| [Index] |
| Asenath ELWORTHY (1829 - 1922) |
|
| b. bef 29 Apr 1829 at Exeter, Devon, England |
| m. 23 May 1855 William Barker Claughton ROBERTS (1829 - 1865) at New South Wales, Australia |
| d. 29 Apr 1922 at Waverley, New South Wales, Australia aged 93 |
| Parents: |
| James ELWORTHY (1796 - 1832) |
| Elizabeth MORSE ( - 1841) |
| Siblings (5): |
| Charles Leonard ELWORTHY (1823 - 1834) |
| Alfred John ELWORTHY (1824 - ) |
| Ellen Sarah ELWORTHY (1826 - 1921) |
| Sarah Elizabeth ELWORTHY (1828 - ) |
| James ELWORTHY (1831 - ) |
| Children (5): |
| William Alfred ROBERTS (1856 - 1943) |
| Asenath Ellen ROBERTS (1858 - 1944) |
| Edith Mary ROBERTS (1860 - 1937) |
| Walter George ROBERTS (1861 - 1923) |
| Annie Emma Eugenie ROBERTS (1864 - 1944) |
| Events in Asenath ELWORTHY (1829 - 1922)'s life | |||||
| Date | Age | Event | Place | Notes | Src |
| bef 29 Apr 1829 | Asenath ELWORTHY was born | Exeter, Devon, England | |||
| 29 Apr 1829 | Baptism | St Sidwell, Exeter, Devon, England | 16 | ||
| 25 Feb 1832 | 2 | Death of father James ELWORTHY (aged 35) | St Sidwell, Exeter, Devon, England | ||
| bef 1841 | 12 | Death of mother Elizabeth MORSE | England | 16 | |
| 23 May 1855 | 26 | Married William Barker Claughton ROBERTS (aged 26) | New South Wales, Australia | Cannot find marriage record | |
| 07 Jul 1856 | 27 | Birth of son William Alfred ROBERTS | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | 741/1856 | |
| 1858 | 29 | Birth of daughter Asenath Ellen ROBERTS | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | 793/1858 | |
| 19 Feb 1860 | 30 | Birth of daughter Edith Mary ROBERTS | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | 1860/BA00140 | |
| 28 Nov 1861 | 32 | Birth of son Walter George ROBERTS | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | 1862/BA00890 | |
| 31 Mar 1864 | 34 | Birth of daughter Annie Emma Eugenie ROBERTS | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | 1864/B002545 | |
| 15 Jun 1865 | 36 | Death of husband William Barker Claughton ROBERTS (aged 36) | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | 653/1865 | |
| 29 Apr 1922 | 93 | Asenath ELWORTHY died | Waverley, New South Wales, Australia | 7519/1922 | |
| Personal Notes: |
|
Her first two years in Australia are uncertain but legend says Asenath looked after her Uncle George Elworthy's children after arrival. This is probably right as Ellen married within a few months and George was busy setting up a new business. There was also grief to cope with following the death of little Alice in January 1854 and Elizabeth in September the following year.
Quite probably it was through her uncle that Asenath met William Barker ROBERTS born in 1829 at Manchester, England who was manager of Christopher Newton's warehouse in Sydney. On 23 May 1855, Asenath and William were married and went to live at 3 Waterloo Place, Strawberry Hills. Here their first child William Alfred was born on 07 July in the following year, although he was not baptised until 01 Oct 1856 at Scots Church. Tragedy struck in the year following Annie's birth - but events are a little hazy. I don't know whether the family had returned to Sydney or whether William was on a business trip but he died 'off Bourke Street' in Sydney on 15 Jun 1865. He was either found dead or died in suspicious circumstances as an inquest was required the following day. It returned a verdict of death from 'hydrothorax'. It is said her Uncle George Elworthy looked after Asenath Roberts and her children until his death in 1878. Certainly he left her all his household furniture and effects - as well as a pound per week whilst she remained a widow. Various wills show she was still receiving an annuity from the Elworthys in 1915 when James' widow Henrietta died. In this will she directed her sons Arthur, Ernest and Harold to maintain the annuity for Mrs Roberts to which Henrietta had contributed and doubtless they would have respected her wishes. Asenath lived to a great age, dying at her residence, 26 Grafton Street, Woollahra on 29 April 1922 - 93 years to the day from her baptism! Her obituary in the Sydney Morning Herald said in part: "The deceased lady was for 70 years a colonist of New South Wales. Born in Devonshire in 1829, she was a link between the present and a past so remote as to embrace such historic events as repeal of the Corn Laws, the bread riots in Exeter, the state funeral of the Duke of Wellington and the opening of the first railway system from Sydney to Parramatta all of which she clearly and vividly recollected. "Her memory was a page from a history book and it was the perfect preservation of all her faculties no less than the warmth of her affection which endeared her to her many descendants." |
| Source References: |
| 2. Type: Book, Abbr: Devon to Downunder, Title: Devon to Downunder, Auth: Bettie Elworthy, Publ: Bookbound, Date: 1997 |
| - Reference = 40 (Name, Notes) |
| 16. Type: E-mail Message, Abbr: Barbara Lawrence - Elworthy doc, Title: Barbara Lawrence - Elworthy doc, Auth: Barbara Lawrence, Date: 23/2/2009 |
| - Reference = 2 (Baptism) |
| 63. Type: Web Page, Abbr: Trove, Title: Trove National Library of Australia, Locn: http://trove.nla.gov.au/ |
| - Reference = Sydney Morning Herald 28 Apr 1923 (Name, Notes) |
| - Notes: ROBERTS.-In everlasting memory of my beloved mother, Asenath Roberts, who passed to a higher life April 29, 1922. Ever in my thoughts. Edith.
ROBERTS.-In tender memory of darling mother, Asenath Roberts, who passed away April 29, 1922. I am longing for the pressure Of a gentle hand-now still. Annie O'Connor. |
| 65. Type: Newspaper, Abbr: Trove, Title: Digitized newspapers |
| - Reference = SMH 29 May 1855 (Marriage) |
| - Notes: On the 23rd instant, by the Rev. Alexander Salmon, William Barker Roberts, late of Manchester, to Asenath, youngest daughter of the late James Elworthy, of Exeter. |