2.

Walter Alexander MACDONALD, son of Alexander Simpson MACDONALD and Eliza Jane PHILLIPS, was born on 21 Jan 1859 in Calcutta, India.²³ Calcutta given as birthplace in death certificate. Also gave d.o.b. as 1859 in 1881 & 1891 censuses. Walter was baptised on 4 Jun 1859 in Rangoon, Burma.^{24 23} He was a Chief marine engineer.^{25 26} He was Presbyterian. He married Annie SMITH on 26 Jun 1894 in St. Colomb's Cathedral, Londonderry, Ireland.²⁷ Charles /Boyton/, Married in Cathedral, Church of Ireland, Marriage certificate extract, Parish of Templemore, County Derry on , 1/4/82 Residence at time of marriage 14 London St., Derry. Walter died on 11 Aug 1915 in Balmain Hospital, Sydney. Mitral regurgitation, cardiac failure, Late of 3 Glossop St., Balmain Sth.Death regn. no. 9411/077 , issued27/8/81, Buried 13/8/1915, Presbyterian cemetery, Rookwood. Walter was buried on 13 Aug 1915 in Presbyterian cemetery, Rookwood, Presbyterian section 5C grave 9436.^{5 2} Buried 13/8/1915, Presbyterian cemetery, Rookwood.

After being born in Calcutta and christened in Rangoon, the next we hear of Walter was that in 1871, age 11, he was at school and living in Forres, a small town near Inverness, Scotland, in a house with his mother, an annuitant. In July 1871 he was mentioned in the 'Forres Elgin and Nairn Gazette' as having received a prize in 5th Class Latin and 5th Class Writing at the Forres Academy. The school was a well regarded burgh school overseen by a rector an other teachers with 146 attending boys and girls "for the most part sons and daughters of bankers,farmers, shopkeepers, tradesmen and labourers of the more comfotable class" according to the Education Commissioners' Report on the Forres Academy reported in the above newspaper in 1868 and further in 1871. The average leaving age was 13 or 14. Walter's father had died in Burma in 1865.

In 1879, aged 20 he was noted as the informant for his mother's death at Inverness.

By 1881 at time of the UK census he was listed aboard S.S. Copeland at Plymouth St. Andrew, Devon, England as 2nd. Engineer, one of 14 crew, mainly Scots. It was an iron steamship for general cargo and passengers (shipwrecked in 1888).

Two years later in 1891 he was living in Glasgow, North Wallace St. boarding with the Sutherland family as an 'employed Marine Engineer'.

His residence at time of his marriage to Annie Smith in Londonderry in 1894 was 55 Main St., Glasgow. By 1894 he was the Chief Engineer of the "SS Olive" travelling between Ireland, England and France. (sunk in 1900).

The 1901 Census finds Walter, Annie and their 2 children, Margaret and Walter, living in Glasgow at Newlands Terrace, Kilmarnock Road. The census was taken on April 3rd. 1901, so their emigration to Australia was after that date. According to his death certificate he came to NSW in 1901, age 41. However the Unassisted passenger lists reports him as coming as crew, First Engineer, on the Ship "Ramornie" from Glasgow in 1902. This was a new steamer built for the North Coast Steam Navigation Company. Perhaps his wife and children travelled on the same ship as it was a combined passenger and cargo ship.

ELectoral rolls 1903 have their residence at Marrickville, Durham St., Walter an engineer, and Annie, Domestic duties.

By 1913 the Electoral rolls list him and Annie at 19 Renwick St., Drummoyne, he listed as an engineer, she as home duties. Sands Directory 1913 corresponds with this.

Walter's newspaper death notice states "late engineer of the N.C. Steam Navigation Company". He worked on the "North Coast Run" on steamships carrying cargo from Sydney as far as Queensland and all ports in between. It was a notoriously dangerous run with many ships foundering in heavy conditions. He was, at the end of his career the most Senior engineer of the company according to Don Knight.

The death certificate states "late of 3 Glassop St., Balmain South". And Sands 1915 Directory has him at that address. He died intestate, estate valued at 153 pounds.^{18,25,26,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40}

3.

Annie SMITH, daughter of Robert SMYTH and Margaret UNKNOWN, was born in Mar 1863 in Londonderry, Ireland. She was a Nursing Sister. She died on 14 Apr 1946 in Balmain Hospital. Congestive cardiac failure, hypertension, arteriosclerosis, Death regn. 7804/343 Late of 40 Edwin St., Drummoyne, Buried 16 April 1946 at Presbyterian cemetery, Rookwood, by Methodist Minister. Annie was buried on 16 Apr 1946 in Presbyterian cemetery, Rookwood, Section 5C, grave 9436.⁵ Buried 16 April 1946 at Presbyterian cemetery, Rookwood, by Methodist , Minister.

