| [Index] |
| Amelia Mary Millie DODD (1878 - 1964) |
| b. 06 Feb 1878 at Tumut, New South Wales, Australia |
| m. 29 Sep 1897 Michael MURRAY (1871 - 1940) at Tumut, New South Wales, Australia |
| d. 08 Mar 1964 at Concord, New South Wales, Australia aged 86 |
| Parents: |
| Thomas DODD (1830 - 1917) |
| Sarah MCALISTER (1850 - 1915) |
| Grandchildren (2): |
| Events in Amelia Mary Millie DODD (1878 - 1964)'s life | |||||
| Date | Age | Event | Place | Notes | Src |
| 06 Feb 1878 | Amelia Mary Millie DODD was born | Tumut, New South Wales, Australia | 73 | ||
| 29 Sep 1897 | 19 | Married Michael MURRAY (aged 26) | Tumut, New South Wales, Australia | 73 | |
| 1898 | 20 | Birth of son Gilbert H MURRAY | Tumut, New South Wales, Australia | 69 | |
| 1903 | 25 | Birth of son Reginald J MURRAY | Tumut, New South Wales, Australia | 69 | |
| 1904 | 26 | Birth of son Leslie A MURRAY | Tumut, New South Wales, Australia | 69 | |
| 1906 | 28 | Birth of daughter Alma MURRAY | Tumut, New South Wales, Australia | 69 | |
| 1909 | 31 | Birth of daughter Gwendoline MURRAY | Tumut, New South Wales, Australia | ||
| 1911 | 33 | Birth of son Robert V MURRAY | Tumut, New South Wales, Australia | 69 | |
| 1912 | 34 | Birth of son Louis MURRAY | Tumut, New South Wales, Australia | 69 | |
| 1914 | 36 | Birth of son Percy J MURRAY | Tumut, New South Wales, Australia | 69 | |
| 16 Sep 1915 | 37 | Death of mother Sarah MCALISTER (aged 64) | Tumut, New South Wales, Australia | ||
| 1916 | 38 | Birth of son Henry E MURRAY | Tumut, New South Wales, Australia | 69 | |
| 17 Aug 1917 | 39 | Death of father Thomas DODD (aged 87) | Tumut, New South Wales, Australia | ||
| 1919 | 41 | Birth of son Michael W MURRAY | Tumut, New South Wales, Australia | 69 | |
| 1933 | 55 | Death of son Leslie A MURRAY (aged 29) | 69 | ||
| 06 Sep 1940 | 62 | Death of husband Michael MURRAY (aged 69) | Tumut, New South Wales, Australia | ||
| 08 Mar 1964 | 86 | Amelia Mary Millie DODD died | Concord, New South Wales, Australia | 73 | |
| Burial | Tumut, New South Wales, Australia | 69 | |||
| Personal Notes: |
|
From ‘Relict of’ Book
AMELIA MARY MILLIE MURRAY nee Dodd by Helen Hibbens Amelia Murray was the third daughter and fifth child of the family of twelve children of Sarah (nee McAlister) and Thomas Dodd. She was born at Brungle on 6 February, 1878. The family resided at Brungle where Thomas was a grazier. However, when Millie was 5 or 6 years of age, the family moved to McFarlane's Creek, Tumut, where Thomas followed his former occupation as a butcher. Millie attended Tumut School in Richmond Street for a few years. After leaving school she stayed at home to help her mother with her younger brothers and sisters until her marriage in 1897. She married Michael Murray, the eldest son of James and Catherine Murray on 29 September 1897 in the Manse at Tumut, according to the rites of the Church of England. Witnesses were Thomas Dodd (Millie's father and Edward Connors. I have always had the impression Sarah and Thomas did not approve the marriage. This may have been because Michael was Roman Catholic , was 'over fond of the bottle' and also because of Michael's somewhat itinerant life-style. Although my memories of Millie are of a small, plump, happy woman, she had many tradgedies in her life. The first of these would probably be the death of her brother Robert at the age of fourteen in 1890. Robert was killed when the butcher's cart he was driving ran into a tree on the bush common and he was crushed between the cart and the tree. Millie gave birth to 14 children, four of these dying in infancy. Dorothy died aged 5 weeks, an unnamed boy lived only one day, Minnie was aged four years and Kathleen three years at the time of their deaths. Millie and Michael lived in various parts of the Tumut district during their 43 years of marriage. Michael worked on the land at Gocup, Brungle, Tumut Plains, Upper Gilmore, Bombowlee and Gadara (where he worked for Robert Downie or Downing). The house they lived in at Gadara is still partially standing and is believed to be the oldest house in the Gilmore Valley. The property where it stands now belongs to the Visy Mill. Millie's life would have been a very hard one, living in various houses without electricity or laid on water. At times Michael would go droving and she would have to cart water, chop wood and various other chores as well as tend to the needs of her large family. Millie's ten- children who survived to adulthood were Gilbert, Reg, Leslie, Alma, Gwendoline, Robert, Louis, Percy, Henry and Michael. Millie's mother died in 1915 and her father in 1917. The war years would have been an anxious time for Millie with two of her brothers fighting in France, as were two of Michael's brothers. Both Harry and Ted returned home, however, Millie's brother-in-law, Stan was killed in action at Ypres in France. In 1921 Millie's eldest sister, Elizabeth, died age 49. The years passed and Millie's older children married and she became a grandmother. In 1933 tragedy struck once again. Her second son, Leslie, was killed when he