The earliest member of my ancestral PALMER family for whom there is definite evidence is John Palmer born in March 1730 in Gloucester, Gloucestershire England.
He married on 14 February 1763 to Sarah COWMEADOW possibly in Richmond.
Sarah was born 07 June 1735 in Longney, Gloucestershire to Ann Bullock and Richard Cowmeadow.
(Don't you love the joining of those two surnames)
Sarah and John had 9 children -
John 27 Nov 1763 in Westbury,
William 1765
Sarah 1767
Joseph 1769 - Nov 1834,
James 1771
Thomas 1773 - Nov 1834
Mary 1776 - 1834,
Benjamin 1778 - Jun 1821 and
Daniel 1780- Jul 1836.
It is noted that 3 siblings died in 1834 (2 in November) and I am left wondering if there was a commonality, although they would have been in their fifties and sixties.
“After 1830 the virulent cholera morbusor Asiatic cholera reached England as part of the first pandemic (world-wide epidemic). Between 1831 and 1834 it had caused 60,000 deaths in the population of 14 million. Cholera was greatly feared because of its horrible symptoms.” Reference: Family Search,
Their mother Sarah died six years previously on 04 April 1828 in Westbury on Severn, Gloucestershire. She would have been 93 which seems to be a very old age for the time period.
Their oldest son John PALMER became a farmer (on Esau’s Marr cert) and married Mary BELLAMY on 28 July 1793 in Westbury. Her father is noted as John BELLAMY and mother is Mary GOUGH.
John and Mary Palmer had 4 children:
Mary 1796 - 1865
Mary marr. James Harding and she died in Dursley.
John 1803 - ?
Esau 1807- 1857 and
Thomas 1809 - ?
Esau PALMER was born in Flaxley, Gloucester, UK (1851 Census) and was baptised there on 25 Feb 1807. His father is listed as John Palmer and mother is Mary. (England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975; Film Number:91527)
On 01 Jun 1841, Esau married Mary Ann WALL at the Baptist Church in Ross. (Maiden name verified on children’s wedding certificates)
The church stayed as in the picture until it was rebuilt in 1881
The only district on the 1841 UK census a couple with their names could be found, is at the Hill Hotel in Bakewell, Buxton - which could mean they were honeymooning there as the census was carried out on the night of the 6th June, five days after their wedding.
The 1842 Pigot’s Directory lists Esau as a Brazier and Tinman living in Flaxley.
But by the 1851 Census, he has moved his business to 37 Broad St to the bigger town of Ross on Wye. He is now an ironmonger employing 15 men. The living quarters/house must have been behind or above the shop.
NB: Ross is close to the border of Wales and England
Given to me by K Gillespie, another Palmer descendant.
Esau and Mary Ann had nine children, 4 girls and 5 boys:
Mary Sophia 1842-1906
James Esau 1843-1878
Edward 1844-1910
Edith Ann 1845-1870,
Arthur Samuel 1846-1928,
Charlotte Elizabeth 1847-1923
John Henry Wall 1849-1932,
Gertrude Edith 1850 - ? and
Herbert William 1852-1904
Esau was 50 years old when he died of dropsy in 1857.
Mary Ann was then widowed at 44 years old with her large family and youngest child Herbert only 5 years old.
In Esau’s Last Will and Testament on the 7th January 1857 he leaves:
“all my real and personal estate whatsoever and whosoever to my dear wife Mary ann Palmer”
Mary Ann Wall was born 20 Sep 1813 and christened at Ross, Hereford.
Her father is named as Samuel Wall and Mother - Mary. Her Maternal Grandfather's name is Charles Lewis.
Mary Ann continued running the Ironmongery with her sons assisting her as they grew old enough. In the 1861 Census, James (C) is an Apprentice. Mary Sophia aged 19, Edward aged 17 and Gertrude aged 11 are not present and the remaining children are all scholars. There is a cook (Elizabeth Lewis who could be a relative) and a servant housemaid also in residence.
Mary Ann died on 06 Apr 1862, only five years after her husband.
The nine children are now orphans. However, in her will, she makes sure that her family of children are all cared for. She appoints the executors of George Cyrus Lewis her cousin who is also an Ironmonger but lives at No 1 Lowndes Tce, Knightsbridge in Middlesex and Francis Hamp Adams a banker who is her dear friend. Mary Ann requests the executors care for her estate and that eventually it be sold so they can either divide the residue of her money between her children over 21 and as they reach 21, or to wait for them all to reach 21 and then distribute shared amounts. Also, the young ones are to have provision for their apprenticeships/advancements as required, and a house kept for them all.