Annie was born in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. According to the Derry Journal she was the youngest Daughter of the late Robert Smith. She had a Scottish accent according to Ken Knight. She married husband Walter in 1894 (her address given as 14 London Street) in Londonderry and they moved to Glasgow where their 2 children were born.They moved to Australia sometime after 1901. In 1903 they lived at Marrickville in Sydney. He was listed as an engineer and she as domestic duties. By 1913 they had moved to Drummoyne, and then to Glassop Street Balmain before Walter died in 1915. He had been a ship's engineer and would have been away from home some time while their children were growing up. Her interests were Music and gardening. According to Grandson Billy's eulogy she was "a broad speaking Scottish lady who did not tolerate frivolity". By 1917 she was listed as living alone at 19 Renwick St., Drummoyne.

In 1925 her daughter Rita died and she took over care of the 2 children Billy and Donald at Foucart St., Rozelle. Annie was then a nurse looking after some old people, and came to care for them at Foucart St. They then moved (by horse and cart!) to Thompson St., Drummoyne.Then to Broughton St.,Drummoyne where "they had a garden in the Depression." Then to Edwin St., Drummoyne.

Her Death Certificate indicates that she was "late of 40 Edwin St., Drummoyne". This was where her son Walter was living as well. And this was the address that Don returned to in 1946 after his naval demobilisation.

Annie visited her daughter Rita's grave every Sunday, and took her grandson Donald with her when he was a boy, according to Don, as related by Ken Knight in a "Knight family conversation in 1997^7,18,21,41.

Walter Alexander MACDONALD and Annie SMITH had the following children:

4.

Alexander Simpson MACDONALD was born in 1829.^{43 43} From death certificate. Alexander was a Ship's Captain/ Mariner. Commander, Merchant Service. Assistant Conservator of Indian Forests.^{23 44} He married Eliza Jane PHILLIPS on 10 Feb 1856 in St. Paul's Church, Port Adelaide, South Australia.^{45 46 47} 25/106 Marriage by banns on Registration, but by license on Church document. Alexander died on 22 Jun 1865 in Myanyoung, Burma.^{43 48} He was buried on 23 Jun 1865 in Myanyoung.⁴³

The first we hear of A S Macdonald is his marriage in South Australia at Port Adelaide. No further information has been found on him around 1856 in South Australia. Port Adelaide at that time was the fledgeling port for Adelaide and a focus for immigrants arriving regularly on sailing ships. The marriage certificate gives his rank as mariner, his age as 28, born in 1828. The spelling on the certificate is McDonald, a common alternative for MacDonald, and his full name is given as it is in various other documents, which seems a little unusual. A well established schoolteacher was a marriage witness, Thomas Dallison. The birth age given on the marriage certificate roughly agrees with Alexander's age given on his death registration, making his birthdate 1828-1829.

After his marriage to Eliza Jane Philips the next we hear of Alexander is at Rangoon in 1859 at the baptism of his son where he gave his occupation as merchant navy Commander, in other words a ship's Captain. He was described as a marine Captain on his son's death certificate. Lower Burma in 1853 after the 2nd Anglo-Burmese War was administered by the British Government. Alexander became employed in the Indian Forest Service as "Assistant Conservator of Forests" based at Prome. He was transferred there from the Rangoon Division to the Prome sub-division in September 1864 according to the newspaper "Homeward Mail from India". It is not yet known how he secured this position or what background he had to suit the position. It is true that many Scots were involved with shipping on the Irawaddy River as sailors, merchants, shippers and shipbuilders. For example, the Bengal Marine became a privatised Scots firm, the Irrawaddy Flotilla, integral to the British history of Burma.

A document entitled "List of uncovenanted civil servants European and East indian in the Office of the Conservator of forests British Burmah 1st may 1865" lists Alexander as an Assistant Conservator of Forests at a salary of 350 pounds, period of residence in India unknown. Thacker's Directory 1866 and 1865 also list him as assistant conservator, Forest Department, Prome-Pegu Division. Until the professionalisation of the Forestry Department beginning in 1866, officials were first drawn from civil and military ranks. The purpose of the developing Forest Service was to oversee the Teak nurseries, ensure their regeneration and to control their exploitation. "The Indian forest Service- its originand progress" explains the historical context. This must have been a difficult job, coping with the monsoonal weather, the confused political and cultural position of forest harvesting, and the tropical forests, where "herds of wild animals roam the forests, in which are also tigers, panthers and bears". Also mentioned in "Peeps at many lands-Burma" are wild pigs, deer, venomous snakes and pythons. There was a high turnover of staff in the Forest Service at that time. The high death rate was attributed to climate and disease. Alexander's tenure at Prome seems to be relatively short-lived, (although it's unsure when he began) as his death was recorded in 1865. It was not mentioned, as might be expected, in 'Burma: Register of European deaths and burials', nor in "Returns of Deaths of Uncovenanted Servants and Other Officers" from 1870-1876.

