updated 9 September 2004
by Greg Harling & Bruce Eames
Louisa Jane (1877 - 1934)
Mary Maria (1879 - 1970)
John William Alfred (1881
- 1937)
Agnes Elizabeth (1884 - 1934)
Victoria May (1886 - 1961)
George Richard Charles (1888
- after 1962)
Ellis Arthur (Tom) (1891
- 1959)
Gordon Henry (Stephen) (1893
- 1935)
Hannah Adelaide (1897 -
1968)
Vera Daphne (1902 - 1981)
Louisa Jane (1877, Burnie
- 26 Nov 1934, Oakleigh, Vic.)<
Children
Alfred Rayfield (16 Aug 1895, Burnie
- 2 March 1897, Burnie)
Phyllis Pearl (20 Aug 1897,
Burnie - 30 Sept 1966, Oakleigh, Vic.)
Marriage
William Matthew Burke (5 March
1866, Oatlands - Nov 1943, Oakleigh, Vic.), 1909, Devonport?
As the oldest daughter, Louisa helped her mother with family duties (such as registering Hannah's birth). By the time they moved to Devonport, she was 21 years old and had borne 2 children (one of whom, Alfred, died in 1897). During the following decade, she saw her closest siblings marry while she raised her daughter Phyllis - whose presence was perhaps a deterreent to potential suitors? In 1909, however, Louisa wed William Burke, 10 years her senior. They lived in Devonport for another 6 years or so, after which Louisa became the first of John and Ann's children to make a permanent move to the mainland. Still in Devonport in 1915, Louisa and William subsequently turn up in the 1916 electoral roll for South Melbourne, Victoria, listed at 135 Clarendon Street, where they operated as confectioners. By 1930, they were located at 146 York St, opposite South Melbourne Market. Louisa was unwell towards the end of her life and died in 1934 at Oakleigh, presumably with her daughter. Phyllis and her stepfather seem to have got on well : she adopted his surname (e.g. in the marriage registration), and he went to live with her in Oakleigh after Louisa's death. When William died in 1943, he was buried with Louisa at the Necropolis, Springvale, Vic. (CofE, monumental compartment F, section 21, grave 14). Phyllis married James Clarence Rogers in 1922, and they had 3 children : John, James, and Barbara. When Phyllis died in 1966, she was buried at the Necropolis (CofE, monumental compartment O, section 4, grave 16), while her husband was cremated upon death in 1978.
Mary Maria (4 July 1879,
Burnie - 4 Feb 1970, Penguin)
Mary has the distinction of being
the longest-lived of John Floyd's children, attaining 90 years of age in
1970. She had gotten off to an uncertain start to life, bearing a child
out of wedlock when she was only 16 ½ years old. Soon after moving
from Burnie to Devonport in 1897/98, it looked like she might be facing
similar circumstances with new baby Gladys, but father Clarence Allen later
married her, and they went on to have another 4 children. They moved back
to the Emu Bay area, but in 1912 Clarence died (and his death was misregistered
as "Charles"). This left Mary in a difficult situation, and as was often
the case with younger widows, she remarried before too long, this time
to Osmund Short, with whom she enjoyed over 56 years of life together.
After some time living at Ridgeley, followed by Riana, they finally moved
to Penguin, and it is in the little hilltop cemetery here that they were
buried.
John William Alfred (Jack)
(26 Sept 1881, Burnie - 11 July 1937, Latrobe)
In 1908, John William Alfred Floyd
(also known as Jack) married eighteen year old Ada Fitch, who was the youngest
daughter of ex-convict Samuel Fitch (1822-1910). Old Mr Fitch, transported
in 1850 for house-breaking and larceny, lived at Westbury for over 50 years
but moved to Devonport ca 1906. He died in 1910 at the age of 88, leaving
his much younger wife Sarah Jane (34 years his junior!).
It seems Sarah and Ada's family
often shared accommodation or lived very close to each other in Devonport,
renting a series of small houses. We can track their movements from the
assessment rolls published in the Tasmanian Govenment gazette.
John and Ada lived in Madden St at the beginning of the marriage (1908-09),
and Sarah left William St (1908) to join them (1910-1912). John also had
a lease on house in Nicholls St (1912-13), followed by William St (1913-14).
