[Index]
Stephen BLACK (1839 - 1927)
Children Self + Spouses Parents Grandparents Greatgrandparents
Ethel Beatrice BLACK (1880 - 1963)
Clarissa Maud BLACK (1881 - 1950)
Francis Douglas BLACK (1883 - 1953)
Percy Lennox BLACK (1884 - 1972)
Ada Dorothea BLACK (1885 - 1969)
Arthur R BLACK (1886 - )
Edwin S BLACK (1888 - )
Florence A G BLACK (1890 - 1975)
Eric S BLACK (1892 - )
Evelyn I BLACK (1894 - )
Wilfred F BLACK (1896 - )
Stephen BLACK (1839 - 1927)

+

Elizabeth Ann FILL (1838 - 1917)

Martha Maria MYERS
John BLACK











Mary Ann TUCK











Stephen BLACK Martha Maria MYERS

Stephen BLACK Stephen BLACK Stephen BLACK Stephen BLACK
Stephen BLACK Martha Maria MYERS Stephen BLACK Stephen BLACK Stephen BLACK Stephen BLACK
b. 05 Oct 1839 at Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England
m. (1) 17 Nov 1864 Elizabeth Ann FILL (1838 - 1917) at Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England
m. (2) 1879 Martha Maria MYERS at Maitland, New South Wales, Australia
d. 15 Jul 1927 at Petersham, New South Wales, Australia aged 87
Parents:
John BLACK
Mary Ann TUCK
Children (11):
Ethel Beatrice BLACK (1880 - 1963)
Clarissa Maud BLACK (1881 - 1950)
Francis Douglas BLACK (1883 - 1953)
Percy Lennox BLACK (1884 - 1972)
Ada Dorothea BLACK (1885 - 1969)
Arthur R BLACK (1886 - )
Edwin S BLACK (1888 - )
Florence A G BLACK (1890 - 1975)
Eric S BLACK (1892 - )
Evelyn I BLACK (1894 - )
Wilfred F BLACK (1896 - )
Grandchildren (10):
Blanche Ida LANE, Ethel Winnifred LANE (1904 - ), Joseph S LANE (1906 - ), Edna Mabel LANE (1907 - ), John LANE (1910 - ), Ralph Edmund LANE (1912 - ), Arthur G EMERY (1901 - ), Isobel A EMERY (1903 - ), Irene M EMERY (1904 - ), Evelyn D EMERY (1906 - )
Events in Stephen BLACK (1839 - 1927)'s life
Date Age Event Place Notes Src
05 Oct 1839 Stephen BLACK was born Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England Free BMD Dec 1839 13 340
17 Nov 1864 25 Married Elizabeth Ann FILL (aged 26) Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England Free BMD Dec 1864 4b 19
1879 40 Married Martha Maria MYERS Maitland, New South Wales, Australia 3694/1879 18
1880 41 Birth of daughter Ethel Beatrice BLACK Manning River, New South Wales, Australia 17926/1880
1881 42 Birth of daughter Clarissa Maud BLACK Wingham. New South Wales, Australia 17715/1881
1883 44 Birth of son Francis Douglas BLACK Wingham. New South Wales, Australia 19807/1883
1884 45 Birth of son Percy Lennox BLACK Wingham. New South Wales, Australia 21586/1884
1885 46 Birth of daughter Ada Dorothea BLACK Taree, New South Wales, Australia 22280/1885
1886 47 Birth of son Arthur R BLACK Taree, New South Wales, Australia 23328/1886
1888 49 Birth of son Edwin S BLACK Taree, New South Wales, Australia 24279/1888
1890 51 Birth of daughter Florence A G BLACK Taree, New South Wales, Australia 33605/1890
1892 53 Birth of son Eric S BLACK Taree, New South Wales, Australia 34555/1892
1894 55 Birth of daughter Evelyn I BLACK Taree, New South Wales, Australia 33018/1894
1896 57 Birth of son Wilfred F BLACK Taree, New South Wales, Australia 26029/1896
abt Oct 1917 78 Death of wife Elizabeth Ann FILL (aged 79) Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England Note 1
15 Jul 1927 87 Stephen BLACK died Petersham, New South Wales, Australia 13533/1927
Note 1: Free BMD Dec 1917 4b 24 aged 79
Personal Notes:
According to Stephen's granddaughter who lived with him, Stephen was quite a snob. He considered that he had married beneath him (did he know his wife, Martha's father had been a convict?), sometimes refusing to eat at the same table as his wife and children. However, there is no doubt that he was well educated. Stephen said that he had been educated at home by a governess. Stephen always claimed to be related to the Dukes of Lennox and gave his son the middle name of "Lennox".

