Davey

An ancestor I admire

Miss W. #52ancestors, Davey, England

The first prompt for #52ancestors in 2026 made me think about the influences in a person’s life and I decided my maternal grandmother is an ancestor I truly admire.

Hannah Davey was born in November 1899 at Blessington in northern Tasmania in the district of Evandale. She was the fourth daughter and sixth child out of twelve born to George Davey and Martha Colgrave.

Unfortunately her father died when she was just 14 years old. Two of her older sisters were already married by this time, so Hannah and her sister Elizabeth (Lizzie) would probably have been expected to help look after the younger children. The house the family lived in was only two rooms, so would have been very crowded especially during the cold winter months.

By 1921, Hannah’s sister Lizzie and her husband James Boxhall and three young children were living in Hobart. Perhaps this is the time when Hannah moved to Hobart and met her future husband Henry Lewis England Junior.

Hannah had sent Henry a postcard in November 1921 that had a photo of her on the front. Hannah was working as a housekeeper to the Lord family in Sandy Bay according to the 1922 electoral roll.

They married in Longford in May 1923. By the time of their marriage, Henry’s mother had passed, two of his sisters were married and his third sister had died leaving a young boy to be brought up by someone. Henry’s father was living with him at Grosvenor Street in Sandy Bay.

So Hannah began her married life with a husband, her father-in-law and a young 7 year old boy living in the same house. In 1924 her first daughter was born, 1928 her second daughter was born. I have many photos of the two girls with their parents.

In August 1932, her father-in-law passed away at home aged 77. He had been a council employee for many years but had been an invalid for many years.

In April 1934, Hannah’s third daughter (my mother) was born. Less than three weeks later, my mother’s eldest sister, Iris, died in Vaucluse Hospital which was an infectious diseases hospital in South Hobart.

In the 1950’s Hannah and her sister Lizzie then began taking care of their mother Martha who stayed six months with each of the daughters. My mother remembered the household as being very busy. Lots of cooking, lots of activities and lots of people coming to stay for a week or so.

Hannah’s mother passed in Hobart in August 1954, a couple of weeks before my parents were married.  Hannah’s husband passed in 1963 and Hannah four years later.

I really admire my grandmother because of all the caring and selflessness she showed throughout her life.

  • Caring for siblings, father-in-law, her husband’s nephew, her own children and finally her mother and other cousins who stayed in the house in Grosvenor Street, Sandy Bay
  • Her devotion to church and her daughter’s education

Readers: Who is a person in your family history that you truly admire and why?

V for Van Diemen’s Land

Miss W. Boyd, Bryant, Chandler, Colgrave, convict, Davey, Dawson, Dixon, England, Hearn, Jackson, Pickering, Sutton, Virco, Watkins , , , ,

The state I live in is now called Tasmania but was once called Van Diemen’s Land.

The Palawa or Aboriginal Tasmanians were first on this island. When the rising sea level cut off the island from the mainland of Australia, the Palawa were isolated from contact with the aborigines on the mainland.

Their first knowledge of Europeans was when Abel Janzsoon Tasman landed in 1642 and planted a Dutch flag near what is now the town of Dunalley on what was then called Blackman Bay. There was no contact with the aborigines though.

It was at this time the island was named Anthoonij van Diemenslandt (Anthony Van Diemen’s land). This was in honour of the Governor General of the Dutch East Indies.

During the early colonisation of Australia the name Van Diemen’s Land (VDL) was used and it was part of the colony of New South Wales. But in 1825, VDL became a colony in its own right. Then on 1 January 1856, it was renamed Tasmania.

The new name was to celebrate Tasman as the early explorer but also to get rid of the notorious convict past of VDL.

Tasmania 1644

How does VDL relate to my family?

Nearly all my ancestors first arrived when the colony was known as VDL.

Convicts:

  • Francis Colgrave – 1832 – ship Circassian
  • Isabella Watkins(on) – 1841 – Garland Grove
  • John Holliday Boyd – 1836 – Henry Porcher
  • Martha Virco nee Hearn – 1839 – Hindostan
  • John England – 1846 – Pestonjee Bomanjee
  • Rebecca Jackson – 1847 – Waverley
  • William Dawson – 1850 – Maria Somes (2)
  • Catherine McKay – 1848 – Cadet (3)
  • Mathew Sutton – 1840 – Mandarin
  • Mary McCrewney – 1848 – Kinnear (2)

Free settlers:

  • John Davey – 1854 – Wanderer
  • David and Mary Dixon nee Pickering – 1841 – Andromeda
  • William Chandler – 1855 – Fortitude
  • Caroline Bryant – 19 Jan 1856 – La Hogue – would have arrived during celebrations of new name Tasmania

U for Upper Blessington

Miss W. Boyd, Colgrave, Davey, Dixon , , , , , , ,

Upper Blessington is a rural locality about 50 kilometres east of Launceston, Tasmania. There is another locality called Blessington which is about 30 kilometres south east of Launceston and adjacent to Upper Blessington.

In the 2016 census, Upper Blessington had a population of 61 while Blessington had a few more at 93. The two towns are on Blessington Road C401.

Upper Blessington is at the junction to Ben Lomond Road which leads up to the ski resort on Ben Lomond.

Much of the land to the south and east of Blessington Road is now pine plantation rather than the open farmland it was when my ancestors first lived there.

The map below shows the area my family lived in and Upper Blessington is just off the top right corner of the map.

The numbers represent:

          1. Evandale
          2. Clarendon
          3. Nile
          4. Deddington
          5. English Town
          6. Blessington
          7. White Hills

Distance from Evandale to Blessington is approximately 25 kilometres.

My family and the Blessington area

The first two Colgrave generations (18 chn) were born in 5 of the 7 towns above. 1840-1890

The first two Davey generations (20 chn) were born in 5 of the 7 towns  1860-1914

The first Dixon family (5 chn) were born in 2 towns 1842-1850

The first Boyd family (9 chn) were born in 2 towns 1842-1861

No children born at Clarendon in the above numbers.

Evandale – 17, Nile – 4, Deddington – 9, English Town – 5, Blessington – 9 and White Hills area – 8

I drove my mother, her sister and a cousin to Evandale to have a look at the area. We had lunch in the local pub and my cousin called out, “Anyone here a Davey or Colgrave? If so we are your cousins from Hobart.”  We got a positive reply and ended up for afternoon tea and another drive around the area looking at places related to the families.

I also had a big day out in the area as my first trip since Covid began. I wrote a post about it and included images.

I have also run two family reunions in the 1980’s and 2000’s at the Evandale memorial hall for the Davey and Colgrave families. At least 200 people turned up at each reunion where I had my computer to add information but also had a paper copy of the tree put up around three walls of the hall.