Possibly Sarah Jane Turner with her youngest daughter, Sarah Anne - ca.1880

Possibly Sarah Jane Turner

with her youngest daughter, Sarah Anne

ca.1880

I came upon this photo only recently amongst my late mother's (Emily Flora Wright nee Glover) personal effects. As with most of the photos in her collection, there's nothing to indicate who these people are. It seems to have been a tradition in my family to never write anything on the back of family photos. For that reason, I don't know for sure who these people are.

Mum's mother, Louise Mary Glover nee Turner was born in 1870, meaning she'd be about the age of this woman around the turn of the century, if that's when this photo was taken. However, as she didn't marry until 1899, it is unlikely to be her, as this appears to be a mother and child study to me.

The fact that the photo was taken at Falcon Studios in North Sydney is an indication that they are from my Mum's side of the family, not Dad's. Louisa Mary's family had a farm at Roseville Chase at that time, near the present Roseville Bridge, not all that far from North Sydney, whereas Dad's family lived far away in the upper Hunter Valley of New South Wales.

My cousin, Dorothy Shiels (b.1923), believes this may be Louisa Mary's mother, my maternal great-grandmother, Sarah Jane Turner nee Senior (1850-1889), with her daughter, Louisa Mary (my grandmother), as a child, meaning it would date from the 1870s.

Confused? Me too!

What Dorothy's hypothesis does not explain, however, is why Louisa Mary was photographed alone with her mother and not with her twin sister, Theresa Jane, also being present. Surely the twins, Louisa and Theresa, would have been photographed together with their mother.

Sarah Jane Turner had two other daughters, Elizabeth Emily (1876-1802) and Sarah Anne (1878-1947), so it may be one of them photographed with their mother.

Sarah Jane predeceased her husband, my maternal great-grandfather, William Turner (1844-1892), in 1889, aged 38. William died only a few years later, in 1892, aged 48.

They left behind six orphan children, the youngest of whom was Sarah Anne, aged just 14 at the time of her father's death.

It seems reasonable to assume that my grandmother, Louisa Mary, the eldest child, took Sarah Anne under her wing, following the death of their father. Louisa Mary was 22 when their father died. She was unmarried at the time, not marrying until 1899. Certainly, they remained close throughout their lives, Sarah Anne being known affectionately throughout the family as Aunty Doll.

If this is, indeed, a photo of my great-grandmother, Sarah Jane Turner, with her youngest child, Sarah Anne, I am prepared to venture that it may have been found and kept by my mother, Emily Flora Wright nee Glover, within the possessions of her mother, Louisa Mary Glover nee Turner, following the death of the latter.

By way of background as to the reason for William Turner's early death, the story in the family has it that he left the farm at Roseville Chase one morning, bound for the markets in Sydney. He was driving a horse and dray. The horse returned to the farm alone, later in the day. A search party went out, and William was found dead by the side of the road, crushed under the dray, which had rolled on top of him. The reason for the accident is unknown.

I do not know the reason for Sarah Jane death at the age of 38.

I guess we'll never know for sure who these people are! Genealogy can be so frustrating!

George Henry & Louisa Mary Glover - Late-1950s

George Henry & Louisa Mary Glover

Late-1950s

My maternal grandparents, George Henry and Louisa Mary (May) Glover (nee Turner). Nanny was born on 26 August 1870 and Papa on 26 December 1874. Nanny had a twin sister, Theresa, who died in 1920 and is buried at Waverley Cemetery at Bronte in Sydney. My cousin/godmother, Dorothy Shiels, tells me Nanny visited Theresa's grave each year on her birthday, August 26. She'd take Dorothy, her granddaughter, with her. Dorothy would cut the grass on the grave with a pair of scissors they took with them, specifically for that purpose.

Nanny and Papa met when they were in-service together at one of the grand old stately homes located at The Glebe in Sydney in the late-1800s. My grandmother was the lady’s maid, meaning she attended exclusively to the requirements of the lady of the house, and my grandfather was the coachman, looking after the family’s carriages and horses - today he’d be the chauffeur.

After leaving service, they settled at Crows Nest on Sydney’s Lower North Shore where they raised their five children, George, Keith, Gladys, Colin and Flora. Flora, their youngest, born 1911, is my mother. A sixth child, Laurence, died in infancy. 