His father, John, is recorded on Stephen's 1st marriage certificate and all related certificates as a pilot. However, on John's marriage certificate to Mary Ann Tuck he is recorded as being a sailor and his wife as a servant. From where did the money to educate Stephen at home come? One family story is that Stephen had a wealthy doting aunt who was a milliner and glove maker and it is she who paid for his home tutoring.

The mystery of the great scandal that sent Stephen ultimately to Australia is still somewhat unclear. However, one story has it that Stephen owned a ship, the "Clarissa" (another story it was his father-in-law who owned it) that sunk in the Caribbean. Stephen was on that ship when it sunk and sustained injuries to his feet when both his insteps were broken. From then on he always wore special boots.

It is said that Stephen's cousin absconded with the insurance money leaving him to pay the crew and all debts. This caused great financial strain on the family and trouble between his wife and himself when she pressed Stephen to have his cousin charged. For whatever reason, Stephen would not pursue his cousin, instead he left his family and went to London and then to New Zealand.

Stephen, as a sea captain, might have had the power to divorce himself and his first wife but it seems more likely that they agreed to part and thereafter referred to themselves as "widow" and "widower". Stephen called himself a "widower" on his marriage certificate to Martha Maria Myers.

Stephen had secrets. He was alledged to have said to his children that they would never know who he was.
Source References:
18. Type: E-mail Message, Abbr: e-mails general pool, Title: e-mails general pool
- Reference = Gavin Cheshire 5 Jun 2013 (Marriage)
- Notes: Stephen also had a family (his first family) in the UK. He was not divorced when he married Martha in Australia and is noted on that marriage certificate as being widowed (which was not true!).

This public tree has about 60,100 people. Every person in the tree is related by birth or marriage to at least one other person in the tree - no strays. The people in the tree come mainly from four projects.
  1. My family tree. The original project begun about 1998. ID numbers less than about 6,000
  2. Canberra and Queanbeyan Pioneers. The next 30,000 begun about 2004. Sourced almost entirely from HAGSOC's excellent 'Biographical Register of Canberra and Queanbeyan'. The project began when I decided to add siblings, spouses and parents for a relation with an entry in the Register. 12 years work.
  3. Wagga Pioneers. I moved to Wagga and thought I would extend the Queanbeyan project by adding people from Wagga Wagga & District Family History Society's 'Pioneers of Wagga Wagga and District'. About 10,300 people added over about a year.
  4. Tumut Valley Pioneers. During the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, I decided to extend the above projects by adding pioneers of the Tumut Valley. Initial sources were Snowden's 'Pioneers of the Tumut Valley' and 'Relict of ... Lives of Pioneering Women of Tumut and District'. Excellent references published by Tumut Family History Group. I've also added material from newspapers of the time - especially, death records, obituaries and weddings from 'Tumut and Adelong Times'. This project is in its early stage and might take a few years. I plan to extend to the upper Monaro (Adaminaby, Kiandra, Cooma, Jindabyne).
I upload new information to this website about every 3 months. My motivation for these projects is to provide public information for people seeking to trace ancestors and what became of them. Much of the information I provide can be difficult to find.
If you find errors - anything incorrect (dates, places, wrong parents, wrong children), and you have evidence, I would love to fix them. Or, if you have information that would extend my projects, do not hestiate to contact me on the email link below. I do not publish information on living people - which means I'm not much interested in people born after about 1920, and I usually distrust material from before about 1770 without extremely good sources.
g.bell@bigpond.net.au
When you click the mail address abouve, if it does not open your email app, copy the address on the screen.
Geoff Bell, September 2020