From 1916, Sarah took up residence at 47 Nicholls St, where she stayed
for almost 20 years (the site is now the Devonport Showgrounds). John is
listed in the assessment rolls in his mother's old house in Griffith
St (1917), then William St (1918-1920), followed by another house in Griffith
St (1923-1926), and finally Wenvoe St (1928). He was out of Devonport a
lot during the Depression as he travelled Tasmania looking for work, but
by the early 30's the family was back with Sarah at 47 Nicholls St.
John and Ada were married for about
7 years before their first child was born in 1915 - Elsie May (named after
Ada's sister). However, it was possibly in the few years preceding Elsie's
arrival that they took in a "farm baby", Ivan, whose date & place of
birth are recorded in later army records as 19 Jan 1912 at Devonport. In
subsequent years they raised another 5 children. For reasons unkown to
us, John and his brother Gordon chose to remain in Devonport rather than
follow their mother and siblings to Melbourne.
In Sept 1918, John enlisted in the
AIF. We know from the medical examination that he was 5’ 9” tall, weighed
154 lbs, had blue eyes and light brown hair, but the doctors also found
that his eyesight was too poor, and he was discharged about 7 weeks later
in November.
In 1935, John's mother-in-law Sarah
Fitch died at the Nicholls St house (in April), and about 9 weeks later
his brother Gordon died (in July), aged only 41. There were, however, some
happier events : John and Ada's daughter Elsie married Kenneth Appleby
on 29 Nov 1935. Ken was from a farming family in Northdown, east of Devonport.
At about this time, Elsie's sister Phyllis also married, to Ronald Barwick
from Wesley Vale. Adopted child Ivan married in the pre-war years as well
(to Rita).
Sadly, John was not to enoy
his new role as grandfather for long, for he died on 11 July 1937 after
an illness at Devon Hospital, Latrobe. His funeral departed from home and
he was interred at the Devonport general cemetery. By this time, the number
of Floyd's left in Devonport was getting smaller and would continue to
do so. Phyllis was living in Wesley Vale, and Elsie was at Northdown while
husband Ken served in the Army in Melbourne and New Guinea. John's oldest
son Claude had left for Melbourne in 1936, and initially stayed with his
aunt Elsie Offer (nee Fitch) in Armadale. His sister Betty followed in
early 1939. This now left Ada in Devonport with children Reginald
(14 years old) and Laurence (called Mick, 6 years old) but it was
not long before they made the move too, probably in mid-1939.
Ada soon rented a little Victorian
cottage at 61 Newry St, Prahran, a short tram trip down Malvern Rd from
her sister Elsie. Claude and Betty joined the household. Claude subsequently
enlisted in November 1939 and served in the army until 26 March 1941, and
at about this time he married Hazel Irene Bradley. Betty also married in
1941, to Alfred Ross Johnson. After the War, Ken Appleby decided not to
return to Tasmania, and Elsie and the children joined him in Melbourne.
From the early 1950's they lived at 6 Marks Ave., Heidelberg. Phyllis
remained in Wesley Vale into the mid-1950's and later moved to Launceston.
The “farm baby” Ivan came
to a terrible end. With his wife Rita, he had 5 children : Brenda, John,
Kathleen, Barbara, and Bryan. He joined the army on 23 April 1940 but was
discharged 4 months later (20 Sept). We next hear of him in 1951 : in early
May he left his family in Launceston and rented a room at the Metropole
Guest House, Devonport. Close to midnight on Friday 15 June, he told fellow
lodgers he was leaving for work at Spreyton. This was the last time he
was seen alive. On Saturday morning, his remains were found on the railway
line at Quoiba, where he had been run over by the train to Devonport. His
bicycle was nearby, leaning against the bank of the railway line, and the
attached basket was full of cigarettes, matches, tobacco, sweets, and chocolates.
The verdict of the ensuing inquest was that he had been struck by the train,
but whether it was an accident or suicide remains a mystery. Ivan’s funeral
took place at Devonport.
Back in Melbourne, Ada lived in
Newry St until approx.1955. Reg married Eileen (surname unknown) and left
home after the War. When Mick married Beverley Filer in about 1955, the
three of them left Newry St and took up accommodation together at 6 Petersen
Ave., Coburg. In the mid-1960's, they all moved to 5 Howqua St, Corio.
By this time, Ada was in her 70's, and on 20 May 1967, she died suddenly.
After a funeral at St Thomas', Norlane, Geelong, Ada was laid to rest at
Altona Memorial Park (FL B WW 040).