Details of his death were finally discovered in 2010. He died at Myanyoung (Myan-Aung, Myan-Oung), a town on banks of the Irrawaddy River in Burma, well downriver from Prome. Myanaung in 1865 had a population of 5000 and suffered a smallpox epidemic that year. It had a medical officer stationed there and a hospital was opened that year. The town had been a military base but that was disbanded in 1861 with the establishment of a new police force. It had however a substantial presence of British Government offices as well as Missionaries. Alexander's death certificate states that he died of septicaemia after a gunshot wound to the foot. The "Friend of India and Statesman" reported that he died from the effects of a shot which he had received in an elephant hunt" He was probably buried close to where he died , at Myan-aung. It may not have had a cemetery, and the town was prone to be inundated by regular monsoon river floods and so any trace of a grave is unlikely to be found. Most burials in the area were at Thayetmyo, the British Garrison further upriver. Thayetmyo was a frontier military station formed in 1855 housing British troops and administration. It had a busy cemetery. Very few headstones survive to the present. The British India Office report of "Burials at ThayetMyo, British Burmah and its outstations" indicate that he was buried by an Assistant Commissioner on the day following his death. The "Friend of India and Statesman" newspaper indicates that he was promoted to be in charge of the Tharawaddy Division from 2nd June 1865 shortly before his death on 22nd June. The "Englishman's Overland Mail", quoting from the 'Moulmain Advertiser' reporting on the death observe that "we heartily trust that it may prove a warning to any imprudence similar to that which led to the loss of a desevedly respected officer".

His wife Eliza Jane's death certificate, informed by their son gives his title of "Indian Forest Conservator". Her newspaper death notices also indicate that deceased husband AS Macdonald was "of the Conservatory Forest, Prome, India" . That position was must have been held in high regard by the family as it was preferred to the title of Ship's captain. Eliza did receive some kind of pension as she was described in the 1871 census in Forres, as an annuitant. It is possible that the annuity was from the "Uncovenanted Service Family Pension Fund" or the "General Annuity Fund" listed in Thacker's Directory 1865^{23,43,46,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68}.

5.

Eliza Jane PHILLIPS,^{23 44} daughter of Robert PHILLIPS and Hannah DANIELS, was born c. 1835 in Buttevant. County Cork, Ireland.⁶⁹ calculated from Death cert. and Headstone. Eliza died on 9 Oct 1879 in 6 Innes St., Inverness, Scotland.⁷⁰ from death cert. Heart disease. Eliza was buried in Tomnahurich Cemetery, Inverness, Scotland.⁷¹

Eliza was born in Buttevant, Ireland, about 1835, where her father was a teacher. We next hear about her at her marriage in Port Adelaide, Australia age 22, in 1856 to Alexander, a sailor. How and when she moved to Adelaide has not been verified, however perhaps a likely arrival of Eliza in South Australia is as an assisted immigrant on the ship 'Australia', from Plymouth 14 October 1855 arriving Port Adelaide 22 January 1856, as a "servant" from Cork, age 19. She was amongst a large number of young Irish women. She would marry only 19 days later .The marriage Certificate gives Thomas Dallison (a local teacher) and Catherine Dewar (her mark-could not write) as witnesses. Marriage by banns, but by license on the Church document. The presiding Minister was Edward Bayfield, described in the Adelaide Directory as an Immigration Chaplain.The couple then moved to Calcutta where their son Walter was born. Walter was baptised in Rangoon, Burma. Alexander was described in the baptism record as a Commander, merchant marine. He then worked for some time in Burma until his death in 1865, and it is not known where Eliza and Walter lived at that time. It is possible that they lived in Calcutta whilst Alexander was stationed in Burma but no evidence to that has come to light.

By 1871 she was living at Forres, a small town near Inverness at the census. A presumption is that this may have been because of her husband's family living in the area. Both of her parents were alive in Ireland still, and her sister in Brisbane, Australia. She was described in the census as living on a pension - an "annuitant". In the house was her son Walter, age 11, a student. He attended the "Forres Academy" school. They may still have been living in Forres in 1875 according to the local Valuation Returns.

