As I have stated, when I have been walking around the cemeteries, in the majority of cases, my people do not have headstones. A couple have the surname engraved at the front of the grave, but even those who have a defined resting spot are in the minority. Most of them don't. They simply lie, under the dirt, with nothing stating who they are.
I don't know why. I think in the case of Elizabeth Croker Waldron, perhaps there was once a marker, but given the history of Coburg Pine Ridge Cemetery, constant flooding has washed it all away. I wonder if, perhaps in the case of others, people just never got around to marking it. Or they simply did not have the money, as the only member of my family who did have some finances behind him was James George Waller. It is also likely that others intended on having a stone placed once they had themselves been interred in these resting spaces, but this didn't end up happening. Regardless, it's a good thing I do like walking around cemeteries, reading the stories of others, because certainly, there has been little in the case of stories recorded on my family members' graves.
A notable point of difference has been my great-great-grandfather, John Henry Robinson, and my great-great-grandmother Charlotte Amor. They are co-interred in one of the most stunning cemeteries in Melbourne (Booroondara), with a clearly marked grave, and spectacular old-school headstone. My great-grandmother Bertha was their 7th-born child, immediately after her twin brother Albert. They are the only set of twins I have found in my family tree - I do have twin cousins, but that's different to descending from a twin. There were also some fantastic photos of Albert available. What can I say, the dude looked like a movie star. He had soulful eyes and cheekbones to die for, and it was the latter that gave me some historical echoes, as I also have prominent and high cheekbones.
Anyway, on shifting through Ancestry, and then downloading some certificates, I realised that what had been recorded about John Henry Robinson was incorrect. He was not, as others had recorded, from Wiltshire, rather he was a Dubliner. Though he was known as "John" quite often, his name was actually "John Henry", and he preferred to be addressed as such because his father's name was John. His mother, on his marriage certificate, was listed as Mary Farrell. Beyond these two, I have not been able to find much in the way of information. So I make the assumption that they too were Dubliners.
Another interesting thing about John Henry is that he came to Melbourne on the Leonides from NZ, having spent 7 months living there. I am unsure if his intended destination was always Melbourne, or if he had moved to NZ and then simply decided he wanted to move on. Either way, it's fortuitous that he did come here, because if he hadn't, then I wouldn't exist.
Charlotte was 19 when she married John Henry, her sister Letitia acting as her witness. Charlotte had come to Melbourne with her parents and her two surviving sisters - Louisa being the eldest and the other one. Her parents Henry and Elizabeth, like so many other of my ancestors, had so many children that didn't survive infancy, that I cannot help but think they moved here in the hope of a better life and to escape some pain. The trouble is, it didn't work out for them. Within a couple of years, the Amor sisters were orphaned, their parents buried in an unmarked grave in St Kilda, and Louisa marrying and seemingly acting as the parent figure until her sisters were old enough. I cannot imagine how terrifying this would have been for them.
On flicking through the records of John Henry and Charlotte, one thing becomes crystal clear - these two were utterly adored. John Henry, following his death at 64 years old from heart disease and pneumonia was, every year without fail, honoured by "in memoriam" notices by his wife and many children and their partners. Almost always, these loving notices contained a poem, or some skillful prose. It was amongst these notices actually that I first got the indication my great-grandmother's husband Cyril Purser Tuttleby was sometimes fondly known as "Purse" - he had signed one of these notices as such. But yes, I think it speaks a lot for John Henry that on his death, so many members of his family kept his memory alive.
I believe John Henry worked in industrial labouring, but that he was a tram "grip man", and so transported materials across sites and what-not. He apparently worked for the same people for over 40 years.
When John Henry died, Charlotte continued to live in their home at 61 Easey St (worth 250 pounds at the time) with her daughter Grace, who didn't marry until later in life. Due to this, Charlotte made special provisions in her will for Grace, leaving her furniture and household effects, then from there, dividing up her house and estate equally between all her children. Her executors were her son Henry, and her son-in-law Samuel. Charlotte's death was also marked by numerous loving messages in the classifieds. Despite her incredibly rough start, she died at 73 years old.
I wish I had photos of John Henry and Charlotte, and some more information, because truly, they seemed to be a deeply loving and devoted couple who fostered that same love in their own children. Of their daughter Bertha, I have few photos. There is one though of her standing in a wheat field next to a woman who, thanks to those tell-tale cheekbones, has to be another family member. She was a striking woman, not a traditional "beauty", per se, but with incredibly strong features that made her stand out.
Anyway, of all my ancestors, with the exception of James George Waller possibly who seemed similarly adored, it is clear John Henry and Charlotte fostered love and happiness, and in their grave, their children have let subsequent generations know just how much they thought of their parents.
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