Robert Alfred Bruce (1868 - 1942)

Born 1868 in Forbes, New South Wales, Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth Phoebe (Weston) Bruce — married 1890 in Forbes, New South Wales, Australia

Descendants

Died 19 Jan 1942 at about age 74 in Lidcombe, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

Alfred Robert Bruce was born in the Colony of New South Wales (1788-1900)

Born 1868. Forbes, New South Wales, Australia. ^[1]

Marriage 1890. Husband Alfred Robert Bruce. Wife Elizabeth Pheobe Weston. Forbes, NSW, Australia ^[2]

It looks as if Alfred tried to enrol in the Australian Imperial Forces during WWI in 1916, giving his age as 44 (which was a lie, he was actually 48 and therefore too old for service). As there are no records for anything other than the attempt to enlist, it would appear as if he was not successful. ^[3]

Died 19 Jan 1942. Auburn, NSW, Australia. ^{[4] [5]}

Cremation 21 Jan 1942. Rookwood Cemetery, Rookwood, NSW, Australia. ^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ Source: Births; Online index of the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au/lifelink/familyhistory/search/births?36

   Name	Registration Number	Father's Given Name(s)	Mother's Given Name(s)	District
   BRUCE ROBERT A	11908/1868	ROBERT	ELIZA	FORBES
   Interestingly, he appears to have been registered under the name of Darville first
   DARVILLE ROBERT A	11908/1868		ELIZA	FORBES
   DARVILLE Robert Albert	11908/1868		Eliza	Forbes

   All other records have his middle (and preferred name) as Alfred, so this second record may be a mistranscription.
2. ↑ Source: Marriages; Online index of the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au/lifelink/familyhistory/search/marriages?38

   Registration Number	Groom's Family Name	Groom's Given Name(s)	Bride's Family Name(s)	Bride's Given Name(s)	District
   3515/1890	BRUCE	ALFRED R	WESTON	ELIZABETH P	FORBES

3. ↑ Source: First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers (1914-1920), National Archives of Australia, https://www.naa.gov.au/explore-collection/defence-and-war-service-records/army-world-war-i-1914-18, 6538857, BRUCE ALFRED ROBERT

   Item details for: MT1486/1, BRUCE/ALFRED ROBERT

   Title Bruce, Alfred Robert; age 44; born - Grenfell

   Contents date range 1916 - 1916

   Series number MT1486/1

   Control symbol BRUCE/ALFRED ROBERT

   Citation NAA: MT1486/1, BRUCE/ALFRED ROBERT

   Item ID 6538857

   Location Melbourne

   Access status Open

   Date of decision 08 Feb 2008

   Physical format PAPER FILES AND DOCUMENTS (allocated at series level)

   Visibility and availability indicators 74. Digital image withheld

   Extent 15 folios

   Date registered 28 Nov 2007

4. ↑ Source: Deaths; Online index of the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au/lifelink/familyhistory/search/deaths?37

   Name	Registration Number	Father's Given Name(s)	Mother's Given Name(s)	District
   BRUCE ALFRED ROBERT	1326/1942	ROBERT	UNKNOWN	AUBURN

5. ↑ The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/title/35, Wed 21 Jan 1942, Page 16, Family Notices, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/17784661?searchTerm=%22alfred%20robert%20bruce%22#, https://www.wikitree.com/photo/jpg/Bruce-7005

   BRUCE.—January 19, 1942, at his residence, 20 Murry Street, Lidcombe, Alfred Robert Bruce, beloved husband of Elizabeth and loved father of Clara, William, Florence, Ethel, Jack, Ivy, Lal (2nd A.I.F.), Walter, Alan, and Phyllis, aged 74 years. At rest.

6. ↑ The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/title/35, Wed 21 Jan 1942, Page 16, Family Notices, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/17784661?searchTerm=%22alfred%20robert%20bruce%22#, https://www.wikitree.com/photo/jpg/Bruce-7005-1

   BRUCE.—The Relatives and Friends of Mrs. ELIZABETH BRUCE and FAMILY are kindly invited to attend the Funeral of her dearly loved HUSBAND and their loving FATHER, Alfred; to leave his late residence, 20 Murry Street, Lidcombe, THIS DAY, at 11.15 a.m., for the Crematorium, Rookwood.

• Source: Death certificate 131901894, transcription by Joy Murrin August 2020, NSW BDM index BRUCE ELIZABETH 131901894 ALFRED UNKNOWN TEMORA

Death 16 November 1894 • Temora, New South Wales, Australia.

Her death certificate has the following information: Age 49, Cause of death Abscess of the liver, 6 weeks, born Cheshire, father Alfred Darvel engineer, 35 years in NSW, married Bathurst age 19.

Children (living):

Clara Pauline 30,

William Henry 28,

Alfred Robert 25,

Frances Eveline 24,

George Ernest 22,

Walter James 20,

Florence Edith 18,

Robert Herbert 17,

Leslie Edmund 15,

Henry Arthur 12,

Ellen Sarah 10

• Source: Research - Bruce Excerpt 2012, Author John Bruce Moxon, pp 13-14, Robert Bruce (& Elizabeth Marian Packenham nee Darvill)

And now, after that interlude, let us return to the story of our own branch of the BRUCE family – that of Robert BRUCE, James’ and Sarah’s youngest son, born on 15 th July 1838 at Clear Creek near Bathurst.

In 1859 he married Catherine BUDGE (b 1841) but apparently there were no children.

At some point he met an Elizabeth PACKENHAM (nee DARVILL) and they “got together”.

...

No record can be found of a marriage between Robert BRUCE and Elizabeth DARVILL.

...

Elizabeth took the name BRUCE (although in 1864 she had a daughter, Lydia E, in Forbes, who died that same year and in each case no father’s name is given and Lydia is registered as a DARVILL). In any case, whoever Elizabeth was, she and Robert had at least 11 children. On Elizabeth’s death certificate the living children are listed as (I’ve added the dates and places and other information):

It seems that several children were registered as DARVILL, some perhaps were not registered at all, or under some other name, many were registered as BRUCE, and, as far as we know, all took the name BRUCE as they grew up and married.

What we can see from where and when the children were born is that the family (at least Elizabeth and the children and we assume Robert), first lived in Forbes, then about 1871 moved to Grenfell and finally, sometime between 1877 and 1882, moved to Temora.