Haven't visited this for a while - been busy and having some health issues as well. Checking through the comments that have piled up awaiting moderation, I found that most were spam. To the writers of genuine comments, I apologise for the delay in publishing them.

Geoff

Emma Drew and John Odgers

Emma and John have been exercising my mind for a while. I was able to find the births and deaths of a number of children here in Queensland, then nothing apart from the appearance of one of the surviving children in the UK in 1891. Just recently, I came across another family tree that had Emma deceased in Indiana, USA, where that son had apparently settled after leaving the UK in 1892.

This set me to digging once more. Emma remarried in South Australia in 1876. Whether John was deceased, or they were divorced, remains to be discovered but he was apparently alive in early 1875 in Rockhampton. Add to this the information that the son who emigrated to America gave his birthplace as "Mournish" (actually Morninish, a gold mining locality inland from Rockhampton and north of Charters Towers) and an area could be established for searching out more about John Odgers. It appears that he was licensee of a hotel in Morninish, and resided for a time at Lake's Creek, in the general locality.

But maybe we should start this story closer to the beginning.

Emma Drew, daughter of John Drew and Elizabeth Lembrey Edwards (and my 3rd cousin twice removed) was born about 1842 in Penzance, Cornwall. On 4th September 1864 she married John Odgers in Madron. On 18th June 1865, Emma and John arrived in Queensland on the "Empress of the Seas". A notice was published in the Brisbane Courier of 8th November 1865 calling on John Odgers, recently arrived on the Empress of the Seas, to collect his gratuity.

A child, Mary Jane was born and died in Queensland in 1867, followed by William John in 1868 and died 1869, then William James in 1870. This latter is the chap who returned to England then moved on to Indiana. Louisa was born and died in 1872, followed by Emma Sarah born in 1873 who seems to disappear off the face of the earth.

In July 1868, John Odgers was granted the licence for the Prince of Wales Hotel in Morinish, and the licence was renewed in 1871. In 1872 one of his employees, an aboriginal, was murdered on his property at Lake's Creek. Also in 1872, he was granted a licence for a house at Lake's Creek, but this licence was withdrawn. Then, in March 1875, there is a report in the Rockhampton papers of a court case involving theft from Mr John Odgers. It would appear for the proceedings that some heavy drinking had been going on leading up to Mr Odgers falling down going to sleep.

There is a report from the South Australian papers the previous year of the sudden death of Mr John Odgers, who was described as "an aged man" (another report puts his age at 63, and date of arrival in the colony as 1848) whereas our John would have been only about 35 years of age. So the death date given by some researchers of 1874 could well refer to another person entirely.

However, the next we see of Emma is her marriage to Joseph Morris in Port Adelaide on 11th June 1876. Did John's apparent hard drinking drive Emma to leave him? Who knows. Joseph died in March 1899, and Emma then travelled to join her son in Indiana, where she died in 1921. It is possible that Joseph's death was reported in the Adelaide newspapers on 23rd March 1899:

FATAL CARRIAGE ACCIDENT.

ADELAIDE, March 23.

Last night the lessee of the Tea Tree Gully Hotel, Joseph Morris, was driving near Houghton, when his horses became unmanageable and bolted, throwing him and several women who were with him to the ground with fearful force. Morris died from the effects of the fall, a couple of hours after the accident. The women were more or less badly shaken.

Emma and Joseph had a son, Henry, born 1882. There is a marriage in 1911 of a Henry Joseph Morris in Carey Gully, South Australia, to a Violet Hellen Golding, at the residence of Solomon Golding. Whether this is our Henry needs checking, and there are several marriages of a Henry Morris in South Australia at about the right time..

Passing of Albert Edward "Skipper" Drew

Death of Albert Edward Drew, from the work diary by Theo Woodhead. May, June 1948.

