Stories of Annie Element (nee Montague): Daughter of Johanna Cahill
One hundred and forty years after her birth, we've reunited Annie with her Cahill family with traditional family history and DNA research. We're still looking for Annie's brother, Charles. If you are a descendant of any of the Cahill siblings, please use the blog's contact form to see if you can assist in the search.
A search of the NSW Birth Registrations revealed Florry Cahill was born to Hannah on 15 June 1882 in Singleton.[1] This ties in with the admission of a six year old Annie Florrie Montague to the Sydney Benevolent Asylum in January 1889. It's likely Hannah's husband, Charles Montague, was Annie's father as she came to Sydney leaving her older half-sister, Roseanna, in the Hunter. Also, Reginald's birth certificate shows the previous issue as "1 female living".
A search of the NSW Marriage Registrations showed Harry Element married Annie Montague in 1911 in Glebe![2] Bingo....
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On 12 October 1935, Charles married Dorothy May Hooker (1913 to 1995) at St Matthew's Church of England, Botany.[7] Charles was a twenty two year old cabinet fitter living at the family home, 3 Sergeant Larkin Cresent Daceyville. Dorothy was a twenty two year old "stemmer". They lived with Dorothy's parents at 16 Robey Street Mascot after their marriage.
A review of the NSW Electoral Rolls reveals:-
On 22 June 1940, he married Dorothy Margaret Mills (1916 to 1981).[10] The marriage was registered at Glebe.
For the last five years, we've been researching the eleven children of James Cahill and Eliza Dunn who were born in the Hunter region of NSW between 1856 and 1870. Johanna Cahill, known as Hannah, was their fifth child. We've been searching for her birth and death registrations. You can read the full story HERE.
Hannah married Charles Montague in 1883. They had one son, Reginald, the following year. He becomes known as Charles. Hannah, a widow, married Dominic Ceci in 1885. She's then known as Hannah or Minnie Ceci. We can't find any trace of Dominic after 1887. The last trace we have of Hannah is in 1899
Here's the first evidence we had that Hannah had a daughter called Annie Florrie Montague. Hannah had clearly fallen on hard times and her two children were admitted to the Sydney Benevolent Asylum on 12 January 1889. When Hannah had moved from the Hunter to Sydney, she'd left her oldest child, Roseanna Cahill (1879 to 1938), in the care of her family in the Hunter.
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| https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/108788349?searchTerm=%22minnie%20ceci%22 |
Annie and Charles remained in the Asylum until 14 February 1889 when they were discharged to the "boarding out office". It's unlikely they saw their mother after this time. We have no indication that the Cahill family knew the fate of the two children.
A search of the NSW Birth Registrations revealed Florry Cahill was born to Hannah on 15 June 1882 in Singleton.[1] This ties in with the admission of a six year old Annie Florrie Montague to the Sydney Benevolent Asylum in January 1889. It's likely Hannah's husband, Charles Montague, was Annie's father as she came to Sydney leaving her older half-sister, Roseanna, in the Hunter. Also, Reginald's birth certificate shows the previous issue as "1 female living".
The family of Hannah Cahill
A match at AncestryDNA leads to Annie Montague!
What happened to Annie and Charles Montague after they left the Sydney Benevolent Asylum in February 1889? This was developing into a "needle in a haystack" search until I had a match with Vanessa at AncestryDNA. Our shared matches were all on the Cahill/Dunn line. We shared 132cM of DNA. The next step was to examine the small tree she had attached to her AncestryDNA test.
A search of the NSW Marriage Registrations showed Harry Element married Annie Montague in 1911 in Glebe![2] Bingo....
Annie and Harry married on 25 March 1911 at Glebe Point. The transcription of their marriage certificate gave the answer, Annie was a "state child, no knowledge of parents".
My AncestryDNA match with Vanessa allowed me to identify two other descendants of Annie who'd tested at AncestryDNA, "Match #2" and Casey. The following three descendant charts show the DNA each person shares with five of their "Cahill cousins". This evidence proves that we've found Annie Montague.
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Annie and Harry Element's family
Harry was born on 20 February 1888 in Sydney.[3] He was the second of the six sons of George Element and Louisa Ambrosene Little. Harry's father had died in 1906 and his mother in 1908.
