Bowles/Murless families

[wendish001]

Hello I have reached a brick wall with finding information on the parents and grandparents of my ancestor Bertha May Murless (born 2 July 1892 Charters Towers) who was put into Diamantina Orphanage on the 2nd of June 1897.

This is the information I have so far:

FATHER:
Harry/Henry Murless
Born 1867 Adelaide, South Australia

MOTHER:
Ellen Bowles
Born 1858 Bathurst, New South Wales.

Bertha may have had a sister called Edith Emily Murless who also went to an orphanage and was born on the 24th of April 1890, Avadale, Queensland. On the document I found of her, her mothers name was listed as Sophia Bowles.

Any help would be appreciated!! Thankyou,

Wendish001

[Neale1961]

What information is on Bertha’s marriage certificate?

I think that Edith Emily Murless born 1890 is a sister. Father is Henry Murless on her birth rego. It may be worth looking at the other details on her birth registration. On Edith’s 1908 NSW marriage cert. her mother is named “Ellen Sophia” and father Henry Murless, a “gentleman”, deceased.

[wivenhoe]

What is the source of this information?

Harry/Henry MURLESS Born 1867 Adelaide, South Australia

Ellen BOWLES Born 1858 Bathurst, New South Wales.


"On the document I found of her, her mothers name was listed as Sophia Bowles."
What is the document?

Do you have the orphanage records?

[Essie]

The only MURLESS family I can see in SA records was Henry with a wife named Mary Ann BAKER, and their only son Henry was born in 1883.
Mary and two daughters and the infant Henry arrived in Adelaide on the ship Ashmore in 1884.
Henry Murless, aged 44, died in SA 30 Jan 1891.

There was a Henry MURLESS, a miner in Western Australia, and later at Broken Hill where he was implicated in having an affair with another man’s wife.
I suspect if he was ever a miner at Charters Towers then ‘your’ Harry/Henry was more likely to be ‘this miner’.

Essie

[wendish001]

What information is on Bertha’s marriage certificate?

I think that Edith Emily Murless born 1890 is a sister. Father is Henry Murless on her birth rego. It may be worth looking at the other details on her birth registration. On Edith’s 1908 NSW marriage cert. her mother is named “Ellen Sophia” and father Henry Murless, a “gentleman”, deceased.

That mention of him being deceased is super helpful thankyou!!
I don't have access to Bertha's marriage certificate yet. I do have her death certificate which lists her parents as Henry Murless and Helen Bowles.

[sparrett]

Hi wendish001,
I have spent some time today looking at the MURLESS people of South Australia.
It is a little tangled and at this point I will not try to pass on information.

However, it would be a great help to everyone if you would kindly tell us all the information you have and where it has come from.

This gives everyone a clear picture to work on.

It does not matter that some of your details may not be correct, as we can make more accurate searches if needed.

Meantime, did you have the divorce details and remarriage for the possible sister Edith Emily who first married in 1908?

The full story
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/117585849 

The remarriage.
4689/1923
CROWLEY Charles L
BUCKLEY Edith E

Sue

[Neale1961]

A word of warning - just because it says he is dead, may not be correct. If he abandoned the children when young, they may have assumed or was told he was dead.
 
I would recommend getting the birth image ($23.30) for Edith Emily Murless
Birth date: 24/04/1890
Mother's name: Sophia Bowles
Father/parent's name: Harry Murless
Registration details: 1890/C/2333

I would also get Bertha's marriage record as it is likely to be more accurate than her death cert.

Hopefully those 2 documents should give you more to go on - and then either post them here or transcribe them. All details including witness names are important to know.

It is an unusual surname. I had a little look last night and there are a couple of possible leads for deaths in South Australia, and also mentions of Henry Murless in the papers which caught my interest. Just need to get more info from those certificates.

[Essie]

This birth and death is a match for another Henry MURLESS who died at Crystal Brook Sth Aust

Henry Owen MURLESS born Jun qrtr 1869 Kensington, UK
MURLESS   Henry aged 50   d. 20 Jul 1919   

Essie

[wendish001]

What is the source of this information?

Harry/Henry MURLESS Born 1867 Adelaide, South Australia

Ellen BOWLES Born 1858 Bathurst, New South Wales.


"On the document I found of her, her mothers name was listed as Sophia Bowles."
What is the document?

Do you have the orphanage records?

The information source is from Edith Emily Murless' 1890 birth certificate. This is what it says about her parents:

FATHER:
Harry Murless
Labourer
23 yrs
Adelaide South Australia

WHERE AND WHERE MARRIED: Illegitimate

MOTHER:
Sophia Bowles
32 yrs
Bathurst N.S.Wales

I have access currently to Bertha May Murless' orphanage record:
Page 125 of Diamentina Orphanage

NAME OF CHILDREN:
Murless Bertha

WHERE BORN:
Charters Towers

WHEN BORN:
2nd July 1892

WHEN ADMITTED:
2nd June 1897

WHY ADMITTED:
Father deserted
Mother in gaol

NAME OF PARENTS:
Henry and Ellen Murless

OCCUPATION OF PARENTS:
Unknown

RELIGION OF PARENTS:
Unknown

REMARKS:
*The remarks are written in such small and faded hand writing that it is difficult for me to make out*

I did have access to Edith Emily Murless' orphanage document but it was before I had thought to back up my files and I lost it due to a virus. I will be able to find it again.