May 1948
22nd Uncle & I went in truck to Deagon, re C Tetzaloff Ext. Also to Dr & Chemist, Uncle being sick. Dr prescr bed, Sulph. Tabs & Mixture. Left for 2 weeks down Bay at 7pm with Sid, Charlie, Nugget & Vic Winn.
23rd Left Bishop Is for Sth End of Moreton. Uncle a little better.
24th Met by Launch on way to Amity. Sid’s sister died suddenly & left him ashore at Cleveland.
25th Uncle had bad night with Cough. Left Lamb at 10am for the Pin. Uncle not too good.
26th Left for Tipplers 9 am. Uncle very drowsy & looked bad, refused shave & wash, had fair night. Tablets finished. Temp up & down.
27th Uncle worse, very drowsy. Woke at 11am & did not know his whereabouts. Pesuaded him to go home by ambulance from Southport. Went to Main Beach for the boys & left for Southport at 12:00. Arrived at Tuesleys at 2pm. Uncle left by ambulance at 2.40 pm. Rang home & made arrangements for Uncle’s arrival. Dr Prentice injected Penicilin Friday, plus Sulph Tabs.
Rest of trip see Log.
June 1948
12th Arrived back at 1230. Uncle in very low condition. Rang Dr & came with Dr Waters for consultation & X Rays. Not much hope of recovery. Assisted Auntie to nurse Uncle. Oxygen & Penicilin administered. Uncle discussed business with me on Sunday to finish Rater for K Payne, Hse for Mrs Hawkins, Riley, Giles, Shaw, Wilsons Launches, repair Dancer, dinghies for Morgan, Tuesleys, finish Perc. Jones and Mr Hydes jobs & other work that was standing as he would not be able to do anything after he got over this sickness. Up nearly all night Mon, Tues, Wed, & Uncle passed away at 7.20 June 17. Never suffered pain, conscious at 6am & then just went to sleep. Breathing at 40 & rapid pulse .& then at 7.15 just gradually went. Is. Handford & I attended him, & I assisted Auntie with general procedure.
19th Uncle laid to rest at Lutwyche at 10 am.
20th Cleaned up house & attended to business.

At Last!

I looked high and low for the marriage of  Samuel Drew and Jane Harris, and was starting to think that they never bothered. The passenger list on the "North American" in April 1867 had her as Jane Drew, spinster, after all. However, if you wait long enough, things will pop out of the woodwork. Ancestry.com now offers Maine marriages, and there they were! Married by a Justice of the Peace on 26th June 1867 in Cumberland County, Maine. Many thanks to Lorna (Devonshire relly) who has a more comprehensive subscription to ancestry for winkling out the details.

Another mystery crossed off the list.

William Charles "Charlie" Drew

Over the past few days, prompted by some new information on Ancestry, I have again been delving into the lives of the descendants of this, my grandad's third cousin. Seems I wasn't looking far enough afield for some of the children, as they ended up in South Australia. I've also found more in Broken Hill, New South Wales. For some, I've even got to descendants who could well be alive.

I also 'solved' the puzzle of Elizabeth Ann (Hodge) Drew, finding that she died 6 years after Charlie in Sydney, about the same time as one of her daughters-in-law (Gertrude Derrington, wife of Samuel Drew). It could be that she went to live with them either before or after Charlie passed on. She did not bother to enrol to vote, it seems, so it is hard to track her.

There are some of Charlie's children, however, who seem to have just disappeared. One day, I'll hunt them out.

I have also been looking a little more into the lives of the family of Francis and Louisa Drew, our kissing cousins in Sheerness, Kent. I even went so far as to use Google Street View to have a look at 60 Invicta Road. Nice and close to Marine Parade. I also looked at Lannoweth Road, Penzance, where Nellie Drew was residing for a time. Very nice indeed! Lovely sea view over Chyangour Cliff (and, unfortunately, the railway station).

I thought for a while that Will Drew and Alftruda might have been missionaries in Hong Kong (there was a Will Drew in the China Inland Mission) but the passenger list for Will's return to England in 1921 states that he was a boilermaker who probably worked, like his brother, in the dockyard.

More later. Terribly wet here. No doubt you've heard reports of the floods.

Happy New Year to one and all.

 Bledhen noweth da dh'onen hag oll.

Thanks to Reverend Cousin Julyan Drew (fifth, twice removed) for posting that on facebook, from which I copied.

I hope 2011 turns out nice for all. After, of course, the assorted snowstorms, frozen and burst water pipes, floods and droughts have passed.

Bulk Rates for Families?

I have been playing with the FamilySearch Pilot site and, being brave, typed in Bennett Drew. How daunting it must be for a Drew family researcher who has just found their first Bennett Drew to be confronted with 169 entries!

What I did notice was that Bennett Drew and Agnes Roberts seemed to have the kids baptised in batches. Nov 1881 and March 1896 are dates that feature.