The family holidayed at Narrabeen on Sydney’s Northern Beaches each year and at some time in the 1920s they decided to move there permanently. They lived at 8 Mactier Street and we lived next door at number 10. They died within weeks of each other in 1960. Though I was only 10 when they died, I can still see them clearly in my mind's eye and have vivid recollections of sitting on their front verandah with Nanny when I was just a small child, listening to the stories she told. She was a great story-teller. 

On my way to school each morning, I would call in on Nanny to say good-bye for the day. I usually found her in her darkened, Victorianesque bedroom, cluttered with porcelain vases and figurines, brushing her long white hair vigorously. After many strokes of the brush, it was ultimately fashioned into a bun at the back of her head, held in place by a hair-net. From what I remember, Papa was usually pottering in his garden while all this was going on. He loved his garden and took a great deal of pride in it. I can still conjure-up the beautiful fragrance of his sweet peas to this very day.

Mum and Aunty Glad cared for Nanny through her final illness. Mum later told me she had suggested to Papa that perhaps he might be more comfortable in another bed during that sad time. Apparently he responded that he had been sleeping alongside his beloved May for the past 70 years and wasn't about to change beds any time soon. And that's exactly where he was, sleeping beside her, when she passed away. He died soon after at nearby Manly Hospital, following a massive haemorrhage.

They are pictured above on the front verandah of their home at 8 Mactier Street. The French doors behind them lead to their bedroom, where Nanny died. There’s no date recorded, but it pictures them as I remember them, meaning it would have been taken some time in the late 1950s. Their remains are interred beside each other at Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens & Crematorium in Sydney's North Ryde.

Gladys Murrell & Flora Wright - Late-1950s

L-R: Gladys Murrell & Flora Wright

Late-1950s

My mother, Flora Wright (R), with her sister, Gladys Murrell (both nee Glover), taken some time in the late-1950s. I seem to remember Mum’s stylish, double-breasted suit was a pretty shade of green. Mum was very fond of the colour green, as am I. 

Aunty Glad was born on 26 July 1906 and Mum was born on 16 July 1911.They remained very close throughout their lives. They grew-up at Crows Nest on Sydney’s Lower North Shore. Mum was the youngest of five and Aunty Glad was the middle child. Their mother, Louisa Mary (known as May) Glover was an asthmatic. Being the youngest, Mum lost a great deal of school in staying home to look after her infirm mother. After just three years at Willoughby Girls’ High School, she was sent out to work. 

Probably the most memorable of Mum’s early jobs was as a doll-stuffer in a doll factory in Sailors Bay Road at nearby Northbridge, where Aunty Glad also worked, sewing the eyes on the dolls. Sounds positively Dickensian!

In the 1920s, the family relocated permanently to Narrabeen, on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, where they had holidayed for many years previously. It was there that Mum and Aunty Glad were to meet their respective husbands to be, Ray Wright and Eric Murrell, and live out the remainder of their days. Mum died on 19 November 1991 at age 80, followed just 15 days later by Aunty Glad on 4 December 1991, aged 85. 

Close even in death.

Louisa Mary Glover & Kerry Wright - 1950

L-R: Louisa Mary Glover & Kerry Wright

1950

My maternal grandmother, Louisa Mary (May) Glover nee Turner (1870-1960), bouncing me (Kerry Wright) on her knee. We are on my grandparents' front verandah at 8 Mactier Street, Narrabeen, on Sydney's Northern Beaches. Nanny read the Sydney Morning Herald on her verandah every morning. She passed away in 1960, aged 89. I loved her dearly and enjoyed nothing more, as a child, than joining her on her verandah and listening, enthralled, as she told me stories. She was a great story teller.

Louisa Mary Glover with Robert, Alan & Kerry Wright - Early 1950

L-R: Alan Wright, Louisa Mary Glover, baby Kerry Wright (front) & Robert Wright

1950

My maternal grandmother, Louisa Mary (May) Glover nee Turner (1870-1960), cradling me in her arms, with my brothers, L-R, Alan and Robert Wright, standing behind. As I was born in November 1949, this photo would have been taken in early 1950. Nanny and Papa lived next door to us and I spent much time in their company during the first ten years of my life. I cherish many wonderfully happy memories of them both to this day.

