth, Aunt Marian and Aunt Adelaide
and one Uncle, Uncle Edward.
The cousins
closest in age to the boys were the Pears children. Francis and Helen were a
older than George, Andrew was the same age and Roland was a year younger than
Ernest. Elizabeth was a couple of years
older than Walter. Unfortunately, the
Pears children lived in London so the brothers may not have seen them very
often.
I have a photo which has written on the back – “Mum’s cousins”.
 |
| "Mum's cousins" |
"Mum" being my mother’s mother or Walter’s daughter, Kit McLoughlin (nee Forfar).
I can only imagine this must be a photo of two of Walter’s brother’s George’s children: Vera Dean nee Forfar and Alan George Forfar. Vera was born 10 July 1906[xxix] and Alan born 12 January1908[xxx].
Looking at the photo I’m thinking the children look as though they are about 7 or 8 years of age or maybe a smidgin older. What do you think? That places this photo at about 1915.
Vera and Alan were born in Hove as were all of George’s children. Ebenezer Pannell operated a studio at 75 Church Road Hove from 1905-1917 acccording to this site.
George must have sent this photo to Walter at some stage and he passed it on to his daughter. Kit and Bel would never have met their English cousins.
Funnily enough, I did correspond with Vera. She was very kind and shared memories of her life with me. It never occurred to me at the time that she was probably the subject of the photo. Silly me.
Emigration
Walter came
out to Australia on the Cuzco 6 September 1895. He was listed as single, 17
years of age with no occupation.[xxxi]
Australia
He is
recorded as working for the Western Australian Railway service from 3 June 1897
as a chainman, resigning on 22 May 1899. [xxxii]
He is listed
on the Orotava leaving Albany for London on 21 May 1899.[xxxiii]
Walter is
listed as paying rates in North Ward, Perth, Western Australia in 1900.[xxxiv]
Married Life
Marriage
Dates/Places:
According to
his eldest child's birth certificate, Walter and Kate were married in 1897 in
Perth Western Australia. We have
searched the index to BDM in WA with no success. However there are advertisements appearing in
the West Australian from July to September for a "girl, smart, at once, to
mind baby and useful at Hawthorne, ....Mrs Forfar, Lincoln Street, Highgate
Hill".[xxxv]
Children’s
Birth Dates/Places:
Walter and
Kate had five children:
1. Ernest Henry Forfar was born 12
February 1900[xxxvi]
at Queen Street East Sandy Bay in Tasmania!
Ernest's father Walter is listed as a retired surveyor. His mother's maiden name is listed as
Sinclair - which was in fact her mother's maiden name.
2. Dorothy, was born 4 June 1901 in
Windsor, Victoria[xxxvii]. Her mother's maiden name is listed as
Morrison on this certificate (???) and Walter's occupation is now Hotel
Keeper. Again, to keep you on your toes,
the birth was registered in New South Wales in November! Walter is recorded as
living at Richmond, NSW. He had the license for the Black Horse Hotel[xxxviii]
until he went bankrupt.[xxxix]
3. Eighteen months later my grandmother
Kit and her twin sister Belle were born 8 December 1902 at 23 Bedford Street
Newtown[xl].
Walter is now listed as a pastry cook.
4.
Walter
William Junior was born in January 1905[xli]
but died only a couple of months later due to asphyxia - due to smothering by
his father rolling on top of him in bed.[xlii]
Electoral
Rolls, Directories and Trove articles
1900 - Walter
W. is listed in Post Office Directory living in Queen Street left hand side
from High Street (which is now Sandy Bay Road)
before Wells Street - 6th house down from High Street.- about half way I
suppose as twelve houses in street before Wells Street which is now Balmoral
Street.[xliii]
On Tuesday 24
April 1900 Mr and Mrs Forfar and infant "clear out" from Hobart to
Perth, Western Australia on RMS Australia.[xliv]
Kate died of
premature confinement and syncope on New Year's eve 1905 at Denison Street Arncliffe[xlv]. She was buried in the
Independent section of Rookwood Cemetery on 2 January 1906.
Shortly
afterwards her children were placed into Randwick Asylum for Destitute Children
by their father. [xlvi]
2nd
Marriage Dates/Places:
Walter
married Alice Bourke 15 November 1913 at St Joseph’s Church, Newtown, New South
Wales, Australia[xlvii]
The older
children were discharged back to his care on 20th December 1913 and taken to
their new home in Beauman Street Petersham. Ernest was then 13, Dorothy 12 and
the twins 11 years old.
