Nathaniel McCormack (1874-1944
and Louisa Gillard (1878-1930)

(last updated 11 March 2023)

Life and times

Nathaniel (Nathan or Nipper) McCormack (1874-1944). Born at Dallmellington in Ayreshire in Scotland on 7 February 1874, the infant Nathaniel sailed with his family from Plymouth in England on the immigrant sailing ship TYBURNIA on the 7th of July the same year. After arriving at Sydney Cove on 5 October 1874, the family proceeded to Newcastle where they first lived in the suburb of Minmi. By the time of the NSW 1891 census, they had moved to Greta, a small town located midway between Maitland and Singleton, where both Nathaniel and his father, Robert McCormack, worked as miners. Nathaniel's mother, Margaret McCormack nee McBlane, died at Greta on 28 September 1897 and was buried in the local cemetery. On 20 April the following year, Nathaniel married a local girl, Louisa Gillard (1878-1930), at the residence of a Mr Seth Wilkinson of Greta. Their marriage certificate shows the wedding was conducted in accordance with the rites of the Primitive Methodist Church and in the presence of William McCormack and Harriet Mary Gillard. Because Louisa was under 21 years, written consent had to be given by her mother, Annie Gillard. The officiating minister was Thomas F. Rudd.

Born at Greta in 1878, Louisa's parents were William Gaylard/Gillard (1849-92) and Annie Fogerty/Parker (1851-1902) who were married at Maitland on 18 January 1871 and had eight children between then and 1888. Louisa's father was born on the sailing ship ST VINCENT while his parents, James and Honor Gaylard nee Butcher, and three siblings - James (9), John (6) and Louisa (3) - were emigrating to Australia. The ship's records show James Gaylard was a farm labourer and his wife a farm servant. James could neither read nor write and Honor could only read. The report of the immigration board states James' parents were John and Ann Gaylard who lived at Mardock in Somerset. It added James had no relatives in the colony and all the family were in good health. Unfortunately this would not always be so. As reported in the Newcastle Morning Herald and Miner's Advocate on 20 January 1892, the then 21 year-old John Gillard and his father died from typhoid fever on successive days. 'At the mouth of the grave', the report continued, 'the deceased's wife . . . unable to bear her burden, fainted and sank into the arms of her friends. The ceremony throughout was acknowledged to have been the most impressive ever witnessed in Greta, and the wet eyes of the many who were present plainly told of the genuine sympathy existing in the hearts of the public towards the bereaved ones. But what makes the case still more melancholy is that the widow's eldest and newly-married daughter is also under treatment for this dreaded disease in the hospital, and is hourly expected to share the same fate' (John's older sister, Ada Wynne, succumbed to the disease on 27 January 1892 and is also buried in the Greta Cemetery). Three weeks after William and John's funeral, the Greta community held a benefit concert 'the proceeds of which will go to assist the widow of the late Wm. Gillard . . . The hall was crowded to the doors, many people being present from the bush, and also from neighbouring villages, and a splendid and well sustained programme was gone through . . . The Mayor of Greta, Mr Thos. Jones, occupied the chair' (The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser, 12 March 1892). On 28 November 1902, the Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners Advocate informed its readers that a 'Mrs A. Gilllard of Greta died on Tuesday night after a short illness'. She was buried with William and John in the local cemetery.

The Australian electoral rolls show Nathaniel and Louisa McCormack lived the majority of their married lives on Allandale Road in Cessnock where Nathaniel worked as a miner at the Aberdare Central Colliery. He was also a long-time member of the local branch of the Ancient Order of Foresters which had its origins in Yorkshire in England and provided financial and social benefits as well as support to members and their families in times of unemployment, sickness, death, disability and old age. As reported in The Cessnock Eagle and South Maitland Recorder, Louisa McCormack nee Gillard died in the Cessnock Hospital on 31 January 1930. 'The deceased lady had been a sufferer for some years. Besides her husband she is survived by a family of six - three sons and three daughters'. She was buried in the Cessnock General Cemetery (Methodist, Section 2, Row 13, Lot 54). On 12 September 1941, the 'Personal Column' of the same newspaper told its readers that ''NIPPER' McCORMACK is looking as hale and hearty as ever. We will not disclose his age. but will admit he is over the pension age. 'Nipper' is as strong and agile as many men twenty years younger than himself. He has never tasted beer in his life. Perhaps this is the secret of his excellent health'. Nathaniel McCormack died on 29 February 1944 aged 70 years and was buried next to Louisa in the Cessnock General Cemetery. His obituary in The Cessnock Eagle and South Maitland Recorder tells us he was

One of the best known and highly respected members of the mining community . . . was for many years employed at Aberdare Central colliery . . . had a very pleasing personality, and had a very large circle of friends in the district. He was a very old resident of Cessnock, and resided on Allandale Road for many years . . . He was born in Scotland and came to Australia at a very early age on one of the very slow boats. He recounted how the passengers of that ship did not have the comforts of present-day passengers, and often had only salt beef and biscuits served up for meals. He is survived by a grown-up family of sons and daughters. His wife predeceased him some years ago. Nipper McCormack's cheerful smile and friendly nature will be missed by his many old friends. (29 February 1944).

