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Edward William and Lilly |
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CHAPTER SEVEN - EDWARD WILLIAM BUTLER AND LILY McLEAN Proud Beauties Two very striking people these: he prematurely bald and looking into the distance, she untimely dead at thirty-five but imperiously lovely; he the grandson of a London gunsmith, she the granddaughter of a convict-bushranger gunsmith. Their wedding photos are separate affairs: their daughter Julia said he would not have their photo taken together lest she outshine him. The two photos show them separately in their going-away outfits: lovely, proud people. Edward William Alfred Butler was born at Jan Juc, on his father's farm, into the practised hands of Nurse Grundy, 14 February 1864, and his birth was registered at Richmond with which his family had strong links. Those early years must have paralleled those of his family: a few more years at Jan Juc, several more children, and a return to Melbourne in 1869 where we may presume he grew up along conventional lines in a home of many children, with a father who held a responsible public position in Richmond - and that ever present spectre of the nineteenth century, the death of children. Edward William was presumably a member of a band, for there is a picture of him in a uniform, holding a piccolo; and his brother Frederick was, it seems, a kind of boy scout, a member of the Star of Richmond Juvenile Tent. The children must have been given many educational opportunities in their growing up. In 1886 Edward married Jessie Hilda Burke in Melbourne. He was twenty-two years of age. There was one son, Alexander Edward, named after his grandfather Butler, and he died a bachelor 29th January 1964. There is a photo of him taken at his father's funeral in 1928 but no more is known about him: my father never spoke of him, and my aunt mentioned him, to my surprise, only when I began asking about the family in 1971. As for Jessie Hilda Burke I gather she was put away quietly because she did not quite please Edward William: I trust the story and my memory have not done the couple an injustice. It was in 1883 that Alexander Edward senior moved to Sydney, apparently with his sons Edward, Hubert and Percy. They stayed for a time at 13 Brisbane Street, which almost runs into Fitzroy Street. They were later established with him in partnership as estate agents in Glenmore Road, Paddington, in 1896. In 1897 Edward William set up as a house agent at 99 William Street and in that same year remarried Lilian McLean whose family owned the Cordial Factory in Fitzroy Street. On his marriage certificate he was described as a bachelor - not quite accurate! The wedding took place at 65 Fitzroy Street, Surry Hills, the home of the bride’s parents, according to the rites of the Presbyterian Church, with George Preston as minister. Witnesses were the groom's brother, Percy Cedric, and the bride's sister, Julia McLean. It was 29th December 1897; he was thirty-three and she was twenty-three. Lilian Blanche McLean was a beautiful and dignified woman, as photos of her attest. She was a good artist and several of her charcoal sketches of young women survive. There is also her bible, a much used book, inscribed with her name and address: Lily McLean, 65 Fitzroy Street, Surry Hills, N.S.W. 1892. It is a great regret that we did not know this very beautiful woman, noted, said Ernest Broughton, M.L.A., for the "sweetness of her disposition and kindness of heart", which "endeared her to all who had the privilege of her friendship". She was to die 20th February 1910, aged thirty-five, at Clanwilliam Street, Willoughby (it must have been a private hospital), of puerperal septicaemia, about twenty-five days after the birth of Percy Cedric. She was buried in the Waverley Cemetery, attended by the Presbyterian minister, John Macaulay, who was to attend her mother-in-law, Eliza Butler, seven years later. Their first child, Edward Malcolm, was born 18th October 1898 while the family was living at 99 William Street. Edward William’s son Alexander was, more than likely, living with his mother in Melbourne, for he appears in none of the photos associated with this second marriage. Julia Blanche, named after her mother's family, was born 18th December 1899, the family still being at 99 William Street. The name Blanche is a curious coincidence insofar as it is a name strongly associated with the Butler branch of the family, though spelt Blanch (see Chapter 1.) Edward William involved himself in civic affairs and while he never appears to be involved in Lawn Bowls as were his father and brother Percy, he certainly took an interest in Australian Rules Football. As an estate agent, especially in the William Street area, he must have been close to the affairs of the Municipal Council at the Sydney Town Hall. No doubt further evidence of his involvement exists in various records around the city, but the following snippets may suffice to indicate his interest in local government affairs. John L. Mullins writes, under the Sydney Municipal Council crest, 12 December 1900. Dear Mr. Butler, In one of the first intervals of leisure after the recent triumph in which you have taken so active a part I am only too pleased to