Agnes Elizabeth (30 March
1884, Burnie - 29 Aug 1934, Highclere)
After spending the first few years
of her married life in Devonport, Agnes and husband Monty moved up to Ridgeley,
where Monty worked as a labourer on the railway. Agnes would have been
near her sister Mary, but was not to share her longevity, passing away
at the age of 50 years in 1934. Monty never remarried : after 37 years
as a widower, he finally joined Agnes in 1972, and both are buried at Wivenhoe
Cemetery.
Victoria May (26 Jan
1886, Burnie - 29 March 1961, Fitzroy, Vic.)
Victoria's story has a few twists,
turns and mysteries in it, and currently we can only guess from public
sources what really went on. She was one of the few Floyd's to move south,
and in 1904 she married young Alfred Warren in Hobart. Perhaps the marriage
did not go well, or maybe Alfred died : they are listed at separate addresses
in the 1906 electoral roll for Hobart, and Alfred disappears from the records
after this. By 1910, Victoria (sometimes called May) was living with a
John Thomas Patterson and was using his surname. Electoral rolls for Hobart
include them at 115 Argyle St (1910), 111 Campbell St (1912, 1914), 27
Lefroy St (1915), and 63 & 65 Smith St (1921, 1925). We know they had
4 children, but they did not marry until 1917. There is no record of Victoria
divorcing Alfred Warren, so did they delay their marriage until he died?
1925 saw another puzzling turn of
events. Victoria apparently left John Patterson for Clyde Johnson, 14 years
her junior, and they departed Tasmania for Melbourne, where their son was
born on 12 Jan the following year. Victoria and John Patterson must
have divorced at some stage, for when he died in 1934 he had a wife named
Ella. Victoria and Clyde, however, did not marry until 1940 - when their
only child was 14 years old - and on the certificate she specified her
status as a widow and gave John's death date. We can trace them in Carlton
and Fitzroy, their names often misrecorded in electoral rolls and directories
as Vera May, Cyril and Claude (76 Neill St, 1926 ; 64 St David St, 1928
; 431 Napier St, 1928-29 ; 406 Brunswick St, 1929-36 ; 571 Station St,
1941-?). Around 1936, Victoria's son Clifford Patterson lived with them
for a while, but nothing is known yet about the other Patterson boys.
From 1945, the information we can
draw about the family from electoral rolls and directories becomes less
clear : the rolls list only Victoria at 571 Station St, Carlton, from 1945,
but directories name "Claude" as the occupier. It looks like they were
living apart, and from 1955 the evidence is clear : Victoria lodged by
herself in rooms at 110 Napier St and 15 Hanover St, Fitzroy, and it is
from the latter that she was taken to St Vincent's in March 1961 with a
fatal cerebral hemorrhage. On 5 April 1961, she was interred at Fawkner
Memorial Park (R.C. compartment U, grave 16634). Clyde's whereabouts are
more elusive, but he can be found at 11 Legincourt St, Brighton East in
the period 1966-1970. He died in 1972 and left his body to the University
of Melbourne for medical research (his remains being later interred at
Fawkner in 1974).
George Richard Charles
(6 July 1888, Burnie - after 1962, Victoria?)
George lived in Devonport until
the mid-twenties. Probably at about this time, he moved to Melbourne, where
his mother and many other family members already lived - perhaps he came
with his sister Victoria, who we know left Hobart in 1925. Our next sighting
of George is in 1934, when he married widow Annie Ada Cousins. They were
staying with his sister Victoria and her partner Clyde Johnson at 406 Brunswick
St. Victoria and Clyde were witnesses at their wedding, and 6 years later,
George and Annie returned the favour at Victoria's wedding (also at St
Mark's, Fitzroy). By 1937, George and Annie took up residence at 278 Geelong
Rd, Footscray West, where they stayed for over 25 years. They had
no children, but Annie had a son by her previous marriage, James Reynolds
(ca 1917-1979). In 1961, Annie passed away and was buried at the Necropolis.
George, now 73 years of age, remained in Footscray for a year or
two longer, but we do not know what became of him. It is possible he left
Victoria.
Ellis Arthur (Tom) (5 March
1891, Burnie - 19 April 1959, Hobart)
When Ellis was registered by his
mother, somehow the child was recorded as "Alice" and female. In later
life, however, Ellis was one of several members of the Floyd family who
always used a completely different name : in his case, Tom. Marrying in
1914, he probably left Devonport after 1916 and headed south to the Hobart
area. Here he brought up 4 children. Ellis was cremated at Cornelian Bay
Cemetery in 1959.
