Blogging from A to Z – E is for Eaglehawk

Eaglehawk is located within the greater Bendigo area.  My ex-husband’s family came from the Bendigo area, and many of them were born, married, died or buried in Eaglehawk.  The first of the family to arrive in the area were George William Willis, and his wife Ann Marshall.

George Willis was born in Wiltshire, England, and arrived in Australia in 1849.  He married Ann Marshall in 1854 in Sydney, New South Wales.  By 1855, they had travelled to Bendigo in Victoria, and their daughter Mary was born at Derwent Gully.  George was a farmer at various locations in the Bendigo area, and at the time of his death was a farmer at Reserve Street Eaglehawk.

George died 28 April 1904 at Eaglehawk, and was buried 29 April 1904 at the Eaglehawk Cemetery. His wife Ann had died 10 April 1890 at Eaglehawk, and was also buried at the Eaglehawk Cemetery.

There are photos of George and Ann’s gravestone at FindAGrave, but as I am not sure about getting permission to use the photo, I am just providing a link:

http://image2.findagrave.com/photos/2015/206/UNCEM_1437870277325.JPG

George and Ann had the following children:

• Mary Jane Willis born 21 November 1855 at Derwent Gully. More about Mary and her family can be found below
• George William Willis born 13 September 1857 at Sandhurst (Bendigo). George moved away from the Bendigo area after his marriage
• Catherine Alice Willis born 14 February 1860 at Sandhurst. More about Catherine and her family can be found below
• Deborah Anne Willis was born 1862 at Sandhurst. Deborah and her husband Charles Murphy moved around a lot, living after their marriage at Hay in New South Wales, where their first two children were born and then returning to the Bendigo area in 1897, where their son Sydney was born at Eaglehawk.  The family then moved to Western Australia
• Elizabeth Lucy Willis was born 1864 at Sandhurst. She married Michael Murphy in 1900, and they moved to Melbourne.  After Michael died, she married Charles Lund.
• Charlotte Ann Willis born 1865 at Sandhurst. She died later that year
• Susan Frances Marshall Willis was born in 1867 at Eaglehawk. She died later that year.
• Thomas Matthew Willis was born 1869 at Myers Creek. More about Thomas and his family can be found below
• Sarah Frances Willis was born 4 April 1870 at Eaglehawk. More about Sarah and her family can be found below.
• Amelia Eleanor Willis was born in 1871 at Eaglehawk. More about her family can also be found below.
• Ann Margaret Willis was born in 1873 at Nerring. She died in 1875.
• Ada Louise Willis was born in 1874 at Nerring. She died in 1874.

So of their children, Susan, Sarah and Amelia were born at Eaglehawk, while the other children were born at various locations around Bendigo.

Mary Jane Willis married John Holt in 1874.  Their children were:

• John Holt born 5 April 1875 at Nerring.
• Rose Alice Maud Ann Holt born 28 April 1876 at Eaglehawk
• Edith Mary Holt born 1 October 1877 at Eaglehawk
• George Willis Holt born 13 December 1879 at Eaglehawk
• Ethel Lucy Ellinor Holt was born 6 June 1885 at Eaglehawk
• Herbert Henry Holt was born 2 December 1886 at Eaglehawk

Mary died 6 November 1924 at Eaglehawk, and was buried 8 November 1924 at Eaglehawk Cemetery, but the rest of the family moved to Western Australia.

Catherine Alice Willis married John Truscott in 1879.  The following of their children were born at Eaglehawk.

• Violet May Truscott on 24 May 1880. She died aged 1 day, and was buried 25 May 1880 at the Eaglehawk Cemetery
• Alfred Stanley Willis Truscott on 4 March 1889
• Hattam John Truscott in 1898

Although they were born and died at Sandhurst, two of their other children were buried at the Eaglehawk Cemetery

• George Albert Truscott born 1883, died 1883, buried 18 May 1883 at Eaglehawk Cemetery
• Alice Maud Truscott born 1885, died 1887, buried 26 July 1887 at Eaglehawk Cemetery

Thomas Matthew Willis My ex-husband’s great grandfather.  He married Elizabeth Hansen.  At the time of his death Thomas was a retired farm living at Burnside Street Eaglehawk.  He died 21 February 1945 at his home and was buried 22 February 1945 at Eaglehawk Cemetery.  Although Elizabeth died in Kerang, she was also buried at Eaglehawk Cemetery, on 16 January 1969.

Thomas and Elizabeth’s children were

• Thomas Arthur Willis (my ex-husband’s grandfather) born 24 January 1900 in Sydney Flat. Thomas married Dorothea Isabella Sinclair Smith on 3 Jun 1929 at the Eaglehawk East Methodist Church
• Elsie Amelia Willis born 31 October 1901 at Eaglehawk.
• Elizabeth Lucy Willis born 31 July 1905 at Haggar Street, Eaglehawk. She married Robert Frederick Bennett in 1929 at the Methodist Church in Eaglehawk.
• Edith Annie Willis born 17 May 1908 at Eaglehawk.

Sarah Frances Willis was born 4 April 1870 at Eaglehawk.  She married Albert Treloar, and their children were born at Eaglehawk

• Albert Treloar was born 14 December 1897. He died aged 8 days and was buried 23 December 1897 at Eaglehawk Cemetery.  (Sarah’s sister Mary also had an eldest son, who was named after his father, who died young.  Mary’s first child John Holt was born 5 April 1875 and died 5 days later on 10 April 1875).
• Frances Mary Treloar was born 2 May 1899. Although Frances lived in Melbourne much of her life, she returned to Bendigo late in life, and was also buried at Eaglehawk Cemetery, on 13 August 1996.  She had been cremated first, at the Neangar Memorial Park Crematorium on 26 Jul 1996.
• Albert Garfield Treloar was born 27 November 1900.
• George Henry Treloar was born 15 October 1902
• Edgar Raymond Treloar was born 3 June 1905
• Ada Enid Elizabeth Treloar was born 20 July 1907
• Annie Evelyn Grace Treloar was born 2 March 1909. Annie was also buried at the Eaglehawk Cemetery, on 18 May 1996, as was her husband Phillip Henry McKean, who was buried 16 Jul 1991.

Amelia Eleanor Willis was born in 1871 at Eaglehawk.  She married Gilchrist MacNaughton, and their first children were born in Eaglehawk.

• Jessie Eva Jean MacNaughton was born 22 April 1898
• Leslie Robert George MacNaughton was born 14 Nov 1899

There is another unnamed Willis who was buried in 1913 in the same plot as George and Ann at Eaglehawk Cemetery.  So, who was this child?  Since George and Ann only had two sons, and the other son had moved away from Bendigo by 1913, the only possibility I can think of is that this was a stillborn child of Thomas Matthew Willis and Elizabeth Hansen.