Stories of Agnes Cahill

Francis James Woodlands, my Dad, was born in a small private hospital in Victoria Avenue, Chatswood on 31 December 1920.  Dad celebrated his birthday on New Year's Eve for 89 years prior to his death on 18 August 2010 at Royal North Shore Hospital.  Family history didn't become my passion until after Dad's death but he was a great story teller and is often with me on this journey.  While there were many stories of his parents' families, the lingering question of what happened to his father's sister was one I tried to solve for Dad and his cousin Gail in 2008. I now realise what a novice I was back then!  Gail and I now have the answer but, along the way,  we discovered that Myra was Dad's half aunt and Gail's full aunt...so there's much more to the story than any of us had imagined.   I often wonder if Dad knew that his Dad's father wasn't James Woodland Snr, the grandfather that he knew, and that his father's birth n...

Anzac Day goes beyond the anniversary of the landing on Gallipoli in 1915. It is the day on which we remember all Australians who served and died in war and on operational service past and present. The spirit of Anzac, with its qualities of courage, mateship, and sacrifice, continues to have meaning and relevance for our sense of national identity. J ames Oswald (Jim) Woodlands was born on 20 September 1891 in Newcastle.  He was the son of Agnes Cahill from her relationship with Cornelius Bray, a Cornish stonemason who was living in the area at the time.   You can read more about Jim, Agnes and Cornelius here.   As far as we know, Jim never met his father and was 10 when Agnes married James Woodland. James Oswald Woodlands On 31 May 1917, aged 25, Jim enlisted in the 32nd Battalion 1st Australian Light Horse at Newcastle.  He showed his occupation as a grocer of "Cavan", Watkins Street, The Junction, Newcastle.  Jim left Melbourne on 28 October...

The last weekend of February was my first opportunity to visit Newcastle since I've become interested in my family history.  In planning and executing my "field trips", I'm looking for places that were significant to my family many years ago and getting a sense of the current "vibe" - great accommodation and eateries add a lot to the experience. To recap... Agnes Cahill is my "Woodlands great-grandmother".  She was born in about 1868 in Patricks Plain near Singleton, NSW - thought to be the tenth of the eleven children of James Cahill (abt 1822 to 1877) and Eliza Dunn (abt 1830 to 1890). Here's a photo of Agnes taken  in about 1937 in Sydney with her daughter, Lorna, and grandson, Ron. You can read more about Agnes and her family in these previous blog posts- The Children of Agnes Woodlands (nee Cahill) James Cahill and Eliza Dunn's children including Agnes  and Agnes Cahill - My Woodlands great-grandmother Agnes h...

It's 98 years since a 27 year old grocer from Stanmore married a 27 year old saleswoman also from Stanmore.  Yes, on 09 August 1919, James Oswald (Jim) Woodlands married Margaret Essie (Essie) Gersback at St Michael's Catholic Church in Stanmore.   On the marriage registration, Jim shows his parents as James Woodlands, a baker, and Agnes Cahill.  Essie shows her parents as Francis Gersbach, a collector, and Margaret Killion, deceased.  The witnesses at the wedding were Ettie Kane and Irene Gersbach, Essie's sister.  "Auntie Ettie" is very familiar to me amongst all the visitors to my "Grandma Woodie's"  home at 14 Yeo Street Neutral Bay.  She was a friend and not relative of Jim and Essie.   Jim has enlisted in the First World War on 29 May 1917 in Newcastle and had been discharged on 23 June 1919 in Sydney.  I've wondered how long Jim and Essie knew each other before the marriage and whether Jim was a bo...

Lorna Mae was the youngest child of Agnes Cahill and James Woodland.  She was born at Church Street West, Newcastle on 04 November 1914.  Her birth was registered by James, on 26 November 1914, with her given name as "Lorna May".  He's shown as a baker, 42 years of age and born in Newcastle.  Agnes's family name is shown as "Kale" with her age as 38 and born in Singleton. Lorna Mae Woodlands from collection held by her daughter, Gail The family lived in an area of Newcastle known as "The Junction".  First in Union Street and then  in Watkins Street.  The area is between the CBD and Merewether Beach.  When Jim, Lorna's brother, enlisted in the First World War on 31 May 1917, his address is "Cavan", Watkins Street, The Junction.  The family were still living there in October 1919, when Lorna's older sister, Myra, married Robert Hollyford Whitworth. The Junction Newcastle with Union and Watkins Streets highlighted On 0...