Victorian Suffrage Petition of 1891 & Our Ancestors

I saw an excellent program on ABC1 last night and it left me feeling so amazingly proud of my courageous female ancestors who stood up to be counted and signed the huge (35,000 signature) Victorian Suffrage Petition of 1891 - which is part of this program. 


The program is called Utopia Girls-How Women Got The Vote and it's the "little known story of how Australian women became the first in the world to gain full political rights."


Here is the ABC1 link http://www.abc.net.au/tv/programs/utopiagirls.htm for you to watch the entire program if you're interested. 

Following are copies of the original signatures which you can view on the following website http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/WomensPetition

I've included a list (below) of our female relatives who we know signed the petition in Lilydale - there may well have been many more in other parts of Victoria and will check this out when I get time. [Most of the information on this list is thanks to John Leach, the rest [the Alway's] I've surmised]:

1891 Suffrage Family Information Lilydale

Alway, M

This person may be Mary Eliza 'Eliza' Alway (nee Wilson)(1840-1922), second wife of Robert Alway (1823-1894)? They had married in 1861. Eliza died in Lilydale so could have been living there in 1891 and at that time she would have been aged 51.  Info Mortimore family.

Alway, S. M.

This may be Susanna Martha Alway (1869-1933) - daughter of Mary Eliza & Robert Alway (above).  She also died in Lilydale and having such a forward thinking mother she probably followed her mother's lead and signed the petition. Susanna would have been aged 22 in 1891. Susanna married John Hutchinson (1870-1937) in 1893. Info Mortimore family.

Harman, Grace 


Grace Harman (1870-1935) of Main Street, Lilydale, was a daughter of Robert and Ann Harman, nee Williams, born in Lilydale, and a sister of Susan Leach (nee Harman).  In 1893 she married George Podger (1870-1936).  She'd have been about 21 when she added her signature to the petition.  She is buried in WA.  (p. 675, line 11) Info Leach family. 

Leach, L


Louisa Leach of Albert Hill (Lilydale), (nee Boucher) (ca 1855-1932), had married Thomas Leach (1861-1924) in 1882.  Originally named Sarah, she seems to have adopted Louisa as her name.  Believed to have been born in Sandhurst, Vic, she was the daughter of Joseph and Eliza Boucher, (nee Marsh), and was aged about 36 in 1891.  She and Thomas were members of the Lilydale Baptist Church, and are buried in the old Lilydale Cemetery.  (p. 678, line 32)  Info Leach family.


Leach, S


Susan Leach (nee Harman) (1863-1918) had married James Leach (1859-1921) in 1887.  She was one of the six daughters of Robert and Ann Harman, (nee Williams), and was born in Lilydale.  She'd have been 28 in 1891.  She and James lived in Victoria Road, Lilydale and attended the Croydon Church of Christ, known at that time as the Disciples of Christ.  In the late 1890s the family moved to Fremantle to escape the deep economic recession gripping the eastern states - James going first, followed some months later by Susan and children.  James and Susan had six children, and are buried in the Fremantle Cemetery.  Susan's father, Robert Harman (1839-1924) was sometime licensee of the Crown Hotel, a member of the Lilydale School Committee and of the Lilydale Cricket Club, and he owned property in Wandin Yallock.  (p. 678, line 35)  Info Leach family.

Mortimore, C (Main St)


Spelling either Mortimore or Mortomore in BDM indexes.


Caroline Eliza Mortomore, (nee Always) (ca 1865-1931) was the daughter of Robert and Mary Eliza Alway, (nee Wilson).  In 1886 she married Charles Mortomore (1864-1943), who had been born at Brushy Creek.  Caroline and Charles Mortomore were members of the Lilydale Baptist Church.  They had five children: Charles Robert (1887-1917), Florence Ethel (1890-1931), Robert Alway MM (1892-1917), Leonard Harold (1894-1965), and Cyril Ernest (1902-74), plus two adopted daughters, Amy and Mavis.  (p. 678, line 19)  Info Leach family. 

Mortomore, Mrs

Spelling either Mortimore or Mortomore in BDM indexes.


Sarah Mortomore, (nee Shaw) (1825-1903), was aged about 66 in 1891.  Born in Thurlby, Lincolnshire, she was the daughter of John and Mary Shaw, (nee Williamson), who were Baptists; and she later became a member of the Lilydale Baptist Church.   She had first married Robert Jarvis (1849), then John Leach (1854), and lastly William Henry Mortomore, a Lilydale brickmaker (1863).  By her second marriage she was the mother of James, Thomas and Henry ‘Harry’ Leach; and she and William Mortomore had a further three children: Charles (1864-1943), Sarah (1865-1936) and Martin (1867-1942).  Martin and his descendants spell their surname 'Mortimore.'  At the time of her death in 1903, Sarah, aged 77, was living in Cave Hill Road, Lilydale; and she is buried in the old Lilydale Cemetery.  Her husband William Henry Mortomore (son of Wm Henry and Eva Mortomore (nee Talbot)) died at Lilydale in 1910 aged 79 years.  (p. 679, line 10)  Info Leach family.