At the time the oldest child Mary Sophia would have just turned 21, the other eight children would have ranged down to 10 years old.
When the family had reached adulthood two of the brothers John Henry Wall (20yo) and Arthur Samuel (23yo)came to Australia from Ross, Herefordshire in 1869 to settle in Queensland.
In 1872 John moved to Victoria and carried on the building trade until 1876 when he purchased 320 acres at Jindivick North having to cut his way through the scrub to reach his selection. He and his brother Arthur settled along the flat on the road that went to Neerim South in Gippsland before the Tarago Dam came about.
Arthur eventually moved over to Port Fairy on the western Victorian coastline - then known as Belfast. He was farming there when he met Eleanor Wells daughter of Esau and Eleanor Wells who had emigrated with their family from Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England.
Arthur was a bachelor aged 28 and Eleanor was a spinster aged 31 (born on 17 Feb 1840) when they married on 01 June 1871 at St John’s Church in Pt Fairy. The witnesses were Helen Laidlay and John Holt. Arthur is now working as a Miller in the Warrnambool district.
Arthur and Eleanor had 6 children.
Edith Agnes 1873-1874 died at 11 months.
Arthur Ernest 1874-1950
James Edward 1876-1956
Richard Frederick (Percy) 1878-1963
Violet Maude 1879 - 1946 and
Claude Laidlaw 1881-1958
In 1903 Arthur is listed in the Electoral roll as a Groom.
Arthur seems to have had a ‘come and go’ relationship with his wife and family and Eleanor ran tea rooms to help provide for the family. I had written in my notes when my mother was alive that she didn't know much about her grandfather Arthur Samuel Palmer - that he disappeared from home at times, he worked as a horse’s groom and needed protection (? Meaning of the latter).
Eleanor Palmer nee Wells died in Victoria St Warragul on 01 Jun 1898 of ‘Apoplexia and Cerebri Paralysis’ at age 58. She is buried at the Warragul Cemetery.
After his wife died, Arthur lived in Melbourne - the family said he was a heavy drinker and considered ‘not a nice man’. He called in on his daughter Violet when she was in her early 20’s and living in Melbourne also. Apparently, he wished to reconnect with the family but this did not happen.
After his wife died, Arthur lived in Melbourne - the family said he was a heavy drinker and considered ‘not a nice man’. He called in on his daughter Violet when she was in her early 20’s and living in Melbourne also. Apparently, he wished to reconnect with the family but this did not happen.
In trying to establish what happened to Arthur his death certificate was obtained. This showed that Arthur died 06 August 1928 aged 81 years. The surprise was to see that Arthur had married a second time. Research of electoral rolls showed that he married sometime between 1903 and 1909 as he was alone in 1903 but Julia Martha Palmer lived with him in the 1909 roll. They lived in Barkly St Mentone the suburb where they married, and Arthur Samuel was a Cab Driver and Julia - Home duties. The 1914 roll repeated this information. NB: Cab driver could mean a horse cab driver at that time. The marriage year was validated as 1907.
By 1919 they have moved to Mitchell St, Mentone and Arthur's employment is listed as NIL. He is now 73 years old, so would be retired.
On the 1924 roll, Arthur was alone once again which matched his death certificate that says his 2nd wife pre-deceased him - Julia probably died between 1919 and 1924. Checking showed that Julia died in 1920 at Heidelberg aged 79 years.
After some sleuthing, evidence proved Arthur’s second wife was Julia Martha Deverell, a widow. She had been married to Robert Deverell, a lighthouse keeper in 1892 and he died in 1904. Her original maiden surname was Babb.
Arthur and Julia Martha (also known as Martha Julia) married in 1907 and she died in 1920 which meant that Arthur was probably alone for the next 8 years, the last of his life.
I don’t believe that the family knew at all about Arthur’s second marriage.
I thought it was time to make amends and sought out Arthur's grave - it took quite a while as his death was listed at Malloc on the Victorian Death Index. Eventually, this turned out to be an abbreviation for Mordialloc and his burial took place at The Necropolis Cemetery Springvale in Melbourne. He is listed as a farmer on the death certificate although quite a few years had passed since that was the case.
