Genealogy Chat

N.B. According to the above youngest son Arthur was born on the day of the inquest into Arthur snr's death (which, by the by, smacks of a cover up to me - that there were marks of violence on his body but this was not deemed to have contributed to his death in any way!)

This is the story about the house fire in Sandy Bay, July 1889:
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/9216351

Mrs Sarah Cook is mentioned. She is also referred to as Sarah 'Hall' and states she is "a woman with a family and is known by the name of Sarah Cook". So perhaps she and Arthur were not married. That she had five children :
Alfred, 8
Edward, 6
Arthur, 4
Hector, 16 months
James, 6 months

She lived with them at her mother's house. At this point she had not yet remarried. The mother is Ellen FRY, wife of George FRY. There is a marriage for Ellen HULL to George FRY on Jan 24 1882; she is 40 and he is 50.

Note in the article it states she was waiting for the body of her husband to be brought home from the hospital. This was George FRY, who died 13 July 1889 aged 65 of heart disease.

The list of children, given by Sarah herself, indicates the youngest son 'Arthur' born Jan 1889 was actually known as James. (Perhaps in her grief she uttered her husband's name when registering the birth?)

It also means there is another son ALFRED, born c1881.

I can't see how Annie and Alice fit this picture. Do you have births for them or subsequent marriages etc, or only family stories that they came from England and went to Victoria? Do you know their names and birth years are correct? (definitely not the ones on that ship in your first post as Annie was an infant).

Sarah's mother died in 1913, aged 90:
FRY.—On January 16, 1913. at her residence, High-street, Sandy Bay, Ellen, relict of the late George Fry, aged 90 years. R.I.P.
Funeral will leave, the above address on Friday (This Day), at 12.15 p.m., arriving
at Kingston Roman Catholic Cemetery at 2.30 p.m.

See http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/10271454

There are a few errors in your statements so far...just to clarify:

You say: "The interesting thing that I never knew before I saw the paperwork was that she married Davey in 1887..."

She actually married Wm DAVEY in Nov 1897, not 1887. Arthur snr did not die until 1889.

You say: "Davey died from a tragic accident 17 /07/1889 before the child was born. So from that I have assumed that the last born was a Davey not a Cook."

William DAVEY died in July 1899, not 1889. He was 37. The report of the accident: http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/12745264 and http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/40096121

You say: "Arthur Edward ( youngest child ) is the one that was in the English census. "

This is confusing as the son Edward Arthur was born in 1883. He was not the youngest. It appears the youngest, born 1889, was named Arthur on the certificate but known as James (see fire article). But the 1911 census Arthur E is aged 22, which fits c1889 birth...odd.

Is he your family connection? I guess my question is how you have linked your connection to Arthur & Sarah - do you have any certificates to show they are the right line?

If Sarah did indeed take up with John DILWORTH/DILLWORTH, it appears she was found dead in Nov 1917 on the banks of the River Derwent: http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/226344083

She had been missing since May.
http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/191335861

Her body was an advanced state of decomposition and cause of death could not be determined.
https://linctas.ent.sirsidynix.net.au/client/en_AU/all/search/detailnonmodal/ent:$002f$002fNAME_INDEXES$002f0$002fNAME_INDEXES:1367733/one

An Edward Arthur COOK died in Tasmania in Feb 1963 aged 80, late of West Moonah.

This fits with the Edward Arthur born in Sep 1883 to Arthur & Sarah.

He was a Sergeant in WWI - Cook Edward Arthur : SERN 2061 : POB Hobart TAS : POE Claremont TAS : NOK W Cook Annie May

He also enlisted in WWII - shows exact birthdate
COOK EDWARD ARTHUR : Service Number - T255423 : Date of birth - 27 Sep 1883 : Place of birth - HOBART TAS : Place of enlistment - STANLEY TAS : Next of Kin - COOK ANNIE

See http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/search/

He is buried at Cornelian Bay Cemetery, Church of England, CG233 with wife Annie May, who died in Oct 1980 aged 91.

His will is online, and he leaves his estate to his wife and granddaughter (Audrey). It appears their son Albert Edward (b. c1907) died in 1942 aged 35; his wife was Vera and they had 6 surviving children. There are trees online for this family.


Arthur snr is a the same cemetery, burial 20 Jan 1889, aged 50 (C of E V29). See http://www.millingtons.com.au/cemetery-records-search/

Gracious!, that old saying 'what a tangled web' comes to mind...

Thanks for adding Cherilyn, thought it more up your street, lol, and 'Trove', always throws something up, as has done many a time on here!.

Hope cookie4416 comes back!.

Chris :)

Hehe thanks Chris - yes, it will be interesting to hear cookie's take on all this - I am very curious to know the connection :)

Interestingly there was a Henry COOK who died at his residence in ARGYLE STREET Hobart on 11 Nov 1889, aged 76, born England. His occupation...MARINER.

Cause of death chronic bronchitis, syncope, senile decay.

I wonder if this is where the story of a sea captain comes into it?? Could be a coincidence of course, not an uncommon surname.

You are right Cherilyn, my mistake it was 1897 NOT 1889 . Sarah is my Husbands g. grandmother. Apparently when his grandfather Alfred Innes/Cook married Glady,s West he took her and showed her where his mother lived but would not go in. I think the boys had a rough life. That is an interesting one Henry Cook - gives me somewhere else to look. I did look again at the marriage of Sarah to William Davey and see she has given her last husband died 1891. I wonder if there was another :-S She was a very busy lady. I think I have it all and more pops up. Yes I did Know about Edward Arthur and Annie. " THANK YOU " Cherilyn always helps when someone else looks and that was a big miss on my part. Will look into Henry though. There is an author in England that is going to look at her life and put it together for me.

My pleasure. Sad she met with such a tragic end.

I didn't find eldest son Alfred's birth - do you know where/when he was born?

Ah ok he was born as Alfred Allan INNES in May 1881 to Allan INNES and Sarah INNES nee HULL!

She was a busy woman! :-D