Some days I enthusiastically wade into Trove or Ancestry or even Google etc to plug in as many versions of Mathenius as I can. Other days well it gets a bit boring to get the same result time after time! The only reason I took a look over the weekend was because I noticed something on my Facebook timeline about the 1891 census where NSW had the only surviving records.
I thought what the heck & brought up that particular year, simultaneously finding a new way to search the census records & another spelling of Mathenius!! I have a list that now lists 18 different ways I've found Mathenius spelt! It referred to a N Matheneus in Marrickville (possibly Henry - though it definitely is an N).
So as I do when I find another way of spelling Mathenius I do a general Ancestry search - and found the death record of Wilhelmina Williams (nee Mathenius)! Ludwig's (her father) surname had been misspelt!
Up until now the only references to her have been her birth record, some references in the Grafton newspapers, her marriage to Thomas G Williams & a memorial ad she had put in the newspaper in 1902 when Ludwig died. I assumed that she had spent some time in Western Australia because of the memorial ad in 1902. Searching the WA online records however, was not showing up anything.
Well apparently Thomas was born near Bendigo & they had moved back to Victoria after about 1910 (the last mention of them in the WA electoral rolls). Wilhelmina's death record showed that she died in 1942 in a town called Rushworth. Fortunately for me, Thomas has the unusual middle name of Genders (apparently his mother's maiden name), which made finding references to him on Ancestry much easier.
One good thing about getting copies of Victorian death certificates is that it's an immediate download once you pay (the downside is if you don't have the registration number it costs $0.99 to look at each page of search results). Fortunately the ancestry record included the registration number. It showed she was a widow when she died & most interesting of all, she had a daughter 'Victoria Alexandra May' who was 58 at the time of her death. I later found Thomas' death record which showed he also died in 1942, most likely earlier in the year as Wilhelmina was listed as a widow in her death certificate.
Searching through Western Australian electoral rolls I found May Victoria Williams listed with Thomas & Wilhelmina in Subiaco in 1910. I later found that May had married Albert James Fallon in 1908. I haven't found May's birth record, but her death record shows she was still in Western Australia when she died in 1960. Eventually I found a daughter Marguerita (or Marguerite in some references), who was born in 1908. Haven't found either a marriage or death record for her, but I did later see that she was known as Rita.
Searching through Trove the next day, I came across a reference to Rita & 'Kay' Fallon - in a memorial ad. So I guessed that Marguerita was known as Rita. Eventually I found a birth announcement for Raymond Albert John Fallon. Obviously the OCR has read Ray as Kay in the digitised newspaper.
A bit more digging through Trove & I found an engagement notice for Raymond Fallon - to a Rae Evans - they were married on about 15th April 1939 - according to the WA online marriage record the date was 1938, but the newspaper says 1939. Rae Evans was apparently a bit of a socialite - There are lots of mentions of her in the WA newspapers - including a photo of her on her wedding day.
Raymond & Rae went on to have 3 children - Glenys, Lenore & Kimberley John (I've found all 3 birth announcements + they are mentioned in a memorial ad for Rae's father. Unfortunately all dates are now outside those I can search easily online. Raymond & Rae moved to Victoria according to Electoral Rolls & Raymod apparently died in 1973. Glenys was mentioned in one Electoral Roll in WA, but I can't find anything further about her. Kimberley married at some stage & moved to Victoria - in the 1980 Electoral Roll he's listed as a teacher married to a Pamela.
At the minute the only 'official' document I have is the image of Wilhelmina's death certificate I bought & downloaded. The rest I have pieced together through Trove & Ancestry records. It all seems to fit together, but becomes more difficult when the dates are outside the range you can search online. I'm just happy to find that part of the Mathenius family!!
I thought what the heck & brought up that particular year, simultaneously finding a new way to search the census records & another spelling of Mathenius!! I have a list that now lists 18 different ways I've found Mathenius spelt! It referred to a N Matheneus in Marrickville (possibly Henry - though it definitely is an N).
So as I do when I find another way of spelling Mathenius I do a general Ancestry search - and found the death record of Wilhelmina Williams (nee Mathenius)! Ludwig's (her father) surname had been misspelt!
Up until now the only references to her have been her birth record, some references in the Grafton newspapers, her marriage to Thomas G Williams & a memorial ad she had put in the newspaper in 1902 when Ludwig died. I assumed that she had spent some time in Western Australia because of the memorial ad in 1902. Searching the WA online records however, was not showing up anything.
Well apparently Thomas was born near Bendigo & they had moved back to Victoria after about 1910 (the last mention of them in the WA electoral rolls). Wilhelmina's death record showed that she died in 1942 in a town called Rushworth. Fortunately for me, Thomas has the unusual middle name of Genders (apparently his mother's maiden name), which made finding references to him on Ancestry much easier.
One good thing about getting copies of Victorian death certificates is that it's an immediate download once you pay (the downside is if you don't have the registration number it costs $0.99 to look at each page of search results). Fortunately the ancestry record included the registration number. It showed she was a widow when she died & most interesting of all, she had a daughter 'Victoria Alexandra May' who was 58 at the time of her death. I later found Thomas' death record which showed he also died in 1942, most likely earlier in the year as Wilhelmina was listed as a widow in her death certificate.
Searching through Western Australian electoral rolls I found May Victoria Williams listed with Thomas & Wilhelmina in Subiaco in 1910. I later found that May had married Albert James Fallon in 1908. I haven't found May's birth record, but her death record shows she was still in Western Australia when she died in 1960. Eventually I found a daughter Marguerita (or Marguerite in some references), who was born in 1908. Haven't found either a marriage or death record for her, but I did later see that she was known as Rita.
Searching through Trove the next day, I came across a reference to Rita & 'Kay' Fallon - in a memorial ad. So I guessed that Marguerita was known as Rita. Eventually I found a birth announcement for Raymond Albert John Fallon. Obviously the OCR has read Ray as Kay in the digitised newspaper.
A bit more digging through Trove & I found an engagement notice for Raymond Fallon - to a Rae Evans - they were married on about 15th April 1939 - according to the WA online marriage record the date was 1938, but the newspaper says 1939. Rae Evans was apparently a bit of a socialite - There are lots of mentions of her in the WA newspapers - including a photo of her on her wedding day.
Raymond & Rae went on to have 3 children - Glenys, Lenore & Kimberley John (I've found all 3 birth announcements + they are mentioned in a memorial ad for Rae's father. Unfortunately all dates are now outside those I can search easily online. Raymond & Rae moved to Victoria according to Electoral Rolls & Raymod apparently died in 1973. Glenys was mentioned in one Electoral Roll in WA, but I can't find anything further about her. Kimberley married at some stage & moved to Victoria - in the 1980 Electoral Roll he's listed as a teacher married to a Pamela.
At the minute the only 'official' document I have is the image of Wilhelmina's death certificate I bought & downloaded. The rest I have pieced together through Trove & Ancestry records. It all seems to fit together, but becomes more difficult when the dates are outside the range you can search online. I'm just happy to find that part of the Mathenius family!!