The NSW index of bdms shows that Nathaniel and Louisa had seven children in all: Ada (born in 1899), Ethel May (1901), William John (1903), Edith Margaret (1905), James (1909), Edward (1913) and Ronald Samuel McCormack (1917). Their son James McCormack (1909-83) lived with his parents on Allandale Road in Cessnock for a good part of his life. He seems never to have worked, spent a good deal of time in hospital and did not marry. James died in Cessnock in 1983 and is buried with his mother in the local cemetery. As detailed below, his six siblings all married and, between them, provided their beloved parents with 24 grandchildren we know of:

Family and descendants

1. Ada McCormack (1899-1940). Born at Greta in NSW, Ada married Anthony Stewart Husband (1898-1964) at nearby Cessnock in 1921. Anthony was born in Renfrewshire in Scotland, one of seven children of Alexander (Sandy) Husband (1870-1915) and Agnes Stewart (1868-1938) who, with their young family, sailed from Liverpool in England on the WAIMANA on 16 July 1912 bound for Sydney. The family was living at Aberdare near Cessnock when Anthony's older brother, John Husband (1896-1917), enlisted in the Australian Army at West Maitland on 17 April 1916. John was killed at Paschendaele in Belgium on 12 October the following year. The Australian electroal rolls show Anthony, who worked all his life as a wheeler in the local mines, and Ada lived at South Cessnock, initially on Maitland Road and later at 43 Edgeworth Street. As reported in The Cessnock Eagle and South Maitland Recorder, Ada Husband nee McCormack passed away in the Cessnock District Hospital on 16 May 1940 shortly after giving birth to their son, John Husband. Her funeral was subsequently announced in the Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners Advocate as follows:

HUSBAND. the Relatives and Frlends of Mr ANTHON¥ HUSBAND and FAMILY, Mr N. McCORMACK, Mr and Mrs JAMES HUSBAND, Mr and Mrs ALEC HUSBAND, Mr and Mrs COLIN McCULLUM, Mr and Mrs ANDREW HUSBAND, Mr and Mrs WILLIAM McCORMACK, Mr and Mrs EDWARD McCORMACK, Mr and Mrs RON McCORMACK, Mr JAMES McCORMACK, Mr and Mrs JOSEPH ORR, Mr and Mrs H. STACEY and FAMILIES are kindly invited to attend the Funeral of their late beloved Wife, Mother, Daughter, Sister, Sister-in-law, and Aunty, ADA HUSBAND, to move from her late residence, 43 Edgeworth street, South Cessnock this afternoon.

Ada was buried in the Cessnock General Cemetery (Presbyterian, Section 4, Row 5, Lot 42). Nine years later, a still distraught younger brother, James McCormack (1909-63), again expressed the shock and sorrow of losing their beloved Ada: 'You left behind an aching heart, Which loved you most sincere, Who never has and never will, Forget you, sister dear. Ever remembered by her loving brother Jim' (The Cessnock Eagle and South Maitland Recorder, 13 May 1949). In 1958, Anthony Husband married a widow and native of Northumberland in England, Sarah George nee Tulley (1903-85). Six years later he died and was buried with Ada in the Cessnock cemetery. Sarah continued to live at Cessnock until her own death there in 1985. She is buried with her first husband in the Cessnock Cemetery (Anglican section 2, Row 9, Lot 70). We believe Ada and Anthony Husband had five children:

1. Marjorie Husband (1921-unknown). The NSW index of bdms shows Marjorie Husband, daughter of Anthony S and Ada was born at Cessnock in 1921 and that a Marjorie Husband married Trevor Johns in the Waverley RD of Sydney in 1943. The 1943 electoral roll has a Marjorie Johns, hd, registered as living at 43 Edgeworth Street in Cessnock and a Trevor Johns, fitter's assistant, on Lang Street in Kurri Kurri. They were both at 56 Hopetoun Street Kurri Kurri in 1954, 1958 and 1963 (Trevor was then working as a colliary fitter). The NSW index of bdms tell us Trevor Johns, son of Alfred William and Bertha Maud, died in the Kurri Kurri RD in 1966. We think Marjorie lived in Newcastle after Trevor's death and she and Trevor had at least one son although that has still to be confirmed.

2. Beryl Louisa Husband who died in Sydney in 1971.

3. Agnes Stewart Husband (1924-49). Cessnock Eagle and South Maitland Recorder (27 January 1953): 'LATE MRS A. S. POWELL After a lengthy illness, Mrs Agnes Stuart Powell passed away at the Cessnock District Hospital on Sunday night. She was 29 years of age. Born in Cessnock, Mrs Powell had lived in the district all her life and was married here 10 years ago. Her death came as a great shock to her family and friends. She is survived by her husband, Harold, son Peter, and daughter Kathleen. She is the daughter of Mr Anthony Husband. The funeral will move from her late residence in Bridge street for the Presbyterian Cemetery this afternoon'.

4. Kenneth Husband (1925-94) who married Mary Hanlon McKernan (1928-95) at Cessnock in 1953. Ken and Mary, late of Belmont and formerly of Cessnock, died on 8 February 1994 and 8 June 1995 and are buried with Ken's parents in the Cessnock Cemetery.

5. John Husband (1940-2007). The Ryerson Index shows a John Husband, 67 and late of Bolton Point, died on 22 July 2007 (Newcastle Herald, 25 July). The' Husband Family Tree' on Ancestry tells us John had one son.

2 Ronald Samuel (Ron) McCormack (1917-78). Born at Cessnock on 24 September 1917, Ron married Mavis (judy) Redman (1918-2002) at Dungog in the Hunter region of NSW on 15 February 1939. Mavis was the eldest daughter of Joseph Ernest (Joe) Redman (1891-1961) and Letha Lillian Elizabeth Stacey/Leayr (1893-1979) - pictured on the right on their wedding day - who were married at Dungog on 27 November 1912 and had nine children between then and 1931. Born at Dungog, Joe spent much of his working life as a carpenter with the Hunter District Water Board. He was also a member of the local rifle club, spent over twenty years in the town's Volunteer Fire Brigade and, along with other members of the Redman family, played in the Dungog band. Both he and Letha, who was born at nearby Paterson, died at Dungog and are buried together in the Uniting Church section of the local cemetery. Mavis' paternal grandparents, George William Redman (1853-1943) and Susannah Jane Lambert (1862-1934), were also old residents of Dungog. George's parents, Samuel Redman (1818-1900) and Hannah Maria Fisher (1820-97), who were married at Aston in Warwickshire in 1840, arrived at Port Phillip Bay on 12 February 1849 and took up residence at Dungog soon after. Samuel's obituary in the Dungog Chronicle: Durham and Gloucester Advertiser on 9 January 1900, tells us 'for several years' he 'acted as postmaster in Dungog, [as well as being] a school teacher, farmer, and watchmaker in turn'. His obituary in the same newspaper informs us that Samuel's son, George William Redman, 'went to Glen Innes as a young man and was there engaged in the bootmaking trade'. He then spent time at 'Manning River where he met his future wife, Miss Susanna Jane Lambert' (they were married at Jones Island in 1881). After a period of 'gold mining at Copeland', George and Susannah returned to Dungog where he was 'engaged in carpentering for many years'. They 'eventually went on the land . . . at the back of the Town Common' and from which George and his brother Alfred ran a milk run where 'the milk was carried to Dungog on horse back in cans the shape of a half moon. After living on the farm for 13 years', it continued, George and his wife and family 'returned to Dungog to live in retirement', They both died at Dungog, she in 1934 and he in 1943, and are buried in the local cemetery.