Gordon Henry (Stephen)
(29 Nov 1893, Burnie - July 1935, Devonport)
Gordon, third and youngest son of
John & Ann, was always called Stephen by the family. (On his enlistment
papers, he first wrote "Stephen", and this is crossed out and replaced
with "Gordon"). He lived most of his life in Devonport, where he married
Byra Bingham, and they had 3 children. In March 1916 he applied to serve
in the AIF and subsequently enlisted at Claremont on 20 July. 5' 6" tall,
with brown hair and blue eyes, he was healthy enough when he joined up,
but in Jan 1917 he had an operation at Devon Hospital, Latrobe, for gall
stones. After a long spell in hospital, he returned to military camp in
early March but it was soon apparent that he was not well, suffering chronic
weakness and pain. This resulted in Gordon being discharged on 19 March
1917.
Gordon returned to Devonport, and
not much is known of his life. In 1935, he died when only 41 years old
and was buried at Devonport General Cemetery. This left Byra with 3 children
to support, and she decided to come to Melbourne, where many of her husband's
family lived already. Within a year of Gordon's death, Byra remarried,
to Albert Mitchell (ca 1888 - Jan 1950), and they lived in South Melbourne,
close to many other Floyd's (1940's : 36 Chessel St).
The eldest child, Ethel, married
William John Ray in 1937, and they had 1 child, Fay. Brother Gordon Henry
(named after his father, but known as Dick)) enlisted on 14 Aug 1941 and
at about this time married Kathleen (surname unknown). They had 2 children,
Fay and Colleen. Gordon died on 26 January 1974 at Reservoir, and his ashes
are interred at Fawkner Memorial Park (2nd Ave., New Rosebeds, Bed D, position
206). Milton married Beryl (surname unknown) and they had 2 children, Rodney
and Debra.
Hannah Adelaide (19 Feb
1897, Burnie - 29 April 1968, South Melbourne, Vic.)
At the age of 17, Hannah married
John Fowler Shipperlee, an English emigrant to Tasmania. They spent several
years in Burnie, but in about 1917 they moved to South Melbourne, possibly
accompanying Hannah's mother and sister. Here they raised a family of 8
children. Hannah died in 1968 and was buried at Fawkner Memorial Park with
her husband (Church of England, Compartment T, grave 2704)
Vera Daphne (1902, Devonport
- 16 June 1981, Vic.)
Vera, Ann's youngest (and favourite?)
daughter, of uncertain paternity, was about 15 years old when we
believe Ann made the decision to leave Tasmania. They set off ca 1917 -
perhaps with Hannah Shipperlee and family - to join Louisa in South Melbourne.
Ann and Vera disappear from view for a few years, but we see them again
at Vera's marriage to George Aitken in 1925, and Ann lived with the couple
for the rest of her life. Electoral rolls allow us to track them : 14 Palk
St, Sth Melbourne (1927), 259 Moray St (1928), 2 Eastgate St, Oakleigh
(1931), 5 Napier Place, Sth Melb. (1934-1935), and 12 Lyell St (1942-43).
In July 1942, Ann Floyd died, but Vera could not have expected that within
a year her 38 year old husband would also pass away, leaving her with 2
children to bring up.
As things turned out, new companionship
was not far off, and Vera married James Williams in late 1943 or early
1944, moving into his house at 121 Richardson St, Albert Park. Incredibly,
Vera was then robbed of her new husband, for James died on 10 September
1944.
The distraught Vera was on her own
again, but the 1945 electoral roll suggests that a new romance had already
blossomed with divorcé Leslie Datson, who was listed as living at
121 Richardson St. They continued to live under the same roof but it seems
that they did not marry until ca 1950, Vera then becoming the second daughter
of Ann Floyd to marry 3 times. In the mid-1960's they lived at 1 Sinclair
St, Elsternwick. Leslie predeceased Vera in 1973. From 1970, Vera was the
last surviving child of Ann Floyd, and she finally passed away in 1981,
after which she was cremated and her ashes placed at Fawkner Memorial Park
(Garden of Remembrance 2, section 7, compartment 15, niche 29).
© 2003
Children
Phoebe Catherine (1 Jan 1896, Burnie
- after 1970, Vic.?)