Alice Jnr. was
born 1915 and died 11 October 1915[xlviii]. She is buried at Rookwood Cemetery – Section
G Plot 546 in the Independent Section[xlix]
From 1915 –
1923 Walter is listed variously as living at Petersham, Summer Hill, Paddington
and Glebe.[l]
In 1925 he
and Alice are on the electoral roll in Innisfail.[li]
1928 Walter
falls out of a window.[lii]
However,
after this time they seem to have split.
Alice is living at Wollongong from 1930 and then Paddington in
1936. She died in Newcastle in 1944 and
is buried there at Sandgate Cemetery.
From about
1930 Walter is living at the Lidcombe State Hospital until his death.
Senior Years
Date and
place of Death
Walter William (aka Dick) Forfar died 23
February 1949.[liii]
Burial
Place
He was
buried at Rookwood Cemetery in the same plot as Alice his daughter.[liv]
Estate
I have not
been able to find probate for Walter.
Conclusion
This has taken a while to post as I have been somewhat busy with preparations for National Family History Month and my new role on the Management Committee of QFHS.
I am pleased with the new research I conducted and hope that I am a little bit closer to identifying the people in the photo from my grandmother’s collection, just named “cousins of Mum’s”.
How’s your week been? Have you looked at the extended family of
your ancestors and found it useful?
References
[i] Ancestry.com
UK Civil Divorce Records 1858-1914 The National Archives of the UK; Kew,
Surrey, England; Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes, later Supreme Court
of Judicature: Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Files; Class: J 77; Piece: 344;
Item: 355
[ii]
ibid
[iii]
ibid
[iv] Ancestry.com
London, England, Electoral Registers, 1832-1965 from London Metropolitan
Archives
[v] Ancestry.com
London, England, Electoral Registers, 1832-1965 from London Metropolitan
Archives
[vi] Ancestry.com
UK , City and County Directories, 1600s-1900s, 1882 Kelly’s Directory
[vii] Forfars
on Hove In the Past accessed 12 January 2016
http://hovehistory.blogspot.com/2015/11/forfars_14.html
[viii]
26 July 1887 Horsham Petworth Midhurst and Steyning Express Page 1
[ix] Sussex Eastbourne Gazette newspaper
notice 20 September 1893
[x] Ancestry.com
England & Wales National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and
Administrations) 1858-1966
[xi]
Ancestry.com, UK and Ireland, Outward passenger Lists, 1890-1960, The National
Archives; Kew, Surrey, England; BT27 Board of Trade: Commercial and Statistical
Department and Successors: Outwards Passenger Lists; Reference Number: Series
BT27-
[xii]
Ancestry.com, England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915,Online
publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006.Original data
- General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes.
London, England: General Register Office.
[xiii]
Ancestry.com, London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns,
1754-1931, London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; Reference Number:
DRO/024/A/01/006
[xiv]
Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1881 Census,
Class: RG11; Piece: 1338; Folion: 84; Page 5 GSU roll: 1341325
[xv]
Ancestry.com, 1891 Census, The National Archives of the UK (TNA); Kew, Surrey,
England; Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891; Class: RG12; Piece: 1704;
Folio: 113; Page: 8; GSU roll: 6096814
[xvi]
Ancestry.com, 1851 Census, Class: HO107; Piece: 1646; Folio: 412; Page: 17; GSU
roll: 193551.
