Margaret Caroline (Roberts) Comrie (1870 - 1922)

Born 1 Dec 1870 in Morphett Vale, South Australia

Ancestors

Wife of John Holthouse Comrie — married 1 Jan 1897 (to about 1915) in Dundas, Western Australia, Australia

Died 19 Jan 1922 at age 51 in Cottesloe, Western Australia, Australia

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Biography

Carrie was born on 1 Sep 1870 at Morphett Vale (SA). She was the eldest child of James Roberts and Elizabeth Alvis Tansell. Her family seems to have left the area when she was around 4 years of age and settled to the north, in the mining town of Port Augusta West (SA), where her father worked as a carter.

Carrie is believed to have married a man named Morris Goldstein, although the details of their marriage are not known at this time. A child, Laural Edith Natherlie Goldstein, was born at Port Augusta West in 1893 when Carrie was 22 years old.

It is unclear what happened to Morris Goldstein. It seems that Carrie went to Western Australia and their relationship ended, either in a parting of the ways, or perhaps with the death of Morris, although no record of his death around that time has been found. There was a Morris Goldstein who died in NSW around 1950, and some criminal records which may be related. It is not known if this might have been the same man. Perhaps Carrie and Morris never married at all, although she did use the surname Goldstein in Western Australia.

On 1 Jan 1897, Carrie Goldstein married John Holthouse Comrie in Dundas (WA), about 20km south of Norseman (WA), where gold had been discovered in 1894.

In 1898, Carrie and John had a son, Angus Malcolm Comrie, who was born at Dundas.

On 24 Jan 1901, Carrie and John's second son, Norman Alexander Comrie, was born in Bardoc (WA), near Kanowna (WA), on the Eastern Goldfields.

In 1903, John and Carrie Comrie were again recorded on the electoral roll at Bardoc. John was employed as a police constable.

In the 1905 WA Post Office Directory, John Comrie was recorded at 129 Collins St., in Piccadilly (WA), a suburb of Kalgoorlie (WA).

In 1910, John and Carrie Comrie were on the electoral roll, residing at 173A Brookman Street, in Kalgoorlie. John was working as a miner. The 1910 WA Post Office Directory records John H. Comrie at 173 Hay St., in Kalgoorlie.

In 1915, a John Comrie was recorded on the electoral roll at Minyip (Vic). He was employed as a groom. Carrie was not present.

In 1917, Carrie Comrie was on the electoral roll at Hannans (WA), still living around Kalgoorlie. She was a storekeeper. Her address was 1189 Salisbury Road, in South Kalgoorlie. John Comrie was not present.

In 1922, Carrie Comrie was living in the suburb of Guildford (WA), in Perth (WA), and working for a Dr. Stewart.

Carrie collapsed and died on Cottesloe Beach (WA) on Thursday, 19 Jan 1922, at the age of 51. She was buried the following day in the Karrakatta Cemetery in Perth (WA). She was described as a "widow" in her newspaper obituary.

Death Notice: - Sunday Times, Perth, (22 Jan 1922) p.3:-

"Mrs Margaret Caroline Comrie (48), a widow, in the employ of Dr. Stewart, of Guildford, collapsed on the Cottesloe beach on Thursday afternoon, and died shortly afterwards."

Funeral Notice: - The West Australian, (Fri 20 Jan 1922) p.1 :-

"COMRIE - The Friends of the late Mrs. Margaret Caroline Comrie, late of Guildford, and formerly of Kalgoorlie, are respectfully invited to follow her remains to the place of interment, the Presbyterian Cemetery, Karrakatta. The Funeral will leave Messrs. Arthur E. Davies and Co.'s Private Mortuary, opposite the Railway Station, Claremont, THIS (Friday) AFTERNOON at 4 o'clock. Friends may proceed by trains leaving Fremantle at 3.50 p.m. and Perth at 1 o'clock."

John Comrie's death has not been substantiated. It is quite evident that Carrie and John Comrie went their separate ways, sometime around 1910-1915, however tracking John after that time is complicated by the presence of other men named John Comrie living concurrently around Australia.

Some possible sightings of John Comrie might include the following electoral roll listings...

In the 1928 electoral roll, it appears that John Comrie, was living with their son Angus Malcolm Comrie and his wife, Mary Ellen Comrie, at 284 Humffray St. Nth., in Ballarat East (Vic). Angus was a police constable, and John was a labourer.

In 1930, a John Comrie was recorded on the electoral roll at Moama (NSW).

In 1931, John Comrie was recorded on the electoral roll at Warracknabeal (Vic).

In 1932, 1933, and 1935, John Comrie was recorded at the Edwards River Hotel, in Deniliquin (NSW), in the electoral roll.

In 1937, 1943, and 1949, John Comrie was recorded on the electoral roll at Deniliquin.

There was a related Comrie family in Victoria, with names virtually identical to the WA family, so it is necessary to closely re-examine the electoral roll information post-1922, to verify which listings may be relevant.

Sources

• Roberts, Perce, & Roberts, Marcus, The Roberts Family, Geelong, 2000.

• Birth Citation, SA BDM - Digger - SA Births 1842-1906 [SAGHS] (Secondary evidence), Page: MoV 90 79, Text: Given Name(s): Margaret Caroline Last Name: ROBERTS Birth Date: 1870, December 01 Gender: F Father: James ROBERTS Mother: Elizabeth Alvis TANSELL Birth Place/Residence: Morphett Vale District: Morphett Vale Symbol: Book/Page: 90/79.

• Ancestry.com. Australia, Birth Index, 1788-1922 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. South Australian Births, Index of Registrations 1842 to 1906, https://search.ancestry.com.au/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=1778&h=5607075&ssrc=pt&tid=13263371&pid=152247386693&usePUB=true, Laural Edith Natherlie Goldstein, 1893.

• Ancestry.com. Australia, Marriage Index, 1788-1950 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Western Australian Pioneer Index, 1841-1905, https://search.ancestry.com.au/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=1780&h=5580283&ssrc=pt&tid=13263371&pid=152188612292&usePUB=true, John Holthouse Comrie, & Margaret Caroline Goldstein, 1897.

• Australian Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980 (Ancestry.com), https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/1207/, Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.

• Australia, City Directories, 1845-1948 (Ancestry.com), https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/60845/, Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

• Margaret Caroline Comrie's Death Notice, Sunday Times, Perth, (22 Jan 1922) p.3 - https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/57982110?searchTerm=comrie%20death%20perth%201922

• Margaret Caroline Comrie's Funeral Notice - The West Australian, (Fri 20 Jan 1922) p.1 - https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/28013825?searchTerm=comrie%20death%20perth%201922