After their marriage in 1939, Ron and Mavis McCormack lived on Allandale Road in Cessnock where Ron worked as a mill hand and later a mine worker. On 3 March 1943, Ron enlisted in the Australian Army at Liverpool in Sydney and served until 15 February 1946 by which time he was a Gunner in 14th Field Regiment. The Australian electoral rolls show Ron and Mavis continued to live at Cessnock after the War. On 25 January 1952 the Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners Advocate informed its readers that 'Ronald McCormack, 34, of Allandale-road, Cessnock, a loader hand at Aberdare Extended colliery, was struck by a fall of coal yesterday and suffered an injury to the pelvis'. Ron recovered from his injuries and continued working at Aberdare until the mid-1960s when he and Mavis moved to Soldier's Point at Port Stephens north of Newcastle (Ron worked there as a storekeeper). The Find a Grave website tells us that Ronald Ernest McCormack, aged 71 years, died at Soldier's Point on 9 April 1978 and was cremated at Newcastle Memorial Park at Beresfield. According to the Ryerson Index, Judy McCormack, 'formerly of Soldier's Point and Cessnock', died on 15 June 2002. We think she is buried in the Anna Bay Lawn Cemetery although that is still to be confirmed. Ancestry's Port Stephens Area Cemeteries, 1845-2010 tells us Judy McCormack, aged 84, is buried in NSW (Anglican Section 6, Plot 191). Her headstone inscription reads: 'In loving memory of Judy (Mavis) McCormack 1918 - 2002 beloved wife of Ronald (dec'd) 1917 - 1978. For the good times [Gaites]'.

From Ronice Preston's 'Preston Family Tree' on Ancestry (originally shared by Jennifer Sanders). Donald and Molly Stacey's 50th wedding anniversary
at Nelson's Bay NSW in 1978: L/R (back) Robert John Redman, Valerie Fay Redman (nee Brooks), Les Humphries, Una May Humphries (nee Redman),
Ron McCormack, Mavis (Judy) McCormack, Maurice Patrick Hanlon, Marjorie Jean Hanlon (nee Redman), Joan Redman (nee Smith), Clyde (Joe) Redman.
Seated in chairs: Donald Percie Richard Stacey, unknown (kneeling), Mary Margaret (Molly) Stacey (nee John), unknown (child), Letha Redman (nee Stacey)
(seated on floor) Deborah Ann Louise Stacey.

The'Paine Family Tree' on Ancestry plus other sources indicate that Ron and Mavis had two boys and a girl. We know very little about their daughter other than she has been twice married and has three children. We believe their two boys are:

1) Peter John McCormack (1937-2007) who was born at Dungog and married Maureen Patricia Pascoe (1936-96) in Sydney in 1959. The electoral rolls show them living on Annandale Road in Cessnock in 1963, at Umina on the NSW Central Coast in 1968 - Peter was working as a boiler maker in both instances - and at Carinyah Crescent in the northern Sydney suburb of Castle Hill during the 1970s (Peter is described as an engineer and Maureen a typist). We believe they had two children: Susan Gai and Brett McCormack. The Ryerson Index shows a Susan Gai McCormack died on 20 December 2006 (SMH, 23 December 2006). The Find a Grave website tells us she is buried in the Castle Hill General Cemetery (RC Lawn Row S) Her gravestone inscription reads: 'Susan Gai McCormack 31 July 1968 - 20 December 2006. Aged 38 years. Much loved daughter of Maureen (deceased) and Peter. Loving sister to Brett. Loving partner to Rodney Cave. And loving friend to his son Mathew'. She is buried with her mother Maureen Patricia McCormack whose graveside inscription reads: 'Loved wife of Peter. Much loved mother of Brett and Susan. At rest 6-3-1996 aged 60 years'. Buried next to them is a Terence Patrick McCormack (20 Sept 1939 - 22 November 1976). The NSW index of bdms tells us his parents were Richard and Marion McCormack.

2) James Allan McCormack. Born in 1940, James, an electrical fitter by trade, was registered as living with his parents on Annandale road in Cessnock at the time of the 1963 election. The 1968 and subsequent electoral rolls shown on Ancestry have an Allan James, electrical fitter, and Wendy Marlene McCormack, hd, living at 31 Dolly Ave Springfield in Gosford (along with a Jeffrey Michael McCormack, musician, in 1980). The 'Paine Family Tree' on Ancestry tells us they have two children.