A months after Louisa died, the two youngest sons, ten year old twins, Edward (1898 to 1976) and James (1898 to 1970), were admitted to Randwick Asylum for Destitute Children by the oldest brother, Leonard (1885 to 1956), who as twenty three and unmarried. Edward and James remained there for six months until they were discharged into Leonard's care. Three months later, Leonard married Olive Lewis.
Their third son, Joseph Sydney Element (1891 to 1911) drowned in the Woronora River near Como two months before Harry and Annie married.
When Annie and Harry married in 1911, he was a painter and she was "engaged in domestic duties". They lived at Arncliffe. However, they married at 20 Boyce Street Glebe Point - the terrace on the left below.
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| 20 Boyce Street Glebe Point |
1 Henry Edward Element (1912 to 1912)
Their first son, Henry Edward Element, was born on 26 July 1912.[4] He was baptised on 6 September 1912 at St Paul's Church of England, Cleveland Street, Sydney. Harry and Annie are shown as living at Rocky Point Road Arnciffe. Henry died on 12 September 1912 and was buried two days later at Rookwood General Cemetery.[5] You can see the location of Henry's grave HERE.
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| https://www.ancestry.com.au/imageviewer/collections/61177/images/45578_cle^ba19021914-00321?pId=327894 |
2 Charles Henry Element (1913 to 1981)
Their second son, Charles Henry Element, was born on 1 September 1913.[6] He was baptised on 3 October 1913 at St Paul's Church of England, Cleveland Street Sydney. Was Charles named after Annie's brother, Charles Montague? Did they have contact after they left the Sydney Benevolent Asylum in 1889? Or did Annie rememberer being separated from her little brother, Charles, at the Asylum?
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| https://www.ancestry.com.au/imageviewer/collections/61177/images/45578_cle^ba19021914-00356?pId=328391 |
On 12 October 1935, Charles married Dorothy May Hooker (1913 to 1995) at St Matthew's Church of England, Botany.[7] Charles was a twenty two year old cabinet fitter living at the family home, 3 Sergeant Larkin Cresent Daceyville. Dorothy was a twenty two year old "stemmer". They lived with Dorothy's parents at 16 Robey Street Mascot after their marriage.
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| https://www.ancestry.com.au/imageviewer/collections/61177/images/45578_bot^ma19281936-00138?pId=45249 |
- 1943 - Charles, tram conductor, and Dorothy, home duties, were living at 43 Norton Street Glebe.
- 1963 - Charles, clerk, and Dorothy, home duties, were living at 93 Cowper Street North Glebe.
- 1977 - Charles, clerk, and Dorothy, kitchenmaid, were living at 1/112 Bland St Ashfield.
Charles died on 26 April 1981, aged sixty seven, as the result of an accident.[8] He was survived by Dorothy, two daughters and four grandchildren.
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| Sydney Morning Herald, 28 April 1981, page 17 |
3 Leslie Gordon Element (1915 to 1977)
Their third son, Leslie Gordon Element, was born on 15 December 1915.[9] He was baptised on 2 February 1916 at St Stephen's Church of England, Newtown. The family were living at 160 King Street Newtown.
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| https://www.ancestry.com.au/imageviewer/collections/61177/images/45578_new^ba19111923-00115?pId=425081 |
On 22 June 1940, he married Dorothy Margaret Mills (1916 to 1981).[10] The marriage was registered at Glebe.
A review of the NSW Electoral Roll reveals:-
- 1943 - Leslie, boilermaker, and Dorothy, home duties, were living at 66 Isaac Smith Street Daceyville.
- 1949 - Leslie, boilermaker, and Dorothy, home duties, were living at 71 Wellington Street Golden Grove.
- 1954 - Leslie, boilermaker, and Dorothy, home duties, were living at Herbert and Arthur Streets Bankstown.
- 1963 - Leslie, boilermaker, and Dorothy, home duties, were living at 32 Robyn Street Blacktown.
- 1968 - Leslie, boilermaker, and Dorothy, home duties, were living at 32 Springgarden Street Granville.
- 1972 - Leslie, boilermaker, and Dorothy, home duties, were living at 21 Maranoa Street Auburn.
- 1977 - Leslie, boilermaker, and Dorothy, home duties, were living at 11 Wentworth Avenue Woy Woy.
Leslie died on 24 June 1977, at hospital, aged sixty one.[11] He was survived by Dorothy, two daughters and one granddaughter.
