Snippets from the life of Martha Sarah Ellis.
Like many other immigrants who came out to Australia Martha immigrated a second time leaving Western Australia to settle in the Victorian Colony. Now that her sister was married there was nothing to hold her in Western Australia. Her reputation must have been tarnished by the two court cases in which she was involved. The first case had been for assault and the second had been aa a witness in a case brought against the matron of the hospital where she had worked. It may have become difficult to find decent work and working in a tavern or public house was probably not something that she would’ve liked to do.
Many people in Western Australia bemoaned that “after we have paid the passage of emigrants here, we have no legal power to prevent their going on at once to the other colonies.”[1]
They felt that they felt Western Australia was merely becoming a stopover for immigrants on their way to Melbourne or Sydney, after being offered inducements by the larger eastern cities.[2]
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| Photographer J. Latimer, Studio portrait of Martha Sarah Ellis taken circa 1891 in Western Australia, digital image, Jim Bennett's Private Photo Collection currently held by Dorothy Bennett |
Martha was living in Hawthorn near Melbourne in 1892 when she married her husband Walter Todman who also living in the same area.[3]
Was it love at first sight or a marriage of convenience? We will probably never know.
To Read more about Martha's life for articles previously posted
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Sources
[1] Goldsmith, F., 'CORRESPONDENCE.', Western Mail, 15 February 1890, p. 10. , viewed 17 Mar 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32728296
[2] Anon, 'The Western Mail PERTH, SATURDAY, FEB. 8, 1890. IMMIGRATION.', Western Mail, 8 February 1890, p. 18. , viewed 17 Mar 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32726911; Anon, 'The Inquirer. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 1891 Thr Immigration Scandal.', The Inquirer and Commercial News (Perth, WA : 1855 - 1901), 22 April 1891, p. 5. , viewed 17 Mar 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66232691
[3] Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, marriage certificate 345 (1926), Walter Todman-Martha Sarah Ellis.
She was a very lovely young woman. Living in America, I think of people going to eastern Australia, not western.
ReplyDeleteI think Australian's think the same. It has been wonderful to find a few of my ancestors in Western Australia, what has been amazing to me is the number that travelled back and forth quite often, particularly following the gold rushes.
DeleteThanks for dropping by.
Clever theme but must be involving a lot of research. Build A Better Blog: I is for Interesting Images. #AtoZchallenge.
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by Shirley, it has taken a lot of research but the challenge has helped me pull it together and share what I have. Deadlines are wonderful motivators.
DeleteHi Shirley, I just tried to visit your blog but your link isn't working properly and sends back to my own blog. Sorry I wasn't able to drop by.
DeleteInteresting about the second migration, something we don't see as much of in the US.
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting. People move around a lot in Australia, following mining booms, escaping droughts and looking for better opportunities.
DeleteWhat an amazing photo! I can almost feel her presence. It's difficult to explain but she seems very contemporary. Is that how you see her?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what contemporary really means, I come from a line of very strong women. I see her as being very strong willed, opinionated, sometimes a bit intimidating and impulsive particularly in her younger years. What is there not to love about her. I never met her, and my grandmother her daughter-in-law didn't like her very much. I have a feeling that my grandmother was perhaps more similiar (although not impulsive) to her than she would care to admit.
DeleteOur ancestors who immigrated I think were much stronger than we are today. I can't even imagine packing up and leaving your family and never returning.
ReplyDeleteHi Jeanne,
DeleteThanks for dropping by. I'm not sure I agree about things being harder back then. I think the younger generation will have a lot to contend with, they will need to deal with finding jobs in an ever shrinking employment market and will have to go where the work is. They will also have to deal with a lot more change than we have had to in the past, in a world that we cannot fathom that might include WW3 and/or driver-less cars to name a few. Unlike in the past they will/should be a lot more aware of the chaos and implications of what is going on than generations have in the past.