She died in Inverness, the major town in the area, Inverness-Shire. Her son Walter was the informant on her death certificate in 1879. He paid for her grave at Tomnahurich Cemetery, on a very picturesque hill outside of the town. Her headstone inscription was cleaned and read for RK in September 2006 - "Erected by Walter A Macdonald in affectionate remembrance of his mother Eliza Jane Philips who died 9th October 1879 aged 45 years". It is a Scottish convention to name dead women by their maiden names.

Death notice in Inverness Newspapers

People > Deaths

Phillips, Eliza Jane, Innes Street, Inverness

Inverness Advertiser 18 October 1879

Page/Col Ref:2G

People > Deaths

Phillips, Eliza Jane, Innes Street, Inverness

Inverness Courier 16 October 1879

Page/Col Ref:8E

The original notices also indicate that her deceased husband A.S. Macdonald was "of the Conservatory Forest, Prome, India^{28,46,50,53,70,72,73,74,75}"

Alexander Simpson MACDONALD and Eliza Jane PHILLIPS had the following children:

8.

Robert PHILLIPS was born in 1808.⁷⁶ estimated. Robert was a Teacher.^{77 78 79} He died on 9 Aug 1873 in Carrignavar, County Cork, Ireland aged 65.^{76 80 81 82 83} He died. He married Hannah DANIELS.

According to a report on education in Ireland, Robert and his wife were teaching about 70 students in a Parish Day school at Buttevant (Province of Cashel, Diocese of Cloyne, Benefice of Buttevant) in about 1834. The school was supported by the Kildare Street Society and the London Ladies' Hibernian Society and by local contributions. Annual donation from Lords Doneraile and Arden. A schoolhouse was provided by the local Minister, The Rev. Dr. Cotter {Vicar to the Garrison at Buttevant) and a Colonel Hill. Subjects taught were reading, writing, arithmetic, bookkeeping, mensuration, geography, grammar and needlework. In 1833 at Cork Assizes Robert Philips and Rev. Cotter were witnesses at a prosecution for vagrancy.

By 1843 the Vicar, J.L. Cotter was paying, from his varied income, 2 pounds per annum to the parochial schoolmaster, Robert.

In 1846 Robert was the schoolmaster of the parish school at Newmarket, a small town 38miles north-west of cork city. Heappears to have moved to Carricknavar, a village 8km. outside of Cork, by 1847, as "Griffith's Valuations" locate him there in 1847 and 1850. He was occupying a house and garden, as well as the "Church Education Society's school-house", so he must have continued his teaching. In 1852 the Valuations describe him as "the Parish Clerk". The land valuations show him in a house and garden adjoining a Church and the Church Education School. The property was rent-free and Robert was teacher of the male school and a Mrs.White teacher of the Female School.

He died in Carricknavar in 1873, intestate, with effects under 100 pounds value. Robert's cause of death was "ramolissement" or softening of the brain.

He is most likely buried in Dunbollogue graveyard, close to Carricknavar^{77,78,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89}.

9.

Hannah DANIELS⁸¹ was born in 1804 in Innishannon, Ireland.⁹⁰ She died on 11 Oct 1882 in Cork, Ireland.⁹¹ She was buried in 1882 in St. Finnbar's, Cork. Sec H, Row 13, Grave 3.^{91 90} Cause of death: Natural Decay

Age: 78 Years.

Hannah was born in Innishannon, Cork, in the Protestant faith. According to a report on education in Ireland, Robert and Hannah were teaching about 70 students in a Parish Day school at Buttevant (Province of Cashel, Diocese of Cloyne, Benefice of Buttevant) in about 1834. The school was supported by the Kildare Street Society and the London Ladies' Hibernian Society, by local contributions and an annual donation from Lords Doneraile and Arden. A schoolhouse was provided by the local Minister, The Rev. Dr. Cotter and a Colonel Hill. Subjects taught were reading, writing, arithmetic, bookkeeping, mensuration, geography, grammar and needlework. By 1843 the Vicar, J.L. Cotter was paying, from his varied income, 2 pounds per annum to the parochial schoolmaster.

At her husband's death, or shortly after, Hannah was living at 17 Thomas Street, Cork, according to his will administration and the burial details.

Hannah's name is on her daughter Eliza's death certificate, informed by Walter Alexander Macdonald^{78,81,84,86,90}.

Robert PHILLIPS and Hannah DANIELS had the following children: