Mary Ann Blanch (1866 - 1939)

Born 21 Sep 1866 in Raymond Terrace, New South Wales, Australia

Ancestors

Wife of John Baker — married 1886 in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia

Descendants

Died 12 May 1939 at age 72 in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Linda Renolds [send private message] and Kim Denyse [send private message]

Biography

Mary Ann was born in 1866, the daughter of James Blanch and Mary Jackson. ^[1] In 1886 she married John Baker and had 4 children -

John James 1889-1957

Arthur Samuel 1891-1951

Lena Agnes 1892-1970

George 1893-1983

She died in 1939 aged 73

When Mary Ann Blanch was born on 21 September 1866 in Swan Bay, New South Wales, her father, James (24) was a bushman/sawyer and her mother and namesake, (a soldier/tailor's daughter), Mary Ann, was 23. The family called her Clara to distinguish between the two. She was their 3rd surviving child and their 2nd daughter. Clara was to eventually have 9 brothers and sisters.

She was born into a huge pioneering family. Her paternal great-grandfather, Edward and her grandparents, James Blanch Snr. and Mary Ann Balcomb had immigrated from Rolvenden, Kent along with her various aunts and uncles, to escape the poverty in Kent at the time and forge a new life. Edward had eventually settled the clan on a farm called "Balikera" near Raymond Terrace and he became the ancestor of the largest numbers of living descendants in Australia.

Her father was one of 17 children and her mother one of 6. It is through her mother's line that she became the descendent of the founders of the "Wedgewood" porcelain factories and also a very prominent Browne family who were Mayors and Lords of London and Rutland in medieval times.

In 1876, when Clara was 9yrs old, her solder sister Annie Maria died of unknown causes.

At age 19, Clara married a man 19 years her senior, John Baker (38), a smelter by trade, on 11 June 1886 in Newcastle. Clara and John had five children in 10 years during their marriage;

1. Mary Ann "Jessie" 1887-1893 (died age 6. COD unknown)

2. John James "Jack" Baker 1889-1957 (survived WWI, served in WWII, and lived in Adelaide)

3. Arthur Samuel "Walla" Baker 1891-1951 (Blacksmith who lived in Islington and it looks like he remained close to his mother, Clara after she left her marriage)

4. Lena Agnes Baker 1892-1970 (Married Arthur Fordham and never forgave her mother for leaving the marriage and the family)

5. George Frank Baker 1893-1983 (born in Wallaroo SA. He was a plumber and married Florence. They had 4 children who sadly did not survive to adulthood). ____________________

6 months after she gave birth to Lena, Clara lost her father and her eldest daughter within months of each other in 1893.

The Baker family lived in Kalsina (or Casina) Flat near Tighes Hill which was a mine at the time but after Jessie's death, they moved to Wallaroo in South Australia.

The family returned to Newcastle in about 1910 leaving behind their eldest son Jack, who had forged a career as a carpenter and Australian Rules player.

Something went dreadfully wrong with the marriage in Oct 1918 (exactly the same month as the Spanish Flu outbreak) as Clara left the family home, from her daughter Lena's point of view, in disgrace. Clara had an affair according to 'family legend' and ran off with literally the milkman. Lena worshipped her father and never was to forgive her mother.

Clara died on 12 May 1939 in Raymond Terrace, New South Wales, at the age of 72, and was buried in Sandgate, New South Wales with her husband.

Sources

1. ↑ Entered by Linda Renolds, Nov 2, 2012

• "New South Wales Births." database findmypast Reg. No. 14245 (https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=ANZ/BMD/NSW/B/0001515159) 1866 Mary A Blanch. Raymond Terrace, New South Wales. Father's name James. Mother's name Mary A.
• "New South Wales Marriages 1788-1945." database findmypast Reg. No. 6594 (https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=ANZ/BMD/NSW/M/0004670557) Mary A Blanch m. John Baker. Newcastle, New South Wales.
• "New South Wales Deaths 1788-1945." database findmypast Reg. No. 10585 (https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=ANZ/BMD/NSW/D/0005181809) Mary Ann Baker. 1939. Newcastle, New South Wales. Father's name James. Mother's name Mary Ann.
• Linda Renolds
• NSW BDM 14245/1866
• NSW BDM 10585/1939

• Ancestry Sources

Ancestry Family Trees

Australia and New Zealand, Find A Grave Index, 1800s-Current

Australia Birth Index, 1788-1922

Australia Death Index, 1787-1985

Australia Marriage Index, 1788-1950

Australia, Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980

Australia, WWI Service Records, 1914-1920