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Research in Other Countries => New Zealand => New Zealand Completed Requests => Topic started by: handsri on Thursday 08 December 16 22:58 GMT (UK)
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Dear all
I keep saying I have nearly finished up on the NZ part of my research into my "colourful" grandfather, Herman George Tankersley Davies - and then something else comes up... Is it always like this?
Positively the LAST thing I will ask, honest:
"George" was married to Bollettie Mary née Rasmussen in 1906, and in 1909 they had a son Walter Hansen. By 1911, George not only had serious money troublse, he was getting bored with poor Bollettie, and basically ditched her and evaded his creditors by skipping off to Sydney with a woman called Mary Moody/Moodie. Bollettie finally divorced George (in absentia) in 1916 (her petition is reported verbatim in the NZ Truth of 21 May of that year - it would be quite hilarious if she hadn't been so badly treated) and subsequently remarried (twice, in fact), living to a ripe old age (d. 1968).
George does not appear to have exactly turned over a new leaf in Australia; in Jan. 1915 he was convicted of fraud and sentenced to two years' hard labour. I can find no record of his doing this "time", but he next shows up in 1917 in Melbourne (which would have been shortly after his release if he served the full sentence), when he basically cons the Nicholas brothers (inventors of Aspro) into taking them on as his marketing manager. With that, he at last found a legitimate niche for his "talents" (lying...), and over the following decades (until his death in 1954) made a great deal of money.
In 1919 he married my grandmother, Eileen Goldberg, and they moved with their rapidly growing family to England. My four small aunts were accompanied by a half-sister, Hermia (b. 1915) and a half-brother, Ellis (b. 1917), presumably from George's previous liaison with Mary Moodie/Moody (both had her surname as their second given names ).
But what about Mary? George and Eileen's Vic wedding certificate of 26 April 1919 indicates his status as "divorced (14-13-19)", but I can find no record of George and Mary having been married (can hardly see when they could have fit a wedding in, what with fleeing creditors and doing hard time...), and no sign of a divorce, either. I also wonder what became of Mary after George waltzed off into the sunset to become a millionaire...?
Of course this is an NZ thread, and I need to look further in Australia. But George clearly took up with Mary back in NZ, and I wondered if there might be some clues as to her origins and background?
Thanks as ever for your kindness
Richard
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Hi Richard
Would the "divorced" refer to the 1916 divorce from Bollettie,
Cheers Janette
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Mmm ... finding your post a tad confusing. ;D
I remember working on threads for the DODD / DAVIES etc. family (and assisting Alison) ... but it's a good number of years ago.
* Have you read through all the other information posted to the other threads regarding these families ?
I can recall mention of the child Ellis ... and maybe Mary MOODIE (MOODY) ???
* Have you tried the "search" feature here at RootsChat ? (On bar at top of this page).
~ Lu
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I could find the "NZ Truth" article of May 1916 (probably needed to try harder ;D ) ... but the followig was published in the "Sun" (Canterbury) newspaper :
http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/SUNCH19160523.2.84
... her name here is given as Mary MOODY ... and she apparently gave evidence at his trial in Australia ?
~ Lu
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... when George DAVIES left for Sydney ... it is said that Mary MOODY followed a short while later.
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Of course this is an NZ thread, and I need to look further in Australia. But George clearly took up with Mary back in NZ, and I wondered if there might be some clues as to her origins and background?
Hi ... we really don't have much to go on for Mary MOODY, do we ?
* Was MOODY her maiden name or a married name ?
* Any idea of her approximate year of birth ?
Perhaps a search of our PapersPast website is a good start ?
http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz
* Have you built up a "profile" of the "antics" of George DAVIES yet ? * Where and when does Mary MOODY first feature ?
[You've mentioned children named Hermia and Ellis ... (MOODY) ?? * What became of them ? ]
~ Lu
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http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/
"The Advertiser" (Adelaide) - 27 November 1914 - page 8 -- Conspiracy Alleged
Maybe you've seen above article ??
Seems Mary MOODY had some interest in the businesses of George ?
