William Henry Vize (1862 - 1936)

Born 4 Nov 1862 in Sale, Victoria

Ancestors

Husband of Eleanor (Norman) Vize — married 16 Jul 1892 in Hay, New South Wales

Descendants

Died 15 Mar 1936 at age 73 in Bairnsdale, Victoria, Australia

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Biography

Bill was the second child of William Henry Vize and Mary Walker, their first daughter having been stillborn ^[1]. He was born in Sale in 1862 ^[2]where his father ran the local pharmacy "Vize Pharmacy" and later had a photographic studio ^[3].

His father also opened studios in Bairnsdale and Maffra, but the businesses did not do well and his father's health was poor. They returned to Sale in about 1877, and by this time his father was unable to work. He passed away in 1878 ^[4] when Bill was 15. The family was left destitute and Bill, as the eldest, was no doubt needed to support the family along with his mother who worked as a seamstress, fish monger, fruiterer, boarding house keeper ^[5]and anything else she seems to have been able to find to do.

Bill became a blacksmith and by the early 1890s was travelling and working around the Riverina area along the Murray River. While working in Wilcannia he met Eleanor Norman and they married at the Wesleyan Parsonage in Hay in 1892 ^[6]. Bill and Nellie moved around the Riverina area through 1890s stopping in Hay, Wilcannia, Mildura and Echuca, before moving to Cunningham (now Lakes Entrance) around 1900 ^[7].

They stayed in this area between Cunningham and Bairnsdale, where Bill started his business W H Vize Blacksmith (exact location uncertain, thought to be near Bruthen). Bill passed away at home in Bairnsdale in 1936 ^[8].

Sources

1. ↑ Melbourne Argus Family Notices 7 November 1861 (p4)
2. ↑ Vic Birth #23279
3. ↑ https://www.daao.org.au/bio/william-henry-vize/
4. ↑ Vic Death #42
5. ↑ various advertisements in the Gippsland Times from 1879-1885
6. ↑ NSW marriage #004188
7. ↑ Australian Electoral Rolls 1903-1936
8. ↑ Vic death #12060