[xvii]
Ancestry.com, London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns,
1754-1931, London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; London Church of
England Parish Registers; Reference Number: DRO/072/006
[xviii]
Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1881 England
Census, Class: RG11; Piece: 1339; Folio: 48; Page: 39; GSU roll: 1341326
[xix]
Ancestry.com, 1891 England Census, The National Archives of the UK (TNA); Kew,
Surrey, England; Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891; Class: RG12; Piece:
1024; Folio: 147; Page: 41; GSU roll: 6096134
[xx]
Ancestry.com, 1871 England Census, Class: RG10; Piece: 1086; Folio: 128; Page:
43; GSU roll: 827501
[xxi]
Ancestry.com, London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns,
1754-1936, London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; London Church of
England Parish Registers; Reference Number: P86/CTC1/009
[xxii]
Ancestry.com, England & Wales, Civil Divorce Records, 1858-1918 The
National Archives; Kew, Surrey, England; Court for Divorce and Matrimonial
Causes, later Supreme Court of Judicature: Divorce and Matrimonial Causes
Files, J 77; Reference Number: J 77/763/3214
[xxiii] Ancestry.com, England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915
[xxiv]
Ancestry.conm, East Sussex, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns,
1754-1936, East Sussex Record Office; Brighton, England; Sussex Parish
Registers; Reference: PAR 277/1/3/1
[xxv]
Ancestry.com, England & Wales, Civil Divorce Records, 1858-1918, The
National Archives; Kew, Surrey, England; Court for Divorce and Matrimonial
Causes, later Supreme Court of Judicature: Divorce and Matrimonial Causes
Files, J 77; Reference Number: J 77/573/17512
[xxvi]
Ancestry.com.au, England & Wales, FreeBMD Marriage Index: 1837-1915
[xxvii]
Ancestry.com, England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills
and Administrations), 1858-1966
[xxviii]
Ancestry.com, London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns,
1754-1936, London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; London Church of
England Parish Registers; Reference Number: P82/GEO1/053
[xxix]
Ancestry.com, 1911 England Census, Class: RG14; Piece: 5185; Schedule Number:
152
[xxx]
ibid
[xxxi]
Ancestry.com, UK, Outward Passenger Lists, 1890-1960
[xxxii]
Ancestry.com, Western Australia, Railway Records, 1879-1986, State Records
Office of Western Australia, Australia; Registers: Ways and Works Branch;
Reference Number: ACC 1750/9
[xxxiii]
Ancestry.com, Western Australia, Australia, Crew and Passenger Lists,
1852-1930, SRO of Western Australia; Albany to Overseas May 1873 - Jan 1929;
Accession: 108; Item: 11; Roll: 129
[xxxiv]
Ancestry.com, Perth, Western Australia, Australia, Rate Books, 1880-1946
[xxxv]
"Advertising" The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954) 15 August
1900: 8. Web. 17 Jul 2022 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article23841925>.
[xxxvi]
Australia Birth Index, 1788-1922, Ancestry.com
[xxxvii]
The New South Wales Pioneers Index: Federation Series 1889-1918
[xxxviii]
"LICENSING COURT." Windsor and Richmond Gazette (NSW : 1888 - 1965)
31 August 1901: 6. Web. 17 Jul 2022
<http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article85853093>.
[xxxix]
"BANKRUPTCY COURT." The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930)
27 November 1901: 10. Web. 17 Jul 2022
<http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article237378769>.
[xl] Australia
Birth Index, 1788-1922, Ancestry.com
[xli] Australia
Birth Index, 1788-1922, Ancestry.com
[xlii]
New South Wales, Australia, Registers of
Coroners’ Inquests, 1821-1937, Ancestry.com
[xliii]
Ancestry.com, Australia, City Directories, 1845-1948
[xliv]
"SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE." The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) 25
April 1900: 6. Web. 17 Jul 2022
<http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article9057415>.
[xlv] Registry
of Deaths NSW, Death Certificate no. 2949 (1905) , Kate Amelia Forfar, Registry
of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Sydney.
[xlvi]
New South Wales, Australia, Registers for the Randwick Asylum for Destitute
Children, 1852-1915, Ancestry.com
[xlvii]
Ancestry.com, Australia Marriage Index, 1788-1950
[xlviii]
Ancestry.com, Australia Death Index, 1787-1985
[xlix]
Ancestry.com, Australia and New Zealand, Find A Grave Index, 1800s-Current
[l]
Ancestry.com, Sands Directories: Sydney and New South Wales, Australia,
1858-1933
[li]
Ancestry.com, Australian Electoral Rolls, 1901-1936
[lii] "DYING
MAN." The Richmond River Express and Casino Kyogle Advertiser (NSW : 1904
- 1929) 30 March 1928: 3. Web. 17 Jul 2022
<http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article121266695>.
[liii]
Ancestry.com, Australia, Newspaper Vital Notices, 1841-2001, Fairfax Media;
Pyrmont, New South Wales, Australia
[liv]
Ancestry.com, Australia and New Zealand, Find A Grave Index, 1800s-Current
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