Mary Ann (Mae) Eddy
Mary Ann Eddy was born 31 July 1878 at Craigie in Victoria. She was the daughter of Richard Eddy and Mary Ann Studds.
Mary Ann Eddy decided to call herself "Mae", perhaps to distinguish herself from her mother's name (although her mother was better known as "Marion") or perhaps it arose from her initials "M.A.E." or perhaps it was some other unknown reason.
young Mary Ann "Mae" Eddy
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Mary Ann "Mae" Eddy worked as a milliner until she met and married William Thomas Guthrie on 4 November 1902 at Windsor in Melbourne. They resided in the provincial city of Shepparton where they owned Guthrie's General Store in Fryers Street, Shepparton.
The Guthries were among the first settlers to the Shepparton area of Victoria and William Guthrie's father owned and ran the Kialla Hotel (Kialla is a settlement about 10 km south of Shepparton).
William and Mary Ann were parents of
- Matilda May Guthrie : born 1904 Shepparton Vic., married Richard McNeill in 1924 in Shepparton; died 31 October 1974 in Seymour Vic .;
- William Guthrie : born Shepparton; married Merle Lindsay; died Shepparton Vic.;
- Keith McLean Guthrie : born Shepparton, Victoria; married Patricia Gawn; died in Shepparton;
- Kenneth Guthrie : born in Shepparton, Victoria; married Dora (surname unknown) ; died in Shepparton;
- Ann Guthrie : born in Shepparton; married Horatio Mitchell in Shepparton; died in Shepparton;
- Myrtle Guthrie : born in Shepparton; married Alan Clarke; died in Hawthorn, Victoria.
Known to her family as "Granny Guthrie", she lived alone for 30 years after her husband passed away. Mary Ann's granddaughter recalled that a man named "Mr Dunne" would call in his taxi every Friday and take Granny shopping.
She was very house proud, and the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Sir Arthur Coles and his wife Lillian, (related to the Guthries) would arrive in a chauffered driven car to visit her, Granny would have all the fine china, starched clothes etc and the table full of yummy cakes, biscuits and sandwiches she had prepared herself.
Every night she read her daily bible reading. Granny Guthrie was a very stylish , fashionable lady, very well respected in Shepparton. At 91 yrs she did all her own house work, cooking, cleaning etc - she never went to hospital until, after her death, her body was taken to Mooroopna hospital. On the morning of the day she died, 21 June 1969, she had climbed up a rockery and had planted all the bulbs for spring. Her funeral was conducted from Scots Church in Shepparton and she was buried at Fawkner Cemetery.
click on image for enlargement with picture mount
Thanks to Barbara Warren, granddaughter of Mary Ann,
for providing information and photographs.