The Death of Samuel Drew - April 25, 1907

We are having a clean-up and chuck-out effort at the Sandgate Museum, and this afternoon I had a call to come down because they had found Samuel Drew and Sons account books and work diaries in a box in a cupboard. "Would I like to take them away and have a look through them?" Is the Pope Catholic?

In the daily work diary commencing  May 11 1903, it is all great-grandfather Samuel's handwriting up until close of business June 11, 1906. It then changes to a stronger hand with a definite Cornish 'sound' to the wording.

18 June 1906 - "Father a little better"
Amongst the ensuing entries, there are little snippets as to who has come to visit "Father" but nothing much about his condition. Then, in April 1907 the company is building a house for Mr Neilson at Samford.

22, 23, 24 April 1907 - "All hands painting Mr Neilson's house."
25 April 1907 - "Alb. (Albert) and Jack all day painting. Will half day. Will left us again today went to Mr Early's in the afternoon. Father died at 4-30 pm today. Got word at 8 pm to come home, arrived at midnight. Will at 7 pm."
26 April 1907 - "Father was laid to rest at sun down today by the Rev Powell after 12 months of terrible and very painfull (sic) suffering."
27 April 1907 - "Alb. home all day cutting firewood. Jack in Brisbane in morning about his teeth and home in afternoon."

Do I detect a fair bit of Cornish Wesleyan stoicism in there?

Still Waiting

Dad, Samuel Henry Drew, was not expected to make it through last night, so I have been up since 4 waiting for news.

Not waiting any longer. 

Dad slipped away peacefully about 8:30 am today,  21st August 2010 aged 89 years and 14 days.

"Resolute"

This image was 'lost' for a while, but I found it again last week. It was part of my childhood, hanging on the wall at home. The date on the back say 20 November 1940, which is most likely the date on which Uncle Oliver had it printed. The photographer was Vernon Henry Neelan Cox, of Yundah Street, Shorncliffe. It appears that he was a talented amateur, as his occupation is given as Salesman in the electoral rolls of the time.

Resolute was Great Uncle Albert's beloved Linton Hope Rater, and it won many trophies and pennants over the years.

Health Update

I have been out of hospital since Monday, just a day short of 3 weeks after being admitted. The BEAM treatment went better than expected, with respect to severity of side effects, and the stem cell transplant was a raging success. Now, all I need is about 6-8 months of recovering from the treatment (and the disease which preceded it). I tire easily, but each day is just a little better than the one before.

Julia Ann Drew

Julia Ann Drew, c.1912.

She would have been about 20 at the time of this photo, before her marriage to Reginald Freeman Hoar.
She is Gail's grandmother.

(Love the rustic chair.)

Superintendant James Henry Drew

James Henry Drew of the Cornwall Constabulary.

Possibly taken at the time of his retirement in 1933, or maybe at the time of his promotion to Super.

William Reginald Capel Drew

William RC Drew in uniform, 1908.

He died in the North Sea after the sinking of HMS Hawke on 15 October 1914.

Striking resemblance to Samuel Henry Drew and, to a lesser extent, Oliver White Drew, even though they both also seem to resemble members of the Bridle family from East Devon.

Gladys May Boundy nee Drew

Boundy Wedding, 20 June 1925, Torpoint.

Rear: William John Drew, George Penwarden Boundy, Gladys May Drew, Cecil Drew

Front: Gladys (or Winifred?) Boundy, Edith M Boundy.

(Gail has Gladys Boundy, but as far as I can tell George's sisters were Winifred and Edith.)

Winifred Jane Burn nee Drew

Winifred Jane Burn on Flag Day, 1918. 

Julia Annie (Caple) Drew and Julia Ann (Drew) Hoar nursing the Burn twins (Arthur R and Wilfred F), 1920. Wilfred F died in 1921, and Arthur R, as far as is known, went to live in Exeter with his father, Frank, and stepmother. If still alive, he would be about 90 years old. Winifred Jane died in or soon after childbirth.

William John Drew and Family

William John Drew, Cecil Drew, Bob Hoar, Hedley Hoar - On the Tamar in 1934 or possibly a bit later, 1938? The boat was built by William John. Seems that the Drew family is inclined to building beautiful boats. No need to guess that this is on the Tamar - Brunel's wonderful bridge can be seen in the distance.

 

Front: William John Drew and Julia Annie Caple.

Rear, from left: Julia Ann (Drew) Hoar, Cecil, and Gladys May.

c.1920

Cecil bears a passing resemblance to my cousin Gregory, but maybe simply because of the receding hairline. Wm John is very much like Albert Edward Drew.

