Hi there,
Overnight thoughts (from JM and my OH, and our Great Aunt who wishes me to commence to describe her as a Gentlewoman )
I suppose Cab Driver is connected with horses. That seems to make more sense than a horse breeder, seeing Richmond would have been more urban than rural. I suppose the latter sounds a bit better.
May I please note that there is a definite difference between being a CAB DRIVER and being a
CAB PROPRIETOR. A Cab driver is employed by a Cab proprietor. A Cab proprietor may well be a cab driver, and an employer of other cab drivers. A Cab driver is not the way to describe someone who owns at least one Cab. To me, this is a significant difference, from a family history searching perspective.
From the 1896 mc we learn that Florence was 18. This marriage was 16 April 1896, BUT we can see mention of her husband’s ship leaving port several days earlier than that, to load up with Coal (from Newcastle) to take to Honolulu. (Note to JM ….. why was Coal being shipped to tropical Honolulu … must have been for a manufacturing process, as it would not be needed for domestic heating, or was Honolulu a transit port, and the coal was for an east coast USA port ??)
Anyways, if aged 18 on or before 16 April 1896, then when was she born? IF the information is accurate, then she was born no earlier than 17 April 1877 and no later than 16 April 1878. This is info that the clergyman recorded, and is based on info that the couple provided when being interviewed in the days BEFORE the ceremony. As Florence was not yet 21 years of age, she was legally an “infant” that is she had not yet reached her majority, so she was a minor, and on a legal point, her voice cannot be heard. (Remember, in NSW, civil registration of a Marriage is the registration of a Contract, so in that era, the NSW BDM was part of the Lands Department where Contracts/Deeds etc were registered !) So, Florence had not yet reached her majority so means that she cannot give consent to entering into the contract for her own marriage, and thus she needs someone to speak for her. In NSW at that time it should be the lawful father of the minor party (by the way, same rules applied if the groom was not yet 21 years). If the father was not available (deceased, out of the colony, or unknown, or otherwise not available) it would fall to the adult male head of the household ahead of the bride’s mother.
So, in 1896 we have an 18 year old Gentlewoman, (a half orphan) Florence ST CLAIR, living in Surry Hills, without an adult male head of the household, but obviously in contact with her own mum, Ellen ST CLAIR, nee Fogarty.
To be a Gentlewoman, and in 1896 to be the daughter of a deceased Cab Proprietor suggests there was some (substantial ? ) financial backing available. So there ought to be a PROBATED deceased estate, most likely either in Victoria or in NSW.
PS I will try to make time today to followup and confirm DD for the children of Florence. I have tried to concentrate on finding details of her parents. I agree, to me it seems very likely that Thelma's Dad was NOT Olaf OLSEN. To me, it was simply that at that time, a child's surname was NOT actually recorded on their birth registration. So, as Florence was Mrs OLSEN when Thelma was born, the index has both OLSEN and SUNDSTROM for Thelma's birth registration. YES, it would be sensible to seek out the official transcription of Thelma's birth .....
details of older siblings by NAME if living, and by gender if they had already succumbed. Perhaps "Beatrice" may be recorded somewheres on that record .... I have a family member whose middle name is in honour of the midwife .... perhaps Thelma Florence BATE's biographer knows where "Beatrice" originates....
Cheers, JM
