Annie (Machin) Thomson (1857 - 1897)

Born Sep 1857 in Lambeth, Surrey, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Wife of John Thomson — married 15 May 1882 in Timaru, New Zealand.

Died 26 Nov 1897 at age 40 in East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Peter Patten [send private message]

Biography

Birth: Annie Machin was born September 1857, per the On-line Search FreeBMD.Org.UK: ^[1] She was born to Thomas and Annie (Holmes) ‘Machin’ in Surrey, England, United Kingdom.

Migration: In 1859, just two-years-old, Annie accompanies her parent’s, sailing-off to a New World in New Zealand as “Provincial Government Assisted Immigrants”. A [a newspaper published passenger list for the Roman Emperor detailed: [Father] MACHIN: Thomas, at 23 a Bricklayer, [Mother] Annie 22, & Annie 2. [Her brother Thomas Dewar born in transit].

Marriage: On the 15th May, 1882., Annie is to marry John Thomson (b,1851-d.1894) third son of William Thomson, of Elgin, Scotland. The marriage was in ‘Timaru’, New Zealand. ^[2]

Children: Annie and John are to have at least six children; their family & spouses look like this:

NAME: [Thomson]	Birth:	Death:	Married:
Annie	c.1883	1967	James Henry Dexter [m.1907]
Margaret	1884	1974
William	1886	1937
George	1888	1966	#1] Florence Maud Chandler
			#2] Caroline Frances Marion Allan
			#3] Charlotte Brown
Amelia Jane	1891	1968	Herbert Moore [m.1924]
John	1892	1893

Migration #2: 1883-84 Annie and John, are to find their way to Melbourne, Victoria, Australia., as the birth of their second child ‘Margaret’ and the children that follow are to be born here.

Annie's Resting Plot

Death: The tragic life of this family culminates with the death of Annie in November 1897, ^[3] just three years after the death of husband John [she just 40].

Buried: Annie was buried at St Kilda Cemetery, Melbourne ^[4] Grave plot: Baptist, Monumental, Compartment, Plot # 116 [This grave she shared with her nephew “William Holmes Machin” and later to be joined by her mother Annie (Senior)]...

Research Notes: In [October 2015] collaboration with Annie & husband John’s great-granddaughter ‘Margaret T’, we have obtained more clues on the development of this family. Margaret advised that Annie’s husband John's death was the result of being run-over by a train at Spotswood [here in Melbourne] in August 1894.

A couple of articles in a local newspaper "the Williamstown-Chronicle" Paint a grim picture of how Annie and her remaining young family had to fare, after John's demise:

On, September 8th 1894: The Chronicle reads:

We have been requested to receive and acknowledge subscriptions in aid of the widow and six children of the late John Thompson, of Spotswood, who was killed by being run over by a train on 25th August. The family are in abject poverty, and the fund raised will be administered by a committee. We trust there will be a liberal response, as the appeal is most urgent.

On, October 20th : The Chronicle reads:

The result of an appeal initiated by Senior constable Delap for the assistance of Mrs Thompson, whose husband was killed by the train at Spotswood, totalled £513s 3d. The committee decided that out of the money a mangle should be purchased, and the balance placed in the Savings Bank. The sum of £2 per month will .be paid over to the widow and family monthly, while the fund, lasts.””” [Annie was listed as a laundress on her death certificate, hence the purchase of a mangle]

Obviously there is even harder times ahead for Annie & John’s six children, the eldest -- Annie [#3] is just 14, Margaret 13, William 11, George 9, Amelia Jane 5 and John [who had died 1893], what happened to the others over the next few years is still unclear, obviously there is foster care and or orphanages involved?

Several of the children re-emerge as they go on to other-lives, marry and raise families of their own, stories for another day.

Sources

1. ↑ On-line Search FreeBMD.Org.UK MACHIN Annie,1857. Lambeth-Surrey, ( https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=o%2Bao8anPF%2FgrrB51MCVUVQ&scan=1).
2. ↑ National library of New Zealand: Collaborative Digitisation: Search - PapersPast.NatLib: Marriages, Timaru - Herald, [Vol. XXXVI, Issue 2386], 16 May 1882, Page 2: Thomson – Machin (https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers?items_per_page=10&snippet=true&title=THD&query=Thomson+-+Machin&start_date=10-05-1882&end_date=20-05-1882)
3. ↑ VICTORIAN - BDM’s - Family history search -- ‘Death’ - Registration #: 13703 / 1897
4. ↑ Burial: "Cemetery Burial." Southern Metropolitan Cemetery Trust [Melbourne]. ( https://smct.org.au/deceased-search/33865S?cemetery=St%20Kilda%20Cemetery&surname=Thomson&termsCheckbox=1&givenName=Annie)