3. Edith Margaret (Edie) McCormack (1905-81) married Herbert Malcolm Francis Stacey (1899-1977) at Cessnock on 9 December 1924. Karen Knight's family tree on Ancestry tells us Herbert was born at Newcastle, the son of John George William Stacey (1870-1937) and Julia Leayr (1872-1946) who were married at the Christ Church Parsonage at Dungog on 20 April 1896. Julia, whose father, Phillip Leayr (1847-1931), was German-born and mother, Sarah Jane Wilmen (1849-1915), hailed from Northamptonshire in England, was born at Lewinsbrook in the Hunter region of NSW. She had an illegitimate daughter there in 1891 and two girls with John George before their marriage (one of whom was Letha Lillian Elizabeth Leayr later Redman (1893-1979) who was born at Gresford and whose son would marry Edie's younger brother, Ronald Samuel McCormack - see above). Julia and John George had a further eight children after their marriage, the birth places of whom show the family lived at Newcastle, Singleton and Dungog before returning to the Newcastle region where they lived first at Lochinvar and, from the early 1920s, at Cessnock. Over this time John worked mainly as a fettler and clipper in the Aberdare Extended and Pelton Collierys. He died at the Cessnock District Hospital on 10 July 1937 a year after appearing in the town's bankruptcy court and having also to cope with the death, in a motorcycle accident, of his and Julia's son Jack Stacey (1904-36). John's obituary, published in The Cessnock Eagle and South Maitland Recorder on 13 July 1937, informs us that these tribulations notwithstanding, he hwas a fine, industrious man who was the friend of everyone'. Julia Stacey nee Learyr, also known as Dolly and who 'devoted her life to her home and family', died at Cessnock on 25 August 1946. She and John are buried together in an unmarked grave in the Cessnock Cemetery.

We believe Herbert and Edith Stacey lived all their adult lives at Cessnock. The year before their marriage Herbert and a number of other locals appeared before the Cessnock Police Court charged 'with having driven motor cars furiously in Vincent-steet' (The Maitland Daily Mercury, 10 January 1923). The Australian electoral rolls show that after their marriage the couple lived first on Buckland Street, then Allandale Road and finally at 68 Mount View Road in Cessnock. During this time Herbert worked as a wheeler and coal carter. Their grand-daughter, Gail Duerdon, tells us he and Edie were also keen gardeners with a particular penchant for '8 feet tall prize-winning dahlias and beautiful roses'. The Find a Grave website informs us that Herbert died on 18 August 1977 and Edith on 17 July 1981 (in the Cessnock hospital) and are buried next to each other at Newcastle Memorial Park (Loggia 12/6 E/11 and E/12). Gail Duedon and Karen Knight tell us thay had five children. Their only daughter, Elizabeth Stacey, died at childbirth in 1924. As described below, their four sons all grew into adulthood and provided their beloved parents with 13 grandchildren we know of:

1. Jack Stacey (1925-66). Born at Cessnock, Jack married a local girl, Eunice Pauline Collins (1929-2017), there in 1952. Jack was then living with his parents and siblings on Allandale Road and working as a clipper. The Australian electoral rolls show he and Eunice continued to live in Cessnock after their marriage. They were at 36 Mayfield Street when Jack fell ill and was sent to Sydney for treatment. He died in hospital there on 29 January 1966 and is buried at Newcastle Memorial Park (Loggia Court 2 S/299). Eunice continued to live at Cessnock until her death there on 1 November 2017. Her tribute in the Newcastle Herald tells us she was the 'Beloved wife of JACK (WAH, dec'd). Loving mother and mother-in-law to RAY and JENNY, JUNE and VICTOR, BARRY and SHARON, and ROSS. Much loved grandmother and great grandmother to their FAMILIES'. Her and Jack's son, Ross Stacey, died on 6 June the following year. He was 62 years-old.

2. Ronald Stacey (1927-84) who worked as a truck driver and carrier and married Shirley Fay Bradbury (1932-2003) at Cessnock on 21 October 1950. The Australian electoral rolls show them living at 92 Allandale Road from 1954 until 1980 (along with an Anne Marie and Cherie Dawn Stacey whose brother, Allan Stacey, truck driver, was then at 31 Aberdare Road in Cessnock). The Find a Grave website tells us Ron died on 27 February 1984 and is buried in the Gordon Williams Memorial Lawn Cemetery at Aberdare. Shirley joined him in May 2003, her gravestone telling us she was a 'dearly loved Mum, Mother-in-law, Grandma and Wife'. Karen Knight tells us Ron and Fay had four children: Allan Stacy (1954-2018), Cherie Dawn Watson (1958-2014) and two other girls. Cherie and Allan's tributes in the Newcastle Herald read: 'WATSON (nee STACEY) CHERIE DAWN Passed away peacefully . . . 12-12-2014 Aged 55 Years. Late of West Cessnock. Beloved wife of KEN. Loving mother and mother-in-law of JOSH and ELLE, JENNA and KANE, ELLY JANE and "DIGS". Much loved Gran Ma and Ma Ma to ELIJAH and MILEY JANE' (17 December 2014); and 'Allan Passed away peacefully 12.12.2018 Aged 64 Years Late of Abermain Originally from Cessnock Beloved husband of BRONWYN. Loving father and father-in-law to TIM and COURTNEY, REBECCA, and KYLE. Devoted grandad to BROOKLYN' (15 December 2018).

3. Gordon Stacey (1929-2019). Named after his uncle and well-known ambulance worker Gordon Oliver Roy Stacey (1909-78), Gordon, or 'Goc' as he was known as, worked as a wheeler in the local coal mines. In 1958, he married Verlie Rose Ryan (1935-2019) who was then living on Catherine Street in Cessnock with her parents Leonard Vincent and Violet Rose Ryan nee Nickerson (who had been married at Cessnock in 1932). The Australian electoral rolls show Goc and Verlie lived next to Gordon's parents on Mount View Road until at least 1980. They both died in Cessnock in 2019, Goc on 19 June and Verlie on 18 July and are memorialised in the Gordon Williams Memorial Cemetery at Aberdare. Gordon;s tribute in the Newcastle Herald reads: 'STACEY Gordon "Goc" Passed away peacefully 19.06.2019 Aged 90 Years Late of Cessnock Beloved husband of VERLIE. Loving father and father-in-law to GREG and KAYLENE, ROBYN and MICHAEL, PHILIP and BELINDA. Much loved Pop to JAYDEN and PRUE, JACQUELINE, MERRYN, MEG, GEORGIA and JACOB. Great grandfather to their families'.

