Blogging from A to Z Challenge – April 2025
Theme: Migration Journeys – Across Oceans and Overland
Migration has shaped my family’s history, with ancestors traveling across oceans and continents in search of new beginnings. This April, as part of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge (#AtoZChallenge), I’m sharing their stories—one letter at a time. From long voyages by sea to overland treks, each post focuses on the journeys themselves—the routes they took, the challenges they faced, and the experiences along the way.
Soon after their father, John Thomas, died in 1879,(2b) brothers Michael and Robert Thomas returned to their homeland of Cornwall. During that visit, they reconnected with their niece, Sarah Stevens, who was working as a tile painter in Hampstead, London.(1) The family considered her “very skilful in the work of painting on porcelain tiles.”(2) While in England, they arranged with Sarah to have a series of tiles painted in memory of their late father.(2a)
Painting porcelain tiles in 1879 was a specialist skill. Each tile would have been cleaned, smoothed, and perhaps glazed before being painted, often using enamel or overglaze pigments. Intricate designs, like those later described on the headstone, would have required careful layering, with each stage needing time to dry before the next was applied. The tiles were fired in a kiln to fuse the artwork to the porcelain.
Whether the brothers brought the finished tiles back to Australia themselves, or whether Sarah carried them when she emigrated to Sydney before marrying in 1892, is unclear.(4)(4a)(5) Tragically, Sarah died just a few years later, in 1895, aged only 31.(6)(7)(2b) Her grandmother, Margaret Thomas, died in 1897(8). It was only then, eighteen years after John’s passing, that the family headstone was finally erected.
A Headstone of Unique Design
A local newspaper reported on the memorial’s unveiling:
“EAGLEHAWK.
A tombstone of unique design has recently been erected in the Eaglehawk cemetery, over the graves of the late Mr. John Thomas and Mrs. Margaret Thomas, two old residents of California Gully, who died in 1879 and 1897 respectively. Deceased were the parents of Messrs. Michael and Robert Thomas and Mesdames Jas. Taylor, R. Williams and Stevens, and the former gentleman, whilst in England, some 10 years ago, visited a niece who was very skilful in the work of painting on porcelain tiles.
He arranged with her to have tiles suitably painted for his father's grave, and since the death of Mrs. Thomas the work of erecting the tombstone and railing has been carried out. The stone is of Scotch granite, and surrounding the inscription is an appropriate design of a chain with broken link. The inscription itself is done on the tiles, which are inlaid on the face of the granite. A wreath of flowers, nicely painted, and surrounding a cross of gilt, forms the upper portion, and on the tiles, underneath are the usual inscription and a suitable verse. The work on the tiles, which is painted before they are baked, is quite unique. The grave is surrounded by a railing, and the whole forms a very suitable, whilst very novel, form of tombstone.”*
A Labour of Love
The painted tiles had been a labour of love—a connection between continents and generations—that began with a return journey to Cornwall and ended with a unique tribute in Eaglehawk, Victoria. Sarah’s artistry, preserved in porcelain and fired in Hampstead, became part of a gravestone half a world away.
Surrounding the tiled inscription, engraved into the granite, is a chain with a broken link. Perhaps that broken link represents the passing of John and Margaret Thomas—breaking the physical circle, but never the bond.
The finished memorial was more than just a marker. It was a transcontinental collaboration, a tangible symbol of remembrance and resilience. It honoured the lives of two migrants who had made California Gully their home—and it also quietly commemorated the skilled young woman whose brushstrokes still survive in stone.
The Headstone of John and Margaret Thomas
Painted porcelain tiles inset into the headstone of John and Margaret Thomas, Eaglehawk Cemetery.
Have you ever found a migration story hiding in something unexpected—like a headstone or a keepsake? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.
Stay tuned tomorrow for the next stop in this A to Z journey!
Blog Post Meta Data
The URL for this post is https://ancestralresearchjournal.blogspot.com/2025/04/h-is-for-headstone.html originally published in April 2025
Author 2025, Sandra Williamson
Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Share it on Twitter/X, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email via the Contact Form on the Blog.
Sources
(1) 1891 Census: The National Archives of the UK (TNA); Kew, Surrey, England; Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891; Class: RG12; Piece: 109; Folio: 75; Page: 86; GSU roll: 6095219; (accessed 8 April 2025), Sarah Jane Stevens (23) daughter in household of Elizabeth Stevens (59) in Hampstead registration district in London, England. Born in St Pancras, London, England. [Explanation: Established Sarah's relationship to her mother and her occupation.]
(2) EAGLEHAWK. (1900, August 4). Bendigo Advertiser (Vic. : 1855 - 1918), p. 3. Retrieved April 8, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article89615460 [Explanation: Although Sarah is not named, the article establishes that she was related to the family and working as a tile painter.]
(2a) EAGLEHAWK. (1900, August 4). Bendigo Advertiser (Vic. : 1855 - 1918), p. 3. Retrieved April 8, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article89615460 [Explanation: Confirms that the children of John Ebbott and Margaret Smith travelled back to Cornwall.]
(2b) EAGLEHAWK. (1900, August 4). Bendigo Advertiser (Vic. : 1855 - 1918), p. 3. Retrieved April 8, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article89615460 [Explanation: Confirms the year of John Ebbott and Margaret Ebbott nee Smith as "1879 and 1897 respectively".]
(4) Marriage Notices (1892, July 16). The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), p. 172. Retrieved April 8, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article162192271 [Explanation: Confirms Jenny (Sarah Jane) Stevens to Charles Harper]
(4a) Marriage Notices (1892, July 25). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 3. Retrieved April 8, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13873001 [Explanation: Confirms Jenny (Sarah Jane) Stevens to Charles Harper]
(5) Marriage of Henry Stevens & Elizabeth Stevens 1892, Sydney, Australia, Anglican Parish Registers, 1814-2011, Anglican Church Diocese of Sydney; Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Baptism, Burial, Confirmation, Marriage and Composite Registers in the Anglican Church Diocese of Sydney Archives (accessed 8 April 2025 at Ancestry.com); Sarah Jane Stevens (full age), daughter of Henry Stevens & Elizabeth Stevens, marriage to Charles Harper on 27 Jun 1892 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. [Explanation: Confirms Jenny's official name as Sarah Jane Stevens and her parents names.]
(6) Death Registration of Sarah J Harper 1895: New South Wales Births, Deaths and Marriage, Death Registration Number: 10902/1895; District: Sydney [https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au/lifelink/familyhistory/search/deaths Deaths search page] (accessed 8 April 2025)<br/>Sarah J Harper death registered 1895 in New South Wales, Australia, daughter of Henry & Elizabeth.[Explanation: confirms death year.]
(7) Death Notice of Jennie Harper 1895, Notices (1895, October 12). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 1. Retrieved April 8, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14020559 [Explanation: Confirms death date and that Jennie Harper was the wife of Charles Harper.]
(8) Death Registration of Margt EBBOTT, 1906: Victoria Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages, Victoria Deaths Index; Registration number: 15165 / 1906, [https://www.bdm.vic.gov.au/research-and-family-history/search-your-family-history BDM Victoria] (accessed 8 April 2025); Margt EBBOTT; Age: 60; Year: 1906; Place: Watta; Father: Ebbott Thomas Jno; Mother: Margt; Mother's LNAB: UNKNOWN.
* Photograph: Photographer Sandra Williamson, Headstone of John & Margaret Thomas, 2003, Grave 307, Section K in Eaglehawk Cemetery, Eaglehawk, Victoria, Australia
Your posts are so interesting with so much detail. That certainly is one of the fanciest headstones I have seen.
ReplyDelete