fell from a horse. He was 28 and survived by his young wife Hilda and Jean aged two and Tom aged six months. In 1934 Gilbert's son, Jimmy, was drowned while swimming in Adelong Creek. Millie and Michael, in 1939, moved from Springfield, Blowering, where Michael was share dairying, to an old house in Herbert Street, Tumut. Michael was forced to retire due to ill health. This was the first home they had owned in their 42 years of marriage. Michael passed away on 6 September 1940. The Second World War was once again an anxious and sad time for Millie, with four of her sons in the army, three being sent overseas. In January, 1942 Millie received word Mick (her youngest son) was missing, believed killed-in-action in Malaya. One can only imagine Millie's heartache and despair at this time. It was only 15 months since the death of her husband and she now had lost her youngest child. Although Millie was not a regular church goer she had a strong faith, attending church whenever possible. She remained a staunch Anglican throughout her life, despite having married a Roman Catholic and all her children being baptized in the Roman Catholic Church. Millie lived in the old house in Herbert Street until after the war. She had various grandchildren and a daughter-in-law live with her during the war years. She did her bit for the war effort knitting socks and scarves for the troops and also sending parcels to her sons overseas and to their friends as well. Millie was a kind, caring person with a great sense of humour. She was also a very generous person. Reading some of Mick's letters sent from Malaya, this comes through, as he had the most and the biggest parcels from home. He told his mother not to spend all her allotment on him, to keep some for herself and not to go short because of him (Millie received an allotment because she was a widow and Mick was unmarried). In 1945 Millie's nephew Robert (Bob) Masters was reported missing, believed killed-inaction, when his plane was shot down over Germany. After the war it was decided that George Masters, Millie's brother-in-law, would build her a new house. This was completed and she moved in to what must have seemed like a mansion after most of the houses she had lived in. This house had an inside bathroom with a chip-heater, running water over a sink in the kitchen and a laundry on the end of the back verandah (no more heating water for washing and bathing in an outside copper). Some of my fondest memories of Millie are in this house in the years after the war. I remember staying with her on a Saturday night and going to the 'pictures' on the bus. I don't remember what 'pictures' I saw but I do remember having a warm drink and some of Millie's home made biscuits and talking with her before going to bed, also I can remember Millie cooking in her brand new 'Canberra' stove and making cakes and dozens of biscuits. Also times when my cousins from Gundagai and my Aunt Ivy would come to stay in school holidays and we would visit Millie and play with our cousins. In December 1946 Millie's youngest sister, Emma May Masters, who was my maternal grandmother as my mother and father were first cousins, passed away at age 55. She had sustained horrific injuries in a fall from a train in October 1946. On hearing this news I can remember it was one of the few times I saw Millie cry. In the late 1940's one of Millie's sons asked if he and his wife could reside with her. She agreed and for a time everyone was happy. Millie then made a decision to sign the deeds of her house to her son. Millie remained in the home, however, difficulties arose over this arrangement and in 1956 she left to live with her sister Ethel (Ett) James. In the years following the war Millie was an ardent worker for 2WG Women's Club and the CWA. She also enjoyed knitting, sewing and crocheting until she was in her early eighties, when her eyesight began to fail due to cataracts. In 1959 her sister Ethel passed away, and Millie once again needed a home. She resided with her sons Reg at Gundagai, Lou at Gilmore and Percy at Richmond. In 1963 her health deteriorated and she spent some time in Concord Hospital. She returned to Richmond but became ill again and passed away in Concord Hospital at the age of 86 on 8 March 1964. She is buried in the Church of England portion of the Tumut cemetery alongside her son, Harry, who died of cancer in 1962. Her husband, Michael, is buried in the Catholic portion of the Tumut Cemetery. |
| Source References: |
| 69. Type: Book, Abbr: Relict of, Title: Relict of … Lives of Pioneering Women of Tumut and District, Auth: Tumut Family History Group, Publ: Tumut Family History Group, Date: 2001 |
| - Reference = 51 (Burial) |
| - Reference = 49 (Name, Notes) |
| 73. Type: Book, Abbr: Pioneers of Tumut Valley, Title: Pioneers of the Tumult Valley , The History of Early Settlement, Auth: H.E. Snowden, Publ: Tumut & District Historical Society Incorporated, Date: 2004 |
| - Reference = 35 (Marriage) |
| - Reference = 35 (Death) |
| - Reference = 35 (Name, Notes) |
| - Reference = 35 (Birth) |