4. Raymond (Ray) Stacey (1931-2012). Gail Duerden tells us that Ray, who was born at Cessnock on 18 March 1931, married Heather Margaret Scott there in 1952. Heather was the daughter of Milton and Myrtle Jane Scott nee Slade who were married at Cessnock in 1931 and were living on Allandale Road in 1949. The Australian electoral rolls show Raymond, who was working as a manager, and Heather were at 22 Shedden Street in Cessnock in 1980. The Ryerson Index tells us Raymond (Ray) Stacey, 81 and late of Cessnock Masonic Village, died on 14 August 2012. His tribute published in the Newcastle Herald on 17 August 2012, tells us he was the 'Much loved husband of HEATHER. Dearly loved father and father-in-law of GAIL and Mark DUERDEN, SUE and DAVID STOKER and DAVID HORNE (dec). Specially loved grandfather (dar) to JACK, CASEY, BLAKE, TY, REES, AIDEN, HARRISON and NATE'. He is buried in the Gordon Williams Memorial Cemetery at Aberdare (Lawn, Section: U, Lot: 8).

Also from Gail Duerden's family photo collection: Gail and David Horne's wedding at Cessnock in 1975.
L/R: Herbert Stacey, Gail Horne nee Stacey later Duerden, David Horne and Edith Stacey nee McCormack.

4. William John McCormack (1903-70) married Rose Davies (1908-78) in the St Mary's Church of England in the municipality of West Maitland in NSW on 29 January 1927. Their marriage certificate tells us the 24 year-old William was born at Greta to the north of Cessnock and was working there as a 'wheeler'. Rose was 19 years old and living with her father and step-mother at Neath in Cessnock. The marriage was witnessed by Rose's father Charles Arthur Davies - who had given consent for her to be married - and an H. V. Knipe. Their respective fathers were said to be working as a shiftman and a miner. Rose was born at Barnsley in Yorkshire, the only daughter of Charles Arthur Davies (1880-1962) and Jane Annie Pycroft (1886-1913) who were married at St Peter's Church in Barnsley on 18 August 1906. On 20 December 1912, Jane, along with Rose and her baby brother Harold Davies, sailed from London on the SS GOTHIC bound for Australia. They joined Charles, who had sailed out earlier the same year, at Neath on the outskirts of Cessnock where Jane died on 9 April 1913 and was buried in the Kurri Kurri Cemetery. Rose lived at Neath with her father and step-mother, the widow Maria Partington nee Barratt (1883-1943), who Charles had married in 1915. She and Harold both attended Cessnock High School where Rose obtained her Qualifying Certificate in 1921.

After their marriage in 1927, William John and Rose lived first in Cessnock and, from the mid-1930s, at 2 Congewai Street in nearby Aberdare where William continued working as a wheeler. In January 1943 he and 82 fellow wheelers were arraigned before the West Maitland Court for 'absenteeism arising from a stoppage at Aberdare Extended Colliery on January 7 when a pit top meeting was held to protest against the postponement of an inspection of the wheelers' working conditions'. Impervious to the failure of management to meet its commitments, the ruling magistrate imposed a fine of £5 pounds plus 8/- costs on William and each of his work-mates (The Newcastle Sun, 23 January 1943). The Find a Grave website tells us William John McCormack, aged 67, died at Aberdare on 7 April 1970 and was cremated at Newcastle Memorial Park at Beresford (ashes scattered). Although still to be confirmed, we believe Rose McCormack nee Davies died at The Entrance (near Wyong) in central NSW on 29 January 1978. She was also cremated at Beresfield Cemetery and her ashes scattered. Rose and William John had two sons, Arthur (1927-74) and John McCormack (1929-86) whose details are described here.

William John McCormack and Rose Davies before they were married.

William John and Rose McCormack, on the left, at their son Arthur's wedding to Beryl Williams at West Maitland in 1949.
Beryl's parents, Edward Albert and Nellie Williams are on the right.

5. Edward McCormack (1913-76). Born at Cessnock, Edward married Eunice Joan West (1917-2007) there in 1940. Also born at Cessnock, Eunice was the youngest daughter of William Frank West (1871-1927) and Edith Sherman Howe (1876-1925) who were married at Redfern in Sydney on 28 February 1900. Their wedding certificate, contained on Ancestry's 'Sydney Anglican Parish Registers, 1814-2011', tells us the then 24 year-old William was a 'gentleman' who was born at Peterborough in Cambridgeshire, the son of another 'gentleman', William West (deceased). Edith, who had no occupation, was Sydney born, the daughter of a railway official, Henry Bryant Howe. After their marriage William and Edith lived for a time in Sydney before moving to Cessnock where Edith died in 1925. Her death notice in The Maitland Weekly Mercury tells us she 'was 40 years of age and the wife of William West, who was manager until recently of Lindemans. A family of seven, of whom the youngest is eight years, survive her' (8 August 1925). William died at Cessnock two years later. His funeral notice in the Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners Advocate indicates he was then a member of the Colliery Mechanics of the Aberdare Extended Colliery. He and Edith are buried together in the Cessnock Cemetery (Anglican, Section 4, Row 6, Plot 21).

