Sepia Saturday No. 298

My second Sepia Saturday post - I chose the theme "girls".

 Bunston girls - My great grandmother Georgina May (Gean) on the left and her eldest sister Frances Isabella (Fannie), taken circa 1900 when Gean was around 13 years old.

Gean was born in 1886 and married Percy Victor Nash.  They had four children, one who died aged just 2 years old. They were married for 54 years, until Percy's death in 1974.  Gean died in 1975.  They are buried together in Skipton, Victoria.

Fannie was born in 1874 and married Allan McColl.  They had four children and were married for 33 years until Allan's death in 1934.  Fannie died in 1954.  They are buried together in Mansfield, Victoria.

Mary Bunston- aunt to the girls above.  Mary was born in 1837 and came to
Australia in 1855 with her brother George, father of the girls above.  Mary married Jacob Walters (aka William Johnston) in 1858.  They had nine
children together.  Jacob died in 1874.

In 1879 Mary married George William Breadmore.  They had one daughter together.  George had already been married twice before, having 11 children
from the previous unions.  George died in 1900.  Mary died 24 years later.

 Davenport girls (with brother Joseph) - My grandmother, Elsie Marie, in the front and her big sister Marjorie.  The children were born in Silverdale, England.  Marjorie in 1912 and Elsie in 1918.  They came to Australia with their family in 1929, settling in Streatham, Victoria.

Marjorie was a talented artist.  She never married, but help raise her niece and nephew after her sister in law, Joe's wife May, died.  As an adult, Marjorie lived in Ballarat and it was here that she died in 2008.

Elsie married Arthur Grenville Smith and together they had five children.  They were married for 61 years, until Arthur's death in 2001.  Elsie passed away in 2014 aged 93.  They are buried together in Skipton.

More Bunston girls - L to R: Jane Louisa, Fannie (again) and
Mary Elizabeth.
Jane, or Jinnie, was born in 1878 in Skipton, Victoria.  She married David John Wilkie in 1906.  They had three children together, but when their youngest was just three, Jinnie passed away in 1919.

Mary was born in 1876.  She married Alexander "Sandy" Perry in 1914.  They had three children together.  After Jinnie's death, Mary helped David raise his young family until he remarried.  Mary died in 1948, while her husband died seven years later.  Both Jinnie and Mary are buried in Skipton with their husbands.

My great grandmother, Charlotte Maria Gee - was born in Kimberley, South Africa in 1891.  At the age of eight months she traveled to England with her mother and older sister.  However, they were back in South Africa by the time her brother was born in 1892. 

In 1911 she married James Grenville Smith, an Australian working as a book keeper at one of the diamond mines.  Their eldest child was born in South Africa in 1913.  Two years later the family was living in country Victoria, Australia, where James was born and raised.  Their second child was born here in 1915. 

The family remained in Australia until around 1920 and then returned to South Africa where the third child was born in 1921.  The family went back to Australia and 1929 saw the birth of twins.  Charlotte died in 1946 and is buried in Linton, Victoria with her husband.

Emma Keys, my great great grandmother and mother in law to Charlotte (above).  Emma was born in 1842 in Gloucestershire, England.  In 1860 Emma married George Henry Smith. 

1861 saw the birth of twin girls - the first (and second) of 15 children.  Both girls died in infancy.  A third daughter was born in 1862 and in 1863 the family moved to from England to Australia, settling at Happy Valley near Linton in Victoria.  The remaining 12 children were born here, the youngest in 1888. 

Sadly Emma died during the birth of her youngest child, a daughter.  She was 46.  Baby Emma died aged one in 1889.  Mother and daughter are buried in Linton with George who died in 1903.  Also mentioned on the headstone is son Herbert who had died in 1882.  He was less than a year old.