make my special acknowledgements for your very great kindness to me. You were good enough to sign my requisition as chairman over meetings, to urge my candidature in generous language, to increase the number of my supporters materially and finally in the eventful 7th inst. to arouse the apathetic to a sense of their privilege and thus secure a victory. I feel I owe everything to my friends whose confidence I hope to deserve by my share in the municipal proceedings of the next two years. With every good wish for Christmas believe me faithfully yours. John L. Mullins. The other piece of interesting information comes from his obituary in The Sydney Morning Herald, Friday 10 August 1928, where we are told he stood as a Reform candidate in the City Council elections. This information was corroborated by the receipt (7 May 1998) of a photocopy of the results of the Election of Aldermen for the City Council of Sydney 1 October 1924: Edward William Butler stood for Bligh against four other candidates. He received 429 votes, far from enough to have him elected. The City of Sydney Archives holds no other information about Edward William Butler And while the letter from Ernest Broughton, M.L.A., may have been a conventional expression of condolences to a prominent city man on the death of his wife, it seems to ring more true than that, suggesting a personal respect for the bereaved husband as well as personal knowledge of the deceased. Edward William was obviously much involved in civic affairs and had become a Justice of the Peace in 1900. Their next child, Sydney William, was born 5 March 1904. By this time the Estate Agency was at 103 William Street on the north side between Crown and Palmer Streets. It was to move several times before it was settled there eventually in about 1927. The business was obviously carried on after Edward William's death in 1928, as it is noted in the Sands Directories till the 1932-3 edition and in the Sydney Telephone Directory till November 1935. The huge sign, dark blue on white, was still there in the 1950s, apparent to anyone travelling down William Street in those days, as I recall from my youth. During this time, the older children, Ted and Jule, probably began their schooling at Plunkett Street, Woolloomooloo. Edward William himself was developing his interest in Australian Rules Football. His obituary describes him as "one of the pioneers of the Australian code of football in Sydney from Richmond, Victoria, in 1892 till a few months ago". The obituary states that he was the founder of the East Sydney Club in 1903. The 1905-1911 minutes book of the Sydney Football Club, now on display at the Australian Rules Football Club in Ebley Street, Bondi Junction, has a page of photographs of six prominent members of the executive of the time, including Messrs. L.A. Ballhausen, Albert E. Nash and Chesney Harte, who were described in C.C. Mullen's History of Australian Rules Football 1858-1958, as "the founders of the game in N.S.W." (p. 155). Included amongst the six photos is "Mr. E.W. Butler, Hon Sec., East Sydney Football Club". Underneath the picture is the following statement: ‘When the time comes to write the history of how we won the national cause, the name of E.W. Butler will not be overlooked. A native of Australia, he has naturally a strong love for his country. His time and energies have always been on the side of "the flag with the six white stars". An ex-player, he knows all the points of the game, and as secretary to the East Sydney Club and delegate to the New South Wales Football League, he has put solid and lasting work on behalf of the national game.’ The photos and accompanying texts were obviously cut out of some book or magazine and pasted in the minutes book. Malcolm George, our father, was the next child born. The date was 27 December 1907 and the address 99 William Street. In 1909, Edward William is recorded at Albert Avenue, Chatswood. While his wife’s death certificate in 1910 has her living at Clanwilliam Street, Willoughby, Sands continues to record E.W. at Albert Street until 1913, when there is a move to Womerah Avenue, Darlinghurst. He is, of course, still working in the Estate Agency, back again, since 1907 at 99 William Street. Percy Cedric, their last child, was born 25 January, 1910 probably at Clanwilliam Street. One month later the distant, lovely beauty of Lilian Blanche faded from this world. Her husband was forty-six years of age with five children to look after, the last being but one month old. Lillian Blanche probably experience poor health in the last few years of her life. There is a touching postcard addressed to her at “The Retreat”, Mittagong, undated, but written between 1906 and 1910. It reads (in a reconstruction made by Ken Taylor) “Dear Mother, I received your two cards. I am going to Bourke Street School. I like it very much. … and Teddie were up … Sunday and they took me out to ... Grandma said I was a good girl. With love to you and Siddnie. Julia.” Grandma is Julia McLean. The writing is reasonably mature and may indicate that Julia was about nine or ten years of age, which would date the card to about 1909 or early 1910. There is a touch of pathos in this simple communication. It is not surprising that on 27 September 1911 Edward