Mortomore, S


Spelling either Mortimore or Mortomore in BDM indexes.


Sarah Ann Mortomore (1865-1936) was born in Lilydale, the daughter of William and Sarah Mortomore, (nee Shaw).  A life-long spinster, she kept house for her half-brother, ‘Harry’ Leach, who lived over his grocery shop in Main Street.  She joined the Lilydale Baptist Church in 1881; and she'd have been 26 in 1891.  Like her half-brother ‘Harry’ Leach, who never married, she is buried in the old Lilydale Cemetery.  She, and one other signatory wrote 'Lily Dale,' while everyone else wrote 'Lilydale.'  (p. 678, line 33)  Info Leach family.

They Are Finally Together …

Judy got married and had 13 children. Her first husband, Ted, died of cancer.  

She married again, and had 7 more children. Bob was killed in a car accident.

Judy again remarried, she and John had 5 more children.

Judy finally died, after having 25 children.

Standing before her coffin the preacher thanked the Lord for this very loving woman and said, "Lord, they are finally together."

Ethel leaned over and quietly asked her best friend, Margaret,

"Do you think he means her first, second, or third husband?"
Margaret replied, "I think he means her legs, Ethel … Her legs"

GRANDMA'S DISEASE

I found this wonderful poem this morning and my children tell me it describes me to a T.

Grandma’s Disease

There's been a change in Grandma, we've noticed her of late.

She's always reading history or jotting down some date.

She's tracking back the family, we'll all have pedigrees.

Oh, Grandma's got a hobby - she's climbing the FAMILY TREE.

Poor Grandpa does the cooking, and now, or so he states,

That worst of all, he has to wash the cups and dinner plates.

Grandma can't be bothered, she's busy as a bee,

Compiling genealogy for the FAMILY TREE.

She has no time to baby-sit, the curtains are a fright,

No buttons left on Grandpa's shirt, the flowerbed's a sight.

She's given up her club work and the soaps on TV,

The only thing she does nowadays is climb the FAMILY TREE.

She goes down to the courthouse and studies ancient lore,

We know more about our forebears than we ever knew before.

The books are old and dusty, they make poor Grandma sneeze,

A minor irritation when you're climbing the FAMILY TREE.

The mail is all for Grandma, it comes from near and far,

Last week she got the proof she needs to join the DAR.

A monumental project all do agree,

All from climbing the FAMILY TREE.

Now some folks came from Scotland, some from Galway Bay,

Some were French as pastry, some German all the way.

Some went West to stake their claims, some stayed there by the sea.

Grandma hopes to find them all, as she climbs the FAMILY TREE.

She wanders through the graveyard in search of date and name,

The rich, the poor, the in-between, all sleeping there the same.

She pauses now and then to rest, fanned by a gentle breeze,

That blows above the Fathers of all our FAMILY TREES.

There are pioneers and patriots, mixed in our kith and kin,

Who blazed the paths of wildness and fought through thick and thin.

But none more staunch than Grandma, who eyes light up with glee,

Each time she finds a missing branch for the FAMILY TREE.

Their skills were wide and varied, from carpenter to cook,

And one, alas, the records show, was hopelessly a crook.

Blacksmith, weaver, farmer, judge - some tutored for a fee.

Once lost in time, now all recorded on the FAMILY TREE.

To some it's just a hobby, to Grandma it's much more,

She learns the joys and heartaches of those that went before.

They loved, they lost, they laughed, they wept - and now, for you & me,

They live again in spirit around the FAMILY TREE.

At last she's nearly finished and we are each exposed,

Life will be the same again, this we all supposed.

Grandma will cook and sew, serve cookies with our tea.

We'll all be fat, just as before the wretched FAMILY TREE.

Sad to relate, the preacher called and visited for a spell.

We talked about the Gospel, and other things as well.

The heathen folk, the poor and then - 'Twas fate, it had to be,

Somehow the conversation turned to Grandma & the FAMILY TREE.

He never knew his Grandpa, his mother's name was...Clark?

He and Grandma talked and talked, outside it grew quite dark.

We'd hoped our fears were groundless, but just like some disease,

Grandma's become an addict - she's hooked on FAMILY TREES!

Our souls are filled with sorrow, our hearts sad with dismay.

Our ears could scarce believe the words we heard our Grandma say,

"It sure is a lucky thing that you have come to me,

I know exactly how it's done. I'll climb your FAMILY TREE."

Author Unknown