James Baird Vallance (1877 - 1913)

Born 31 Mar 1877 in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom

Husband of Amy (Compton) Cole — married 2 Feb 1903 (to 14 Mar 1913) in Wellington, New Zealand

Died 14 Mar 1913 at age 35 in Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia

Biography

James Vallance was born in Staffordshire, England.

James was the son and 1 of 5 children of James Baird Vallance (snr) of Ayrshire, Scotland and Annie Broadbent, native of Wolverhampton, Shropshire. His father worked as a draper. James served in the Staffordshire Cavalry for 3 years.. He emigrated in 1898 on the Orizaba from London arriving Sydney May 3 and on the 21st boarded the Waikare bound for Wellington. He worked as a farmer and later was employed in the Wellington area as a builder. James served for a year in South Africa during the Boer War - rank Sergeant Lieutenant, No 1347 - 4th & 8th contingent. James married in 1903 at St Peters church, Wellington to Amy Compton. For their honeymoon they sailed to England via Sydney. On March 14, James aboard RMS Omrah in the Red Sea, wrote to the NZ Defence Department. He informed them he would not be returning to New Zealand and to remit any additional pay to him at his address in Wolverhampton. After James and Amy left England they sailed to Australia, settling in Sydney in 1904. In 1912, James travelled north to Goulburn to work in the harvest. He had been resident there about 4 to 5 months when on the 14 March, James was found dying near Verner Street. An inquest held, determined that James had taken his life. No children were born during his marriage to Amy. She settled in Hobart, Tasmania, and married Charles Osborne Cole, a draper. THE DEATH OF JAMES VALLANCE - The inquest into the death of James Baird Vallance who was found on the night of 14 March last dying in a lane off Verner Street was concluded on Friday morning.

Sources

• ancestry.com : england birth index - vol 6b, pg 625 - regn jan/mar qtr

: england census 1881/1891

nsw unassisted immigrant passenger lists

nsw departing crew & passenger lists

nz elec/rolls 1900,

• archway.archives.govt.nz  : archives - military file,
• nzbdm index - marriage 1903/862,
• trove.nla.au : Goulburn Evening Penny Post - 20/3/1913 - pg 2, 5/4/1913

• nzbdm index