Elizabeth ("Lizzie") Nash
According to her birth certificate, Elizabeth Nash was born at "Big Hill, Sandhurst" in the District of Golden Square in Victoria, on 19 July 1860. In later years Sandhurst was officially renamed Bendigo to reflect the name of common usage.
Elizabeth was the daughter of William Nash and Susan Kearns. Nothing more is known until Elizabeth is in New Zealand as a young woman. The reason that Elizabeth came to be in New Zealand is not known but it appears her parents had a preference for places where gold could be found.
Elizabeth (the name "Lizzie" is recorded on her marriage certificate and on her second son's birth certificate) was 20 years of age when she married Michael Anthony Cleary. The marriage took place in Oamaru, New Zealand on 12 March 1881. On that certificate her occupation is identified as "milliner" which would have been considered quite a skilled occupation at that time. One of the witnesses named on the birth certificate of her second son is "Mrs Nash", suggesting that she maintained contact with her family; it could be guessed that "Mrs Nash" refers to her mother Susan Nash (nee Kearns).
The children of this marriage were :
- William Anthony Cleary, known as Anthony (born in Oamaru, New Zealand on 22 July 1882, married Mary Agnes Smith. Children were : Catherine, William, Helena, Hilda (Sr Sylvia), Michael and John)
- Michael Francis Cleary , known as Mick (born in Goulburn, NSW on 6 October 1884, married Catherine Bergin. Children were Mary Bergin, Anthony John, Francis, Honora and Daniel.)
- Peter Kearns Cleary, born 1887, (NSW birth registration 19481/1887) died on 9 May 1887 at age 4 weeks & 3 days and was buried in the Catholic Cemetery at Rookwood (NSW death registration 7840/1887). The cause of death was "malnutrition" suggesting some kind of difficulty in feeding or gastrointestinal problem. According to the infant's death certificate, the family was living in "Lewis St" Granville, NSW. This is presumed to be the same street currently known as "Louis Street" running from the Woodville Road to Blaxcell Street.
- Elizabeth Cleary (born 10 October 1888, possibly at Granville, NSW). School teacher. Married Peter Monaghan who it was reported had a banana plantation in Queensland. Children were : Margaret and Peter.)
- John Joseph Cleary (born 18 January 1893, at Wellington NSW; birth registration 1893/038385. Married Lillian. Died 9 September 1958. Children were John, Brian, Dennis and Jill)
- Patrick Paul Cleary (born 19 May 1896, at Hoxton Park NSW; regn no. 1896/022794. Married Veronica May O’Brien, registration no: 1937/10129. One child : Anne)
- Daniel James Cleary (born 29 August 1898, possibly at Hoxton Park NSW. Married Delia. Children were: Kenneth, Dorothy, Denise and William)
- Mary Cleary (born 28 October 1900 or 1901, possibly at Hoxton Park NSW. Married Stan Buggy. Children were: June, John, Judith, Alan and Michael)
- Bridget Honorah Cleary, known as "Babe" (born in May 1905, possibly at Hoxton Park), died 26 February 1938 when she was thrown from a motor vehicle accident which overturned on the Mitchell Highway near Nevertire (near Warren, NSW). Death registration no : 1938/2256.
Michael and Elizabeth Cleary and family. Photograph taken in 1902, just before eldest
son William Anthony (standing at left rear) departed for Western Australia. Michael
Francis is standing at right rear. The presence of his maternal grandparents and an uncle in Western Australia probably explains why William Anthony
Cleary may have chosen to go to that state in 1902. He married and his children were born
there, before returning to New South Wales not long before his mother (Elizabeth Cleary
nee Nash) died in 1921.
The family was poor and in later years the children told of their poverty, including few clothes and shoes. Being poor, Irish Catholics with a big family and poor clothing, other children made fun of them and there were many fights between the poor Irish Catholic migrant family and other children at the Hoxton Park primary school, which they attended. In approximately 1960, a number of them returned for a celebration of the school (possibly centenary) and found their names in some old records at the school.
The older children in the family left school at early ages and went to work to earn money to assist their mother in supporting the younger children.
photo provided by Peter Monaghan, grand-son of Elizabeth.
Photograph shows Daniel James Cleary in front of family home in
Castlereagh Street, Liverpool, in December 1922.
Although the photograph was taken after Elizabeth's death,
it is understood this was where she lived her last years.
The three younger brothers in the family later established a sawmilling and later earthmoving business which traded as "Cleary Brothers"; the company was later split among them, with one branch of continuing to operate on the South Coast of New South Wales. Some information about the Cleary Brothers' operations has been provided separately.
As noted above, after Lizzie's marriage the Cleary family lived in a number of places, but little is known of Elizabeth, herself. Perhaps some reader of these pages may be able to reveal more of the woman herself.
The family story is that Elizabeth died apparently after suffering bronchitis and pleurisy, followed by "an operation for pus"; she was ill for about five weeks prior to her death, three of those weeks in Parramatta District Hospital. She died on 2 July 1921 and was buried in the Catholic Cemetery at Liverpool, NSW.