William remarried. His new bride was Mary Elizabeth Gavin, a woman more conscious, it would appear from her photographs, of her loveliness, which was very Irish and very soft. They were married by Father P. Piquet, S.M., at Saint Patrick's, Church Hill. Though Edward William had no allegiance to the Catholic faith, Mary Elizabeth remained staunchly Catholic till the day she died. Her occupation was given as "booksower" (sic) and her age as forty. She was born in Sydney in 1871 and her parents' names as they appear on the original wedding certificate were Patrick Francis Gavin, labourer, of Clare, Ireland, and Bridget Gaffney. She was known to her friends as Mana. She was the woman my family knew as grandmother, and she was responsible for bringing up the children of the second marriage. Julia Blanche must have taken an instant dislike to her because she is soon off to live with her mother's parents, Malcolm and Julia McLean at "The Mall", 38 Maroubra Bay Road, Maroubra. Later on the relationship between the two women improved. When I knew Mana she was living with her brother, Bede, at 83 Womerah Avenue, Darlinghurst. I always found her to be a lovely, warm, kind woman - my ideal of a grandmother. She was of the genteel poor, I always thought, and the house was out of a different era. In the musty old terrace house where Bede lived in an atmosphere of cigar smoke in the front room, I spent many happy hours of my childhood: her house was more peaceful than ours. I was proud to "take" her to Mass on Sundays at Saint Canice's Church, Elizabeth Bay, and would return to her place for the comics and a real Sunday dinner - roast lamb, mint sauce (properly made), baked potatoes and boiled peas (shelled by hand), followed by apple pie (homemade, with a thick crust). The lounge room with its billiard table, which had been Uncle Ted's (later donated to the Marist Brothers' Juniorate at Mittagong) was a room of endless fascination for me: the photographs, the broken mantle-piece clock, drawers full of cue chalk and rubber stamps with the mysterious phrase " not negotiable" (which no one could ever explain to me), a fine ewer and basin which my sister now has, and the silver tea service presented to E.W. Butler by the East Sydney Australian Rules Football Club, now in my brother's possession. Many years later, in June 1980, Cardinal Sir James Freeman was to describe her to me in conversation as "a very saintly woman". She died 25 May 1958. Her brother, Bede Bartholomew, no relation of ours but fondly remembered, was born 6 February 1873. He was taught at the Marist Brothers' School at Haymarket, by Brother Casimir. He joined the Royal Australian Naval Brigade as a Leading Seaman in March 1893, served with the Second Contingent N.S.W. Medical Corps in the Boer War from 17 January 1900 to 8 January 1901, and was discharged 3t March 1917. He died in September 1957. In 1913 Edward William and Mary Elizabeth moved to 86 Womerah Avenue, and the Estate Agency was still at 99 William Street. The only fact I know about the next few years is that Edward William's oldest boy, Ted, went to the War in 1916. He was, in the general opinion, "the finest of the Butler boys", an upstanding, fine build of a man, from his photographs. There are a number of photos of Ted and the other Butler boys at their father's funeral in 1928. Ted is the most impressive looking one of them all. One of the photographs shows Mary Elizabeth surrounded by the family, except for Julia who did not go to the funeral. Julia told me once she had that photo touched up with Mana removed and herself substituted: that was one of the many photos that disappeared at her death. Ted went to the First World War at the age of eighteen, much to his father's regret, and Ted was "never the same again". I don't know what that meant, but talk of Ted was always tinged with regret and the note that his potential was never achieved. According to the back of a postcard, "3771, Pte. Edward M. Butler, C Company, 9th Rem., 19th Batt., A.I.E.F., 5th Inf. Brigade", sailed off to "Egypt or elsewhere" 20 January 1916 on the Runic; "left wharf 8 a.m. left harbour 4 p.m." In the back of his mother’s 1892 Bible there is a note in pencil probably in Jule’s hand to the effect that “Ted [‘& Fred’ inserted with a caret – Fred? Was he Frederick, Ted’s his father’s youngest brother?] sailed for Front 20/1/16. ‘Runic’ left Sydney 8am.” (Opposite that note is memorial verse in ink in what I believe is a woman’s handwriting: “We miss thee and mourn thee in silence unseen, & dwell on the memory of joys that have been.” Under that is written in ink, probably by Jule, “Lily Butler Feb 20, 1910. Sadly missed.”) There are no photos of Ted in uniform, no memoirs of his service. There are several other photos of him, some at his father's funeral, when his address was given as Y.M.C.A., Melbourne. He died a bachelor, 31 October 1938. There are two little mementos: a postcard from Aunty Bree (though it is possible the card is for his father) and a book. The card "A friend's birthday Greeting", reads "To Ted, With every good wish and Happiness on thy Birthday, from Bree". (She was the wife of one of Mary Elizabeth's brothers.) The book,"The King's Servant" by Hesba Stretton, the Religious Tract