A Victorian friend visited the cemetery for me and took a photo She said: After much searching for Arthur unsuccessfully, the maintenance man who knew the cemetery layout and numbering system guided us. Unfortunately, we found there was no headstone for Arthur, but the image shown is his plot.
Sadly Arthur lies in a grassed unmarked grave - Compartment N Section 2 Grave 54 - but now recognised and for a moment marked by some white chrysanthemums from a descendant.Arthur and Eleanor’s fifth child and only surviving daughter Violet married Joseph Cottam the sixth child of Eliza and James Cottam in St John’s Church, Footscray, Melbourne in 1904.
Joseph and Violet went to live and farm on Joseph’s selection at Jindivick, near Drouin, Gippsland until around 1914 (wartime), when Joseph moved to Box Hill to farm poultry and then on to Kew. At the end of the war - In 1919 they were back in Jindivick, Gippsland.
They made a move northwards to the Goulburn Valley in 1925 and settled on a farm they named “Doonside” in Prentice Road Drumanure.
By 1931 their son Philip Douglas was farming with them and daughter Nellie (Eleanor Elizabeth) was farming with her husband Frank Burkitt, nearby.
The original old house “Doonside” was still there in 2014, although falling into disrepair.
Around 1937 Philip and wife Gertrude (nee Honeybone) had moved to their settlement at Sandmount and set up a large poultry farm, using modern ideas.
In 1942 Joseph was living in Orrvale working as an Irrigationalist and after a few years, they retired and moved to Shepparton.
Violet died in 1946 and Joseph went to live with his daughter Lilian Pearce and husband William (Bill) on their orchard at Grahamvale.
Joseph died in 1953 at Mooroopna Hospital, Victoria.
Family of Joseph and Violet Cottam:
James Ernest was born 02 Jan 1803 in Drouin, Gippsland and married Doris Ruba. They lived in Young St Mooroopna for a while. He was an engineer and moved to Tasmania for the building of the Hydro Scheme. Died in Hobart 18 Jan 1978
Phillip Douglas was born on 24 Sep 1907 in Drouin also. He marred Gerte Nellie Gaynee Honeybone and they lived on their poultry farm at Sandmount until his death by tractor accident 20 Jul 1960.
Eleanor Elizabeth (Nell) was born on 08 May 1909 in Chintin, Gippsland and married Francis (Frank) Burkitt on 12 Feb 1930 in Drumanure Presbyterian Church, Victoria. Nell died on 06 Dec 1978 in Numurkah.
Lilian Agnes was born on 24 Aug 1913 at Kew, Victoria. She married William Louden Pearce (Bill) an Orchardist of Orrvale on 23 March 1940 (Easter Saturday) at Scot’s Church, Shepparton. The Pearce family emigrated from Peebles, Scotland in 1913. Bill and Lil lived in Shepparton with Lil’s parents (Joseph and Violet) until they moved out to their orchard at Grahamvale. Bill was a City councillor and subdivided property in South Shepparton and Numurkah as well as developing and running orchards at Kialla West. The Pearce’s donated land to the Presbyterian Church where St Andrew’s Church was built in South Shepparton and land for the Child Health Clinic. Bill was an Elder in the church and both were long-standing members of the choir. Bill and Lil retired and moved to far northern NSW in 1964 for Lil’s health. They lived at Terranora, where Bill ‘ever the worker’ ran a market garden growing tomatoes and passionfruit for the Sydney markets as well as growing their own fruit and veggies. Eventually, they settled in Kingscliff on the coast where they played bowls and participated in Meals on Wheels and all the church activities. Lil was a prestigious jam maker for friends and church stalls, as well as working her old Singer sewing machine mending for all and sundry. Bill died 20 Apr 1982 in Tweed Heads Hospital and Lilian died on 02 Aug 1996 also in Tweed Heads Hospital, NSW.
George Alfred was born on 06 Mar 1916 in Kew, Victoria and married Irene Goodingham. George joined the police force and worked at many police stations around Victoria including Nagambie, as well as the mounted police in Melbourne. He died on 26 May 2009
Joseph William was born on 12 May 1919 in Drouin, Gippsland. He was an Auto mechanic and married Frieda Evelyn John. They settled in South Australia and ran an Auto Works in Unley. Joe died in 2006.
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