Sophia West (Lawson) Hallen (1816 - 1906)

Born 3 Oct 1816 in Prospect, New South Wales, Australia

Ancestors

Wife of Edward Hallen — married 22 Oct 1832 in Castlereagh, New South Wales, Australia

Descendants

Died 11 Jan 1906 at age 89 in Birchgrove, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

According to her baptismal record, Sophia West Lawson was born on 13th October 1816 at Veteran's Hall, Prospect, New South Wales, Australia. The Lawson family Bible, however has a different birthdate, 3rd October 1816 (see Research Notes below). Her parents were Lieutenant William Lawson, noted explorer and pastoralist, and Sarah Leadbeater, an emancipated convict.^[1] She was baptised on 26th May 1817 with her sister Hannah Ann Lawson in St John's Church of England, Parramatta. The baptismal entries for the two girls were written by Joseph Kenyon (convict Ocean 1 1816), the parish clerk, who incorrectly recorded their birth dates.^[2]

She married Edward Hallen at the age of sixteen on 22nd October 1832 in Christ Church Church of England (Anglican Church), Castlereagh, New South Wales.^[3]

They had five children. For a period of time they lived in London, England before returning to Australia.^[4] In the 1851 census they were at 15 Clarenden Place Hackney: Edward was an engineers clerk, and the children with them were William 17 draughtsman, Alice 14, Sarah 10.^[5] In the 1861 census they were at 2 Pembrooke Terrace Kensington: Edward was an engineer and their daughter Alice age 25 was with them, also a girl Rebecca age 5 whose relationship to Sophia was left blank on the enumerator's form.^[6]

Sophia West Hallen passed away at her daughter's residence, "Lawson", Ballast Point Road, at Snails Bay, Birchgrove on 11 January 1906.^[7]

She was buried with her daughter Rebecca at Waverley Cemetery (Section 16 Row 19).^[8]

Her death notice was in the Sydney Morning Herald:

HALLEN.—January 11, at her daughter's residence, Lawson, Snail's Bay, Sophia West Hallen, widow of the late Edward Hallen and daughter of the late William Lawson, sen., Veteran Hall, Prospect, in her 90th year.^[9]

There were several obituaries. Here are a few:

Obituary, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, Wednesday 7 February 1906 (includes a photograph):^[10]

LATE MRS. HALLEN. A NOTABLE AUSTRALIAN.

The late Mrs. Sophia West Hallen was a very old Australian. She was born at Prospect, New South Wales, on October 3, 1816. and at the time of her death was the last remaining child of the well-known explorer and pioneer, the late Lieutenant William Lawson, Royal Veterans, of Veteran Hall, Prospect, Macquarie Plains, and Roslyn Hall, Sydney. Mrs Hallen was the widow of the late Mr. Edward Hallen, a well-known civil engineer and surveyor of the old days. Mr. Hallen 'cut up' a considerable part of what is now embraced within Sydney's area. As an architect he built a few of the more important of the early structures here, an example being being the present Sydney Grammar School which bears his name on the College-street tablet.

Obituary Mudgee Guardian.^[11]

Obituary Daily Telegraph.^[12]

Research Notes

According to their baptismal record, Sophia West Lawson and Hannah Anne Lawson were both born on 13th October 1816, which implies they were twins. Strangely they had different ages in the 1828 census: Hannah 14, Sophia 12. The Lawson family Bible has different birth dates for the two girls: "Sophia West Lawson born 3'd October 1816 at Prospect" and "Hannah Anne Lawson born 13th October 1814 at Prospect". It appears the parish clerk Joseph Kenyon (convict Ocean 1 1816), made a mistake with the birth dates when registering the girls in 1817. Sophia and Hannah are not twins.

Sources

1. ↑ New South Wales Birth Index #1038/1817 V18171038 148
2. ↑ New South Wales, Australia, St. John's Parramatta, Baptisms, 1790-1916 for Hannah Ann Lawson Vol 01, Baptisms, 1790-1825; Marriages, 1789-1823; Burials, 1790-1825 https://www.ancestry.com.au/imageviewer/collections/60622/images/44132_1831101454_0699-00468?pId=29439
3. ↑ [http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/Pages/family-history/family-history.aspx New South Wales Marriage Index #1018/1832 V18321018 16
4. ↑ Morton Herman, 'Hallen, Edward (1803–1880)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/hallen-edward-2243/text2737, published first in hardcopy 1966, accessed online 25 April 2022.
5. ↑ 1851 England Census for Sophia Hallen Middlesex, Hackney https://www.ancestry.com.au/imageviewer/collections/8860/images/MDXHO107_1505_1505-1130?pId=2600296
6. ↑ 1861 England Census for Sophia Hallen Middlesex, Kensington St Mary Abbott, Brompton District 14 https://www.ancestry.com.au/imageviewer/collections/8767/images/MDXRG9_19_22-0824?pId=95975
7. ↑ NSW BDM death 467/1906
8. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/218696970/sophia-west-hallen : accessed 25 April 2022), memorial page for Sophia West Hallen (16 Oct 1816–11 Jan 1906), Find a Grave Memorial ID 218696970, citing Waverley Cemetery, Bronte, Waverley Council, New South Wales, Australia ; Maintained by woowoo (contributor 49949980) .
9. ↑ Family Notices (1906, January 12). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 4. Retrieved April 25, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14736766
10. ↑ LATE MRS. HALLEN. A NOTABLE AUSTRALIAN. (1906, February 7). The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), p. 362. Retrieved April 25, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article164039214
11. ↑ A Link with the Past. (1906, February 1). Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative (NSW : 1890 - 1954), p. 18. Retrieved April 25, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article157624853
12. ↑ A LINK WITH THE PAST. (1906, January 12). The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), p. 7. Retrieved April 25, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article239446028

See also:

• Purnell, Marion. Australian Royalty database, Sophia West Lawson, 1816–1906 https://australianroyalty.net.au/tree/purnellmccord.ged/individual/I76923/Sophia-West-Lawson