Hello Kathy
Sorry I can’t tell you much about the destiny of Violet but I’ve been expending my family tree for 6 years, most recently on ‘Ancestry.com’ and think I can fill in some gaps for you.
Much of this information is confirmed and some is assumption but I feel I’m pretty right on most counts.
There is talk of the Knee family at Scone adopting Chinese orphans but their names differ and they’re most likely linked to another branch of the Knees and not Charles senior and Elizabeth. Anyway, here goes.....
It seems Violet was the illegitimate daughter of Amelia G Knee born in 1879 at Maitland NSW Australia. Amelia and Emily Knee’s birth records are the same year and adjacent on the NSW Births register.
Amelia’s mother is shown as Elizabeth, district Maitland. The Elizabeth is ‘Elizabeth Clifford’ an adopted girl from England (aka Baker).
Amelia’s father was my great, great, grandfather, Charles Knee (Nuii) a Mongolian (not Chinese) Ostler at ‘Sydenham Estate’ near Falkirk in NSW where he met Elizabeth. These two came from England and might have emigrated with their employers from the UK.
Maitland was the district Hospital at the time hence the birth records.
Emily’s birth record is incomplete, I suspect for one of the following reasons.
1. Emily was a twin who died at birth or,
2. The most likely explanation is that the names were recorded incorrectly then corrected in the next entry. This could have been an accident of old Grandfather Charles Knee’s Mongolian accent and his attempt to say Amelia might have sounded like Emily at the birth registration. Remember he was the family Patriarch and the only male present at the time and Emily’s record was incomplete.
NB: My Norwegian ancestor Jorgen Emil became George Emily in Australia because of his accent
3. Although unlikely, I like to think that Emily could have in fact, been my great grandmother Ellen Louise Knee and she and Amelia were twins. Ellen was also the son of Charles Knee and also born in 1859 but no record of her birth exists.
4. Ellen might have been adopted. I have heard this practice was not uncommon at the time as the Europeans rarely took in orphaned Asian or Chinese children.
I've attached pictures of Ellen younger and older and would be interested in comparing the likeness if you also had pictures of Amelia. That would finally settle the ‘Twin Theory’ I guess.
Ellen stayed on at ‘Sydenham Estate’ (perhaps she was in love) and soon married New Zealand shearer Alfred Schaufler.
When Violet was born in 1879 Amelia and Ellen were both 19 or 20 and single. Their parents, Charles Knee and Elizabeth Clifford (Baker) then moved to Scone and she decided to go with them, possibly for the babies’ sake. Perhaps Ellen stayed because she was adopted and not their own child.
After Schaufler left, it’s believed Ellen still worked as a servant at ‘Sydenham’ making meals for the diggers in the goldfields and farm hands and drovers where she met my great grandfather Jorgen (George) Emil Leth, a runaway seaman from Norway. They moved to Sydney, raised 9 children, 3 of Schaufler’s and 6 of their own including my grandfather Henry John Leth. Ellen and George married in 1897 after their 4th child and her 7th. I assume the divorce from Schaufler had been finalised.
However.... Back to Violet and Amelia.
The unmarried Amelia and her daughter Violet went with Charles and Elizabeth to ‘Cuan Cuan’ or ‘Cuen Cuen’ Station near Bunnan about 20 miles west of Scone.
go to Google Maps, type ‘Bunnan NSW Australia’ you'll see Cuan Creek is actually the town boundary about 8ks to the east. Follow the creek north on the map from the bridge for about 10 kms and you can see a large collection of farm buildings. This is probably the Station. Click on ‘street view’ while on the Bunnan Rd for a view of the countryside
The ‘Cuan Cuan Creek’ or ‘Guan Gua’ was probably named by the local aboriginals after the ‘Gang Gang’ or Black Cockatoo.
Amelia’s parents never married but lived a life-long relationship giving birth to 6 more children between 1862 and 1873, Elizabeth, Sarah, Mary William, Maria and Charles. I believe it is quite likely that these were Amelia and Ellen’s full brothers and sisters as no other father is shown on any records and the children were all officially born as Knee with the same mother Elizabeth. Only my ancestor Ellen is the mystery with no birth records.
In 1884 aged 25 accompanied by 6 year old Violet, Amelia m'd James N Jowitt drover from Scone, probably ‘Cuen Cuen Station’. Between 1885 and 1894 they all moved to Narrabri where Violet and James (Records show he used the name Thomas N Jowitt) had 7 children. So Violet lived with her mother and step-father and her half-brothers and sisters; Cecil J N, Alfred, Eleanor M, Grace E, Walter H, Elizabeth N and Thomas N
In 1894 at the age of only 15, Violet married Edward Mellon a drover from Narrabri and between 1895 and 1907 they also had 7 children. The first, Cecil was obviously named after her now 10 year old half-brother.
Finally .. and I think you'll get a laugh from this. Violet had several names including; Violet Emily Maud T Knee. The ‘T Knee’ might have easily sounded like ‘Tierney’ to the registrar at the wedding.
Best wishes
Peter Campbell
Cygnet, Tasmania Australia