Marriage 1
Clarence Phillip Enenian Allen
(11 Oct 1876 - 1912?, Emu Bay district), 1900, Devonport?
Children 1
Gladys May (14 Sept 1898, Devonport
- 1975, Prahran, Vic.)
Sylvia Susannah (1900, Devonport
- after 1970, Vic.?)
Doris Valerie (1902, Emu Bay district
- 1985, Vic.)
Mavis Bearl (1904, Emu Bay district
- after 1970, Wivenhoe?)>
Clifford (? - after 1970, Burnie?)
Marriage 2
Osmund Frederick Short (? - 23
April 1981, Penguin?), 1913, Emu Bay district?
Children 2
Brenda (ca 1913 - 16 Aug 1942,
Penguin?)
Norman William (5 Oct 1916, Penguin
- after 1970, Launceston?)
Marriage
Ada Mary Fitch (8 June 1890, Westbury
- 20 May 1967, Corio, Vic.), 1908, Devvonport
Children
Ivan Ian (adopted) (19 Jan 1912,
Devonport - 16 June 1951, Quoiba)
Elsie May (3 July 1915, Devonport
- 21 Sept 1997, Heidelberg)
Claude Patrick (20 April 1918,
Devonport - )
Phyllis (ca 1920, Devonport - )
Elizabeth June (1922, Devonport
- )
Reginald Kenneth (1925, Devonport
- 29 Dec 1989, East Melbourne, Vic.)
Laurence Raymond (Mick) (1933,
Devonport - )
Marriage
Montague Edgar (Monty) Smith (30
Dec 1881, Port Sorell district - 17 May 1972, Ulverstone), 1901, Devonport?
Children
Frederick Montague (Monie) (1901,
Devonport - 9 March 1961, Tas.)
Cyril Norman (1903, Devonport -
before 1972, ?)
Sheila (? - ?)
Marriage 1
Alfred Warren (12 April 1882, Hobart
- ca 1907?), 1 July 1904, Hobart
Marriage 2
John Thomas Patterson (13 Aug 1888,
Hobart - 7 June 1934, Hobart), 1917, Hobart?
Children 2
Jack
Harold
Clifford William (4 Oct 1913, Hobart
- ?)
Robert
Marriage 3
Clyde Wellington Johnson (1901,
Zeehan - 1972, Prahran, Vic.), 15 Aug 1940, St Mark's (CoE), Fitzroy, Vic.
Children 3
William Clyde (Bill) (12 Jan 1926,
Carlton, Vic. - ?)
Marriage
Annie Ada Cousins (ca 1894, Berkshire,
England - 29 Aug 1961, Coburg), 27 Sept 1934, St Mark's Fitzroy, Vic.
Marriage
Maud Caroline Whitney (? - 22 Feb
1956, Hobart), 1914, Devonport?
Children
Ruth (d. before 1959)
Cliff
Leslie (d. before 1959)
June Marie (27 Aug 1925, Hobart
- )
Marriage
Byra May Bingham (1 May 1893, Mersey
district - 4 June 1974, Parkville, Vic.), 1912, Devonport?
Children
Ethel Edna May (ca 1914, Devonport
- 1981, Victoria)
Gordon Henry (17 Nov 1917, Devonport
- Jan 1974, Reservoir, Vic.)
Milton (? - ?)
Marriage
John Fowler Shipperlee (10 June
1890, Islington, London, Eng. - 9 June 1966, Melbourne), 29 Dec 1914, Devonport
Children
Harold Raymond (1914, Burnie -
25 March 1983, Melbourne)
Sidney John (Jacko) (1916, Burnie
- March 2004, Melbourne)>
Ronald Arthur (1918, South Melbourne
- 1983, Port Melbourne)
Nora May (1920, South Melbourne
- )
William Arthur (1920, South Melbourne
- )
Vera Doreen (1922, South Melbourne
- )
Frederick Thomas (1925, South Melbourne
- )
George Francis (1926- )
Marriage 1
George Aitken (1905, White Hills,
Vic. - 8 July 1943, Fitzroy, Vic.), 19 Dec 1925, St Luke's CoE, South Melbourne
Children
Lionel
Valma
Marriage 2
James Leslie Williams ( - 10 Sept
1944, Albert Park, Vic.), 1944?, South Melbourne?
Marriage 3
Leslie James Datson (1892, Daylesford,
Vic. - 31 Aug 1973, Port Melbourne, Vic.), ca 1950