Hi everyone,
I wanted to share with you a bit of serendipity that came my way recently
I had heard a family story that my great-great-grandfather's brother, Edward Haynes, was a very talented amateur woodcarver. One of the projects that remained in folk memory of the family was a fireplace for Salisbury Court station, a big sheep property near Uralla in the central north of NSW.
I had just accepted these stories for years, but for some reason a month or so back, I thought I should write to the owners of Salisbury Court and ask them whether the fireplace was still there. I found an address, and the owner was a Sir
Sir Owen Croft, descendant of the original owner of the property when it was established in the 1840s.
Anyway, undaunted, I wrote to Sir Owen, and included my email address. A couple of weeks later, back came an email from him, with photos attached of Uncle Ned's fireplace!
What a beautiful piece of work it is too. I have attached a bit of his email, talking about Uncle Ned and his association with Salisbury Court:
The carved mantlepiece is a feature in our dining room at Salisbury Court and I understand it was made as a wedding present for my grandfather, Sir Hugh Croft who managed Boorolong Station from 1896 to 1919, when he moved to Salisbury. We have just had some work done on it and the timber used was tallowwood which is amazing being so hard. Also I understand that he did all the work with pocket knives rather than wood working tools.
Teddy did not marry as far as I know but did have two girlfriends according to one of my aunts. He was a shepherd originally but would have been a stationhand when fencing became the norm. My aunt was very fond of him as he took her riding when she was a little girl.We don't have any photos of Ned/Teddy, but having pictures of something so beautiful that he crafted himself is almost as good, as well as the connection to the Croft family and their obvious fondness for him. The fireplace dates from 1901.
I just wanted to share this with you all, because I know you'll understand
And also to encourage you to write to owners of properties or possessions that were owned or made by your ancestors - even a Peer of the Realm was not too busy to write back to me!
Prue
