William Nix (1857 - 1913)

Born 28 Jan 1857 in Motto Farm, New South Wales, Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Frances (Fullick) Nix — married 1880 in Wallsend, NSW, Australia

Descendants

Died 23 Aug 1913 at age 56 in Adamstown, New South Wales, Australia

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Fred Nix [send private message]

Biography

William Nix is born on January 28, 1857, in Motto Farm, New South Wales, Australia [1][2][3]. His parents are Thomas Nix (1820-1909) and Elizabeth Curtis (1837-1872). His father, Thomas, had arrived in Australia from England in 1853. His mother, Elizabeth, was born in 1837 in Essex, England.

The location of Motto Farm is not known although it is likely close to Raymond Terrace. Today, there is a Motto Farm Motel at 2285 Pacific Highway, Raymond Terrace, NSW.

William marries Frances Fullick in 1880 [3]. They have eight children. The birth places of the children are shown below, all with a reference to their distance from the centre of Newcastle:

• 1881-first child in Wallsend – 12 km west of Newcastle

• 1883 - second child in Minmi – 20 km west of Newcastle

• 1885 - third child in Minmi

• 1888 – fourth child in Adamstown – 6 km south of Newcastle

• 1891 - fifth child in Adamstown

• 1893-six child in Adamstown

• 1897-seventh child in Adamstown

• 1899-eighth child in Newcastle

But other than knowing the couple had eight children and, apparently, spent their whole lives in the Newcastle area, little else is known about them. Given the places where many of the children were born, we think he spends much of his life in Adamstown. Indeed, there is a blurred copy of a census page that shows a William Nix living in Adamstown [4]. The death certificate for one of the children, William Henry, suggests that William Nix’s occupation was a miner.

The children of William and Frances are:

• Julian Albert Thomas (“John”) Nix 1881-1967 + (1902) Annie Ella Grice c1884-1979

• George Henry Nix 1883-1954 + (1911) Dorothy Jane Harland 1885-1975

• Dinah Jane Nix 1885-1967 + (1905) Francis James Filby 1885-1979

• Ethel Mary Nix 1888-1959 + (1914) John Curry c1895-?

• William Henry Nix 1891-1965 + (1915) Vera May Howard 1895-1973

• Charles Daniel Nix 1893-1954 + (1916) Hilda Jane Gillespie 1893-1948

• Edith Alice Nix 1897-c1954 +(1) (1921) Stuart William Sidney Smith 1895-1956 + (2) (1957) Herbert Wallace Rose

• Mary Nix 1899-1899

William dies in 1913 and is buried on August 25 in the Sandgate Northern Cemeteries in Newcastle [5]. He is buried in the Wesleyan Methodist section of the cemetery. Frances dies in November 1928 and is buried with him.

Sources

[1] Newlin-Noakes family tree at wc.rootsweb.ancestory.com: This shows William Nix born in 1857 and dying 1913. It shows his spouse as Frances Fullick (1864-1928) and it shows 7 children: (1) Julian Albert T. (1881-?); (2) George Henry (1881-?) (3) Dina J. (1885-?) (4) William Henry (1891-1965) + Vera M. Howard; (5) Charles D. (1893-?); (6) Edith A. (1897-1973); and (7) Mary (1899-1899).

[2] Stuart Gregory at http://stuart.scss.dyndns.info/FamilyTree/individual . . This shows William Nix born abt 1857 in Raymond Terrace; died abt 1913 in Adamstown, NSW. He then shows some possible spouses (none of them being Frances Fullick).

[3] Helene Shepherd’s family tree: “WILLIAM NIX was born on 28 Jan 1857 in Motto Farm, New South Wales, Australia. He died in 1913. He married Frances FULLICK in 1880. She died in 1928.” Helene’s source is Ann Davis. Helene shows 8 children: (1) Julian Albert T. (John) (1881-1967), (2) George Henry (1883-1954), (3) Dinah Jane (1885-1967), (4) Ethel Mary (1888-1959), (5) William Henry (1891-1965), (6) Charles Daniel (1893-1954), (7) Edith Alice (1897-1973) & (8) Mary (1899-1899).

[4] "Australia, New South Wales, Census, 1891", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKKQ-JFBH : Sat Mar 09 23:27:40 UTC 2024), Entry for William Nix, 1891. A William Nix is listed in the 1891 census in the Adamstown district of Newcastle. The page is badly smudged and other than being able to read the name, nothing else is visible.

[5] Sandgate Northern Cemeteries in Newcastle, NSW  : http://sandgate.northerncemeteries.com.au/ this shows a William Nix buried on 1913-08-25 in the Wesleyan Methodist section (FNE lot 56) and it shows a Frances Nix buried on 1928-11-09 in the same place.

Acknowledgements

This biography was originally written by Fred Nix in about 2018. This revised biography was prepared by Fred Nix in January 2024. Fred and William are first cousins, three times removed. John Nix (1961-living) in Newcastle added important information to this biography. John Nix is the great grandson of William.