... says she had known DAVIES for three years ??
~ Lu
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. Bollettie finally divorced George (in absentia) in 1916 (her petition is reported verbatim in the NZ Truth of 21 May of that year -
There's an article about above couple published "NZ Truth" - 27 May 1916 ... was that the one you were referring to ?
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.... "NZ Truth" _ 27 May 1916 ...
"It was explained that the MOODY woman would give Mrs DAVIES some spiritualistic advice concerning her health ... "
* Did this Mary MOODY maybe work as a "spiritualist" or in some associated field ?
* Is there anything in PapersPast which might link to her "being in business" of any sort ?
~ Lu
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BDM NSW birth
26557 / 1914 DAVIES Hermia M parents Herman G / Mary S @ Sydney
26557 / 1914 MOODIE Hermia M parents - / Mary S @ Sydney
BDM VIC death
1964 / 2049 DAVIES Mary Moodie parents DAVIES / UKN
77years @ Beechworth
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Thank you, Wivenhoe, Lu et al
Brilliant, you have found Mary! To sum up, here is what we now knowmore or less for sure from different sources:
1911 Mary - described as a "spiritualist" - enters into a relationship with my grandfather (Herman) George (Tankersley) Davies, and leaves from NZ for Sydney with or following him (source: various newspaper reports on the testimony of George's first wife Bollettie née Rasmussen, in her divorce proceedings against him in NZ in May 1916)
1914 Mary gives birth to Hermia (Moodie Davies),father George Davies, in NSW (source: NSW BDM)
1914 Mary testifies in committal hearing of George Davies on fraud charges in Sydney in November (source: newspaper reports, which also confirm that George was sentenced to 2 years in Jan 1915)
1917 Mary gives birth to Ellis (Moodie Davies), Victoria ? Date and place anecdotal - but existence of Ellis confirmed by name on passenger list of the Maloja, arriving with the rest of the family at Plymouth on 24 Feb 1927 - and by my mother, his half-sister)
1919 divorce (presumed) from George Davies. Source: marriage certificate of George Davies and Eileen Goldberg (my grandmother) of 26 April (BDM Victoria). The certificate indicates that George was "divorced (14 March 1919)".
1964 Mary died in Beechworth, Victoria (Source: Victoria BDM)
I have ordered Hermia's birth certificate fromm NSW BDM in the hope that it might tell us more about Mary: if possible I would still like to find out when and where Mary was born, anything about her ancestry/origins, anything about her (presumed) marriage to, and divorce from, (Herman) George (Tankersley) Davies.
Finally an anecdote and some conjecture. My mother remembers her half-brother Ellis ("Bunk") Moodie Davies with affection; he married Joan Stuchbery and re-emigrated to Australia (after the war, she thinks), after which she lost sight of him. However, my mother describes her half-sister Hermia Moodie Davies as a disturbed person who was at some point committed to a mental health facility. The conjecture is as follows: Beechworth, where Mary Moodie died in 1964, is the location of a well known lunatic asylum, originally known as Mayday Hills, subsequently Beechworth Lunatic Asylum. Could that be where Mary ended her days? And did George Davies play a part in having her committed? The earlier reference to her as a "spiritualist", her quite garbled testimony in the November 1914 hearing in Sydney, and the fate of her daugher Hermia would not be inconsistent with a person with mental health problems.
I would be truly grateful for anything else you can discover about Mary.
Many thanks
Richard
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Hi Handsri,
Have you looked for George DAVIES in the NSW Police Gazettes?
http://search.ancestry.com.au/search/db.aspx?dbid=1942&geo_a=r&o_iid=41019&o_lid=41019&o_sch=Web+Property
And also try the Australian National Archives.
Likewise Mary might appear in records for either Mayday Hills/ Beechworth Lunatic Asylum held by Australian National Archives.
I would suggest that you purchase an authentic copy of Mary's death certificate.
Spades
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With the help of AUS birth record for Hermia DAVIES as provided by wivenhoe, have now located Mary's arrival as a 3 year-old, with her family into Wellington, New Zealand in 1889.