George Henry & Louisa Mary Glover - ca.1950

George Henry & Louisa Mary Glover

ca.1950

In the absence of a date, I am guessing this photo of my maternal grandparents, George Henry (1874-1960) and Louisa Mary (1870-1960) Glover, was taken some time around 1950.  My family lived at 10 Mactier Street, Narrabeen, on Sydney's Northern Beaches, and my grandparents lived next-door at number 8.

They passed away within just a few short months of each other in 1960, when I was 10. I can still see them clearly in my mind's eye and have vivid recollections of sitting on their front verandah with Nanny when I was just a small child, listening to the stories she told me. They kept budgerigars in a cage on the verandah, and also had a bright yellow canary named Dickie in a cage of his own. The chirping and chatter of the caged birds provided a constant accompaniment to my grandmother's story telling.

Because Nanny read the Sydney Morning Herald (always the obituaries first) on her verandah each morning, she became an established presence in the street and motorists, far fewer in number than today, would often give her a gentle beep as they drove past. She always gave them a little wave in response, even though she rarely knew who they were. 

On my way to school each morning, I would call in on Nanny to wish her a good day. I usually found her in her darkened, Victorianesque bedroom, cluttered with porcelain vases and figurines, brushing her long white hair vigorously. After many strokes of the brush, it was ultimately fashioned into a bun at the back of her head, often held in place with a delicate black hair-net. From what I remember, Papa was usually pottering in his garden while all this was going on. He loved his garden and took a great deal of pride in it. I still recall the beautiful fragrance of his sweet peas to this very day.

Mum and Aunty Glad cared for Nanny through her final illness. Mum later told me that she had suggested to Papa that perhaps he might be more comfortable in another bed during that sad time. Apparently he responded that he had been sleeping alongside his beloved May for the past 70 years and wasn't about to change beds any time soon. And that's exactly where he was, sleeping beside her, when she passed away. He died not long after at nearby Manly Hospital, following a massive haemorrhage.

 They are pictured above in their front garden at 8 Mactier Street, Narrabeen, on Sydney's Northern Beaches. They rest beside each other at Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens & Crematorium in Sydney's North Ryde.

Louisa Mary Glover & Sarah Anne Murray - 1930s

L-R: Sarah Anne Murray nee Turner & Louisa Mary Glover nee Turner - 1930s

At right is my maternal grandmother, Louisa Mary (May) Glover nee Turner with her sister, Sarah Anne Murray nee Turner, who was always referred to in the family as Aunty Doll. The photo was taken in Nanny's front garden at 8 Mactier Street, Narrabeen, in Sydney. Aunty Doll died before I was born. I was very familiar with her larger than life persona, however. Her name was often raised in conversation, with an equal measure of awe and affection.

Louise Mary Glover - 1930s

Louisa Mary (May) Glover nee Turner - 1930s 

I'm not exactly sure when this photo of my maternal grandmother was taken. I do so wish someone would have recorded the dates on all these family photos! Alas, nobody seems to have bothered to do so. What I do know, however, is where the photo was taken, because the house's name plaque can be seen behind Nanny. The name of the house was "Cooinda", at 1224 Pittwater Road, Narrabeen, in Sydney. It was the Glover family home when they first moved to Narrabeen from Crows Nest in the 1920s. I can't say why Nanny is carrying a suitcase. My maternal grandparents holidayed at Bundanoon in the Southern Highlands each year, and this photo may be capturing Nanny's departure on holiday. Bundanoon was a popular holiday destination with Sydneysiders at that time. Another clue as to the date may be the presence of the child behind Nanny. It looks to be Dad's daughter, Kathy, (from his first marriage to Gwen Hunt, who died in childbirth) who was 8 when she died in a road accident in 1936.

Louisa Mary Glover & Flora Wright - Late-1920s

L-R: Louisa Mary Glover, Flora Wright - Late-1920s

I estimate this lovely photo of my mother was probably taken when aged in her late-teens/early-20s. She is pictured with her mother. They are on the front verandah of the family home, "Cooinda", at 1224 Pittwater Road, Narrabeen, in Sydney. Mum looks very pretty and I have often wondered if Dad may have taken this photo.