The Australian electoral rolls show that Edward, who worked as a rigger and later a pitman in the local mines, and Eunice Joan McCormack resided first in East Maitland and, from the late 1950s, at 25 Charles Sreet Warners Bay in Greater Newcastle. Edward died at Warners Bay on 19 November 1976, was cremated at Newcastle Memorial Park Beresfield and is memorialised there (EGW 13/2 N/143). Eunice was still living at 25 Charles Street at the time of the 1977 and 1980 elections (a Sharon Maree Tiedeman, clerk, was registered as living with her in 1977). According to the Ryerson Index, Eunice Joan McCormack (Mrs Mac), 90 and late of Warners Bay, died at the Hillside Nursing Home in Sydney on 17 September 2007. We think Edward and Eunice had only one child, a daughter Joan McCormack who was born at Cessnock in around 1941 and married Terence Henry William (Terry) Tiedeman there in 1956. The Australian electoral rolls tell us that Terry, who was a textile and later a brewery worker, and Joan lived at Warners Bay (much of the time at 25 Charles Street). The Ryerson Index informs us that Joan Tiedeman, 75 and late of Warners Bay, died on 30 May 2016. Her tribute in the Newcastle Herald says she was the 'Dearly loved wife of TERRY. Much loved mother and mother-in=law of SHARON and IAN (dec'd) GRIFFITH, DEBBIE and COLIN FENWICK, MANDY (dec'd). Loving Grandma of her 4 grandchildren and Great Grandma of her 7 great grandchildren. Loved sister-in-law, aunt and cousin. JOAN will also be sadly missed by her Maitland and Sydney family, her many friends and all who knew her' (1 June 2016).

6. Ethel May McCormack (1901-45) was born at Greta in NSW and married Joseph Henry Orr (1896-1985) at nearby Cessnock in 1920. Born in Newcastle, Joseph Henry was the eldest son of Joseph Orr (1872-1964) and Jane Ann Daniels (1875-1944) who were married there on 18 February 1894 and had a further four children we know of: Eva (1898-1967), George Rowland (1901-64), William Samuel (1905-75), and Alec Orr (1909-56). According to the 'Kath Baines' Family Tree' on Ancestry, Joseph Henry's father was also born in Newcastle a year after his parents - Joseph Orr (1839-98) from Lanarkshire in Scotland and Mary Ann Jones (1854-1923) from Aberdare in Wales - had moved there from Glebe in Sydney where they were married in 1870. Joseph Henry's mother, Jane Ann Daniels, hailed from Cheshire in England, the daughter of Henry Daniels (1846-1917) and Alice Aspin (1844-1908) who were married there in 1868 and emigrated to Australia in around 1883. All lived in the Newcastle area for the remainder of their lives. All were keen members of the local protestant churches. And all are buried in the Uniting-Methodist area of Newcastle's Sandgate cemetery: Henry and Jane Daniels, along with their daughter Jane Orr, in Section A, Plot 5 and Jane's husband, Joseph Orr, who worked as a blacksmith, in Section A, Plot 7.

The Australian electoral rolls show Ethel and Joseph Henry Orr, who was working as a miner, were living at 21 Allandale Road in Cessnock at the time of the 1943 election. On 4 December 1945, readers of The Cessnock Eagle and South Maitland Recorder were informed of the death ' . . . of Mrs Ethel May Orr, wife of Mr Joseph Orr, of Allandale Road, Cessnock [and member of the Abermain No 3 Miners' Lodge]. Deceased lady was 44 years of age, and had been in ill health for a considerable time. She is survived by her husband and grown up family. One son, Alan, just recently returned after being a prisoner of war. The internment took place on Saturday, in the Methodist portion of Cessnock cemetery'. 'In Memorium Notices' were subsequently published in the same newspaper on 29 November 1946 by: 'son (Allan) and daughter-in-law (Joyce)'; 'sister and brother-in-law (E. and H. Stacey) and family'; 'son (Joe) daughter-in-law (Gloria), grandchildren (Owen and Judith)'; 'loving husband, sons (Gordon, Jim, George), and daughter (Ivy)'; 'brother James McCormack'; 'brother and sister-in-law (Ron, Mavis) and family'. Following Ethel's death, Joseph Henry continued to live on Allandale Road where, at the time of the 1958 election, he had living with him James, a trainee engineman, and Elaine Evelyn Orr. The following year he married Ilma Agnes Button nee Howson (1934-2005) who lived with him on Allandale Road until his death there on 18 July 1985. The Cessnock City Council Cemeteries Burial Register tells us Joseph Henry Orr is buried in the Cessnock Cemetery (Methodist, Section: 5, Row: 13, Lot: 185) next to his daughter Dorothy who died on 11 February 1937. The same source informs us his second wife, Ilma, died on 1 June 2005 and is buried in the Gordon Williams Memorial Lawn Cemetery at Aberdare (Lawn, Section: N, Lot: 11). Joseph Henry Orr and his second wife Ilma had no children we are aware of (Ilma had three children from a previous marriage). There is some difference of opinion among family researchers over how many children Joseph Henry and Ethel had with the number varying between eight and ten. All were thought to have been born at Cessnock. As mentioned above, one daughter, Dorothy Aileen Orr (1933-37), died young and is buried in the Cessnock Cemetery. We think the Elaine Evelyn Orr mentioned above was born in 1937, married Alan James Vitnell (1937-2012) at Cessnock in 1956, and died at Cessnock in 2015 but have still to confirm this. What we know of their other children is as follows:

6.1 Allan Henry Orr (1921-54). The Department of Veterans Affairs WW2 nominal roll shows Allan enlisted in the Australian Army at Paddington in Sydney on 27 October 1941. He served as a Gunner in the 2/15th Field Artillery Regiment which took part in the defence of Malaya and Singapore against the invading Japanese forces. Following the fall of Singapore in February 1942, Allan served as a prisoner of war in various camps in Singapore, Thailand and Japan (where he worked in the mines and was tortured by his guards after being accused of stealing food). After the War ended in August 1945 he was repatriated back to Australia where, on 6 November of that year, he and a number of other former POWs from the Cessnock area were welcomed home 'by a very large crowd, led by the Mayor of Cessnock'. (The Cessnock Eagle and South Maitland Recorder, 9 November 1945). As reported in the same newspaper on 10 December 1954, 'Allan Henry Orr, 33, of Jarvte-road, Crlngila near Wollongong, died in the Wollongong Hospital yesterday morning from injuries he received in an accident last Friday night. Orr, a former Cessnock man, was riding a motor-cycle home from work when it came Into collision with another vehicle. He suffered head injuries. The late Mr Orr, who was a married man with a family, left Cessnock three years ago to reside in Sydney. He left Sydney to work in Wollongong six months ago. He was the son of Mr Joe Orr, of Allandale Road. His wife was formerly Miss Joyce Whatman, of Cessnock'. Allan Henry Orr was cremated at the Woronora Crematorium and is memorialised there in the Wall of Members of the AIF (Floral Court Panel L - Position 8). Joyce, who we believe married John Steven Jarvis at Marrickville in 1958, continued to live in Wollongong after Allan's death. The 'Dickey Family Tree' on Ancestry tells us she and Allan had two sons.