Per "Tainui" - departed London, 18 April 1889 - arrived Wellington NZ - 9 June 1889.
MOODIE
- Helen - 44 years - wife
- Peter - son - 22
- Margaret - dau - 20
- Adam - son - 18
- Barbara* - dau - 15
- Joan - dau - 12
- Jemima - 9
- Wm. - son - 6
- Mary - dau - 3
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There wasn't a "husband" for Helen MOODIE included in that group ?
~ Lu
see next >>
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... sorry forgot to include link for shipping list >
https://familysearch.org/saearch/collection/1609792
> search on "mary moodie" + birth "1886"
continues next >
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Was lucky enough to find a Probate record for a sibling of Mary MOODIE (arrived "Tainui" to Wellington - 1889)
https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1865481
MOODIE - Barbara Helen - Ashburton - Spinster -- Year: 1941
Barbara MOODIE died intestate but there was some very helpful information included in the file regarding her siblings - one of whom was >
Mary Sinclair DAVIES of Sydney, New South Wales - sister
[The birth record for Hermia DAVIES shows her Mother's name as "Mary S. " ]
~ Lu
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Hi Spades and Lu
Many, many thanks - you have pretty much nailed this, now:
Mary's death certificate (BDM Vic) gives no further information about her family (a lot of "unknowns"), but confirms:
- that she died at Beechworth Mental Hospital
- that she was 77 yrs old at the time of death (which would give her DOB as c. 1887)
- that she was unmarried
So still nothing to indicate if she and George Davies were ever actually married/divorced, but that - together with the lead on Beechworth Mental Hospital and the the search for Mary's son Ellis - is an Australian story. Likewise, Lu's information about the Moodie family's arrival in Wellington means that I will need to look in England for anything before then.
In other words, your work is done! Mary was quite a tough one, so take a big bow and give yourselves a well deserved pat on the back. Thank you to you and everyone who has helped.
All the best
Richard
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Hi Richard
The MOODIE family was listed as being "English" on the passenger list for the "Tainui".
Have found them though on a Scotland census. Will post info for you shortly.
~ Lu
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1881 - SCOTLAND
Civil Parish of Sandsting and Aithsting - County Shetland - Address : Silwick
MOODIE
- Hellen
- Peter - 14
- Margaret - 12
- Adam - 9
- Barbara H. - 7
- Joan - 4
- Jemima Jane - 1
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SCOTLAND - BIRTHS
Barbara Helen MOODIE
Born : 13 September 1873
Place : Sandsting and Aithsting - Shetland
Father : Peter MOODIE
Mother : Helen JAMIESON
~ Lu
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1871 - SCOTLAND
> at same address as 1881
MOODIE
- Peter - 35
- Helen - 27
- Peter - 4
- Margaret 2
[+ Helen MOFFAT - servant]
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Thanks again. So they came from the Shetland Islands (as William Tait Moodie affirmed in the probate document you posted for Barbara Helen). Very exotic!
R
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Mary Moodie was my great Aunt, details below:
Full Name: Mary Sinclair Moodie
Born: 15 May 1885, Silwick, Shetland, Scotland (source birthday book of my mother)
Parents: Peter Moodie & Helen Jamieson
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Hello leightonnz
Welcome to RootsChat. :)
I'm not sure if Richard ("handsri") the original enquirer, is still viewing items on this site ... (he was last logged in on 29 March 2017). ???
But thank you for posting the information re: Mary.
* Was there anything you were wanting that we can maybe help you with ?
~ Lu
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Mary Moodie was my great Aunt, details below:
Full Name: Mary Sinclair Moodie
Born: 15 May 1885, Silwick, Shetland, Scotland (source birthday book of my mother)
Parents: Peter Moodie & Helen Jamieson
Hello and welcome to Rootschat..... :)
According to the Shetland Family History website:
https://www.bayanne.info/Shetland/getperson.php?personID=I54690&tree=ID1
Mary Ann Moodie was born on 15.5.1885 @ Culswick, Sandsting, Shetland.
Minniehaha.