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| Sydney Morning Herald, 27 June 1977 |
Harry Element's death in 1916
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| Private Harry Element |
Harry was twenty eight when he enlisted in the First World War on 5 January 1916. Harry embarked from Sydney on 9 April 1916 leaving Annie and their two young sons - Charles, 2 years and 8 months, and Leslie, 5 months.
Harry first saw action in France on 22 September 1916. He was wounded in action in late November 1916. As his wounds were critical, he was transferred by hospital ship to England on 25 November 1916. He was admitted to The Duchess of Connaught Canadian Red Cross Hospital, Taplow, Buckinghamshire, England on 26 November 1916.
Private Harry Element died the following morning, 27 November 1916. He's buried in Cliveden War Cemetery, Buckinghamshire.
When their father died, Charles was just three and Leslie was about to celebrate his first birthday. So like their mother, it's unlikely that Charles or Leslie had any memory of their father as they grew up. However, they had the love of their mother. You can access Harry's service papers HERE. You can read full details of Harry's war experience HERE.
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| Cliverden War Memorial Cemetery, Buckinghamshire, England |
Harry's brothers war service
Harry's three younger brother enlisted in the First World War. Arthur Rosebury Element (1895 to 1928) enlisted ten days after Harry on 15 January 1916. Arthur served in France but there's no evidence that he was reunited with Harry before his death.
Edward and James enlisted after Harry's death. Edward enlisted first on 26 July 1917. James followed on 29 August 1917. Both served in France. James also served in the Second World War.
Annie's life after Harry's death
Like so many other women at the time, Annie was widowed after five and a half years of marriage. She was thirty four. She was living at 26 Watkin Street Newtown.
Annie and her children were granted War Pensions from 1 February 1917. Annie received £2 per fortnight, Charles £1 per fortnight and Leslie 15/- per fortnight. Harry was entitled to the British War Medal and Victory Medal. Annie received Memorial Scroll and Memorial Plaque in 1922.
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| Annie acknowledging receipt of Harry's Victory Medal |
After the death of Harry, Annie's situation would have been very difficult with two young sons and no known extended family on her side. Harry's parents were dead. It would be interesting to hear if the other brothers were in a position to support Annie.
Annie appears on the NSW Electoral Rolls between 1931 and 1963 at 3 Sergeant Larkin Cresent Daceyville. It's likely that Annie and her two boys moved to the suburb shortly after Harry's death.
Here's 3 Sergeant Larkin Cresent on left and 1 Sergeant Larkin Cresent on right.
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| https://www.bayside.nsw.gov.au/ |
Daceyville, six kilometres south of Sydney CBD, was Australia's first public housing scheme, started by NSW's first Labor government in 1912. Architects like John Sulman were involved in the design.
The First World War saw the character of the suburb change to provide housing for Returned Servicemen and War Widows and their families. In 1916, fifty War Widows moved to Daceyville with their families.
Many of the street names had direct association to the First World War. Sergeant Larkin was a NSW parliamentarian who lost his life on the first day of the Gallipoli Campaign.
At this point, there's no evidence of what happened to Annie after 1963. She was eighty-one.
In the 1968 NSW Electoral Roll, Edward Albert and Lorraine May Smith are shown as living at 3 Sergeant Larkin Cresent. Had Annie died or moved elsewhere? There was an important change to the arrangements in Daveyville in 1966. Houses were offered for sale to tenants who had young families. Was Annie moved from her home of nearly fifty years as a result of this change?
The search continues for Annie and her brother, Charles Montague.
However, we have an image of their neighbours from 1 Sergeant Larkin Cresent. This is the adjoined semi detached house to Annie's home shown above.
Hugh Vincent McOscar lived there with his wife Nellie and two children until the late 1930s when they moved to Maroubra. Vincent McOscar was born in 1913, the same year as Charles Element. Dorothy McOscar was born in 1914. Leslie Element was born the following year. Were they playmates?
Their home is described as having "electric lighting, running water, a large yard for a garden and room for a duck".
If you are a descendant of Annie Element (nee Montague) or Charles Montague, please use the blog's contact form to see if you can assist in continuing the story.
[4] NSW Birth Registration 34376/1912
[6] NSW Birth Registration 32173/1913
[7] NSW Marriage Registration 17278/1935
[8] NSW Death Registration 8893/1981
[9] NSW Birth Registration 48135/1915
[10] NSW Marriage Registration 9236/1940
[11] NSW Death Registration 14891/1977