William John Drew and his grandson, Hedley (Albert Hedley) Hoar. c.1919

Mary Ann Drew, nee Reid/Reed

Thanks to Gail, I now have some photos of  some of the family of Edward George Drew of Mylor. This one is of Mary Ann, wife of Edward George Jr., and mother of that large family written about in previous posts. If the clothes she is wearing are "widow's weeds", then that would date this to around 1912. She doesn't look too happy about being photographed.

Remission (and Beyond)

Yes, I have achieved remission! Nice present for Christmas. However, the kerfuffle is not over yet. I go to hospital on 29 Dec for a single high dose of cyclophosphamide, wait a few days, and then do the stem cell harvesting. I will be in hospital for about 10 days, but will have the little netbook with me so I'll be able to stay in touch.

Wed. 13th. Came out of hospital on Friday, after a successful stem cell collection. Next steps are a couple of check-ups to make sure I am fit for the final stages of the treatment then, if all is well, back into hospital about 8th February for a really high dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplant. Look like being in hospital for about 4 weeks.

A Snippet

Chis passed this on, from a book published by the Mylor local history group.

The Book of Mylor: A Cornish Creekside Village & Harbour

page 72 A COASTING KETCH

The Hobah, a coasting ketch,was built at Trelew on the south side of Mylor Creek in 1879. Thomas Gray, a master shipwright usually building in Falmouth, hired several labourers in Flushing and had a saw-pit dug out at the back of the beach 50ft from the present road. The men travelled to work by the way of a footpath across Trelew Farm from Devils Roost. Further down, keel blocks were laid across the beach. Edward Drew and his son, William, of Mylor, cut out all the timbers of the ketch. She was to Thomas Gray's own design and for his own use, when she was launched she proved to be fast and good carrying capacity. On her first voyage the Hobah was rammed by a steamer and sank. She was re-floated, repaired and then traded for 68 years, often carrying Cornish granite as her cargo.

"Skipper" Racing

Brisbane Courier, 14 November 1899

This is the earliest competitive sailing report found so far that has Albert's name in it. Note that the "Elva" has passed from Uncle Bill to Albert, and "Evelyn" has been sold to Mr Chapman.

Skipper and Uncle Bill have an adventure, November 1897

I have been slowly dredging through the old newspapers on-line in an attempt to find out when the "Drew Boys" began competitive sailing at Sandgate. It is unfortunate that search keywords like "A Drew" bring up far too many irrelevant items.

It would seem that the mid-1890s might be a good approximation, not long after organised sailing activities began in Bramble Bay. The following is the earliest reference found so far. By 14 November 1899, there are reports of "Skipper" (Albert) competitively sailing "Elva".

Brisbane Courier, 22 November 1897.

Better News

Things have been a bit rough with the chemotherapy, but last Monday I had a re-staging CT Scan before my fifth treatment. It was very encouraging, so it has been decided that the sixth treatment, on 3 December, will be the last for now. On that day, we'll plan the next steps, which start with testing for remission - CT scan, PET scan, and bone marrow biopsy. If all is good, then we'll probably move on to stem cell harvesting and beyond.

So, keep your fingers and toes crossed.

Another Contact from Wales

Overnight, a contact from Joe who is descended from Grace Harris DREW (daughter of George Bosisto DREW and Grace HARRIS).

So, sifting through the tree, it seems that quite a few DREW and associated/descended families ended up in Wales over the years.


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On the health front, I am feeling quite improved after the first round of treatment, though I find that I tire very easily if I exert myself in any way. My treating doctor is most pleased with my progress and my response to the chemotherapy. He told me that I am the only patient on his books with this particular Lymphoma - I reckon that is a positive for me, as it is an incentive for him to enhance his reputation by making sure I attain a sustained remission.

A Warning, and News

This morning, I received an e-mail purporting to come from Thelma. However, I think it is a scam of some kind. Is Thelma really stuck in London with a lost wallet and in urgent need of 800 quid? It is possible that someone has gained access to Thelma's email address list and is trying to profit from it.

Now for some grisly news. I don't know how much longer I will be able to keep up with my researches and the Blogs. I have been off colour for some time, and finally got to see a physician because I wasn't satisfied with the answers I was getting from my GP. Turns out I am suffering from Angioimmunoblastic T-Cell Lymphoma. Today, I have an appointment to be told the final diagnosis and prognosis and to plan chemotherapy treatment. I will let you know how things go.