6.2 Alice May Orr (1922-53) married Alvin Varley, who was then living and working as a labourer at Thirroul north of Wollongong, at Cessnock on 6 August 1943. As described in The Cessnock Eagle and South Maitland Recorder, the couple's 'pretty wedding' took place in the local Methodist Church where 'the Rev. Alan Walker officiated at the marriage of Alice eldest daughter of Mr and Mrs J. Orr, of Allandale Road Cessnock, to Alvin, only son of Mr and Mrs H. Varley, of Erclldoune Street Cessnock . . . The bridegroom's sister, Shirley, was bridesmaid . . . [and] Mr Les. Hodson, of Thirroul, was best man'. The report added that the bridegroom's grandfather presided over the wedding reception and Alice and Alvin were to make their home at Thirroul. We believe Alvin's parents were a Yorkshireman, Henry (Harry) Varley (1889-1956), and a native of Maitland, Ethel Wellard (1893-1987), who were married at Kurri Kurri in 1915, lived all of their married lives at Cessnock where Harry worked in the mines, and are both buried/memorialised in Newcastle Memorial Park at Beresfield. As noted above, Alice and Alvin lived at Wollongong after their marriage, initially at Thirroul, then Port Kembla and, from the mid-1950s to the late 1960s, in North Wollongong. The 1977 electoral roll shows Alvin, retired, and Alice May were living at the Jones Island caravan park on the Manning River outside Taree. Alvin died at Newcastle on 1 December 1979 and, like his parents, is memorialised at the Newcastle Memorial Park at Beresfield (Rose H 15/121). Alice returned to the Taree area where the 1980 election roll shows her living near her son, Kenneth Neil and his wife Marion Elizabeth Varley at Wingham. We have not been able to trace her after that. We do know she and Alvin had at least three children: 1) Dorothy Joan Varley who was baptised in the Cessnock Methodist Church in November 1944 during a visit by her parents from Thirroul. The NSW index of bdms show a Dorothy Joan Varney married Robert Sidney Sparks in Wollongong in 1965; 2) Neville Barrie Varley who was living with his parents in North Wollongong in 1968 and working as a soldier. The Department of Veterans Affairs' Vietnam War Service roll includes a Cpl Neville Barrie Varley RAAOC who was born at Cessnock on 31 December 1945 and served in the 176th Dispatch Company in Vietnam from May 1967 to February 1968. The NSW index of bdms shows he and a Lurline Ann Inwood were married in Wollongong in 1968. According to the Ryerson Index, a Neville (Nev) Varley, 65 and late of the Wollongong suburb of Kanahooka, died on 4 May 2007; and 3) Kenneth Neil Varley, a machinist and moulder by trade, who married Marion Elizabeth Eason in Wollongong in 1968.

5.3 Joseph Orr (1923-96). The Department of Veterans Affairs' WW2 nominal roll shows Joseph, who was born at Cessnock on 16 November 1923, served in the Australian Army from 1 September 1942 until 22 February 1946 (at which time he was a Private soldier in the 109th Light Aid Detachment). In 1943 he married Gloria June Roberts (1926-67) probably at Cessnock although that has still to be confirmed. Gloria was the youngest daughter of George Rowland Roberts (1885-1939) and Ethel Maude Johnson (1889-1976) who were married in the Holy Trinity Church at Manilla, to the northeast of Tamworth, on 28 June 1908. His obituary in the Manilla Express on 27 October 1939, tells us George 'was born in the Uralla district and for many years had been employed as a bridge carpenter by the Railway-Department . . . Deceased is survived by his widow, formerly Miss Ethel Maud Johnston, of Dungowan, six sons and two daughters. They are Messrs Rowland, Thomas, Stanley, Hilton, Malcolm and Kevin Roberts, of Tamworth, Mrs R. Allingham (Newcastle) and Miss Gloria Roberts (Tamworth)'. George is buried in the Church of England cemetery at West Tamworth. Ethel, who died at Tamworth on 21 August 1976, is buried in the town's Lincoln Grove Memorial Gardens. The Australian electoral rolls show Joseph, who worked as a duco-sprayer, panel beater and finally a loss assessor, and Gloria lived most of their married lives at Tamworth where Gloria died in 1967 and was buried in the general cemetery there (Plot Ang W/3). Joseph continued to live and work at Tamworth until at least 1980. The NSW index of bdms tells us he died in 1992 but doesn't indicate where. We think he is buried at Cessnock. The 'Kerry Clark' and other family trees on Ancestry tells us Joseph and Gloria had five children including: 1) Owen Stanley Orr (1942-64) who was born before his parents were married and was killed in an accident at Tamworth on 1 January 1964; 2) Joseph Henry Orr who died at Lane Cove in Sydney on 19 October 1972 and was cremated at the Macquarie Park Cemetery and Crematorium at North Ryde. His death notice in The Sydney Morning Herald tells us he was 'formerly of Tamworth, loved son of Joseph and Gloria (deceased), loved brother of Jann, Tiny and Judy, fond brother-in-law of Neil and Alfed' (21 October 1972); 3) Jann Orr who we believe married Neil Andrew Purvis at Tamworth in 1970 and later lived in the Sydney suburbs of Chatswood and Seven Hills; and 4) Judith Orr.

