Mary Ann Nankervis
Information about Mary Ann has been obtained from her own death certificate and from the birth certificate of her son, Richard. Her parents were Thomas and Margaret Nankervis. It seems highly probably that her mother was the woman identified as Margaret Oats.
Based on information in the International Genealogical Index, Mary Ann Nankervis was christened on 18 March 1827 in Saint Just In Penwith, Cornwall. Her parents names are recorded here as Thomas and Peggy Nankervis. ("Peggy" is commonly derived from "Margaret").
According to the International Genealogical Index, Mary Ann married John Clements Eddy on 15 March 1845, in St Just In Penwith, Cornwall.
In 1850 she was living in South Australia, where her second son Richard was born. She was the official informant of her son's birth and in the column for signature of informant is an "x" and the statement that this is "her mark", thus it can be concluded that she was not able to write, which was not unusual at that time.
These photographs of No 1 Portland Place, South Yarra, were taken in January 2000
by Margaret Kelly, great-great-great granddaughter of Mary Ann. It would seem highly likely that the
house in the photographs is the house in which Mary Ann had lived at the end of her life.
According to her death certificate, Mary Ann Eddy (former name Nankervis) died on 1 December 1897, at No 1 Portland Place, South Yarra, in Victoria and she was buried in the St Kilda cemetery, (Wesleyan section, compartment A, grave 47A), with a Wesleyan minister officiating at her funeral service.
Mary Ann's first child was born when she was about 19 years of age while the last was born more than 20 years later. The children of John and Mary Ann Eddy were :
- John Eddy (born 1847 in Cornwall). The Maryborough and District Hospital Admissions Register 1855-1907 show a "John Eddy", a blacksmith aged 23 years, who had arrived in Victoria on the Wm Money when aged 4, was admitted to the hospital on 10 September 1872. It is possible that the hospital reference is to another person of the same name who emigrated on a subsequent journey of the ship but it is also quite possible that the reference is to the eldest son of John and Mary Ann. Any further information on this would be welcome.
- Margaret Jane Eddy (born on the ship William Money on 22 October 1848, while her parents were emigrating to South Australia; died at age on 27 January 1849 just three weeks after arriving in South Australia)
- Richard Eddy (born 3 April 1850 in South Australia). Other information provided separately.
- Margaret Jane Eddy(born 3 December 1851 in South Australia)
- Thomas Eddy (born 15 February 1855 in Maryborough, Victoria). Other information provided separately.
- Elizabeth Eddy (born 1856 in Clunes and died 1858 at age 17 months also in Clunes)
- William Eddy (born 1858 in Creswick, Victoria)
- Elizabeth Eddy (born 1861, in Clunes, Victoria)
- James Henry Eddy (born 1864 in Majorca, Victoria. A photograph of Majorca in 1866 may be viewed at http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/dnutting/germanaustralia/e/vereine.htm)
- Edwin Eddy (born and died in 1866 in McCallums Creek, neat Talbot, Victoria; death registration 1866/10877)
- Mary Anne Eddy (born 1869 in either Majorca or nearby Craigie in the Victorian goldfields. Was residing at 30 Ralston Street, South Yarra, at time of marriage to Charles Croft Patrick on 4 March 1891; ceremony was held at this residence; it is therefore guessed that this was residence of her parents at that time. Reported to have died in 1958.
30 Ralston St., South Yarra. Photograph taken 2004.
click on image for enlargement
Alan Bellingham, owner of the house at 32 Ralston Street since 1981, believes that the house was built about 1890. It was in a bad way as the rear section had been damaged in a fire. Whilst renovating he found the original lead gas piping for lights in the roof and some of the original cast iron lacework buried in the yard. His earliest record dates from 1928 when the property was morgaged to a Glen Albion William Knight. Walter Augustus Attenborough owned the house from August 1928 until he died on 2 June 1941 after which the house was held by the Perpetual Executors and Trustees Association of Australia. Susan Cox had purchased the house in May 1953. She died in October 1958 and left the house to her son Donald Henry Cox who sold it in 1981. Alan reports that the original house consisted of a front parlour with cast iron fireplace, 2 bedrooms and a larger kitchen/living room at the rear with a large open fireplace. There would not have been a bathroom and the toilet was in the back garden. There are plans to demolish the house and build a modern townhouse on the site. Thanks to Alan Bellingham for sharing this information. Based on the above information, John and Mary Ann Eddy may have been the original occupants of this house but, until an exact date of construction can be confirmed, it remains possible that they lived in an earlier structure that was demolished to make way for the current building.
Some information about the first two children was provided by John Kimber whose web-site http://homepages.picknowl.com.au/sixtiesdj/ contains information about some Cornish migrants to South Australia. John's ancestor Maria Nankervis was also on the William Money and was almost certainly related in some way to Mary Ann Nankervis.
It is further acknowledged that some information was obtained from http://www.alphalink.com.au/~tomluke/GROSE.wbg/wga5.html
