| A genealogical presentation of the life and times of the ancestors and descendants of William Henry Mathews (1880 – 1964) and his wife Sara Louisa Florence Mitchell (1889 – 1972). |
| THE MITCHELL FAMILY LINEAGE – the children of John and Susannah (Sarah) – |
| John Mitchell (1847 – 1892) Like his elder brother Robert, John's birthdate is not known, but Civil Birth Registrations for England and Wales indicate that he was born in Shoreditch, London during the first quarter of 1847. The first seven years of his life were spent around London's Tower Hamlets before boarding HMS Asiatic bound for Melbourne, Australia where he spent the next eight years. At the age of 15, John arrived in Dunedin, New Zealand, accompanied by his father and older brother Henry. Due to regular changes in their living environment, he did not have a formal education; however, he showed skill in trades by helping his father and his brothers with different tools. The 1870-71 New Zealand Electoral Roll records John holding the freehold of sections 24, 25 and 26 on Mornington Road, Caversham, Dunedin, a coming-of-age gift from his parents. During 1874, John's life changed significantly when his parents faced financial difficulties and subsequent court penalties, prompting them to choose to leave Dunedin and move to the North Island. Both he and his younger brother Francis were eager for adventure, so with the funds he earned from selling his land, they set off for the east coast of Australia following reports [1] of significant gold and silver deposits in the New South Wales hinterland. After arriving in Newcastle, the brothers headed north looking for work opportunities. Upon reaching the Macleay River at Kempsey, John decided to settle taking on employment as a blacksmith. John married Matilda EDWARDS (1859 – 1942) in the Wesleyan Church, Kempsey, New South Wales on the 19th of December 1877 and brought up their family in the Macleay River district. The couple had eight children: Leslie Anderson (1878 – 1952), Horace Lees (1879 – 1952), Esther Maud (1881 – 1919), Ernest John McLay (1883 – 1951), Clarice Emily Elizabeth (1885 – 1903), Islet May (1889 – 1957), Susan Matilda (1890 – 1967) and John (1892 – 1917). After a decade in New South Wales, John and his family returned to Melbourne in 1890 [2] taking up residence at Elizabeth Street Malvern. It was there that he died two years later, aged 45. Matilda remarried a 19-year-old gardener named Arthur CUMMINGS (1879 – 1949) in 1897 and lived at Mary Street, Richmond until her eighty-second year. |
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