6.4 Gordon Orr (1925-89). The Australian National Archives tells us that Gordon Orr, born at Cessnock on 29 September 1925 and whose NOK was Joseph Orr, enlisted in the Australian Army at Marrickville (no date or details of his service are provided). Newspaper reports indicate he was living at Cessnock in 1946 and the 1949 electoral roll has a Gordon Orr, colliery employee, living on Lambert Street there. Sometime between then and 1958, Gordon married although we have been unable to determine where or exactly when this occurred. The 1958 and subsequent electoral rolls show a Gordon and Elizabeth Orr living in Brisbane, initially at Kangaroo Point and later at Cannon Hill (registered as living with them in 1977 and 1980 were a Colleen May Orr, sales assistant and Kenneth Thomas Orr, hoist driver). The Queensland index of bdms shows a Gordon Orr, son of Joseph Henry Orr and Ethel May McCormack, died in Brisbane in 1989. According to the Find a Grave website, he died on 27 March of that year and is buried in Brisbane's Hemmant Cemetery and Crematorium (Lawn 8 Plot 213). Buried with him is a Sarah Elizabeth (Beth) Orr (1926-2016) whose tribute in the Brisbane Courier Mail reads: 'ORR, Elizabeth (Beth) Formerly of Cannon Hill. Passed away peacefully, 15th June, 2016. Aged 89 Years Adored Wife to Gordon (dec'd) much loved Mother of Shirley, Ken and Colleen, Grandmother and Great-grandmother to their Families. Sister to Robert (dec'd), Tom (dec'd), Violet, Lenard, Richard, Norman, Gerald and Gordon' (17 June 2016).

6.5 James Orr (1928-96). His military record in the Australian National Archives tells us that James, who was born at Cessnock on 9 March 1928, enlisted in the Australian Army at Marrickville in Sydney on 3 March 1947. He was then single, living with his father at 52 Allandale Road in Cessnock and working as a 'clipper'. After undergoing training at the Army Technical School James embarked from Sydney on the KANIMBLA to join the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces in Japan where he served until November 1949. After being discharged from the Army on 9 January 1950, James returned to Cessnock where he married Elaine Evelyn Edmonds at Maitland in 1952. The Australian electoral rolls show James and Elaine living at Branxton near Greta in 1954, on Allandale Road in Cessnock in 1958, West Wallsend in Newcastle during the 1960s and at Warners Bay on the shores of Lake Macquarie during the 1970s and early 1980s (along with a Robert James Orr, railman, in 1977 and 1980). The Find a Grave website tells us James Orr died on 14 July 1996 at Edgeworth (near Wallsend) in Newcastle and is memorialised in Newcastle Memorial Park at Beresfield (Bushland Wall B/8). He and Elaine had at least three children we are aware of: 1) Marie Evelyn Orr who married Alan Ernest Dickey in Newcastle in 1972; 2) the above mentioned Robert James Orr; and 3) a second daughter who, according to the'Leah Baker Family Tree', married a son of George Baker (1919-97) and Esther Jean Scott of Maitland.

6.6 Ivy Louise Orr (1931-2012). According to Rachael Duesing's 'Duesing Family Tree' on Ancestry, Ivy married Ronald (Ron) McCarroll (1923-78) in Sydney in 1948. His military file in the Australian National Archives tells us Ron was born in Sydney on 8 September 1922 and enlisted in the Australian Army at the Forrest Lodge Drill Hall on 27 October 1941. He was then single and working as a confectionary assistant. His NOK was his father Alfred McCarroll of 19 Grose Street Camperdown (which was also Ron's address). Ron served only in Australia with the 16th Battery of the 4th Anti Tank Regiment and the 2nd Australian Returned Stores Depot Australian Army Ordnance Corps. He was discharged on 9 January 1946 by which time he was married and living at 111 Clarenden Road in Stanmore (his wife was Nora Mary Irvine who he had married in the Petersham RD of Sydney in 1942 and would divorce in 1947). Ron's military file includes a letter dated 2 May 1978 from his wife, Mrs T P McCarroll of 12 Shearer Street Seacombe Gardens South Australia, asking for the identity of his Army unit so it could be included on his burial plaque. The Genealogy SA website shows a Thelma Patricia McCarroll died in South Australia in 2001. Lisa Cooper's 'Cooper Family Tree' on Ancestry tells us Ron McCarroll was the youngest child of Alfred Ernest McCarroll (1876-1943) and Ada Mary Brown (1879-1963) who were married in Sydney in 1899 and had 16 children between then and 1922. Alfred's father, John Alexander McCarroll (1835-1911) was born at Edinburgh and sailed to Australia in around 1855. He married Launceston-born Mary Jane Beeston (1843-1911) in Sydney in 1866. Alfred's mother was born at Newtown, the daughter of two Irish immigrants, Henry Brown (1834-82) and Margaret Clancy (1837-1923) who were married in Sydney in 1864. Lisa adds that Ronald McCarroll was thrice married: 1) Nora; 2) Ivy with whom he had two daughters (Raelene and Lynette (1949-96) who married Fred Duesing and had two children); and 3) Thelma (Tilly) with whom he had two sons (Pat and Paul McCarroll). Rachael and Lisa tell us Ron and Ivy both died in Adelaide, Ron on 10 January 1978 - he is memorialised in Adelaide's Centennial Park Cemetery (RSL, Wall 109, Niche G003) - and Ivy in 2012.

6.7) George Orr (1936-93). The 'Turner Family Tree' on Ancestry tells us George was twice married/partnered, first to a Bernice who he married at Edgeworth in Newcastle NSW, and second to Maureen Manuel with whom he had five children (one girl and four boys). It adds George died at Gwabegar west of Narrabri in north western NSW. We have not been able to corroborate any of this.

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