last updated 1 May 2015
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HOME PAGE STEWART / ALDOUS FAMILY TREE
James Cooper Stewart 1836 - 1919 (83) & his Family
The information on this page is taken from my family data base which is a work in progress Adrian Fletcher - afletch at paradoxplace dot com
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James Cooper Stewart 1836 - 1919 (83)
Illustrated James C Stewart story Photos of James Cooper Stewart and Family J C Stewart Will / Probate & Inventory
Born Brechin, Angus (Scotland), 24 January 1836, son of a house painter (later described by JCS as an Artist !) Emigrates to Melbourne on the famous Clipper "Marco Polo" 1857 Marries Australian born Amelia Henderson Waugh ("Ma") in Collingwood (Melbourne) 16 June 1860 Founding partner - Malleson England Stewart (Solicitors, Melbourne) 1868 - described as one of Australia's leading commercial lawyers Mayor of Melbourne 1885 - 1886 Builds palazzo "Edzell" - St George's Road, Toorak (Melbourne) - early 1890s Amelia dies whilst on a visit to her daughters in England in 1903 James Marries Edith Rosa Francis Cowling (Muston) on 26 August 1911 in the Scots Church in Melbourne. She is a 31 year old Sydney divorcee and James Cooper is 75. Edie shows her true colours and takes off on trips to New York etc burning up James' money. September 1916 - whilst England grinds through the horrors of WW I, James and Edith face off in front of the Chief Justice of Victoria in an 8 day divorce hearing which provokes quite a bit of press interest and embarrassing entertainment James dies in Southport, Hampshire on 18 August 1919 whilst on a visit to his three married daughters, all living in England
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James and Amelia Stewart's children c1886
Standing: Gordon Robson (1862 - 1906 (44)), George Alexander Waugh (1864 - 1938 (74)), Isabella Henderson (Aldous) (1865 - 1938 (73))
Seated: Ethel Amelia (Staples) (1880 - 1950 (70)), Amelia (née Waugh) (1841 - 1903 (62)), James Cooper (1836 - 1919 (83)), Mary Falconer (May) (Watson)(1877 - 1957 (80), Frederick William (1872 - 1916 (44) killed fighting in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in France during WWI)
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Gordon Robson Stewart (1862 - 1906 (43))
Wedding Will Probate/Inventory
Gordon Robson Stewart was given the same names as one of his dad's brothers back in Brechin. 15 June 1887 - Gordon Robson Stewart (1862 - 1906 (43)) marries Isabella (Belle) Galbraith (1860 - 1918 (57)) in the garden of her parents home in Kew (Melbourne) - Rev Charles Strong* officiates. Gordon becomes a partner in his father's law firm Mallesons et al, but dies in 1906 aged just 43, leaving Belle and four children to be financially supported by his dad.
Gordon's eldest son James Cooper Stewart married Anna Marie Celia Benigna Coffey in Hobart Cathedral in July 1926. Two years' later he was dead at the age of 40. This is a transcription of the family headstone in Boroondara (Kew) Cemetery in Melbourne. "KOSB" stands for the Kings Own Scottish Borderers, a famous British Army regiment.
Gordon and Belle's other children were Eileen (c1890 - 1948; married George Chapman), Ruby (c1891 - 1965; married Lance Strachan) and Helen "Nell" (c1899 - ? ; married Marshall Wood). There are several descendants now alive in Australia.
*Earlier in the decade Rev Charles Strong had been forced to resign from the charge of the Scots' Church in Melbourne in the wake of a still celebrated, nasty and long-running conservative / liberal (Strong) fight in which J C Stewart, then the church's Law Agent, was one of his few establishment supporters. This may explain the garden wedding and the absence of Stewart's friend Strong from the wedding at the Scots' Church (below).
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George Alexander Waugh Stewart (1864 - 1938 (74))
12 July 1887 - George Alexander Waugh Stewart (1864 - 1938 (74)) marries Isabella Robina Rutherford (1866 - 1939 (73)) in the Scots' Church, Melbourne - Rev Joseph Hay officiates.
Their only child is the unmarried "Aunty Aimee". JC asks them to move in to Edzell with him after the death of Amelia. They later move out and sever contact with the old man after he marries the 31 year old master gold digger Edith Cowling (Muston) in 1911 whilst they were travelling in Europe and without letting them know!
Aunty Aimee used to send us food parcels (including eggs) when we were living in Somerton, Somerset after the end of WW II. She died in 1958.
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Isabella Henderson Aldous (Stewart) (1865 - 1938 (73))
7 September 1887 - Isabella Henderson Stewart (1865 - 1938 (73)) marries Dr George Frederick Aldous (1861 - 1937 (76)) in St Stephen's Church, Gloucester Rd (London) - Rev Joseph P Waldo officiates, and James C and Ma are there. They have four daughters of whom only one - Adrian's grandmother Clare Sproule (Aldous) - marries.
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Ethel Amelia Staples (Stewart) (1880 - 1950 (70))
21 July 1900 - A quite pregnant 20 year old Ethel Amelia Stewart (1880 - 1950 (70)) marries Cyril Vernon Grey Staples (1876 - 1936 (59)) from Melbourne, in St Michael's Church, Burleigh St, Covent Garden (London) - Rev Alfred J Poynder officiates. Ma and JCS do not make it to the London wedding, but sister-in-law Belle (which one?) is there and signs the register as a witness. Cyril is a stockbroker who also plays occasional cricket as wicketkeeper for Surrey and the English Gentlemen (with W G Grace).
Ethel and Cyril have four daughters followed by two sons, and there are several descendants now alive in Australia and the UK.
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May Falconer Watson (Stewart) (1877 - 1957 (80))
18 December 1900 - May Falconer Stewart (1877 - 1957 (80)) marries Lt Cecil Francis Lacon Watson R.N. (1873 - 1940 (67)) from the Isle of Wight, in St John's Church, Toorak (Melbourne) - Rev Charles Edward Drought officiates. At the time Watson was posted to the Royal Navy's "Australian Station".
The Watsons have one son, and his two children live in England (2009).
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Frederick William Stewart (1872 - 1916 (44))
The sixth "survivor" is Fred. He's in the family photo but not yet discovered in the Victorian Birth records. At some stage he went to live in Canada. On 10 August 1915 Fred signs an agreement to join the Canadian Over-Seas (sic) Expeditionary Force. This form confirms his birth date (23 April 1872) and the identity of his dad, his Montreal address, and the facts that he is married and an artist. He served as a private in the 19th Canadian Regiment. Sadly the next record confirms that he was killed in action in France on 15 September 1916. He is remembered in the Roll of Honour in the Canadian War Memorial at Vimy, but has no marked grave.
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Photo 2010 by Emily Bradburn, 3xgrt grand daughter of James Cooper Stewart.
This is the sad sad tomb of the seven Stewart children who died in infancy. It's in the Presbyterian section of the Melbourne General Cemetery (compartment g grave 266).
The names on the gravestone are:
Robert Waugh - died 17 December 1861, age 6 months Mary Falconer - died 27 January 1868, age 15 months James - died 8 February 1868, age 3 months Amelia Hamilton - died 26 March 1870, age 2 years Herbert Malleson - died April 1876, age 2 years* Irving Hamilton - died 22 March 1876, age 8 months James Cooper - died 27 October 1879, age 17 months
* cause of death - acute hydrocephalus - family living in Charnwood Crescent, St Kilda at this time
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