Society, London, was inscribed: To Edward M. Butler, from Grandma, Xmas 1910. Which grandmother I do not know. Edward William's mother, Eliza, died, 7 September 1917, at Marrickville. The funeral party left from 86 Womerah Avenue. And so his life seems to have gone on, centring on his interest in real estate, civic affairs and Australian Rules until his death in 1928. The Estate Agency moved several times: from 99 to 80 William Street between Riley and Crown Streets, and apart from a brief stay in 1930 at 102a William Street, it seems to have settled, in 1927, at 108 William Street, till 1935. In 1927, the year before he died, the family moved to 83 Womerah Avenue. The home passed into his son Sydney's hands in 1929 and finally, in 1932, into Mary Elizabeth's hands where it remained till she died in 1958. Edward William's death occurred 8 August 1928 at Saint Vincent's Private Hospital, of myocarditis. He was cremated at Rookwood attended by a Church of England minister, J. Paul Dryland. His three marriages are detailed on his death certificate, and his six children, there being none from the third marriage. Edward William Butler remains a shadowy figure. There are only two personal comments about him that I can recall. His niece, Viwa Frend, described him as "such a happy man, always laughing and jolly". His daughter described him as a proud man who was not willing to have his photograph taken with his second wife for fear she may outshine him. I wonder about several things: he lent money to a friend to establish a tobacco importing company (the building still stands at the other end of the Cutler Footway from Saint Vincent's Hospital) and lost the money. His widow lived in what I thought were rather faded circumstances. I am left with the impression of a distant, rather haughty man, one who was a stranger to his children. In my childhood when people spoke of him it was of a man above them. I never heard my father talk about him, and my father’s way of parenting may have reflected a certain coldness or lack of affection in his own upbringing. He was too young to remember his mother who died when he was three. The following obituary appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald, Friday 10 August 1928: “The funeral of Mr. E. W. Butler whose death occurred in St. Vincent's Private Hospital on Wednesday morning took place at the crematorium, Rookwood Cemetery, yesterday morning. Mr. Butler was for 34 years engaged in business as an estate agent in William Street, City. In 1924 he stood as a reform candidate in the city Council elections. He also took a leading part in the Australian Natives' Association. Mr. Butler was one of the pioneers of the Australian Code of football in Sydney, his active connection with it lasting from the time he came to Sydney from Richmond, Victoria in 1892, till a few months ago. The Rev. J. P. Dryland of St. John's Rectory, Glebe, conducted the burial service. The principal mourners were Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Butler (widow) and Messrs. S., E., M., P. and A. Butler (sons) and Miss J. Butler (daughter). others present included Mrs. J. E. West, M. E. West, M.P., H. S. Brown, G. H. Sanders, C. Miller, F. Hughes, D. F. Harrison, H. Mortimer*, D. Bennett, J. Bramble, W. F. Gibbons and M. Burke. The Australian Rules Football League was represented by the following:- M. McWhinney, Jun., (Hon. Secretary), L. W. Percy (Hon. Treasurer) J. E. Phelan (past Hon. Sec.) on behalf of the Australian National Football Council, H. Chesney Harte (past Secretary), H.W. Smith and J. F. McNeil (past presidents), W.C.R. Ward (North Shore club), T. J. Hayes (Hon. Secretary Eastern Suburbs Club), W. Knott (Western Suburbs Club), J. Cross (captain, East Sydney Club which the deceased founded in 1903), A. McWhinney Sen. (Hon. Treasurer Eastern Suburbs Club) and S. Milton (vice-captain, Eastern Suburbs Club). Wreaths were forwarded by the New South Wales Australian Rules Football League and the Eastern Suburbs and Newtown Clubs.” *This name takes us back to the old Melbourne days of the Butlers. While Miss J. Butler was listed among the principal mourners, I am sure she told me she did not attend the funeral - she may have said the mourning gathering afterwards at 83 Womerah Avenue. Julia Blanch, second daughter of Edward William and Lily Blanche McLean, was named for her mother's mother, Julia McLean née Day (Dedicoat), and her mother's sister Blanche. Julia Blanche is responsible for much of the first-hand Butler and McLean material in this history. She was a woman of real wit and charm, a born entertainer and a story-teller unmatched: she fancied she had the sixth sense, and capitalised on it. She it was who suspected the connection between the convict-bushranger Bill Day and her great- grandfather William Dedicoat. Her suspicion proved true: they were the same man, and she would have revelled in the detective work which went into proving it. But she died too late, unfortunatley. She was born in Sydney 18th December 1899 at 99 William Street where she lived till her mother died when Jule was ten years old. She attended the Plunkett Street Public School for several years. When her father re-married she went to live with her grandparents. I recall she spoke of the