Marriage and love don’t always come at the same time. But when love does come hang onto it with both hands like Lillian did.
Thomas MANDERSON married Lillian CRUMP in May 1903 in
Eaglehawk, Victoria[i]. Lillian
was only 19 years of age, Thomas was six years her senior.
 |
| Figure 1 G.L. Massingham, Wedding Photo of Lillian Crump & Thomas Manderson, 1903, scan of original image. |
There are no recorded births for any children to the couple
in either Victoria or Western Australia. Thomas listed his usual place
of residence as Kalgoolie, Western Australia on their marriage certificate. Lillian however did go on to have 4 children
but none listed Thomas as the father.[ii]
The father of all Lillian CRUMP’s
children is thought to have been William BASSETT, but only the two youngest
children William (b.1908) and Gladys Irene (b.1912) have been confirmed.[iii] No father is listed for the eldest two
children Doris Lillian (b.1906) and Myrtle May (b.1907).[iv]
A missing person article appeared in the local Western
Australian newspaper in 1906 announcing that a Thomas MANDERSON had been found,
locating the original "Missing Person" article might help to confirm if this is the same Thomas MANDERSON who had
married Lillian Crump in 1903.[v] It is thought that by 1907 Thomas MANDERSON had gone to sea
and can be found on the “Empress of Britain” as a crew member and he may have
eventually settled in America.[vi]
Lillian was 21 years old when she gave birth to Doris, her
eldest child.[vii] Neither
Lillian MANDERSON/CRUMP, Thomas MANDERSON or William BASSETT were the informant
on either the two eldest children's birth certificates.[viii] Later Myrtle would say that she had no doubt that William Bassett was her father as the family resemblance was
strong. [ix]
William Bassett & Lillian Crump became a couple, possibly
around 1905 however they never married.
When Myrtle their second eldest was two years of age (in 1907) the family left
Eaglehawk and relocated to Tasmania. William found employment in
the mines and their only son, William, was born.[x]
They returned to Eaglehawk by 1912 for the birth of their fourth child Gladys
Irene.[xi]
When they moved back to Eaglehawk it was thought the
couple had married in Tasmania.[xii]
Later in life after a bout of illness Lillian insisted that a portrait was
taken of her and William to commemorate their union. Later she would say that William would have
nothing to remember her without the portrait.
 |
| Figure 2 Photographer Unknown, Formal Portrait of William Bassett & Lillian Crump, c.mid-1920s, scan of original image. |
Ironically it would be William who died first of miner’s
complaint in 1945.[xiii]
[click here to read more about the missing person newspaper article for Thomas Manderson]
To read more about the venue for Lillian Crump & Thomas Manderson's click here
References
Images
Figure 1 G.L,Massingham, Wedding Photo of Lillian Crump & Thomas
Manderson, 1903
Figure 2 Photographer Unknown, Formal Portrait of William Bassett
& Lillian Crump, date unknown
Sources
[i] Victorian Marriage Certificate, District of Bendigo, 1903/2358, Thomas
Manderson and Lillian Crump
[ii] NSW
Death Certificate, 1964/19504, District of Sutherhland, Lillian BASSETT; Victorian
Birth Certificate, District of Eaglehawk, 1906/2600, Doris Lillian MANDERSON, Victorian
Birth Certificate, District of Eaglehawk, 1907/10233, Myrtle May MANDERSON; NAA:
B883, VX21203 William BASSETT; Victorian Birth Certificate 1912/19781, District
of Eaglehawk, Gladys Irene BASSETT
[iii] NAA:
B883, VX21203 William BASSETT; Victorian Birth Certificate, 1912/19781,
District of Eaglehawk, Gladys Irene BASSETT
[iv] Victorian
Birth Certificate, 1906/2600 District of Eaglehawk, Doris Lillian MANDERSON and
Victorian Birth Certificate, 1907/10233, District of Eaglehawk, Myrtle May MANDERSON
[v]
MISSING FRIENDS (1906, June 30). The Daily News (Perth, WA : 1882 -
1950),Col 6, p. 6 (SECOND EDITION). Retrieved March 31, 2016, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article82404925.
