On Saturday Greg and I visited the grave of his great grandparents Henry and Anne Sullivan nee Morley, at Cheltenham Memorial Park in Melbourne.
Henry Sullivan was born 7 August 1863 at Gheringap near Geelong in Victoria. Abandoned by his parents, he was raised in the Geelong orphanage.
In 1876, at the age of 12, Henry was licensed out from the orphanage to work for a market gardener at Moorabbin, 15 kilometers south-east of Melbourne. He was a gardener for the rest of his life.
On 17 February 1887 Henry Sullivan married Anne Morley at the residence of the Reverend Samuel Bracewell at Lygon Street, Carlton, a suburb of Melbourne. The Rev. Samuel Bracewell was a minister of the Primitive Methodist Church. At the time both Henry and Anne were living at East Brighton (later known as Bentleigh). Henry stated he was a gardener. On the marriage certificate he gave his age as 24 although he was in fact 23. Henry did not know who his parents were.
Henry and Anne had five children:
- Mabel 1887-1960
- Rosina 1889-1969
- Arthur 1891-1975
- Henry 1894-1969
- Francis William 1899-1956
Henry and Anne Sullivan lived at 7 Evelyn Street, Bentleigh, all their married life. They called their house “Navillus”, “Sullivan” spelled backwards.
Henry died in 1943 and Anne in 1946. They were buried in the Methodist section of Cheltenham Memorial Park. Their daughter Rosina gave them a fine grave.
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lindamaycurry said:
I wonder were they happy? Being a gardener you would think would be a pleasant life but probably not very lucrative. Also it would be a struggle as one got older with back problems etc. I suppose Henry was lucky to have a steady job. I love the way their house was their name spelled backwards. That would make our house “Yrruc”.
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Mark said:
Hi Linda.
Henry was my great grandfather by adoption. I can recall my mother talking about her grandfather hybridising either dahlias or carnations and winning some form of award (my bet was carnations). I surmise that the work was done at Navillus because the plot of land was near to Oakleigh where my mother grew up in the 1930s, and was big enough to commercially grow flowers but small enough to be in Melburne.
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Gail said:
The more we learn of our ancestors, the more real they are to us, and we come to care about their lives. I love doing family history!!
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Wendy Mathias said:
I love the humor of “Navillus.”
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kristin said:
It must be so different to not know who your parents were. I’m glad he had a family of his own. His and his wife’s body language seems to show affection. And that their daughter made such a nice grave, that is good.
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M. K. Waller said:
In the picture, they look happy. I”m glad he found your grandmother and had a family. That’s so important.
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Demi slattery said:
This is incredible research
I have come across the name of the house in our family tree research and currently trying to piece together names and where they fit.
Thank you so much for your efforts, this is incredible
Henry Sullivan born in bentleigh in 1894 (roughly)is my great grandfather.
The flower violet is crazy as that is my grandmothers name so it’s lovely to know he took part in growing them – perhaps that’s why she is violet daphne.
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Anne Young said:
Thanks for visiting Demi. I wrote about your great grandfather at https://anneyoungau.wordpress.com/2015/04/26/u-is-for-unwilling-or-hesitating-to-obey-an-order/ and you can see more Sullivan posts at https://anneyoungau.wordpress.com/index/sullivan-family-index/
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