#52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. Week 32, Prompt: ‘Youngest'

Week 32 :   'Youngest'

This week I am concentrating on the ‘youngest’ child of James and Eliza Cottam.  I have written a few stories about James, including telling of his early accidental death 01 May 1873.   (I seem to be drawn to this family 😊)  
His wife Eliza was left with her young family of six children and pregnant, near term.  

She delivered her baby girl   

Agnes McLeod COTTAM

between May-Jul 1873,

in Chintin, Mernda, Victoria, a short time after her husband died.  I feel very sad for Agnes who never saw her father, and then to see a pattern continuing on, touches my heart.

Agnes joined the family of siblings: Mary Anne, Elizabeth, Martha, James, George, and Joseph (My maternal grandfather). 

On 08 October 1903, Agnes was 29, she married Alfred George HOLT,  35, and son of William HOLT and Ellen GIDDENS.  At the time Alf was a carpenter working out at Jindivick where Agnes lived. However once married they moved into Kew where Alf's family lived.

Alfred and Agnes had the following children, all born in Kew, Victoria:

 1. Gordon Ernest HOLT, born in 1905.  Died on 17 Mar 1964 in Parkville, Melbourne.

 2. Elizabeth Beryl HOLT, born in 1906.  Died in 1992.

 3. Harold Lindsay HOLT, born on 03 Sep 1908.  Died on 28 Oct  1996.

 4. George McLeod HOLT born in 1912.  Died on 07 Jul 1971 in Bendigo, Victoria.

43 Kent Street, Kew in 2018.

Agnes and Alf stayed in Kew for her short 9 years of married life.  She was only 39 years old when she died suddenly on 09 July 1912 in their home "Wahroonga", 43 Kent St, Kew.   
Her Death Certificate lists causes of death as Influenza, premature confinement, and heart failure.  

Death Certificate crop for Agnes Holt.

She left four young children - aged  7, 5, 3 and her newborn baby only 2 days old and not yet named.
What a shock this must have been for Alf, the excitement of a new baby and the grief of his wife's sudden death.

    Agnes was buried in Boroondara Cemetery, Victoria, (Baptist “B”  Grave 71/72. 

Agnes’ sister Mary Anne Cottam was 11 years older than her sister and single and I believe moved in to help Alf with his young family.  And similar to what happened in some families in those days, they became a couple and reared the children.  I imagine this would have been a challenging task for Mary Anne at her age with a brand new baby and 3 youngsters to mother.

Mary Anne and Alf then married one year or so later in 1913-14, Mary Anne was 51 years old and Alf by now, 45 years old. 

They had one child - Irene Holt born in 1914 also in Kew.

Mary Anne died 30 January 1935,  age 71. 

Alf died on 16 September 1945 in Kew, age 77 .

Alf and Mary Ann were buried with Agnes at Boorandoora cemetery, Kew.

________________________________________________________________________

Kew.

Kew is an inner suburb of Melbourne,  5 km east from Melbourne's Central Business District.  In the 1850s, the area quickly became a sought-after suburb for the well-to-do in Melbourne and quite a few private schools were established there.   It was proclaimed a town on 08 December 1910, and a city on 10 March 1921. The population of the area tripled between 1910 and World War II.  It is still cited as one of the most prestigious suburbs in Melbourne today.

#52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. Week 27 - Prompt: ‘Independence'

Week 27   'Independence' - Historical Fiction

Independence - I have chosen to go with a young male ancestor seeking independence and bravely moving across the globe to find it.

  

'Brothers Farewell'

“Oh, James I will miss you so,” John says. “To think my brother will be on the other side of the world and I won’t see you, it grieves my heart.”  

“I feel the same,” James says.  “But remember ‘tis my big opportunity.  I shall have my own land and farm without father’s and Elizabeth’s ridicule.” 

“ ‘tis hard for me to understand your love of the soil, we are so different,” John says.

James is quiet for a moment thinking about John and his passion for trains and the railways compared to his own bent for growing and harvesting.  

James lowers his voice, 

“Nothing can come between us. We have a special bond, being of the one mother.  Not like Mary Ann who shares our father only.”

“True,” John says, handing James a package. “Here is some writing paper.  Promise to send news as soon as you arrive.  I want to picture where you are and what you’re doing. There is also a Bible to remember your God with comfort.  Our daily prayers will always include you, dear brother. Once you are established, Rebecca and I hope you meet a good woman, ‘tis pure enjoyment to chat by your fireside with the woman you love.”

James agrees in his mind that he would be overjoyed to experience that same love, but replies –– 

“I think my hours will be taken up settling in and working.” 

As the brothers share a final hug, James wonders, ‘will we ever be together again?’

________________________________________________

Reflective Statement

My Great Grandfather, James Cottam laboured on his father’s farms in Lancashire. His younger brother John was a railways worker at Sheffield. They never met up again. Both died in accidents.  James was forty-four when killed in a rockslide. He arrived in Victoria in 1852 and married eight years later. He left a wife in-child and six children.

John, twenty-nine, was killed in a shunting accident. He left Rebecca and five young children.

I wish I’d known them and that they’d come together again.  I decided to bring them to life in my story.