Raising Money for World Hunger

If you read my recent post about receiving a delightful family history package in the mail the other day, this is another gem that was part of it.

Before you jump to conclusions, although it is a wonderful cause, I am not raising money for world hunger...but someone else did.

Uncle Archie, 1930s.
[Source: Personal Collection]

My Great Great Uncle Archie Mackay was born in Bowraville, New South Wales on March 28th, 1901 to Alexander Mackay and Elizabeth Gill. He was their only son and grew up with four sisters - Alice, Eva, Lottie and Lizzie. His mother Elizabeth sadly passed away giving birth to Lizzie. Archie was four years old at the time.

On March 20th, 1929, he married Sylvia Grace Kelsey.

Let's pause for a moment, because while Great Great Uncle Archie is, well, exactly that, Sylvia is my 1st Cousin 2x Removed. Yep.

No, Archie and Sylvia are not related. But they are both related to me!

Archie's sister Eva was my Great Grandmother. She married James Albert Dyer. One of James' sisters was Sarah Matilda Dyer - my Great Great Aunt. Sarah married James Kelsey. Have you figured out what comes next? Bingo! Sarah and James Kelsey are Sylvia's parents.

Basically, Archie was my Nanna's Uncle on her mother Eva's side, while Sylvia was her first cousin on her father James' side. So her cousin became her Aunt. My Nanna was actually one of Sylvia's bridesmaids too.

You gotta love small towns. Everyone in Bowraville is connected somehow.

Anyway, back to the original story.

Archie and Sylvia celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary in 1989. Sadly, Sylvia passed away two months short of their 61st Anniversary, in January of 1990. Fast forward to March 28th, 1991. Uncle Archie's 90th Birthday! What did Uncle Archie want for his birthday? I'll let you read the article below. Please note - this is not the whole article. I am not publishing the full version as there are living people mentioned.

Published in the Nambucca Guardian News, June 5th, 1991
[Source: Cousin]

A marvellous gesture indeed! My Nanna often spoke fondly of Uncle Archie, and now I am starting to understand why. Uncle Archie passed away on August 11, 1993, and is buried in Bowraville Cemetery.

Uncle Archie cutting the cake at his 90th
Birthday Party!
Nambucca Guardian News, June 5th, 1991
[Source: Cousin]

Family History Mail

Tonight, I started writing my post about the In Time & Place Conference I attended on the weekend. I was not even two sentences in, when Dad asked me to accompany him to the Thai restaurant to get dinner. We stopped by the PO Box on the way, where I was surprised to find a thick A4 yellow envelope waiting for me. As soon as I saw who it was from I could hardly contain my excitement. My cousin had sent me family history stuff! Stuff I knew I had not seen before because we talked on the phone about what documents each of us had a few weeks ago.

Me, literally. Agnes, not Edith. 

I knew as soon as I opened the package that I was not going to finish my planned blog post. Instead, I wanted to blog about one of the many things I received. There are 12 plastic sleeves, some with two pieces of paper, others with three. Basically, there is a lot for me to process!

TREASURE!

I have been going back and forth choosing what to post. I decided that as it is after 10 pm and I'm ready for sleep, to stick with something simple. Ladies and gentlemen, the first photo I have EVER seen of my 3x Great Grandfather David Gill.

L-R: Louisa Jenkins, Harriet Prince, my 3x Great Grandfather David Gill,
& baby Winifred Jenkins. Four generations. Photo taken April 1922.

I'm so happy to finally put a face with a name. David Gill and his wife Alice Wright have always intrigued me. I had seen a photo of Alice before, but not David. He was born in 1842 to Silas Gill and Mercy Catt in New South Wales. In 1864, he married Alice Wright near Kempsey. They had 11 children - Louisa, Elizabeth (my ancestor), Harriet, Caroline, William, Silas, Edith, Charlotte, Alice, Ernest and Edwin.

Then things get interesting. David passed away in Wondai, Queensland in October 1922 at the age of 80. Where did Alice pass away? Melbourne, Victoria in 1926. They went in opposite directions, literally. He went north, she went south. I have no idea if they separated or divorced. I have not been able to find any evidence supporting that. What I do have is David Gill listed in the 1919 Electoral Roll in Wondai and Alice in Melbourne. I also know that they each had other family members living near them. That might have influenced them to move. Will I ever know why David and Alice went in completely opposite directions? Who knows!

Well, I hope you enjoyed that little tangent.

A massive thank you to my cousin for sending me such wonderful documents. I'm going to have a lot of fun in the next few days.

What was the last family history document you received in the mail?