Later in the day:
Friday 11th - insert Port-a-cath. That went well.

Monday 14th - admit to hospital for first doses of CHOP-14 chemotherapy. Need to be monitored because we already know that Prednisolone precipitates painful attacks of gout.

Saturday 26th - almost a fortnight since my first chemotherapy, and all went well apart from being turned into a temporary diabetic by the Prednisolone. The outward signs of the disease have eased considerably. I have my next round of chemotherapy on Monday afternoon, locally, at a small cancer day hospital not far from my house.

A Descendant of Hester Ann DREW Appears

My pursuit of the descendants of Edward George DREW (Jr.) of Mylor continues. I have been contacted by a grandson of Hester Ann DREW (daughter of Mary Elizabeth DREW and Mr NOT GIVEN) and George Trevillian STEVENS. He has been kind enough to give me some background information on what he knows of the family, along with a scan of the marriage certificate.

George Trevillian Stevens married Hester Ann(e) Drew in the parish church of the parish of St John, after banns, by the rector Aug Walsh on 3rd August 1907. Witnesses were Winifred J Drew and Frederick J Drew (Hester's brother). George was a boilermaker, son of Thomas Henry Stevens, labourer. Hunting through marriages for Thomas Henry, I find a likely looking marriage registered in Redruth district in the June quarter of 1882 between Thomas Henry Stevens and Sarah Ann Trevillian.

George and Hester had only one child, Reginald George T Stevens.

A Diamond Wedding

On 27 April, 1949, Oliver White DREW married Marjorie Jean KANOWSKI. Sunday last, we gathered at their house for a small celebration of this milestone. There was eating, a little bit of drinking, much talking and laughing, and opening of letters and cards from our local Federal MP (the Treasurer), the Prime Minister, the Governor General and Her Majesty.

The Beckerlegs, Maybe

Although there are no identifying details, this is a family album so there is a great possibility that this couple is Mary DREW, sister to Francis and "Charlie", with her husband, William BECKERLEG.

Francis DREW and Louisa DREW, the Kissin' Cousins

Our DREW tree seems to be relatively free of cousin marriages, unlike my mob from the other side of the Tamar who preferred (so it sometimes seems) to marry some kind of fairly close relative. Personally, I blame the cider.

Anyhow, Francis DREW (1841-1908), son of William DREW and Rebecca BOTTRELL, married Louisa DREW (1856-1930), daughter of Bennet(t) DREW and Jane Moyle HOSKING. Their common ancestors were Bennett DREW and Jennifer WILLIAMS, grandparents to Francis and great-grandparents to Louisa. Francis DREW was brother to William Charles DREW, who we have already met and discussed in this Blog.

The current burst of interest in Francis and Louisa comes from a recent contact from Valerie, who purchased an album of postcards and photographs that had obviously originated from Francis and Louisa. Louisa had returned to Penzance some time after Francis' death, and it seems that this album had come onto the market in recent times after the death of some descendant or relative. Valerie did some research, and found me through GenesReunited. She has kindly agreed to scan some of the content of the album for me.

Probably Louisa DREW, Sheerness, Kent.
If the clothes are mourning dress, then about 1908.

Comparing the facial features of the younger woman to the previous photo, it is possible that this is of a young Louisa Drew with, maybe, her mother,
Polly Moyle Hosking. Love the hats. Estimated date, early 1870s?

There are more pics, including postcards sent in from places such as Gibraltar, where the younger Francis seems to have been stationed as a naval shipwright.

I will keep you posted with further developments as they occur.

Recent Contacts

Over the past few days, I've been contacted through Genes Reunited by:
1. Susan, the niece of Joseph Edward TRAYS, son of Mary Elizabeth DREW and Joseph TRAYS. The link is through Joseph Edward's wife's family. Marriage to Ethel CARTER took place in June Q of 1916, in St Austell:
Trays, Joseph E T, Carter, St. Germans,Vol. 5a, p.41.
Susan says; "They had two daughters - Marjorie and Phyllis. Uncle Joe was a Police Sergeant in Falmouth and at some time lived in St Austell at The Police House." So Joseph followed his uncle James Henry DREW into the Cornwall and Devon Constabulary.

2. Monica, the daughter of Marjorie Mabel DREW and Edward Burton RISBY.