Bourke Street Public School, so she probably lived there with them while Grandfather McLean was still involved in the Cordial Factory in Fitzroy Street, Surrey Hills, before they moved to Maroubra. She talked a lot more about her grandparents, but I listened too little and did not know what I know now. They left their mark on her in many ways, particularly her Scottish grandfather. He was a religious man, a Presbyterian; his wife probably adopted his ways, for her own father described himself as a "Ranter", her mother was baptised a Catholic, and her brother and sisters were christened by anyone who happened along. Jule herself subscribed the Church of England, but never attended. It was grandfather McLean who gave her the works of Shakespeare for her birthday: "18th December 1912, To Julia B. Butler on her 13th Birthday from Granpa". Jule has inked in a “d" making it "Grandpa". The Shakespeare hints at the actor in Jule: she had a fund of stories and poems and songs; she would play the piano - well, she could "vamp" - and she was a violinist in her younger days. We used to love her story of "Old Mose and the Eggs"; in her retelling of Kipling's "Green Eyed Yellow Idol", the floor was wet and slippery where she stood, and the vengeance of the little yellow god got me every time. Then she would sing "The Owl and the Pussycat" and "P.C. Forty-Nine". If we were good she would vamp a little, then recite "The Cow Stood in the Meadow" letting fall a pack of cards for sound effects. She had been, in the 1930s, a member of the Viking Club which organised dances, picnics and hikes: a splendid audience for her talents. She was, too, a legal secretary and worked for Kenneth J. Tribe for many years. On March 8 1952 she married Charles Thomas Blake at the Wesley chapel in Sydney: my mother and sister attended the wedding which was a private affair and came as complete surprise to me. Charles was a widow and she had loved him for many years since she had met him while working for the Pigment Company. His daughters Adeline and Johanna and their husbands happily adopted Jule and loved her. They took great care of her when Charles died, after just ten years of marriage, 20 March 1962. Jule lived a full and happy life - she loved life and thought I should not be a Brother because I "loved life too much". She died 22 April 1982 and was cremated at the Woronora Crematorium, attended by Reverend P. Stavert of the Church of England. Sydney William, the third child, was born 5 March 1904, married Iris Roberts and died without any children, 14January 1958. I believe I met both Sydney and Percy once at 83 Womerah Avenue, but my recollection is not certain. The last child, Percy Cedric, was born 25th January 1910. His mother died about a month after his birth. He married Mabel Tompkins and they had one child, Malcolm. I had lunch with Malcolm in 1961, but have never seen him since. His wife's name was Judith and there was at least one child, Lisa. I believe the marriage ended in divorce. Percy died 19 August 1969. Of the five children, Ted and Jule were the most impressive; the other boys were weak in many ways - "les derniers fils d'une race epuisée”, to quote D.H.Lawrence’s harsh phrase from “Sons and Lovers”. Our father, Malcolm George, was the fourth child of Edward William and Lily Butler. He was born 27th December 1907 at 99 William Street. He could not have really known his mother who died when he was just three years old. His father soon married the woman who was to bring up his children. Malcolm's earliest years were spent in William Street and Clanalpine Street but in 1913 the family moved to 86 Womerah Avenue and Malcolm went to school at "Westbush" the State School on the corner of Liverpool Street and Womerah Avenue. He went only as far as the Qualifying Certificate, which was gained in Sixth or Seventh Grade. There is one known highlight of his youth: an award for bravery. The Royal Shipwreck Relief and Humane Society of N.S.W., 8th January 1923, awarded a fine certificate inscribed with his name, to "Malcolm G. Butler aged 141/2 years for his bravery in saving the life of William Johnson from drowning in Rushcutters Bay, Sydney Harbor (sic) on the 18th July 1922”. Malcolm George never spoke of his father to my knowledge which is why I assume Mr. Butler was a distant man. And while Mary Elizabeth was a devoted step-mother, her own religious values certainly did not rub off onto the children. This branch of the Butler family is not renowned for its devotion to religion. Cardinal Sir James Freeman, who grew up in Womerah Avenue at the same time as my father, put it accurately if bluntly: "Little Mackie Butler had no religion". Mac, or Maxie, as he was commonly known was apprenticed as a French Polisher at Bray and Holliday's (Show Case and Shop Front) Pty. Ltd., of McLachlan Avenue, Ruchcutters Bay, where he worked for most of his working life, with a few breaks till he was dismissed in the mid-'Fifties. He lived a 83 Womerah Avenue with his mother and brothers after his father died in 1928, until he married Honor Whittaker in 1936. That story is the final chapter in this history.
Having presented the history of all of my father’s ancestors, I now turn to my mother’s ancestors, beginning with her father’s forebears. |