[vi]
“Liverpool, England, Crew Lists 1861-1919;"
Liverpool Record Office, Liverpool, England; digital images, Ancestry.com
Operations, Inc, "Crew lists (fishing boats). 387 FIS :
1907,"Ancestry.com (www.Ancestry.com : accessed 24 Mar 2016); Entry for
Thomas MANDERSON on the Empress of
Britain; U.S., Residents Serving in the British Expeditionary Forces,
1917-1919; War Department. Office of the Provost Marshal General (1917–1919);
digital images, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (www.Ancestry.com :
accessed 25 Mar 2016) Entry of Thomas MANDERSON; 1920 U.S. census, Mendocino,
California, population schedule, Big River Township (part), Big River Precinct
1, Big River Precinct 2, Caspar Precinct, enumeration district (ED) 111, sheet
18B, p. 7015 (image 26 of 27), dwelling 678, family 468, Thomas MANDERSON;
digital images, Ancestry.com
(www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 Mar 2016)
[vii] Victorian
Birth Certificate, 1906/2600, District of Eaglehawk, Doris Lillian MANDERSON
[viii] Victorian
Birth Certificate, 1906/2600, District of Eaglehawk, Doris Lillian MANDERSON;
Victorian Birth Certificate, 1907/10233,
District of Eaglehawk, Myrtle May MANDERSON
[ix] Myrtle
Sharp, in personal discussion with author, c.2000
[x] NAA:
B883, VX21203 William BASSETT
[xi]
Victorian Birth Certificate, 1912/19781, District of Eaglehawk, Gladys Irene
Bassett
[xii] Myrtle
Sharp, in personal discussion with author, c.2000
[xiii]
Victorian Death Certificate, 1945/5364, District of St Kilda, William BASSETT
Updated and revised on 16th August 2016
Edit History
Originally posted on the 14th August 2016Updated and revised on 16th August 2016
A mysterious man, this Mr. Thomas MANDERSON! However, publishing this may eventually help you finding the solution. Sometimes somebody on the other side of the world reads this and ... At least, that's my experience. On a different subject, I want to express my appreciation for the fact that you so explicitly mention the surnames you are interested in. I wish more people would that!
ReplyDeleteI think Sonoma County Clerk's Office holds the death records Certificate required for Thomas Manderson year 1938; registration number 20331, However I haven’t been able to work out yet how to go about getting a copy. On my todo list!
DeleteI found Thomas in the 1910 U.S. census, San Luis Obispo, California, population schedule & 1920 U.S. census, Mendocino, California, population schedule, in the Big River Township - the birthdate and the birth country match my Thomas MANDERSON. I also found him in the Residents Serving in the British Expeditionary Forces, 1917-1919 at Ancestry but I’m not quite sure how to access information beyond record. Also on my todo list!
But Doris Lillian and Myrtle May both used Manderson as their names? And Lillian was 19 when they married and she had her oldest child of four children when she was 21? This is a fascinating story.
ReplyDeleteDoris and Myrtle never used the name Manderson they always used the name Bassett. When I went to apply for their birth certificates they both were registered under both surnames but the reference numbers are identical.
DeleteAnd yes Lillian was 19 when she married but I have been unable to find any trace of either of them in either WA or Eaglehawk, Victoria. Not that Lillian would be easy to find as she wouldn’t have been on the voters register until she 21. I was never able to find any trace of Thomas himself although I was able to trace his mother initially in Eaglehawk, Victoria and the subsequently in WA after her second husband died and she went to live with her daughter. There were quite a few Thomas Mandersons in Eaglehawk but during the course of my research I was able to eliminate them as possible candidates. Sometimes I think they got married in a hurry so that she could return with him to WA but it didn’t work out so she came back to Eaglehawk (where his mother was still living) and began a new relationship with William Bassett who she working for as domestic, but would need a little more to substantiate that story!
Tidbits of information like this story which leaves out so much can be frustrating to descendants wishing they knew how and why things happened as they did.
ReplyDeleteIt can be frustrating but it is also addictive as we try to find out more, The tidbits keep us going ... incase we can find more tidbits - all part of the fun.
DeleteThese missing husbands and fathers can be very hard to find, but it seems like you've done well here. I have a case of a father who deserted his wife and 3 little girls in NZ, enlisted and then re-married bigamously in Australia. The descendants of his daughters had no idea what had happened to him. I've told them but I don't think they really want to know. Unfortunately he was my relative (3x great uncle).
ReplyDeleteA fascinating story. I wish you luck in your search. These stories are oh so common and make researching family history so hard. My father left England in 1920 and his great nephews and nieces were never told of his existence.
ReplyDelete"Later she would say that William would have nothing to remember her without the portrait." So poignant.
ReplyDeleteSomeone was telling me recently how mixed up families are today compared to those of the olden days. They are so wrong. Aside from husbands and fathers and sometimes mothers running off, there are so many deaths and remarriages with resulting recombinations of families. I don't think it was ever simple.
ReplyDelete